Every year, the American Sailing Association (ASA) combs through thousands of student surveys to find the instructors who stand out above the rest. This year, we’re thrilled to share that three of our own — Tim Jenne (TJ), Lindsay Moore, and Doug Acker — have been named 2025 ASA Outstanding Instructors.
For a school that has always believed its instructors are the heart of the Nautilus experience, this is about as good as news gets.
WHAT IS THE ASA SAILING “OUTSTANDING INSTRUCTOR AWARD”
The Outstanding Instructor Award is American Sailing’s highest honor for its teaching instructors, and it’s earned entirely through anonymous student feedback.
After every course, ASA students are invited to complete a survey rating their experience and their instructor. ASA then tallies those results — weighing the number of surveys sent, the number completed, and each instructor’s average rating — to identify the top performers among thousands of active instructors nationwide.
Only 20-30 people receive this prestigious honor each year, out of thousands of active instructors!
Only the top 1% make the list each year. It’s not a popularity contest or a nomination process; it’s a direct reflection of what real students said about their experience on the water.
WHY THIS AWARD IS SPECIAL
What makes this recognition so meaningful is who gets to decide: the students themselves. There’s no panel of judges, no marketing campaign, no way to lobby for a spot. An instructor earns this award one course, one survey, one genuinely great week on the water at a time.
It’s also a numbers game that makes the achievement all the more rare. With thousands of ASA instructors teaching across hundreds of schools worldwide, the pool of eligible candidates is enormous — and only a small percentage rise to the top each year.
Having three instructors from one school recognized in the same year isn’t just a nice coincidence; it’s a signal that a school has built a genuine culture of teaching excellence, not just a single standout star. In 2023 Nautilus also had three instructors achieve this honor.
For Nautilus, that’s exactly the point. We’ve always said our instructors are educators first, sailors second — and awards like this are proof that our students feel it too.
MEET THE 2025 NAUTILUS SAILING OUTSTANDING ASA SAILING INSTRUCTOR HONOREES
ASA SAILING INSTRUCTOR – TIM (TJ) JENNE
Tim has become known among Nautilus students for turning dense sailing theory into something that just clicks — often by weaving in his own real-world stories from years on the water. Students consistently describe him as patient, knowledgeable, and able to keep a course both fun and focused on real progress.
ASA SAILING INSTRUCTOR – LINDSAY MOORE
Lindsay grew up in a family of avid sailors in Tampa, Florida, and holds a U.S. Coast Guard Master Captain’s license, brings a rare combination of deep hands-on experience and a genuine gift for teaching. As one student put it, having the skills is one thing — being able to pass them on to someone else is another thing entirely, and that’s where Lindsay excels.
ASA SAILING INSTRUCTOR – DOUG ACKER
Doug has spent years teaching everything from Basic Keelboat to Advanced Coastal Cruising, and students routinely point to his ability to build confidence rather than overwhelm — coaching people through real-time challenges, like mooring in rough conditions, in a way no classroom could replicate.
Three different instructors, three different backgrounds, and the same result: students who leave feeling genuinely more capable and confident than when they arrived.
WHAT SETS AN EXCEPTIONAL ASA SAILING INSTRUCTOR APART?
Being a great sailor and being a great ASA sailing instructor are not the same skill — and this award is really a celebration of the second one. So what actually separates an exceptional instructor from a merely competent one?
Patience over pace. The best ASA sailing instructors read the room. They know when to slow down and re-explain a concept and when a student is ready to be pushed further. Progress that feels rushed rarely sticks; progress that feels earned always does.
Making the complex feel simple. Anyone can recite the rules of right-of-way or the mechanics of sail trim. A great teacher finds the story, the analogy, or the real-world moment that makes those rules make sense — so students aren’t just memorizing, they’re understanding.
Confidence-building, not just skill-building. Technical competence is only half the job. The instructors who leave the biggest impression are the ones who help students believe in their own abilities, so that confidence carries with them long after the course ends.
Genuine care that outlasts the course. Several of the students who reviewed these three ASA sailing instructors mentioned staying in touch, asking follow-up questions, or knowing they had a resource “for anytime.” That kind of relationship doesn’t end when the certification is issued — and it’s rarely something an instructor can fake.
Adaptability. Every crew is different — different experience levels, different learning styles, sometimes different languages or ages onboard. The instructors who stand out are the ones who shift their approach without missing a beat, whether they’re teaching a nervous first-timer or a family with young kids.
CONGRATULATIONS TJ, LINDSAY & DOUG
The ASA sailing instructor award belongs to the students who took the time to fill out a survey and say what their week on the water meant to them. But it also belongs to Tim, Lindsay, and Doug, who show up every course ready to turn strangers into confident sailors — and, often, lifelong friends.
Congratulations to all three of you. We couldn’t be prouder to call you part of the Nautilus team.
Ready to learn from an award-winning instructor yourself? Explore our upcoming courses and find your next adventure on the water.
For a complete guide to the learning process and finding the answer to “how hard is it to learn to sail”— pathways, timelines, certifications, and how to choose the right school — read: How to Learn to Sail as an Adult: The Complete Guide.
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