Ashuma

When you book a tour with Joy Ride Sailing, you will be sailing aboard Ashuma.

She is a Jim Brown Searunner 25 ft trimaran. She is 25ft long and 16ft wide and was built in 1979, right here in Costa Rica. We’ve been sailing her and maintaining her to a high standard since 2008. She has some wonderful features that make her excellent for what we do. Private charter only, day sailing on the calm Pacific Ocean with a maximum of 6 guests.

Ashuma does not heel over, she stays flat on the water, like a catamaran, but better. She has lots of very comfortable, usable nets. There is enough net space for everyone to stretch out and enjoy. Also, there is a large comfortable cockpit in the middle of the boat with a bimini top so that shade is always there if you’d like it. There is an emergency head (boat toilet) if needed and a nice solid ladder for making it easy to get out of the water.

She sails beautifully and our goal on the tour will be to SAIL but we have a reliable engine if the wind does not cooperate.

all-inclusive fun

Ashuma is equipped with personal floatation devices for all passengers including special snorkeling vests, and even some good old-fashioned pool noodles so that guests with any level of swimming skill/experience can hop in the water and enjoy the warm blue Pacific.

All snorkelling equipment is provided for you (unless you prefer your own) and your tour includes a guided tour so even first-time snorkelers can feel comfortable.

If snorkeling isn’t your thing…don’t worry… the manta rays love to jump and are easily visible from a comfy spot on deck. We quite often get visits from pods of dolphins, and during whale season have seen humpbacks and orcas.

the specs

I know some of you avid sailors will have lots of questions about Ashuma’s Specs… if you want to deep dive into things like water displacement ratios, beam width and the like, you can copy this link. https://www.searunner.com/index.php/searunner-25

For the rest of you layman I will say that Ashuma is an ultralight wooden cutter and was built by Jim Brown right here in Costa Rica. As with all catamarans, she is well-balanced, doesn’t heel while sailing, and has a shallow draft which allows her to anchor in places that other boats can’t.

She is built to last, and to handle bad weather with grace, although we seldom get bad weather here in Herradura. She has a hull speed of 6.44 knots (although we have had her going a little faster than that in favourable winds).

She is equipped with a 9.9 Honda 4-stroke engine to get us home safely if the wind lets us down.

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Come Sail Away!

About your Captain…

Hey there!

I’m Neil Kahn, and I will be your Captain.

I’ve been sailing since I was 8, which sounds a bit crazy… but while most kids were in Little League… I was racing sailboats.

I started with prams which are a type of wooden dingy then progressed to Lasers. A really fast high performance 1 peson boat.

In my family, vacations were spent sailing aboard a boat very similar to Ashuma , a 40ft Piver Victress. I also lived on my own 30-foot Iroquois Catamaran for a period of time. I’ve been guiding and leading people in the outdoors and mostly on the water as a whitewater river guide and sea kayak guide my entire life.

I guess you could say I haven’t had a real job yet…. and I don’t see any reason to start now!

Seasickness Tips and Tricks

Seasickness (also called mal de mer) is the reaction of your body's inner ear balance system to the unfamiliar motion of the ship. The movement of the ship causes stress on the balancing portion of the brain. Your brain sees things on the ship such as walls and furniture and instinctively knows from past experience that they are supposed to be still. However, since these items are actually moving with the sea and the ship, the inner ear gets stressed and confused and nausea sets in.

Seasickness often disappears within a few days even without treatment. The brain finally adjusts to this new environment and the sufferer finds his or her “sea legs”. Of course won’t help anyone who is taking a half day tour.

Chris always warns tour guests beforehand that if they are prone to seasickness, it is best to take any medications or remedies at least an hour beforehand, but sometimes even experienced boaters will be caught unaware.

There are three main seasickness triggers that should be avoided during your tour..

Do not go below deck for extended time periods. Try to find a window or porthole and keep your eyes gazing (but not fixed) on the horizon.
Do not look through binoculars for long periods of time.
Do not stare at objects your brain will interpret as stable. Anything that involves staring at one point such as reading a book, staring at your phone, or even looking at a compass might bring on a bout of seasickness.

Remedies and Medications

Seasickness is often easier to avoid than to cure. Most remedies need to be taken a couple of hours before your ship sails. Different treatments work better for different people, and you may need to try a few to determine which is best for you. Remember to check with your doctor to make sure that any remedy does not conflict with medication you are currently taking—prescription or over-the-counter.

Scopolamine patches, worn behind the ear like a tiny band-aid, are the most common prescription drugs for seasickness. Scopolamine also comes in pill form. The patches last up to three days, provide time-release doses of the drug, and are usually very effective for preventing nausea.

Dramamine and Bonine are the two most common seasickness remedies. These are available over-the-counter at most drug stores and contain antihistamines which makes some people drowsy so, make sure to look for the non-drowsy versions.

I personally take non-drowsy Gravol because, as the Galley Wench, I spend a lot of time down in the cabin and it works 99% of the time.

Tips and Tricks if you do start to feel nauseous:

Look at the Horizon – When a ship is riding to a heavy sea everything is moving. The only thing that is stationary is the horizon and looking at it will often reset your internal equilibrium.
Follow your nose – Motion sickness is often caused by strong smells. Even pleasant smells, like a girlfriend’s perfume, can often send you for the railings. So if you smell anything strange, move into fresh air fast. (for some diesel fuel is a trigger)
if you are unable or unwilling to take traditional medical remedies…Ginger – Whether you chew it, suck on it or dilute it in tea ginger has long been a favorite home remedy for motion sickness, so bring some ginger candies along with you, or make a cup of cold ginger tea.
Wrist Bands – Anti-Seasickness wrist bands come in two varieties; acupressure and magnetic. They work by applying pressure or magnets to a pressure point located on the underside of the arm about an inch and a half above your wrist.
Stay In The Middle – A ship balances at it’s center so that is the place where motion is least pronounced. The bow and stern should be avoided at all cost.
Get in the water- luckily for our tour guests, there is a swim/beach break in the middle of the tour so anyone suffering from seasickness can get off the boat and into the water where the motion of the water will help re calibrate your body and relieve symptoms as well as cooling your body down.

We honestly don’t get very many cases of seasickness but once you start to feel it, it’s tough to get rid of, so if you are unsure then it’s best to take precautions so that you can enjoy your day.