"BF" wrote in message
...
"Dennis Pogson" wrote in message
...
Please excuse my ignorance in posing this question. As a UK sailor of
many
years experience in racing and cruising yachts, I am curious to know,
since
the subject rarely turns up, whether our US cousins have a similar series
of
qualifications to those administered in the UK by the Royal Yachting
Association (Yachmaster, at various levels).

I am not extolling the virtues of such "official"qualifications, indeed
many
UK sailors think they are less than useful, just curious to know if such
training and examination facilities exist in the US, as the subject never
seems to be discussed in this NG.

Dennis.



As I understand it, the UKRYA and the ASA (American Sailing Assoc.) are
similar in that they both publish guidelines and "standardized" test for
various level of expertise. The training and testing is then conducted by
private contractors or in some cases the US Coast Guard Aux.
It is also my understanding, at least this side, that the only thing
really required to sail a pleasure craft (not for profit) is cash!



USSailing does as well, although neither USSailing nor ASA are as rigorous
as the YRA. Several programs offer YRA training in the US. It is
significantly more expensive than the regular certifications. I've
encountered lots of people who have one of the US-based programs. Many are
good or even great sailors. I've encountered several people who have the YRA
training. IMHO they are typically equal to or better sailors, especially for
the kind of conditions we find on the left coast.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com