RYA, IYT, ASA or ISSA: which sailing qualification do you need?

A sailing qualification is a means to an end. Before comparing bodies, be clear about the job it has to do: chartering a yacht abroad, satisfying an insurer, working on a boat, or simply knowing you can handle a yacht safely.

Each of the four bodies below runs its own ladder from beginner crew to experienced skipper, with its own syllabus, standards and certificates. They are not interchangeable, and only a school accredited by a body can teach and certify that body's courses.

The RYA is the UK's national governing body for dinghy, motor and sail cruising, as well as racing, windsurfing and inland waterways. Its sail cruising ladder runs from Start Yachting and Competent Crew through Day Skipper and Coastal Skipper to the Yachtmaster Coastal, Offshore and Ocean certificates.

RYA courses are run by RYA recognised training centres in the UK and abroad, and RYA instructors may only teach RYA courses within a recognised centre. In the UK, the RYA also issues the ICC (International Certificate of Competence) to eligible applicants.

IYT Worldwide (International Yacht Training) offers recreational and professional yacht training through partner schools around the world. Its recreational ladder runs from International Crew through Bareboat Skipper to the IYT Yachtmaster Coastal, Offshore and Ocean certificates, with most courses available for sail and power.

On the professional side, IYT also trains superyacht crew and offers Master of Yachts levels. IYT approves each partner school for the specific courses it teaches.

The American Sailing Association is a US organisation whose certifications are taught by a network of affiliated sailing schools, mostly in the United States but also abroad. Its keelboat certifications are numbered: ASA 101 is the first keelboat course, ASA 103 covers coastal cruising, and ASA 104 Bareboat Cruising prepares you to skipper a cruising yacht on a multi-day cruise, with further levels in navigation and offshore sailing.

Only ASA instructors affiliated with an ASA school can certify students to ASA standards. For its certified sailors chartering abroad, ASA also offers an International Proficiency Certificate (IPC); whether it is accepted is up to the charter company and the country.

The International Sailing Schools Association is a non-profit international association of sailing and windsurfing schools that sets common training standards. Its yacht ladder runs from Yacht Crew through Inshore Skipper and Offshore Skipper to Master of Yacht, with dinghy, catamaran and powerboat courses alongside.

ISSA certificates are issued through ISSA-accredited schools, which are inspected before they are accredited, and ISSA's website lets you check whether a certificate is genuine.

Charter companies decide what they accept from a skipper, and many also ask for a sailing CV or a logbook showing recent experience. Some countries expect visiting skippers to carry evidence of competence such as the ICC, and the requirements vary from country to country.

The ICC is issued under UNECE Resolution 40 by authorised bodies in the countries that have adopted it, generally to their own nationals and residents; in the UK, that body is the RYA. It is evidence of competence, not a course in itself, and it does not override national requirements. Insurers may also ask about the skipper's qualifications and experience, so check your policy.

We are an independent sailing school based in Marina Alicante. We no longer run RYA courses or issue RYA certificates. For many years we were one of the longest-established RYA schools in Spain. Today we teach our own courses, shaped around you. We are not accredited by IYT, ASA or ISSA either, and we do not teach or certify their courses.

Our practical courses run from Try Sailing and Learn to Sail through the Skipper Course and the Advanced Skipper Course to the Skipper Masterclass, with Navigation Basics, Skipper Theory and Advanced Skipper Theory for the theory. They build real skills and sea miles, signed off by your instructor, without a certificate. If you need a particular certificate, choose a school accredited by that body; each body lists its schools on its website.