Internationally Recognized Qualifications

[andreshs1]

Hi

I am a newbie sailor and I am after the most internationally recognized sailing certificate, basically at present I am living in Hong Kong, but I tend to move often, therefore I would like a qualification which I could use wherever I go.

I have been told that the IYT could be the one, but I am looking for info from fellow skippers.

Thanks
Andres

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Andres.

The International Yachtmaster Training has numerous levels of qualification, and is generally well-accepted world-wide.

To what exact purpose do you wish to put your training & certification?

[andreshs1]

I dont want to be a professional skipper, just want to be able to charter yatchs wherever I feel like.


Regards
Andres

[mickmul]

The International Certificate of Competency (ICC) is the credit card sized licance that is recognised in Europe for charter, and is available from a country's National Sailing Association. Here, if you have completed Yachtmaster Offshore level, your ICC will also be validated for power, as you are assumed to have manouvered your sailing yacht under power and are deemed competent. Safety downside is, a skipper with (relatively) little command experience can charter a motor boat of up to 8o feet or 80 tons once it is not required to have paid crew. This is a little excessive, I feel, but thems the rules . .

[deloffre]

The yachtmaster is the best certificate to have worldwide, to either charter a boat privately or become a professional skipper. Crew agencies and owners worlwide seek that certificate; other (national) certificates of competence (such as the Capitaine 200 in france) can be high quality but also of little use when it comes to finding a job on a yacht. the yachtmaster can be either coastal, offshore or ocean; it's part of a syllabus defined by the RYA (Royal Yachting Association) in the UK. fair winds to all, Jean-Paul Deloffre

[jackdale]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Andres.

The International Yachtmaster Training has numerous levels of qualification, and is generally well-accepted world-wide.

To what exact purpose do you wish to put your training & certification?

Gord et al

The IYT certificate is not recognized by Transport Canada as an acceptable commercial ticket. I was advised by an individual at the British Columbia Institute of Technology that I would need a Master's ticket.

As an instructor I can do skippered charter work for small groups, but the parameters for doing so are quite strict.

[goboatingnow]

If the icc is taught in hong kong then that would be the best

[Svanen]

Originally Posted by jackdale

The IYT certificate is not recognized by Transport Canada as an acceptable commercial ticket.

This is correct. The IYT certificate is recognized for limited commercial purposes by the UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the United States Coast Guard, as well as a small number of other countries. The IYT publishes a current list on its website [see IYT World - Government Approvals].

My own sense is that the IYT appeals to a relatively small number of people: essentially, British subjects and US citizens who want to qualify for paid crew positions on large yachts, but for one reason or another don't want to bother with the usual professional mariner's experience / examination requirements for a master's certificate.

IYT provides good training, but it is rather expensive. For the majority of people who just want to be able to bareboat charter, the RYA "day skipper" or national equivalent is probably a more practical option.