1 Week ASA 101 to 114 or ?? RYA equivalent

[Mook1e]

Hi again. Does anyone have experience with the IYT Crew course in general and the Island Spirit Sailing School in Thailand specifically? I'm looking at the 5 day IYT Crew course and the 6 day IYT Bareboat Skipper course in Pattaya.

[Andreas W]

Originally Posted by Snore

Let me preface this with I am an ASA instructor.

A one week non-stop course is overload. The example I give folks is imagine being locked in the Louvre, Hermitage, or any other art gallery for 5 days, non-stop. Obviously, you could not appreciate all the art. Likewise 5 days of non-stop learning will be an overload.

A more effective learning regime is take a 2-day course, then sail something in your own. Take the next course and sail something. AFTER you can sail a mono-hull take the catamaran course. In the end you will be a better sailor than the person who did the one week crash course.

I did the ASA 'fast track' to coastal skipper (101,103,104,105,106) back in 2008 in Thailand. The Australian instructor made a customised program for us (it was only me and a friend). All in all it was close to 6 weeks, split in 2 x 3 weeks with a few months in-between. We could really take our time to cover and practice everything in-depth. It did cost a bit more than the standard program, but it was worth it. We left confident that we had a solid base to start the real learning in the years to come.

[Doubleplay]

Originally Posted by SVHarmonie

I taught sailing for almost a decade (in the US Sailing program), and I can tell you there is NOTHING equivalent about ASA and RYA training.

ASA is "good and adequate." RYA is way, way more rigorous. It seems to me RYA sometimes goes over the top for recreational sailors, but there is no questioning that the focus is much more on being sure the student REALLY know their stuff.

Virtually all ASA schools will take your money and teach you stuff and then give you a certificate. The tests are (compared to RYA) a joke. It is a very tough business for a commercial sailing school. If a student spends thousands for you to teach them how to sail and at the end, they are told, "Sorry you aren't ready yet", they are a very unhappy customer. And businesses don't last long with unhappy customers.

If you want a certificate, ALMOST any ASA school will sell you one. If you want to learn, and be seriously tested on, saiing and seamanship, you have a lot more homework to do about schools and their policies, or you go to RYA.

As an ASA Bareboat Instructor and a RYA Yachtmaster, I totally agree with you. It's like getting a drivers license in US, it's a joke compared to getting a license in Europe. But if there are no other options it's better than nothing.

[NaClyDog]

Originally Posted by Doubleplay

As an ASA Bareboat Instructor and a RYA Yachtmaster, I totally agree with you. It's like getting a drivers license in US, it's a joke compared to getting a license in Europe. But if there are no other options it's better than nothing.

Based on our research, we agree that RYA seems much more intensive (2 weeks worth of instruction vs 1 week for roughly same "qualifications"). Our only issue with RYA is they don't seem to have a catamaran specific course and we can't get actual instruction on a cat unless we use our own.

[Snore]

Originally Posted by NaClyDog

Based on our research, we agree that RYA seems much more intensive (2 weeks worth of instruction vs 1 week for roughly same "qualifications"). Our only issue with RYA is they don't seem to have a catamaran specific course and we can't get actual instruction on a cat unless we use our own.

I have done cat training on peoples boats. Candidly that is better than a generic training.

Be it a PSC Flicka or a 60’ cat, the basic physics of sailing is the same. What is different is the peculiarities of your boat.

What better way to hone your skills than on your boat? Learning to dock as a team (assuming you are sailing with someone) or how to do it singlehanded is, once again, best learned on your boat.

[Pete17C]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

So...you've got at least 3 experienced sailing instructors telling you that combination classes (AKA "fast track") are not the most effective way to learn...might be worth listening to.

Most Military training is 'fast track' or 'accelerated'. If it works for Air Force pilots, I'm sure it can work for recreational sailors.

If you can handle the heavy workload, it's a good way to go. It will not be a vacation, and may not be any fun, but you will learn the material.

Once you pass the class, you'll still need to add to your practical experience, slowing expanding your boundaries as you do.

[NaClyDog]

Originally Posted by Snore

What better way to hone your skills than on your boat? Learning to dock as a team (assuming you are sailing with someone) or how to do it singlehanded is, once again, best learned on your boat.

Completely agree. Unfortunately our boat is in the south of France and we are not. My pro-active genes are forcing me to get qualifications training without our boat.

[Mook1e]

Still wondering about the IYT. It looks to be the same format as RYA.

Originally Posted by Mook1e

Hi again. Does anyone have experience with the IYT Crew course in general and the Island Spirit Sailing School in Thailand specifically? I'm looking at the 5 day IYT Crew course and the 6 day IYT Bareboat Skipper course in Pattaya.