ASA Certification
- Thread starter CBIsailor
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Assuming you are planning to charter a boat, what you need do is satisfy the charter company that you know how to handle their boat. Certification is a marketing ploy of sort in that it may be worthwhile to learn basic skills but it proves little about boat handling ability. If you have no previous experience on which you can demonstrate proficiency, it's best to ask the charter company what they prefer.
I gathered from one of your posts that you're 14 years old? Good for you, to have so many years of sailing ahead of you!
That, however, may make for some interesting hoops to jump through, for both you and your parent(s)/guardian.
G'luck.
That, however, may make for some interesting hoops to jump through, for both you and your parent(s)/guardian.
G'luck.
Certifications? Certifications? We don't need no stinking certifications!
Can you give us more information about your voyage and your boat? What are your exact intentions?
Can you give us more information about your voyage and your boat? What are your exact intentions?
Certificates of training, from ASA or any other organization, only indicate that you have completed a specific set of training tasks. They are not "required" in order to take on any voyage.
On the other hand, experience is highly recommended prior to any open water sailing, especially when that water is exposed to the open ocean. And this leads to a question about your planned route.
At most, it looks like you might have 35.5 nm of open water from Boston's outer islands to the Cape's northern point. Short route would have you hug the coast to Green Harbor Town Pier and cross to the Cape from there. This would cut your open water distance in half (17.8 nm).
In my personal opinion, I wouldn't attempt a solo crossing like that, in your boat, unless I had several years of experience on those waters and I had very good radio aboard.
For the future, as others have pointed out, formal training certificates will get your foot in the door when/if you every charter. The most important part of your portfolio is a record of your sailing experience.
Take it in baby step before you head across 35 nm of semi-ocean water.
Well I'm not doing it solo, I'm taking 2 friends and a a family friend who has years of sailing experience in yachts. I'm('rents are) buying a Jeaneau 36i which seams like a reasonable boat to sail. I've sailed 75 ft boats but the Mediterranean was pretty calm when I sailed there.MSN-Travelers said:
My wife and I have bareboat chartered many times in the Caribbean and the Med. You'll find that in the Caribbean, they'll generally ask for a sailing resume.
Across the Atlantic, however, you'll generally need a certification, and a number of places are quite strict about what certification they'll accept. That's the reason my wife and I got our ASA certifications in 2000 even though we each had 20+ years sailing experience.
Even experienced sailors will learn quite a bit from these courses, and we combined our with a bareboat charter in the Grenadines. Fantastic way to do it.
You would be required to have a boater education card if a resident of Oregon and operating a boat of more than 10 HP in Oregon, regardless of age or destination but not required of a nonresident(verifiable).
http://www.boat-ed.com/state-laws.html
http://www.boat-ed.com/state-laws.html
Certification and/or license requirements ...
As I, and others, have indicated ...
Sailing is a pretty unregulated sport. You don't need to have any specific certificate of training or license to buy or sail a boat in most areas of this country. Some states may have requirements for a boater safety course and that requirement often depends on the size/type of boat and the size motor/engine it has. For MA, you can find the requirements that cover you at: http://www.boat-ed.com/ma/index.htm
Having said that, the boat "owner" may find that their insurance company may offer discounted rates if they have taken a specific boater safety course. Your parents' insurance company may have their own rules that cover when, where and who can operate their boat.
ASA and US Sailing are two organizations that represent boaters at the state and national level when new laws that affect us are being considered. They also have an educational mission and earning a certification from either indicated you have completed a specific course of instruction. They are not required in order for you to sail your parents boat. They do have value as a measure of your formal training when the time comes that you try to charter a boat. A license is not required in order to sail a boat to any given destination.
There is value in getting as much formal training as possible but it is not required to sail to the destinations you have indicated so far.
If you go back and look at your original posting, it looks like you are planning on a solo trip aboard your Sonar 23. I think the answers here are based on an assumption that you have some sailing experience and are looking at expanding your sailing horizon. Their is a huge difference between sailing as crew on your parents boat and being skipper of the boat.
As I, and others, have indicated ...
Sailing is a pretty unregulated sport. You don't need to have any specific certificate of training or license to buy or sail a boat in most areas of this country. Some states may have requirements for a boater safety course and that requirement often depends on the size/type of boat and the size motor/engine it has. For MA, you can find the requirements that cover you at: http://www.boat-ed.com/ma/index.htm
Having said that, the boat "owner" may find that their insurance company may offer discounted rates if they have taken a specific boater safety course. Your parents' insurance company may have their own rules that cover when, where and who can operate their boat.
ASA and US Sailing are two organizations that represent boaters at the state and national level when new laws that affect us are being considered. They also have an educational mission and earning a certification from either indicated you have completed a specific course of instruction. They are not required in order for you to sail your parents boat. They do have value as a measure of your formal training when the time comes that you try to charter a boat. A license is not required in order to sail a boat to any given destination.
There is value in getting as much formal training as possible but it is not required to sail to the destinations you have indicated so far.
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