Home / Compare / RYA vs American Sailing
RYA vs American Sailing
A fair comparison on paper, and a lopsided one in Australia.
RYA, unless you are training in North America or already hold ASA certificates. Australian ASA availability is limited enough that it is not a plan you can rely on.
RYA
The British scheme, with the strongest Australian school network.
American Sailing
The dominant scheme in the United States, numbered 101 upward.
| RYA | American Sailing | |
|---|---|---|
| Home market | United Kingdom, taught worldwide | United States |
| Australian availability | Widest of any international scheme | Limited — check before planning around it |
| Naming | Named courses: Competent Crew, Day Skipper | Numbered certificates: 101, 103, 104 |
| Entry level | Competent Crew | ASA 101 Basic Keelboat |
| Charter certificate | Day Skipper | ASA 104 Bareboat Cruising |
| Top level | Yachtmaster, by examination | ASA 108 Offshore Passagemaking |
| AMSA Sailing Master | Accepted (commercially endorsed Yachtmaster) | Not listed among the accepted prerequisites |
- you are training in Australia
- you may want an AMSA Sailing Master certificate later
- you want a school within reasonable reach
- Yachtmaster is the destination
- you already hold ASA certificates and want to continue the series
- you are chartering mainly in North America
- you are training while living in the United States
American Sailing is a serious, well-structured scheme with a large and loyal following. None of that helps if no school within a thousand kilometres teaches it.
The availability problem
ASA certification is uncommon in Australia. Some courses in the catalogue have effectively no Australian delivery at all. Before choosing ASA here, confirm with a specific school that they currently run the specific certificate you want — not that they "offer ASA".
Where ASA wins
In North America, ASA is the default. If your sailing life is going to happen out of a Californian or Caribbean charter base, ASA is the paperwork those operators read every day, and the numbered series is easy for them to assess at a glance.
The AMSA question
AMSA names commercially endorsed RYA Yachtmaster and IYT Master of Yachts qualifications as prerequisites for its Sailing Master certificates. ASA certificates do not appear in that list. For anyone with an eye on paid work in Australia, that alone settles it.
Decided? Now find a school.
Three questions — your experience, the boat you want to sail, and your goal — give you a starting course and the schools that teach it near you.