Although there are many amazing sailing destinations right here in the United States, many of us crave to explore destinations far far away, and making that possible is a big part of what the American Sailing Association is all about.

When it comes to chartering overseas a sizable number of countries require an International Proficiency Certificate that lets them know the charterer is trained, qualified and prepared to take one of their boats put to sea. In fact, it's mandatory when chartering in most European / Mediterranean waters. Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and Turkey are all countries that prefer to see the certification or, in some cases, insist the charterer has it.

Fortunately, the ASA 104 course is quite similar to the IPC so students can now earn 104 and simply fill out the online application for the IPC, pay the fee, and become internationally certified. Once that's done, we highly recommend chartering and sailing the Med - you will never forget it.