How Do I Choose a Sailing School?

Any school can issue a ‘course completion certificate’ and many will give you a local skipper’s license. If you want a certificate that will be taken seriously you should choose a center that is recognized by one of the leading bodies.
The main one that you will come across is ASA (American Sailing Association). The ASA is an American organization with a highly respected syllabus. Every year 210,000 people take an ASA training class and their schools are available worldwide. All ASA certified training centers are inspected and must meet demanding standards which include safety equipment and procedures on all the training sailboats, qualifications of instructors, syllabus, maximum student: instructor ratio of 5:1. Sailnorthwest Sailing School has a student limit of three per class.
If you are mainly interested in a sailing vacation you may not require a school that can offer you these high standards, but you should bear in mind what you are getting when considering whether you are being offered value for money.
www.sailnw.com/school.html