[rtbates]

I have no credentials, just 25 years sailing and, like you, no one has ever asked to see my "sailing school diploma". My chartering experience has been that the company told me up front that a captain will be placed on board to gauge your abilities and he will stay until he feels you can handle it. He sat in the cockpit and watched as we prepared for departure. He observed how we handled getting away from the dock. He then asked us to raise the main, ease the sheets, etc. In all cases we've been maybe 100 yards off the dock when he said, "Ok, take me back and have a nice sail". He could have chosen to remain aboard, at our expense, for the entire charter. It's pretty obvious when someone doesn't have the experience or ability to handle a vessel.

It's also been my experience that cards and schools don't really mean much when it comes to the ability, or lack thereof, to handle a vessel. To a man, every captain I've questioned has said the same thing.