- P&N is not a Naval Sailing rating per se like Senior Crew, Watch Captain, Cruising Skipper, etc. P&N skills are required, however, for these ratings. To be qualified in P&N, one must demonstrate the ability to select and use nautical charts; identify chart symbols and relate them to corresponding visual observations; identify obstacles and shoal waters; take bearings with a handbearing compass; calculate, plot, and label fixed positions, tracks, dead reckoning positions, lines of position, and running fixes; calculate distance, speed and time; use tide and current tables; recommend safe course to steer; communicate with helmsman; maintain appropriate log; etc.

- Someone who has the training of, and is certified as, a Senior Crew and who the following rated individuals can fully rely upon to perform all tasks without diverting their attention or requiring them to check upon the successful completion of the tasks such as preparing the boat to get underway, trimming sails, piloting, navigation, handling the helm, communicating with other boats and ships via VHF, observing the Navigation Rules (Rules of the Road), anchoring, rafting, handling line, tying knots, assisting in docking, and securing the boat. The individual is trained to crew an offshore-capable, inboard auxiliary-powered sailing vessel within designated waters during daylight or night hours within sight of land in moderate wind and sea conditions.

- Someone who has the training of, and is certified as, a Watch Captain and who can be fully relied upon by the captain to lead a watch day or night in good weather or bad. The individual supervises a watch section sailing an offshore-capable, inboard auxiliary-powered sailing vessel with a qualified skipper, e.g., Cruising Skipper (D-CS), aboard during continuous passages across unfamiliar waters, day, night, and in reduced visibility in protected to moderate wind and sea conditions.

- Someone who has the training of, and is certified as, a Cruising Skipper (D-CS) and who commands an offshore-capable, inboard auxiliarypowered sailing vessel during short passages within designated waters, day, night, and in reduced visibility in protected to moderate wind and sea conditions.

ANSA membership required for enrollment in ANSA training courses.

ANSA membership is open to the general public. The cost of membership remains unchanged for 2012:

• $55 individual membership.
• $65 family membership.

ANSA membership application can be found here

If a student withdraws from a course, ANSA will make a refund according to the following sliding scale:

• Before the first session: 100% refund.
• After the first session: 90% refund.
• After the second session: 50% refund.
• After the third session: no refund.

This refund policy shall apply to ANSA's long courses, e.g., Piloting and Navigation, Senior Crew, Watch Captain, and D-Skipper. ANSA will make a refund for short courses only if a student withdraws before the first session. If extenuating circumstances exist, a student may appeal to the Rear Commodore for Training for an exception.

ANSA welcomes any member who has taken a given ANSA course in a previous year to audit that same course this year. The student may audit in one of two ways: with silent participation or full participation. To audit a course with silent participation, the member may attend the classroom sessions in a quiet mode without oral participation; may bring books, charts, navigation instruments, gear, etc. to the classes; and may participate in classroom exercises. Members auditing a course with silent participation should not diminish the instructor's full attention to the regular paying students. Cost is one-third of the regular fee. To audit a course with full participation (but without any testing), the cost is the same as the full regular fee.

ANSA's advanced sailing courses have prerequisites of obtaining a rating at the previous level. The reasons are:

• for uniformity among the courses,
• for uniformity among members' ratings,
• to help students advance fairly and meaningfully,
• for fairness to the member,
• for fairness to the other students in a course.

ANSA's Policies and Procedures document provides members with the ability to bypass a given course by exercising either a resume review procedure or a challenge procedure. These procedures allow a member the possibility to obtain a given ANSA rating. This means that if a member believes he/she has the abilities of a given rating but does not currently hold that rating, then the member may follow either of the two procedures. A positive outcome grants the rating to the member.

Currently, some of the ratings or courses for which members may have their resumes reviewed or may challenge are Piloting and Navigation, Senior Crew, Watch Captain, and D-Cruising Skipper. The standards for these ratings are embodied in the document titled "Local and Offshore Qualification Standards for Large Sail-Training Craft" dated 05-04. A copy of the document is found in ANSA's web site under Training Resources.

An example of the power of the resume review procedure or the challenge procedure follows: One of the prerequisites for the Watch Captain course and the D-Cruising Skipper course is being qualified as Senior Crew or Watch Captain, respectively. This means a prospective student must hold the Senior Crew rating before enrolling into the Watch Captain course; similarly the prospective student must hold the Watch Captain rating before enrolling into the D-Cruising Skipper course. If not currently holding the prerequisite rating, ANSA provides the prospective student with three options:

• take the course,
• request ANSA to review the member's resume, or
• challenge the rating.

The two procedures are found in Section 8.4 of "Membership and Activities Policies and Procedures of the Annapolis Naval Sailing Association", dated May 2005. Members interested in pursuing this should read the document as the wording of the requirements and procedures are very specific and too detailed to repeat here.

Members seeking qualification through resume review should submit the resume to the Qualifications Committee. For P&N, SC, and WC qualifications, the Quals Comm may award the qualification based on resume alone; however, the Quals Comm may require a check-ride. For D, members must pass a closed-book rules of the road exam (90% pass) and a practical navigation exercise which includes plotting; meet the First Aid and CPR requirements of students taking the equivalent ANSA course; have a successful skipper check-out; and successfully complete a check-ride. The Quals Comm will arrange contact between a member and the assigned proctor for requirements and check-ride.

For challenges the procedures are similar.

Please feel free to address any questions to the Rear Commodore for Training at training@ansa.org.