>>1781952It was just something I happened to fall into so I couldn't tell you about any sort of certification. I did a bit of recreational sailing when I was younger, but I was mostly recruited because of my height. If you are looking to get practiced, there is no better way to do it if you have an enthusiastic captain. Go to a yacht club and ask around. Once you get your foot in the door on one boat, you'll have opportunities to sail with other crews. You'll learn a lot about rigging, but when you're actually on the water, you'll be doing mostly one thing unless it's a small crew. Bowman is where you'll probably get the most experience, but it's an absolute fucking nightmare. Worst thing I'd have to do would be to awkwardly shuffle to the bow when the hull is essentially perpendicular to the water and pull the foot of the jib out of the water to reduce drag. You have no grip and everything is soaking wet. Spinnakers are pretty awful too. You have a rather complex maneuver where you need to unhook and rehook the spinnaker pole, and if you don't move fast enough, there's a serious risk of damaging the sail.
Yacht racing is a completely different beast from dinghy racing or a pleasure cruise. Of the two years I was doing it, something would go wrong every single time. There is not a moment where you aren't thinking about the multiple ways you can die. You'll become very proficient very quickly, though. To answer your question: yes.
