History of International Yacht Training Worldwide and the Global Yacht Club.
International Yacht Training Worldwide (IYT), was started by Capt. Mark Fry in 1997 with the intention of standardising yacht training on a global scale. Mark is a lifelong Mariner with over 300,000 nautical miles and 20 years at sea, aboard sail training vessels and Superyachts.
Twenty five years ago, Mark owned and operated a Yacht delivery business based in the British Virgin Islands. Many of the Captains and crew that worked for him held different nautical qualifications from different organisations around the world, such as the Irish Yachting Association, U.S. Coastguard, U.S. Sailing, Yachting Australia, New Zealand Yachting, RYA and many others. Because everyone was operating to a different standard, Mark saw the opportunity of standardising nautical yacht training across the globe and the idea of IYT was born.
Since developing this concept, IYT has now grown to almost 300 Partner schools in 57 different countries teaching 28 nautical courses for recreational boaters and professional Superyacht crew. These courses are available in multiple languages with multiple Government approvals including Transport Canada, the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), the United States Coastguard, Marshall Islands Shipping Registry, Poland, Malta and many more. It is now possible to take your first IYT boating course in Canada, the next in Croatia, the next in Greece, Australia, Singapore, China and so on, or in any of the countries where IYT is currently represented. No nautical company has ever achieved this level of international acceptance or recognition before. As a company, IYT adheres to the most respected worldwide Quality Management System, ISO 9001:2015.
The IYT Global Yacht Club
IYT Worldwide is proud to announce the launching of the world’s first global yacht club. The IYT Global Yacht Club was inspired by the unique position IYT represents as the single largest and most respected provider of nautical training and accreditation around the world. The concept was to reach out to yacht clubs and their members worldwide with an invitation to join ranks under one, international umbrella. The idea of a Global Yacht Club was born when Mr. Victor Felice (an IYT partner school principle from “Tiller and Kites” in Arizona), met with the IYT management team in 2017 in their World Headquarters in British Columbia, Canada to discuss the idea of a global network of yacht clubs and sailing clubs. The idea is to bring together as many like-minded sailors, yachtsmen, boat owners, crew, nautical schools and enthusiasts from across the world into one dedicated yachting community to share a myriad of experiences, regattas, advice and stories. The GYC has now become a reality, and Victor has been appointed as the First Vice Commodore of the IYT Global Yacht Club.
Yacht clubs around the world generally offer “reciprocal rights” to a limited number of other yachts clubs, however, the GYC concept is to embrace thousands of yacht clubs and sailing clubs, from every country, to join the GYC, and to involve as many mariners as possible into this new worldwide association. A love of the sea, the sport, and the lifestyle is the bond that brings us all together. The IYT Global Yacht Club is like no other, it is a 21st century approach to a tried and trusted formula. It will be run more like an association or a corporation, with a designated Board of Directors responsible to its members to offer a continuum of ideas and plans for future development. It will have appointed officers and by laws just like any other yacht club, but there will be less stringent “rules and regulations” to adhere to. It will be fun, vibrant and deliver a unique approach to 21st century boating.