The Caribbean Sailing Association was previously called the Caribbean Yachting
Association and prior to that the West Indies Yachting Association. It is a
federation of territories and sailing clubs of the Caribbean who associated
in order to practically promote sailing activities in the Eastern Caribbean.
The CSA operates in parallel with the world body of sailing which is the International
Sailing Federation (ISAF) (previously called the IYRU). In each country the
ISAF has a "National Member Authority". Some of the clubs are themselves
National Authorities, some are federations and others are clubs associated to
another federation or another national authority depending on the political
status of the territory. They all have in common geographical proximity in the
Eastern Caribbean.
One of the major functions of the CSA is to maintain a handicap rule for larger
yachts which allows the enormous variety of boats that are present in the Caribbean
and that visit the Caribbean to race without a huge cost of measurement. The
CSA rule is a measurement rule which minimizes inconsistencies that might occur
through subjective estimates of a boat's speed potential. The rule is managed
by a chief measurer and supported by measurers in each of the member territories.
The CSA also supports dinghy racing by sanctioning a number of Caribbean Championships
and holding an annual dinghy championship in Antigua in 2008 hosted by the
AntiguaYacht
Club.