Activity Yachting Holidays
The following is some guidance on the issue of skipper’s qualifications. In all countries, before you can rent a yacht, it is understood that there must be someone on board that can take charge of the yacht as the skipper, and the normal wording on official paperwork, insurance documents etc refers to a “qualified skipper”. What is often a grey area however is exactly what makes a skipper qualified, and also if it is a legal requirement that that person must have some form of qualification, and if so issued by whom. This latter requirement can vary from one country to another, and it will also vary depending on the sailing trip and yacht size that you are considering. The most basic level of skipper’s qualification or experience may be fine for taking a yacht as part of a flotilla sailing in protected areas, but this may then not be sufficient for a Bareboat Charter in a more demanding area.
In Croatia possession of a skippers licence is a legal requirement, and a list of acceptable licences is published by the authorities, while in other countries like Turkey or Greece it is more of a grey area. In Greece for example they state on the Memorandum of Agreement for Self Sail charter (a document that all yacht charters in Greece are subject to) that there should be at least one "qualified skipper" and at least one "experienced crew member" but do not clarify what makes someone qualified. In every country the regulations always state that there must be a qualified skipper on the yacht, but so far Croatia is the only country (that we are aware of) which has actually produced a list of approved certification that they recognise. Where there is no defining list, then what is normally understood is that a person should have, as a minimum, whatever is legally required in their own country, if anything. Where there is no clearly stated licence requirement, and you come from a country like Ireland or the UK where possession of a skippers licence is not legally required to skipper a yacht, then in all cases the skipper should be able to justify the fact that they are taking responsibility as a skipper based on their existing experience. This is the basis by which many yachts have been offered for charter in the past (and some still are) but obtaining some form of licence from one of the internationally recognised training organisations, is definitely to be recommended, as this is what more and more insurance companies ask for. It is also worth pointing out that in most Mediterranean countries where you are likely to be doing your holiday sailing, that it is a legal requirement for the citizens of those countries to have some form of national licence before they can take out a yacht (even if it is only to a very basic level) so most people in authority in these countries expect anyone chartering a yacht in their country to have one as well, and this will often be the first thing that they will ask for in the event of any problems.
The issue of skippers qualifications applies equally to all yachts and sailing as part of a flotilla does not make any difference. Every yacht is registered as an individual yacht and as far as the authorities and insurance companies are concerned a flotilla is nothing more than a group of bareboats sailing in company. That said of course, a flotilla does offer much more support than sailing bareboat and flotilla areas are carefully chosen so they are ideal for newly qualified or less experienced skippers, but the responsibility still rests with each skipper to make sure that they have sufficient knowledge and experience to safely take charge of a craft in the area where they intend to charter, and where there is a clear paperwork requirement to ensure that they can conform to that.
For chartering in Croatia a list of acceptable licences, including the State or approved body issuing the licence can be viewed at.
http://www.mppi.hr/UserDocsImages/TABLICA%20ENGLISHMoU%20(2)%203_11.pdf
If the link does not open automatically just copy and paste it into the address bar of a browser.
While this list only applies to Croatia, we also suggest that it is a suitable guide to what is regarded as acceptable to skipper a yacht in most Mediterranean countries. Where then there is not a specific list for a country, if you do not have any paperwork then you should be able to clearly show that your existing experience is at least at the level to cover the type of sailing and size of yacht that you propose to skipper. As an IYT approved training establishment, if you do not have any paperwork, but do have the necessary experience to skipper a yacht, please contact us to discuss the various training courses or assessments including ICC assessments that we can offer in Croatia and Greece as part of a flotilla holiday.
The above information is intended for guidance purposes only and to the best of our knowledge is accurate, but we accept no responsibility for anybody relying totally on this information and if you have any doubts, you must clarify the details either with the supplier that you are chartering a yacht from, or by further checking the laws of the country where you intend to sail.