What Qualifications Do I need to Charter a Yacht?

Published: June 24, 2021 Dominique Wright

Before you start planning your sailing vacation, it is best to double-check the experience level and qualifications needed to charter a yacht in your chosen destination. Sunsail has put a list of destinations into each level of experience needed depending on the conditions with level 1 being the easiest and level 3 the most challenging. Although these sailing levels are for guidance only, they will provide you will an idea of the conditions, qualifications needed, and key information before you charter a yacht.

Level 1 Sailing Destinations

Sailing Conditions

Level 1 sailing destinations are ideal for beginners. The waters are calm with line-of-sight sailing with the wind at around 5-20 knots. You can island-hop your way around and relax knowing that the mooring options are easier too. In the Mediterranean, the moorings are generally stern-to-mooring whilst in the Caribbean, there are buoys.

Sailing Destinations

Lefkas, Greece
Corfu, Greece
Agana, Croatia
Dubrovnik, Croatia
The British Virgin Islands
Australia, Whitsundays

Qualifications

Five days or 100 miles as skipper on an equivalent size yacht.
International Certificate of Competence (ICC) or RYA Day Skipper is compulsory for Croatia and Greece.
Sailors must have basic knowledge of charts and be able to plot their position.

Level 2 Sailing Destinations

Sailing Conditions

Level 2 sailing destinations are intermediate level with a mix of blue water stretches and line-of-sight sailing with the wind at around 10-20 knots. The mooring is mostly anchoring, with protected anchorages, Mediterranean-style anchoring, and/or marina slips.

Sailing Destinations

Qualifications

10 days or 200 miles as skipper on an equivalent size yacht.
RYA Day Skipper.
ICC or Day Skipper is compulsory for Croatia, Greece, Italy, and Spain.
Sailors will need to understand the tidal flow and be able to navigate in open water.

Level 3 Sailing Destinations

Sailing Conditions

In level 3 sailing destinations, you can expect consistent, stronger trade winds at around 10-25 knots with plenty of blue water sailing to enjoy. The mooring is largely anchoring and there are some more exposed anchorages with poor anchor holding ground.

Sailing Destinations

Portsmouth, UK
Vancouver Island, North America
Belize
Exumas, Bahamas
St Lucia
Grenada
Mahé, Seychelles

Qualifications

20 days or 400 miles as skipper on an equivalent size yacht
RYA Day Skipper with experience to a higher level
RYA Coastal Skipper
ICC with experience to a higher level
A Temporary certificate of competence is compulsory in Belize
Understand large tidal variations, deal with strong currents, and be able to make a passage plan.

Additional rules you will need to take into account:

In Croatia, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Seychelles, there must be at least one skipper who is over 18 years old.
In Greece, there must also be one experienced crew member at ‘Competent Crew’ level or a similar/equivalent certificate from any recognized sailing association. This crewmember must also be over 18 years old.
In Croatia and Seychelles, skippers are required to have a VHF Radio Operators License.
The skipper must be able to handle a yacht in close quarters, anchor and moor in all conditions, as well as have navigation and pilotage skills to plan a days sailing.
Skippers must take their original skippers license or certificate in case the Port Authorities ask to see it.
There are some destinations that don’t require a sailing qualification or licenses such as BVI or Grenada, however, you would be required to fill in a sailing CV to show that you are competent in chartering a yacht.