Bareboat Family Charter: What Qualifications You Need to Skipper a Holiday Yacht

You've done some sailing, you've got the family on board with the idea, and now you're looking at bareboat yacht charters. No skipper, just you, your crew, and a week or two on the water.

Then the forms start: "Please upload your licence", "Attach your sailing CV", "How many days as skipper in the last 2 years?".

This guide explains what charter companies actually look for when approving you as the skipper on a family bareboat charter and how to present your experience so they can say "yes" with confidence.

For UK-based bareboat charters (Solent, West Country, Clyde etc.), the legal situation is relatively relaxed, but charter companies set their own bar.

Many UK operators expect the named skipper to hold at least RYA Day Skipper (Practical) or equivalent, and will strongly prefer if you also hold or can get an ICC (International Certificate of Competence), especially if you plan to sail abroad later.

Typical UK ask:

• RYA Day Skipper Practical (or higher – Coastal/Yachtmaster also fine)
• Some weekend / holiday experience as skipper on similar boats
• Basic tidal awareness for areas like the Solent

They're not expecting you to be a Yachtmaster, they just want to know you're not about to stick a 40-footer on a sandbank at 8 knots.

The Med is where it gets stricter, because port authorities enforce their own rules and the charter company has to play by them.

Patterns across operators in Greece, Croatia, Italy, Spain, etc.:

• At least one person must hold a recognized sailing licence or certificate (often ICC or RYA Day Skipper Practical / Coastal Skipper / Yachtmaster).
• Some authorities don't accept certain Day Skipper variants (e.g. some "tidal restricted" versions) and may insist on ICC or fuller qualifications.
• Charter companies will ask you to upload scans of your certificates in advance so they can check everything passes at the local port.

If you're a UK sailor, the usual route is:

• Do RYA Day Skipper Practical, then
• Apply to the RYA for an ICC endorsed for sail/coastal, using your Day Skipper as evidence.

That combo (Day Skipper + ICC) is widely accepted by Med charter companies and port authorities for typical family bareboat charter yachts under 50ft.

In many non-Med destinations (parts of the Caribbean, some Pacific areas, some long-haul bases), the law doesn't mandate a licence, so companies rely more heavily on your sailing resume:

• Operators like Dream Yacht explicitly say that certification isn't always required; you can instead submit a sailing CV showing enough relevant experience.
• Others (Moorings, Sunsail, Helm, etc.) will still strongly encourage ICC/Day Skipper because it gives them a clean, recognized proof of competence.

If you're UK-based, having Day Skipper + ICC is still the sensible baseline, even if a specific island technically doesn't require it.

Once the bit of paper is ticked, the charter company wants to know you can apply it in the real world.

Different brands phrase it differently, but common themes:

• Days / miles as skipper – e.g. "20 days or 400 miles as skipper on an equivalent size yacht" for higher experience levels.
• Boat size – they care if you've actually handled something in the 30–50ft range, not just dinghies.
• Recency – sailing you did 15 years ago is less convincing than the last 2–3 seasons.
• Conditions – bonus points for experience with:

  • Marina berthing
  • Anchoring and mooring buoys
  • Night entries (ideally not your first time on holiday with the kids)

Most big operators have you fill in a skipper resume form or upload a sailing CV. Examples:

• Moorings use a Yacht Charter Resume form with sections on boat size, days sailed, tidal experience, etc.
• Sunsail and others have similar "experience" questionnaires tied to their sailing-level system.
• Many Greek charter outfits ask for a sailing resume alongside the skipper's licence.

If you're marginal: they might:

• Suggest a checkout / assessment sail on day one
• Offer a local skipper for the first day or two, then step off when they're happy
• Restrict you to smaller boats on your first trip

Some destinations (especially Greece) expect not just a qualified skipper but also a competent second adult on board:

• Greek rules typically require one licensed skipper plus one experienced co-skipper; some port authorities want the co-skipper to sign a declaration of competence.
• Some companies prefer the co-skipper to hold at least an entry-level certificate or demonstrable experience.

For a family bareboat charter, that usually means:

• You're the named skipper, and

  • Your partner / friend is listed as co-skipper who:
  • Can helm and hold a course
  • Can handle lines and fenders
  • Understands basic safety and MOB drills

If nobody else on board can competently help, some operators will gently nudge you toward a skippered charter for your first trip, or at least a day or two with a skipper up front.

In a lot of charter areas, if the boat has a VHF (it will), someone on board is expected to hold a VHF/SRC certificate:

• Operators like Moorings specify that for many destinations you need ICC or RYA Day Skipper plus a VHF licence.
• Sunsail's destination requirements also call out VHF qualifications in certain countries.

For UK sailors that typically means:

• RYA Short Range Certificate (SRC) – 1-day course + practical assessment, lifetime valid.

Practically, most charter companies are happy as long as:

• The skipper or the co-skipper has SRC, and
• You note it correctly on your pre-departure forms.

Charter companies and insurers often set minimum age thresholds for bareboat skippers, even if the law doesn't:

• Common minimum age: 18–21 to be named skipper. Some want 21+ for larger yachts or Med bases.

  • If you're under 25 with limited miles, expect more scrutiny and maybe:
  • Smaller boat
  • Requirement for extra training / skipper
  • Higher deposit / excess

If you're older (50s/60s) but current and experienced, that's usually fine for family bareboat, unlike commercial work, there's rarely a hard upper limit, though travel insurance and personal health are still your problem to solve.

Most of the admin happens before you even get to the marina. For a family bareboat charter, expect to be asked for:

• Copy of skipper's licence

  • ICC and/or RYA certificate
  • ASA / US Sailing / NauticEd papers if you're not UK-based
• VHF / SRC certificate (if required for area)
• Skipper sailing CV / resume

  • Days as skipper, boat sizes, where you've sailed, recent trips
• Crew list

  • Names, passport numbers, dates of birth (needed for port authorities in many Med countries)
• Passport copies for everyone, especially outside the UK
• Emergency contact details

At the base, they'll also want:

• Your credit card for the security deposit or damage waiver
• Confirmation you've read the area brief (hazards, local rules, VHF channels)

For bareboat family charter you're not arranging the yacht's full insurance, the operator does that, but you are:

• Accepting a damage excess (if you break it, you pay up to £X)
• Leaving a security deposit (often £2,000–£5,000+ depending on yacht and base), or
• Paying a non-refundable damage waiver + smaller deposit

These numbers aren't random; they're tied to the charter company's own insurance policy and claim history, and they're one reason they care so much about your competence.

Worth being explicit, especially alongside the commercial charter skipper requirements:

For a normal family bareboat holiday, you generally do not need:

• MCA Commercial Endorsement
• ENG1 medical
• Professional indemnity insurance as a skipper
• Yachtmaster Offshore/Ocean (nice to have, not required for typical 35–45ft holiday boats)

Those belong in the professional charter skipper / paid work world, not the family sailing holiday space.

From the charter company's point of view, the dream scenario is:

• 1. Clear, recognized licence (ICC / Day Skipper / equivalent)
• 2. A tidy sailing CV that matches that licence with real recent miles
• 3. No gaps, no drama, all uploaded well before you fly out

That's where something like a Sailing CV / logbook on Crew the Boat makes life easier:

• You track:

  • Trips, miles, days as skipper
  • Boat sizes and types
  • Where you've sailed in the last few seasons
• You can export a clean summary to attach to charter applications instead of re-entering the same data into every different operator's form.

You're not trying to look like a commercial pro, just calmly competent.

Before you start firing off enquiries, make sure you can honestly tick most of this list:

• I (the skipper) hold RYA Day Skipper Practical or equivalent, or I'm booked to get it done.
• I have or can obtain an ICC for sailing yachts in coastal waters.
• Someone on board has a VHF / SRC certificate (ideally me).
• I can point to at least 10–20 days skippering or co-skippering similar-sized yachts in the last few years.
• I have a basic sailing CV / logbook I can email or upload.
• My co-skipper (partner/friend) can handle basic helming and lines.
• I'm comfortable with parking a boat in a marina, not just sailing in a straight line.
• I understand I'll be asked for a damage deposit or waiver and I've budgeted for it.

If most of this is a "yes", you're in a good place for a standard family bareboat charter. If not, the usual next steps are:

• Do a Day Skipper / ICC course
• Book a skippered charter or one-day checkout first time around
• Start building up your sailing CV so the next charter company can say "yes" more quickly