sailing certifications and licenses

Each charter destination varies as to government or Port Authority requirements. While a sailing license is required in some designations, what is definite, however, is that every location requires an adequate sailing resume to bareboat skipper a boat on charter. A sailing certification as a stand-alone document is simply not sufficient.

Required or not, it is prudent to gain the proper education and skills to bareboat charter. For this reason, NauticEd offers the SLC, a global sailing license that contains all the necessary elements to be legally licensed as well as competent. Start your SLC licensing process now. Purchase the required Bareboat Charter Master bundle of courses now.

Some terminology:

• A sailing certification is an acknowledgement and indication that the student has done some degree of training but it does not necessarily confer status of competence.
• A sailing license is not a certification; a license is an official document issued by a government recognized sailing body.
• A sailing resume documents any and all of your on-the-water sailing experience, any formal instructor training, and your theory knowledge.

Let’s go through the various charter destination requirements to discover how NauticEd can help you qualify to charter.

Mediterranean:
All Mediterranean destinations require a sailing license and an adequate sailing resume.

Caribbean:
No sailing license or certification is required in the Caribbean, BUT you must have an adequate sailing resume.

Pacific:
No sailing license or certification is required in the Pacific regions such as French Polynesia, Australia, New Zealand or Tonga, BUT you must have an adequate sailing resume.

Belize:
A rubber stamp license is required in Belize; this is organized by the charter company. In addition, you must have an adequate sailing resume.

Seychelles:
The Seychelles require a sailing license and an adequate sailing resume.

Asia:
No sailing license or certification is required in Asia. However, stay tuned-- some Asian countries are changing their requirements. You must have an adequate sailing resume.

How do I Gain a Sailing License?

There are two main government recognized sailing bodies who can issue a sailing license.

• NauticEd: Issues the SLC (Sailing License and Credentials).
• Royal Yachting Association (RYA): Issues the ICC (International Certificate of Competence).

NauticEd is the only USA sailing education body that is Coast Guard approved for administering sailing education and training that meets the American National Standards EDU-3. NauticEd holds very high standards for issuing its SLC license. The SLC is easy to get if and only if you know your stuff. For more details, see www.nauticed.org/SLC.

The ICC, another globally recognized sailing license, was created by United Nations under Resolution 40. NauticEd can facilitate you obtaining the ICC through our affiliation with the RYA. The ICC requires an on-the-water assessment; North American locations are limited, however, to Fort Lauderdale, Toronto, and Halifax. For details on gaining the ICC see here.

How do I Gain an Adequate Sailing Resume to Charter?

A charter company often determines competency by review of the charterer’s sailing resume, regardless of certifications or licenses. . A sailing resume describes your practical on-the-water sailing experience, your sailing knowledge education, any formalized training, and any skills assessments. NauticEd offers free sophisticated online software that will automatically generate a sailing resume and keep it in the cloud for you forever. See here for a detailed description of what defines an adequate resume for charter.

Why is a Sailing Certification Not Sufficient?

A sailing certification is different than a sailing license. No yacht charter company or Port Authority accepts a sailing certification as a stand-alone document verifying the competence of the Charterer. This is because of too many rubber-stamp-certifying bodies issuing such certifications without a real assessment of competence. There are no real zero-to-hero 7-day charter ready programs. While a certification is encouraged, a sailing certification is really an acknowledgement and indication that the student has done some degree of training, but it does not confer status of competence.

Get started now by purchasing the required Bareboat Charter Master bundle of courses now.

The process begins with the proper education and knowledge. The NauticEd Bareboat Charter Master bundle of courses is designed to provide this knowledge.

To charter a yacht on a sailing vacation, at a minimum, you need an appropriate sailing resume. An acceptable resume will show an appropriate amount of sailing experience as the master of the vessel on a similar sized vessel that you are wanting to charter, relevant sailing theory knowledge via courses you have taken, and any formal on the water training program if you have any. Without a doubt, you cannot substitute sufficient amounts of real sailing experience. You simply must have experience. We recommend at least 50 days; 25 at least as master of the vessel and 25 at least on a vessel greater than 28 feet. Some charter companies will let you get by with less, but we promote prudence. And prudence comes from experience.

So, if experience is the key to an appropriate sailing resume then how do you gain experience if you can't rent a boat to gain the experience? In this article we show 19 ways to gain experience without owning a boat.

Our highest recommendation for learning to charter a yacht on a sailing vacation is to charter the yacht WITH a professional captain for the first time around and at the same time take the NauticEd Bareboat Charter Master bundle of courses. If you’ve had plenty of sailing experience at home or other locations, then you can probably get away with the NauticEd online courses. If you feel that you have the confidence and competence, still, we recommend at least some formal bareboat type training in your local waterway with one of our practical training schools in addition to the NauticEd courses prior to heading out.

To begin, start with the Bareboat Charter Master bundle of courses now. You will be given a free electronic logbook to log any past and future experience which helps build your sailing resume.

If you’re not ready yet, start with the Bareboat Charter Master bundle of courses now which will give you essential knowledge to begin your journey.

There are so many opportunities to explore beyond being your own skipper that can give you a fantastic introduction to the world of sailing vacations. We have a variety of exotic sailing adventures, dedicated family adventures, long distance mile building adventures, and more for the novice and the inexperienced as well as the experienced wanting to stretch their sails a little more.

Or, see our Sailing Opportunities page where we list out the various types of exciting adventures and opportunities.

NauticEd is fully recognized by the United States Coast Guard as an official Sailing Education company providing on-the-water skills training and assessment and online theory knowledge courses which meet the American National Standards for boating training, EDU-3.

Additionally, global port authorities and yacht charter companies recognize the NauticEd SLC as an acceptable sailing license. In particular, countries in the Mediterranean and the Seychelles who rigidly require a valid legal sailing license accept the NauticEd SLC. Esteemed yacht charter companies such as The Moorings, Sunsail, Dream Yacht Charter, Navigare Yachting, Hermes Yachting, White Sails, Sailing Sicily, Waypoint, Astarea, Oasis Sailing, Spartivento, Angelina Yachting, Baotic Yachting, Ultra Sailing, Under the Heavens, NCP, MG, Orvis, Barcondo, EGO Charters, Istion, Thrace, Star Sail, Pitter, and other top quality charter companies recognize NauticEd as a leader in sailing education, certifications, and legal licensing.

You can be assured that NauticEd on-the-water training, its certifications, and the SLC license all meet and exceed global standards. It is no wonder that NauticEd students are our advocates.