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Sailing qualifications & experience

We must by law ensure our yachts are chartered by suitably qualified & experienced skippers, but more importantly, the safety of your crew depends upon your knowledge and skill.

We are happy to advise on sailing areas based on your & your crew’s sailing experience.

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Qualifications & experience you will require

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We are required by insurance and safety regulations to ensure our yachts are chartered by suitably qualified and experienced skippers and crew. The type of charter and the route you select will have a bearing on the qualification and experience you will require. Here we give some guidelines:

Bareboat yacht charter

For a bareboat charter you will require a skipper qualified to:

  • At least RYA Day Skipper Practical Sailing Course, or
  • An ‘International Certificate for Operator of Pleasure Craft’ with Sail endorsement (ICC), or
  • Other equivalent national qualification/ticket
Please also advise us of any previous charters as skipper, other sailing experience as skipper of a yacht or if you are owner of a similar sized yacht.

Flotilla charter/sailing holiday

For a flotilla charter/holiday you will require a skipper qualified to:

  • At least RYA Day Skipper Practical Sailing Course, or
  • An ‘International Certificate for Operator of Pleasure Craft’ with Sail endorsement (ICC), or
  • Other equivalent national qualification/ticket, or
  • Completion of a three or six day pre-flotilla course with us
Please also advise us of any previous flotilla holidays, bareboat charters as skipper or if you own a similar sized yacht. If you have had some years dinghy sailing and have some basic navigational knowledge, a three or six day pre-flotilla course will be sufficient.

Assisted bareboat yacht charter

As you are the skipper on an assisted bareboat charter, with someone there to assist you, the sailing qualification and experience requirements for the skipper are the same as for a bareboat yacht charter; you are the skipper and so must be suitably experienced.

Skippered yacht charter

Unlike the assisted bareboat yacht charter, on a skippered charter the skipper we provide is responsible for the vessel and so you need have no prior experience or sailing qualifications. Like a bareboat yacht charter you can wander as you please, subject to the skipper’s decision, but unlike a bareboat yacht charter you have the skipper to be responsible for all decisions relating to the yacht.


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A Greek Sails yacht at anchor looking out across the Hydra channel during a flotilla sailing holiday, Greece
A Greek Sails yacht at anchor looking out across the Hydra channel during a flotilla sailing holiday, Greece
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