Yacht charter without a license

Yacht charter without a license – is that even possible? YES! Each country has its own set of sailing licenses. Some licenses have a hull length limit, a hull weight limit or forbid sailing at night. Some countries, like Croatia, additionally to a sailing license, require SRC license to charter a yacht. No matter the license, getting them means finishing a training, passing an exam or confirming that you have sailed a specific number of hours on a specific kind of waters.

What if no one in your crew has any of the licenses? Then you have to hire a person who will sail a yacht you chartered …and that is a skipper. However, there are several possibilities to choose from: you can hire a local skipper, a skipper who will come with you from your country, and also look for a skipper among friends or family.

The first is to use a local skipper. Such a person knows the yacht, shipowner and the surrounding area well, so sailing with him/her is safe and interesting. Such a skipper knows well what to see and in which bay to dock. The crew only has to determine what they are interested in: does they prefer to explore the landmarks, admire the views from the peaks, or maybe ride on donkeys and try base-jumping? There are plenty of opportunities! Those who choose this option must remember, however, that it is the most expensive option available. The price for such a service varies between EUR 700 and EUR 1100 per week, and the problem here may be the language barrier (if not every crew member is fluent in English or German). In addition, it should be remembered that it is customary for the crew to bear the cost of their boarding.

The second option is to use the services of a skipper from your country. In this case, a serious problem for some people disappears, that is the language barrier. It is good to choose a skipper who we know something about, for example, someone knows him and recommends him. Then we can be sure of the safety of both our crew and the chartered yacht. When choosing a skipper from your country, you should be prepared to cover the costs of boarding and travel to the charter site. A good skipper can cost us between 400 and 700 EUR per week.

The third, but also very beneficial option is to find a skipper among family or friends. Such a skipper will be more familiar to us, which will certainly have a positive impact on the relationship between the crew members. At the very beginning of such cooperation, it is worth determining whether the crew covers the costs of travel, accommodation and boarding of such a skipper and who will be responsible for any damage caused to the yacht (it is worth to consider an insurance!).

Yacht charter without a license is possible, so if you are not qualified, don’t give up! Who knows, maybe you will fall in love with a yacht so much that you will spend the next few years learning and improving your sailing skills so that you can drive the yacht yourself in the future? 😉

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