Having received the International Bareboat Skipper Certificate, you can independently charter a yacht and operate it in the waters of any country.

The International Bareboat Skipper course is a five day course. This course is not for beginners. This is a certificate of competency for those candidates who wish to train to command a vessel up to 24 metres in length, in fair weather and in sight of land.

Candidates should be 16 years of age or over.

To have logged with proof of a total of 200 nautical miles and 10 days at sea by the end of course.

Must have taken IYT’s International Crew physical course with an IYT Partner School (candidates must either hold an IYT International Crew Certificate proving they have taken and passed the course, OR, a gold seal affixed to the IYT Boating & Sailing Passport signed by the school’s principal). Or they must hold an equivalent qualification from another training organisation.

Hold an IYT VHF Radio Operators Certificate or equivalent from another training organisation.

* Please note that we do not accept ISSA VHF qualifications.

(If you are unsure if your radio license will be accepted, please send a scanned copy of the front and back of your license to support@iytworld.com. We will verify that your license is sufficient to receive the IYT International Bareboat Skipper license).

Note: For IYT recreational certification, a “day at sea” is defined as 8 hours at sea, but not at anchor for prolonged periods of time.

If the candidates don’t have a VHF Radio Operators Certificate they can take this course as well.

Certificate Limitations:

Command of a vessel up to a maximum length of 78 ft /24 metres.
In coastal waters up to 20 miles offshore
In fair conditions with moderate wind and sea conditions

Course Outline:

Responsibilities of a bareboat skipper
Crew safety checks
Hull and rig checks
Machinery and systems checks
Fuel and water capacity and range
Menus and quantities
Float plan
Sources of meteorological information
Weather patterns
Sea and land breezes
Cloud types and formations
Pilotage and passage planning
Considerations when planning a passage
Routine for navigating a coastal passage
Passage strategy
Port regulations, customs, immigration
Pilotage plans
Vessel handling in confined quarters
Mooring, anchoring, coming alongside
Ropes, knots, care and use of lines
General deck work
Tides and currents theory
Tidal heights, springs and neaps
Rule of “twelfths”
Position fixing, running fixes
Plotting the effect of tides and currents
Collision regulations
Lights, shapes and sounds
Application of the regulations
Advanced dingy handling