Yachting Qualifications

To hire a yacht anywhere abroad, either on bareboat or flotilla, then you will need some prior experience and a basic qualification to prove your skills, like an RYA Day Skipper or ICC qualification (International Certificate of Competence).

If you don’t have the necessary qualifications, then a two-week Stay Sail holiday to Vassiliki might be your best option. In week one we can train and qualify you with a Day Skipper and ICC, so you can then charter on our flotilla or bareboat in week two.

If you’re not interested in training then you can hire a skipper to do as much (or as little) of the sailing as you choose. More on Skippers

Beginner skipper fast track

As a beginner skipper we can get you trained up in a week

View our tuition courses

A full range of courses are available for you and the family, from Start Sailing to Coastal Skipper

Try a Stay Sail holiday

Get qualified to charter and take your Day Skipper while on a Stay Sail holiday in Vassiliki

Qualifications required

In order to charter a boat in Greece, or anywhere in the Med’ we’ll need to know that you can sail a yacht. At least two of you will need to be over 18 years old and have sailed before. And one of you will need a piece of paper to prove your qualifications.

As far as the paperwork is concerned, then you’ll need to have a certificate in one of the following; and then you’re good to go:

Accepted qualifications:

RYA Day Skipper, Coastal Skipper, Keelboat Level 2 or ICC qualification. More on how to take these courses with us.
The International Yacht Training (IYT) Flotilla Skipper or Bareboat Skipper certificate.
An International Certificate of Competence (ICC), (ICC), or equivalent qualification. The ICC assessment can be done as a half-day session in the UK (prior to departure) and we award it to all our Day Skippers. It is equivalent to a Day Skipper and suits those with sailing experience but no formal qualifications that want to hire boats abroad.

If you don't have any qualifications:

Documentation

Documentation If you’re already qualified then bring original copies of certificates with you so that the yacht base staff can check them. In the absence of such documentation or qualifications, then co-skippers may be asked to sign a self-declaration for the Port Authority stating his or her sailing experience.

In all instances, the Yacht Supplier reserves the right to insist a charterer hires a professional skipper if their sailing skills are not judged to be sufficiently adequate by yacht base staff. Ocean Elements cannot be responsible for expenses incurred by you, or any liability, should a person in authority, (flotilla skipper, yacht base or port authorities), deem it necessary to provide a professional skipper for safety reasons to assist you in sailing/motoring the chartered vessel during your holiday.

The Yacht Supplier reserves the right to insist the Charterer hires a professional skipper if their sailing skills are not judged to be sufficiently adequate by members of the Yacht-base staff.