Chartering in Malaysia around Langkawi: paperwork and season

Langkawi is a group of islands off the west coast of Malaysia in the Andaman Sea, close to the Thai border. Chartering around Langkawi means green islands, mangroves and quiet anchorages, and part of the area is protected as a geopark and marine park. The base supplies the yacht with its registration and insurance. Your paperwork is the skipper's qualification, a VHF licence, passports and crew details. For your own entry into Malaysia, check the Foreign Office travel advice or your own government's equivalent before you go.

Most bases ask for a recognised sea qualification such as the ICC, RYA Day Skipper or Yachtmaster, or an equivalent national certificate, along with skippering experience; if you lack it, many will provide a skipper. The season follows the monsoon. During the northeast monsoon, roughly November to April, the west coast is usually drier and calmer, and that is the main charter season. In the southwest monsoon there is more rain, and violent squalls can sweep through, often at night. A hop to the Thai islands to the north is a foreign passage with clearance out and in.

Before you book, ask whether the base allows trips into Thai waters at all, what papers it provides and where and when you can clear out and in. Ask to be shown the protected areas with their mooring buoys and anchoring bans. Avoid moving at night, because fishing boats and nets are hard to see in the dark, and watch the forecast for thunderstorms. You are personally liable for damage you cause to others with the charter yacht, so make sure your own skipper liability insurance applies in Asia.

Worth remembering

Around Langkawi the monsoon and the border shape the trip; settle both before you book.