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What sailing experience does a charter base ask to see?
Short answer
A certificate shows an exam once passed, the miles show whether you have kept it up.
Many bases ask for a short sailing CV giving areas, boat sizes and the role you held,
and a logbook kept at the time is the strongest thing you can bring.
A certificate of competence records an exam sat on a particular day. It says nothing about whether you have sailed since, how big the boats were, or what water you have seen. Charter bases ask about exactly that, particularly for larger yachts, for catamarans and in demanding areas. The usual form is a short sailing CV: years, areas, boat sizes, the role you held on board, an approximate mileage, and when you were last in charge yourself. Somebody whose logged time is all inland or all in sheltered water does better to say so plainly.
What counts as proof is whatever can be followed up. A logbook kept at the time, with dates, passages, boat type and crew, carries the most weight because it was written as it happened. Alongside it come confirmations from sailing schools and charter companies, mile confirmations from passages where you stood a watch, and earlier charter contracts in your own name. A list written from memory is weaker but better than nothing, as long as it stays honest. Somebody who produces their own logbook at check in makes a better impression on a base than any round number ever will.
Do not dress the record up. The base decides on the strength of what you tell it whether to hand over a yacht of that size, and the first berthing manoeuvre shows quickly where the practice is missing. If something goes wrong, an overstated record becomes a second problem, because it touches the contract everything else rests on. If the miles are genuinely not there yet, the honest route is usually the better one: a smaller boat, a week with a professional skipper to build up, or an experienced friend named in the contract alongside you.
Worth remembering
Ticket
Shows an exam passed, not the practice since
Miles
Show areas, boat sizes and when you were last in charge
Keep a logbook even when nobody asks for one. It is the proof you will want later.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
How many miles does a charter base want?
There is no fixed number; it depends on the boat and the area. What matters more than the total is whether you have sailed recently and in similar conditions. Ask the base before booking what it expects for that particular yacht.
Do miles as crew count, or only as skipper?
Both count, but differently. Miles standing a watch show sea time, miles in charge show responsibility. Set them out separately in your sailing CV so the base can see which role you held on each passage.
What if I never kept a logbook?
Start one now and reconstruct earlier passages as accurately as you honestly can. Confirmations from charter companies or sailing schools help alongside it. Do not invent miles; it shows on the first day of the charter.
Related
Not sure whether you qualify?
Whether it is “What sailing experience does a charter base ask to see?” or another question: send us your residence and the flag your boat flies. You will get a straight answer in one email; including a no, if that is the answer.
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