Home / For international owners / Cruising
Flotilla sailing: who is in charge and who is liable?
Short answer
The lead crew plan the route, pick the harbours and give weather advice.
Command of each yacht still rests with the skipper named on the charter agreement,
and so does responsibility for the boat and the people on it.
A flotilla holiday in Greece, Croatia or Turkey is how many British and Irish sailors take their first yacht out without an instructor aboard. Several boats cruise together, a lead boat with a skipper, a host and an engineer goes ahead, plans each leg and helps with lines in tight harbours. It feels like sailing with a safety net. In law it usually is not. Each yacht is chartered separately, each has its own named skipper, and that skipper is the one in command of the boat.
That leads to the distinction that matters. The lead crew advise, the skipper decides. If the lead skipper thinks a passage is fine in a building meltemi and you think it is too much, you stay in harbour, and that is not only your right but your duty. The reverse also holds: advice from the lead boat does not take the responsibility off you if you sail and something goes wrong. Damage another yacht while mooring stern to, pull out a laid mooring or injure a swimmer, and the claim is against you, not against the flotilla. Whether the operator shares the blame for bad advice depends on the contract and the facts, and it is hard to prove afterwards.
Before you book, settle three things. First, how the booking terms describe the lead crew, as guides who accompany you or as people who give instructions. Second, that you are the named skipper and that the operator accepts your ICC, RYA certificate or other qualification for that yacht in that area, flotilla or not. Third, whether you hold your own skipper liability insurance. Boats in a flotilla spend a lot of time rafted up and berthing side by side, which makes a scrape with a neighbour more likely than on a cruise of your own.
Worth remembering
Lead crew
plan, advise and help you berth
Skipper
commands the yacht and answers for it
Advice from the lead boat is not insurance. Command and responsibility stay with you.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
Do I need my own qualification on a flotilla?
Usually yes, because you are skippering the yacht yourself. Ask the operator which certificate they accept for the boat and cruising area you have booked, and keep the answer in writing.
Do I have to do what the lead skipper says?
Take the advice seriously, but the decisions on board are yours. If you think a leg is beyond you or your crew, stay put and tell the lead boat.
Who pays if I damage the next yacht while rafted up?
The claim is against you as skipper. Whether insurance responds depends on the yacht's own liability cover and on any skipper liability policy you hold. Report it to the lead crew and the base at once and take photographs.
Related
Not sure whether you qualify?
Whether it is “Flotilla sailing: who is in charge and who is liable?” 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.
Was this useful?
