Would like to charter. Question: Does the RYA theory part suffice?

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Pyramid

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Or do I have to have the Practical aspect of their qualification to charter?

Often the requirement is that at least Day Skipper or ICC is required by chartering outfits, but what is looked for - the Theory or the Practical? It's not clear!

I own and sail a Beneteau 36 regularly in the Thames Estuary and the East Coast and delivered my previous boat from the south coast single handed. I have the practical abilities, but do see the merits of refreshing my understanding and knowledge of navigation techniques and the use of charter plotter technology. So I am considering embarking on one of the RYA theory courses. But I don't really want to spend a load of money sailing one of their boats, to get the Practical aspect, when I do the Practical stuff every time I take my boat out.
I would also like to perhaps charter a yacht sometime say West Scotland or the Med and this brings me back to the question, will the theory qualifiication suffice?
 
I doubt that an RYA theory bit of paper will help much.
In many countries (eg UK for your West Scotland example) there is no legal requirement for any formal certificates. Hence it becomes a matter of commercial judgement by the charter company. With a track record of owning and sailing your own boat, I would have thought you should not have any major issues.

For countries who have a legal requirement, or charter companies with more rigid rules, the RYA Theory paper won't cut it. It is meaningless formally.
As in other posts, doing an ICC practical test in your own boat should be an afternoon and not much dosh and probably worthwhile for charter purposes even if not essential
 
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The Icc is generally sufficient & not onerous or expensive to obtain from your described experience A day skip is nice to see. We have sailing school that can offfer both - It is possible to combine gaining the above with a charter depending on circumstances.
 
My experience with this is that UK charters often want DS practical plus VHF for skipper or other demonstrable equivalent, and comp crew or better for at least one other person. Med charters vary wildly, with ICC seeming to be the lowest common denominator.
 
As already suggested if you are chartering in the Med then an ICC will be accepted by most. Croatia is an odd exception, as although in general their requirements are more rigorous, their official list does not differentiate between the "theory" completion and the actual certificate. However that is not a reason to take a theory course rather than an ICC. The latter should not present any difficulty for somebody with your experience and is pretty universally accepted by overseas charter companies and officials. Unsurprising really as that it is why it was introduced.

As for UK charters, there are no legal requirements so it is the operator who sets the requirements and you would expect them to be able to get some assurance that the person taking away their £100k+ value boat is competent. Having the appropriate RYA qualification would certainly help, and indeed may be a requirement of their insurer. The only way to find out is to ask.
 
The answer depends where you want to charter.
The UK has no requirements, so its all down to the charter company. It's easy to say a sailing resume will probably suffice. It depends on the resume. The Theory will help with the resume. So will having your own boat.
There are some jurisdictions where formal qualifications are required. you would need to ask.

My thought, if you have the time it will probably be interesting and beneficial just on a personal level. You may find some of the knowledge useful for sailing your own boat in your own local area.

Further down the road maybe just challenging the YM exam on your own boat maybe worth your while.
 
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The Day Skipper Certificate is only granted after five days with a sailing school and the instructor signs the bit of paper.

Why not book a Yachtmaster, coastal or offshore, and go with that. It should be cheaper than a weeks course.
 
Many thanks all. Just what I was looking for, a definitive answe. The Theory aspect doesn't go far enough as proof of your Practical ability is sought. That settles it, the ICC as a minimum but probably the DS to cover all eventualities.

Si.
 
If you are a member of the RYA they will give you a free ICC if you have your DS
If considering DS do that then just apply for ICC
 
nickd said:
If you are a member of the RYA they will give you a free ICC if you have your DS
If considering DS do that then just apply for ICC
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+1
Simplest way to go. I chartered in Greece some years ago, with just the DS shore-based certificate. It was barely glanced at. Ditto ICC.
 
StormNorm said:
+1
Simplest way to go. I chartered in Greece some years ago, with just the DS shore-based certificate. It was barely glanced at. Ditto ICC.
Click to expand...

Think you will find that things have changed in recent years and charter companies (and officials) are more careful in scrutiny of certificates.
 
I think you'll find that if a company want a qualification it needs to be an ICC or an RYA certificate of competence. If they don't it'll be enough to tell them about your experience. A shore-based course completion certificate is neither fish nor fowl.
 
Do the Day Skipper as part of your charter? On one charter a few years back the Yachmaster with us presented his impressive qualifications to the charterer who then proceeded to sign the boat over to another member of the party who had no quals at all ...
 
RichardS said:
Shore-based examination certificate rather than completion certificate. Even after completing 100-odd hours of study you still have to pass the exam, certainly at Yachtmaster level.

Richard
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You can't call yourself a Yachtmaster until you've passed the practical exam. You may get a warm feeling from doing the shore-based component and you may persuade a foreign charter firm that it has some standing but it has no more validity than the driving theory test does for allowing you on the road unsupervised.
 
snowleopard said:
You can't call yourself a Yachtmaster until you've passed the practical exam. You may get a warm feeling from doing the shore-based component and you may persuade a foreign charter firm that it has some standing but it has no more validity than the driving theory test does for allowing you on the road unsupervised.
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I have a certificate which says on it "RYA Yachtmaster".

So that's what I call myself.

Simple. :)

Richard
 
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