How to Prepare for a Sailing Charter

You have booked the boat. You know the port and the week. Now comes the part most sailors underestimate: arriving at the charter base genuinely ready, not just holding a folder of documents and hoping the briefing fills in the gaps. This guide covers everything from certificates and radio procedures to COLREG rules, passage planning and the practical checks that make the first day on the water feel like sailing rather than a fire drill.

Start early — a six-week preparation timeline

Six weeks is the minimum comfortable window. It sounds generous until you realise that a VHF Short Range Certificate takes a week or two to complete properly, COLREG rules need time to settle into memory rather than be crammed the night before, and any gaps in documentation need time to close before you are standing at the check-in desk.

• Six weeks out: confirm exactly which documents the charter company requires — their list, not a generic internet list. Identify any gaps (expired certificate, missing ICC endorsement, no VHF credential) and act on them immediately.
• Four weeks out: complete or refresh your VHF SRC training. Run through COLREG scenario practice. Order any physical certificates or cards that need to ship.
• Two weeks out: study the cruising area — charts, pilot books, weather patterns, port entry requirements, local regulations. Plan a rough itinerary.
• One week out: review emergency procedures with your crew (MOB, Mayday, anchoring in an emergency). Run a few VHF simulator scenarios to rebuild radio muscle memory. Pack your documents.
• Day of arrival: arrive at the charter base rested, with documents in hand, questions prepared, and an attitude that the boat briefing is the most important two hours of the week.

Documents the charter company will ask for

Charter bases vary in what they actually check versus what they say they require, but the documents below represent the standard set for bareboat charters in European waters. Have originals or clear digital copies accessible on your phone, not buried in email.

Skipper licence or ICC

The International Certificate of Competence (ICC) is the most widely accepted recreational skipper credential in Europe for bareboat charter. Some charter companies in certain destinations accept national licences (RYA Coastal Skipper, ASA 106, German SKS/SSS, French CC) instead of or alongside the ICC. A few destinations — notably Croatia, Greece, and Turkey — have their own specific requirements and may ask for a locally-recognised certificate for larger or offshore passages. Confirm the exact requirement with your specific charter company well in advance.

VHF radio certificate

Most charter companies require evidence that the skipper has completed VHF radio training. The standard credential is the SRC (Short Range Certificate), which covers marine VHF operation, DSC (Digital Selective Calling), distress procedures and radio regulations. Some operators accept a national radio operator certificate or a skipper licence with a VHF endorsement instead. What they are checking for — reasonably — is that the person driving their boat can operate the radio correctly in an emergency. The certificate is the evidence; the competence is what matters.

If your SRC is more than a few years old, or if you completed the course but have not touched a VHF since, treat it as expired for practical purposes. A certificate does not keep your radio skills current.

Logbook

A personal sailing logbook showing recent offshore experience — particularly if the charter is offshore or bluewater. Charter companies sometimes ask to see sea miles as a proxy for experience, especially for larger vessels. If you have a logbook gap, be honest about it and supplement with recent day-sail experience before the trip.

Photo ID and insurance documents

Passport or national ID. Some charter companies include skipper liability in the boat insurance; others require proof of your own skipper liability insurance. Check what the charter contract includes and whether you need a separate policy.

VHF radio — the skill that matters most

Of all the skills you can refresh before a charter, VHF radio operation has the highest safety payoff per hour of preparation. A skipper who can send a Mayday correctly — calmly, with the right information, in the right order — buys the crew time. A skipper who freezes at the radio or sends an incomplete call delays rescue.

What pre-charter VHF preparation looks like

It is not reading the handbook. It is practising the procedures until they feel automatic. Specifically:

• DSC distress alert: know where the red button is on the radio type you will be sailing with, how long to hold it, and what happens next. On the charter boat, find it during the boat briefing and touch it (without pressing, obviously) so your hand knows where it lives.
• Voice Mayday: the sequence — MAYDAY three times, vessel name three times, MMSI, MAYDAY and vessel name again, position, nature of distress, persons on board, any other relevant information, OVER — should come out in the right order even under stress. That only happens with practice, not with reading.
• Pan-Pan and Sécurité: know the difference and when to use each. Pan-Pan (urgency, not immediately life-threatening — engine failure, medical, lost steering) is often the more appropriate call but is under-used because skippers default to either silence or Mayday.
• Routine calls: marina calls, lock procedures, harbour entry requests. These feel mundane but botching a marina channel call while a dozen boats are waiting is a real embarrassment and occasionally a safety issue in tidal entries.
• Cancelling an accidental DSC alert: if a crew member sits on the radio, or the radio gets bumped, an unintended DSC distress alert goes out. You need to cancel it immediately on Channel 16 with the correct wording. Knowing this in advance prevents an awkward coastguard callback turning into a full SAR mobilisation.

A realistic VHF/DSC simulator — one that reproduces the actual radio interface, the channel-switching, the DSC button behaviour and the voice procedure — is the fastest way to rebuild this muscle memory. Three free scenarios are available at skippercheck.net/vhf-simulator.

Using the charter boat's radio

Charter boats carry VHF radios from various manufacturers. The menus and button layouts differ, but the underlying procedure is identical. During the boat briefing, ask the base staff to show you the DSC distress function specifically. Confirm the MMSI is programmed and visible on the radio's status screen. Ask where the Ship Station Licence is kept (usually in the chart table with the boat papers) — port authorities occasionally ask to see it.

COLREG rules every charter skipper must know

The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs) are not sailing exam material you learned once and filed away. They govern every close-quarters situation you will encounter on the water — the approaching ferry, the crossing powerboat, the other yacht on the same tack. Getting them wrong is not a theoretical problem; it causes accidents.

The rules that come up most often on a charter

Rule 5 — Lookout. Every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper lookout by sight and hearing. This is the rule that is most often quietly ignored when the autopilot is on and the crew is below making lunch. It is also the one that creates the most serious incidents. On a charter boat, establish a watch system on the first day and enforce it.

Rule 8 — Action to avoid collision. Any action taken to avoid collision shall be large enough to be readily apparent to the other vessel and shall not result in another close-quarters situation. A small course change that the other vessel cannot detect is worse than no change at all. Act early, act decisively, act visibly.

Rule 12 — Sailing vessels. When two sailing vessels are approaching, the port-tack vessel gives way to the starboard-tack vessel. When on the same tack, the windward vessel gives way. This is the rule that catches out sailors who have not sailed recently — the instinct to hold course when you are "in the right" can be dangerous if the other vessel is making the same calculation incorrectly.

Rule 13 — Overtaking. Any vessel overtaking another shall keep out of the way regardless of point of sail or power versus sail status. If you are coming up behind a vessel, it is your responsibility to stay clear until you are past and clear.

Rule 16 — Action by give-way vessel. The give-way vessel shall take early and substantial action to keep well clear. "Early" is the key word. Waiting until you are close and then making a dramatic alteration is dangerous, unsettling for the stand-on vessel, and often misread as confusion rather than compliance.

Rules 20–31 — Lights and shapes. You will need to identify what other vessels are at night: a vessel under sail with engine running must show the motor vessel light pattern, not just sidelights. Vessels restricted in ability to manoeuvre, vessels at anchor, fishing vessels with gear out — all carry distinct light combinations. Review the light patterns before your first night passage on the charter.

Practise COLREG scenarios before you leave

Reading the rules is not the same as applying them under time pressure with a real vessel closing at 12 knots. Scenario-based practice — where you assess a situation and choose the correct action — builds the pattern recognition that makes the right decision feel obvious rather than calculated. SkipperCheck's COLREG rules game puts you in exactly these situations: crossing, overtaking, head-on, mixed power/sail encounters, vessels with restricted manoeuvrability. It is free to play and takes about 20 minutes to work through the core scenarios.

Seamanship and boat-handling review

No amount of online preparation replaces time on the water. If you have not sailed in the past six months, arrange a day sail before the charter — even on a different boat in different conditions. The goal is to stop consciously thinking about trimming sails, approaching a berth, or getting the anchor down, so that these actions can happen in parallel with navigation and crew management.

Manoeuvres worth rehearsing

• Man overboard (MOB): the initial response — shout "MOB", point at the casualty, press the MOB button on the chartplotter, assign a crew member to maintain visual contact — needs to be automatic. Practice the approach and recovery under sail at least once before the charter. The specific boat's handling characteristics will differ, which is another reason to pay close attention during the sea trial at the charter base.
• Anchoring: Mediterranean charter itineraries often involve anchoring for lunch stops or overnight in bays with holding ground conditions that vary significantly from what you practise at home. Know your scope-to-depth ratios, how to back down to set the anchor, and how to recover the anchor if it is fouled.
• Berthing: arriving at a marina berth with crew, charter boat, unfamiliar lines and an audience is not the time to discover you have no clear system. Talk through the approach plan before you arrive, assign roles, have lines and fenders ready before you enter the fairway.
• Reefing: reefing in anger — in rising wind, at night, with a crew that is not sure of the procedure — is one of the most common situations where charter trips go wrong. Practise on the first calm day out, when there is no pressure, so every crew member knows where to be and what to do when it matters.

Passage planning and local knowledge

A passage plan is not just a list of waypoints. For a charter itinerary it should cover:

• Tides and tidal gates: some anchorages, inlets and marina entrances are only safe or accessible within certain tidal windows. Identify these in advance rather than arriving at low water to find a sand bar.
• Prevailing winds and local effects: Mediterranean thermal winds (the Meltemi in the Aegean, the Mistral in the Gulf of Lion, the Bora in the Adriatic) are reliable but intense. Know when they typically build and which anchorages provide protection. Caribbean and Atlantic passages have their own patterns.
• Port entry requirements: some ports require advance notification, VHF contact on a specific channel, a pilot, or a cruising permit. Some protected marine areas require advance booking. Check the pilot book and official port guide for each stop on your itinerary.
• Weather routing: identify the marine weather forecast source for your area (Navtex, local VHF weather broadcasts, apps such as Windy or PredictWind, weather fax). Check forecasts twice daily and have a contingency anchorage for each overnight passage leg in case conditions deteriorate.
• No-go zones: military exercise areas, restricted zones around ports, protected ecological zones and fish farm positions are marked on charts but often not prominent on chart plotter overlays. Glance at the paper chart for the region, not just the electronic overlay.

Getting the most from the boat briefing

The boat briefing at the charter base is the most compressed and information-dense part of the whole trip, and it is routinely undervalued. Base staff will walk you through the boat in an hour; you will be on it for a week. Treat the briefing as an exam you need to pass, not a formality before you can leave.

• Bring a notepad or use your phone's voice memo. There is too much to remember — engine, bilge pump locations, sea cocks, battery management, fuel, water tanks, LPG, life raft location, flare dates, fire extinguisher positions, MOB equipment, the specific quirks of this boat's furling, its windlass, its tender.
• Ask for a short sea trial. Most charter companies include this or will agree to it. You need to feel how the boat responds under power in reverse before you arrive at your first berth. The difference between charter boats from the same manufacturer can be significant depending on age, prop walk and engine condition.
• Test the VHF radio during the briefing. Tune to a working channel (not 16), confirm the volume, find the squelch, locate the DSC menu and the MMSI readout. Ask where the Ship Station Licence is filed.
• Check safety equipment personally, not just on the list. Open the life raft container and note the hydrostatic release date. Check the flare dates. Find the EPIRB and confirm whether it is registered (it should be, and the registration address should be the charter company's).

Briefing your crew

Your crew does not need to know everything you know about seamanship, but they need to know enough to function safely in an emergency without freezing or waiting for instruction. Run a crew briefing on the first afternoon, before you leave the berth.

Cover at minimum:

• Lifejacket fitting and automatic inflation check for each crew member.
• Where the life raft is, when to deploy it, and that it only goes overboard on the skipper's instruction — not before.
• MOB procedure: shout, point, press the MOB button on the chartplotter, do not take their eyes off the person in the water.
• Where the VHF is, that Channel 16 is always monitored, and the basic Mayday wording (MAYDAY three times, vessel name, we are sinking / on fire / etc., our position, our number of persons). A laminated card taped near the companionway is not excessive.
• Engine stop — where the kill switch is and when to use it.
• Harness and tether points — when they are mandatory (at night, in rough conditions, offshore).

A crew that has had a clear briefing and knows their roles is calmer in a real emergency. Calm is the difference between a controlled incident and a chaotic one.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a VHF certificate to charter a sailing yacht?

Most charter companies ask for evidence of VHF radio training — typically an SRC (Short Range Certificate) or equivalent. Requirements vary between operators and destinations, so clarify exactly which documents the charter company needs before you arrive. In practice, the SRC is the most commonly requested radio credential for recreational charter skippers. If you do not have one, or yours is out of date, it can be completed fully online. See the SRC complete guide for details on the course, exam format and what the certificate covers.

How far in advance should I prepare for a sailing charter?

Start at least six weeks before departure. Certificates take time to obtain or renew. Navigation theory and COLREG rules need time to settle into memory. Emergency procedures — Mayday, MOB, anchoring — should be practised until they feel automatic, not rehearsed once and forgotten the following day.

What COLREG rules matter most for a sailing charter?

Rules 5 (lookout), 8 (action to avoid collision), 12 (sailing vessels), 13 (overtaking), 16 (give-way vessel action) and 18 (responsibilities between vessels) are the core collision-avoidance rules relevant to everyday cruising. Rules 20–31 govern lights and shapes, which you need to interpret at night. Practising these rules in scenario form before the charter — rather than just re-reading them — builds the pattern recognition that matters when a situation is developing quickly.

Can I do pre-charter preparation online?

Yes — VHF radio training (including the SRC exam) can be completed fully online with interactive simulators. COLREG rules can be practised through scenario-based games. Quiz-based theory review for navigation, meteorology and seamanship is all available online. What cannot be replicated online is physical boat-handling experience, which should be accumulated on the water before the charter.

Related reading

• Short Range Certificate (SRC) — The Complete Guide — what the SRC is, the syllabus, exam format and how charter company recognition works.
• How to Send a MAYDAY Distress Call on Marine VHF Radio — step-by-step procedure, exact wording, common mistakes, and a free simulator to practise.
• Free VHF/DSC simulator — practise Mayday, DSC distress, Pan-Pan and routine calls on a realistic on-screen radio. No signup required.
• COLREG rules game — scenario-based COLREG practice. Crossing, overtaking, head-on, lights at night.