Getting A Certification For Bareboat Yachting In The British
Virgin Islands
You'll find out right away that if you want to set up a
bareboat charter, you have three basic options: sailing with a full crew and
captain, sailing with a captain, with you and your party performing as crew, or
sailing by yourself. The first two options don't require prior experience or a
license. However, if you want to do a true bareboat and sail your own ship
through the British Virgin Islands, you will have to have some sort of license. There are nearly sixty different licenses offered by the
U.S. Coast Guard; of these licenses, you'll find that most BVI bareboat yacht
companies will accept the lower-level ones when renting you a boat. But you will
also find that the higher level your license is, the more money you'll save on
insurance. However, these high-level licenses often require many days worth of
service on boats that can document your performance, and are not appropriate for
pleasure boaters. Fortunately, the main license required by most bareboat
charter companies is the Safe Boating certification from the U.S. Coast Guard.
This is a fairly simple course, and you can take it online without ever getting
on a boat. The Coast Guard will administer the test; contact them by calling
1-866-BOAT-ABC. They can also help you get more information on boating safety
and more advanced boating licenses. If you have plenty of time before you plan to go
bareboating but not a lot of experience with boats, consider joining the U.S.
Coast Guard Auxiliary. This volunteer organization operates to support local
Coast Guard units, and if you work with them you'll be able to get much more
training and experience with boats for free, in exchange for your time teaching
safety courses, helping with equipment, and performing other support services
for the Coast Guard. Another wise certification to get is the Red Cross CPR and
First Aid certificate; after all, you're going to be out on the wide blue sea by
yourselves. This course requires either a full-day or half-day class, depending
on who teaches it, and you can get it for free through the Red Cross.
You can also get your Safe Boating course through the Red Cross in some
areas; ask if you think yours might offer this. If you don't have your Safe Boater license when you get to your charter company, they may still allow you to bareboat after you've acted as crew for at least one day with a captain provided by the company. You won't become a sailing expert in one day, but the charter company will at least be able to assess whether you can competently sail their boat and obey sensible rules. Still, it's better to come prepared with that minimal license.
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