IYT International Bareboat Skipper — Whitsunday Sailing School

The IYT International Bareboat Skipper Certificate prepares sailors to take command of a yacht up to 24 metres (78 feet) in coastal waters up to 20 nautical miles offshore, in daylight and in fair conditions with moderate wind and sea. It is the International Yacht Training qualification most associated with chartering a yacht without a professional skipper. Whitsunday Sailing School runs it as a ten-day liveaboard aboard Eureka II in the Whitsunday Islands, sailing from Airlie Beach.

What you'll learn

Bareboat Skipper brings together the crew and flotilla skipper content and adds the judgement needed when you are the one responsible.

• Seamanship and boat handling: safety equipment, sail handling, anchoring, departures and man overboard recovery, run by you as skipper.
• Navigation: chartwork, variation and deviation, tides, buoyage, the collision regulations and navigation lights, applied to real passages between anchorages.
• Meteorology: interpreting forecasts to decide whether and when to sail, and planning around changing conditions.
• Restricted visibility and heavy weather: what to do when visibility closes in or the wind rises, including preparing the boat and crew early.
• Entering harbours: planning an approach, identifying marks and hazards, and handling the boat in confined water.
• Responsibilities of a skipper: safety briefings, crew welfare, and basic first aid on board.

A competent bareboat skipper plans ahead, briefs the crew clearly and stays inside the limits of the boat, the crew and the conditions.

How Whitsunday Sailing School runs it

Students complete a free pre-course online training component before arriving. The course then runs for ten days and ten nights living aboard Eureka II. Course notes, a logbook, meals, linen, snorkelling gear and accommodation on board are included, with a choice of single berth or private double cabin. Ten days aboard gives time to repeat skills such as anchoring and passage planning across many different anchorages.

Who it suits

It suits sailors who want to charter yachts themselves, including in the Whitsundays, and those who want a single course that takes them from crewing to skippering. A VHF-SRC Marine Radio Operator's Certificate is required; the school can run it on board for an additional fee.

Where it leads

Bareboat Skipper holders often add the ICC for chartering in Europe, which the school runs as a separate short assessment. For those continuing in the IYT pathway, the next level up is the Yachtmaster Coastal, which extends the range and conditions you are trained for.

Full course guide

For the full syllabus and how this certificate is used for chartering, read our IYT International Bareboat Skipper (Sail) guide. The next IYT step is covered in our IYT Yachtmaster Coastal guide.