Sailing Skipper
Florene Pothoven
iNsailing is a platform that unites captains, skippers, yacht owners with athletes, participants in regattas, fellow travelers and students. The platform will facilitate the search for places on the regatta, introduce the skipper.
Unfortunately, there are no uniform international sailing licenses, so you need to consider the region in which you plan to sail. However, there are training and licensing systems for skippers that are recognized in most countries of the world, and the International Certificate of Competence, an ICC certificate, is the most common standard.
Finally, the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is the oldest international system. The British Royal Yachting Association was founded in 1875. The difference from the previous two systems is that the training is conducted in English. The price of theoretical courses is 500-600 euros.
In fact, Bareboat Skipper (IYT) / Inshore Skipper (ISSA) / Day Skipper (RYA) license may be enough to charter a yacht in Europe. This is the beginner category that gives you the right to sail 20 miles offshore in the daytime in fine weather. In practice, this means that if you, having such a license, sail further than 20 miles and something breaks on your yacht, then the insurance company most likely will not recognize this as an insurance case. Otherwise, until recently, with such licenses, it was possible to charter a yacht anywhere in the world. However, since last year, some countries, such as Greece, began to impose restrictions on the chartering of yachts for skippers with day licenses.
The highest category of yacht skipper is Yachtmaster / Master of Yacht. Having a license of this category, you can go on difficult sailing expeditions, for example, across the Atlantic. This license is the most honorable among yacht owners.
In general, you need to understand that even charter companies will sometimes look at the miles in your logbook, indicating your experience. So, start your logbook as soon as you seriously think about yachting. But most importantly, of course, responsibly approach the choice of training courses. The study system or what abbreviation will be displayed on your license is not so important, it is important who your teacher will be. On our platform, there are only proven schools and courses in which you can not only get the right license but also gain real practical experience.
A skipper is a fully qualified and professional captain who will be responsible for sailing the yacht from one hidden gem to another. They will have hundreds of hours of experience sailing many different types and sizes of yachts. They are often local to your chosen destination and therefore, come with a wealth of knowledge to make your sailing adventure the best it can be.
Living in landlocked Idaho can't keep Modern Sailing member Andy Hoobing away from sailing. Nearly once a month, Andy, often with family, flies across at least three states to go sailing on San Francisco Bay... or farther.
Andy began sailing in China in 2006 when on a 2-year work assignment in Shanghai. He had always been curious about sailing and saw the Shanghai Yacht Club advertisement in the back of a Lonely Planet guidebook. After joining, Andy started sailing dinghies and later ended up in a half ownership of a Dragon 5.7 (copy of a Flying Scot). Sailing became a nice way to get out of the city on the weekends, and something more.
Living in Boise, Idaho, Andy couldn't leave his love of sailing behind. In the spring of 2017, he joined Modern Sailing and began to progress through our ASA certification courses to qualify for bareboat chartering. During his jaunts here, he stayed nights aboard club boats.
After lots of practice here on San Francisco Bay and receiving his ASA 104, Bareboat Cruising and ASA 114, Cruising Catamaran certifications, Andy was able to charter boats in Belize, Italy and the British Virgin Islands.
In the fall of 2018, Andy enrolled in our Club Skipper Clinic. Skippering Club Sails at Modern Sailing soon became a feature of his frequent visits to the West Coast. He also sometimes sails at one of Modern's reciprocal clubs, Harbor Sailboats in San Diego. During 2020, he did not travel to Modern Sailing, but did earn his ASA 105 certification.
This December, Andy and his family, joined by friend and fellow Modern club member Lee Thomas, travelled a bit further for their sailing - to a bareboat charter in the British Virgin Islands. They had a blast! At Foxy's on Jost Van Dyke, Andy and Lee also happened to bump into another Modern Sailor, Christina Tierney!
Modern Sailing is a three-time winner of the American Sailing Association (ASA) Outstanding School of the Year award! We've been introducing people to sailing from our facilities in Sausalito since 1983.
I started sailing at Modern at the end of 2021 and threw myself into it, spending as much time out on the water as I could. I came to Modern with some flat water dinghy sailing experience and it was quite a transition learning to sail bigger boats in much tougher conditions. There was a lot to learn, but the Modern instructors, Club Skippers and fellow Modern sailors made learning fun and rewarding. My Modern instructors were clearly very experienced sailors and sailing with them was inspiring! I want to thank the maintenance crew and office staff for their dedication and hard work - you are the folks who make things work! There is a lot more to learn and I look forward to sailing with Modern for years to come.
Nearing 80ft and certainly above the 100ft mark, the game changes and a professional skipper is a requirement for his/her sailing expertise to keep things safe, while management skills are also needed to keep the whole show on the road. And that might include making sure the cocktails are shaken not stirred.
It is also a given that in this size range, more times than not, a skipper will be a swashbuckler who is in it for the sailing and the travel. He/she would want to take on full responsibility and make their mark, most likely in hopes of climbing the ladder and running bigger vessels in future. And that means not counting time in too many marinas.
When the owner comes on board for a sail or a longer cruise, possibly also having come up through the ranks of owning smaller boats and knows a thing or two, you might have the perfect storm brewing. It requires a certain maturity on both sides of the equation to weather that possible blow.
Only when a few financial priorities raised their ugly head did I realise that I had to toe the line, behave myself and swallow humble pie, even if that meant letting the owner crash into the jetty leaving me to make the repairs. There was the next job to think of and when you got it, a reputation to maintain.
By the same token, a skipper worth his salt will step back and let the owner take command without making an announcement, and even let him make a few mistakes. The more experienced the skipper, the more this will appear seamless and natural.
On the Pelagics my complaint seems to be that the mainsheet is always over-trimmed. I claim to feel this in my guts while in my bunk. When I rise in my skivvies, unasked for, and rush into the cockpit to dump off a few metres of mainsheet the crew, knowing my idiosyncrasies, are always highly amused.
After having made many mistakes overly interfering as an owner I now have a foolproof formula, especially during those all-critical docking manoeuvres in heavy winds: go below, make a cup of tea and do some emails. When you hear the engine shut down it is safe to come on deck. Your skipper and crew will appreciate this.
Hiring a professional skipper for your sailing trip always sounds like a good idea. Regardless of your sailing skills, holidays are much more comfortable if a professional is onboard. Besides sailing, professional skippers possess local knowledge not only about the sailing area and weather patterns, but also about places to go to.
Evenings are perfect for planning the next day. While the final decision is going to be made in the morning before casting off to the next destination. Good skippers should be able to provide the best spot to stay overnight. Either at the anchor or berthing at the marina or port. This procedure sometimes considers a friendly tip to the marina or port staff. Clients have to be aware of that. Furthermore, good skippers should always be able to book the table at the best restaurant or bar for their clients. The clients have to be ready for dinner on time because restaurants and bars in the high season are usually quite hectic.
Skippers should stay away from alcoholic drinks and beverages at least until the yacht is safe, and they should make sure they had enough rest for upcoming duties. Therefore, skipper must be alone for some private free time at the end of the day. That means that skippers should not party all night long neither on their own nor with clients.
Clients sometimes demand unusual (illegal) favors from their skippers, such as providing narcotics or prostitutes on the yacht. Such demands are considered unacceptable, so skipper does not have to respond to them.
Of course, I had to pass a practical exam but this was onboard a motor vessel and I had to perform standard maneuvers such as MOB, halt on course, tacking and of course casting off and landing. Thats it. You are not able to sail when passing this SBF. Period. 2015 was already drawing to a close and there were no classes in practical sailing available so I used the time to get the SRC-certificate. When a yacht is equipped with a VHF-transceiver (and most yachts have one, should have one) you are required to have this certification passed as well. So it was five days practicing, some 250 questions in multiple choice to learn and I passed that one too some weeks ago (read full article on the Short Range Certificate/SRC here). So whats next?
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