Chartering Abroad with an ICC

Prerequisites

• You have completed the first two lessons of this course: you know what the ICC is, what its categories mean, and how it is obtained.
• You hold, or are working towards, a coastal ICC at about RYA Day Skipper level, and ideally a VHF operator's certificate such as the RYA/Ofcom Short Range Certificate (SRC).
• You have some skippering experience in tidal or Mediterranean conditions, enough to fill in a sailing CV honestly.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• Distinguish the legal requirements of a country from a charter company's own requirements, and know who checks which.
• List the documents a bareboat skipper normally needs: ICC or accepted licence, radio certificate, identity documents, sailing CV and crew list.
• Summarise the usual requirements for chartering in Croatia, Greece, Italy, Spain and France, and know where they differ.
• Explain why the VHF certificate matters as much as the ICC in some countries.
• Run through a charter check-in: paperwork, deposit and insurance, boat inventory and technical briefing.
• Know where to check current rules before you travel.

Two Sets of Rules

When you charter a yacht abroad, two different authorities decide whether you can take it out:

1. The state. The country's maritime law decides whether a pleasure-craft skipper needs a licence, which foreign licences it accepts, whether a radio certificate is needed and what documents must be on board. Port authorities, coastguard or police enforce this, and they can inspect you at sea or in harbour.
2. The charter company. The company owns, or manages, a boat worth hundreds of thousands of euros. It decides whether it trusts you with it. It can ask for more than the law: a detailed sailing CV, a second experienced crew member, a minimum number of seasons skippering, or a paid skipper for the first day. It can refuse you even if the law is satisfied, and its insurer may require some of these conditions.

A useful way to think of it: the law sets the floor, the charter company decides how high above the floor you must stand. Neither can lower the other's requirement. A company cannot make it legal for you to sail without a radio certificate where one is compulsory; the law cannot force a company to hand you a 50-foot catamaran.

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Broker guides and charter company FAQs are the most up-to-date practical sources, but they are not law, and they sometimes disagree with each other about Greece and Spain in particular. Treat this lesson as a map of the issues, and check the current position with the national authority and your charter company before every trip.

The Document Pack

Whatever the country, expect to need most of these:

Send scans of the licences and crew details to the charter company several weeks ahead. Many companies check them before departure day, which avoids a nasty surprise at the base.

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Country by Country

Croatia

Croatia is the strictest of the popular Mediterranean destinations about paperwork, and it checks.

• Skipper licence. At least one person aboard must hold a recognised boating licence. The ICC is accepted, along with a range of national licences recognised by the Croatian Ministry of the Sea, which publishes the official list. Some certificates are accepted only with distance or tonnage limits; several are capped at 30 gross tonnes.
• Radio certificate. A valid VHF operator's certificate is mandatory for a boat fitted with VHF, which in practice means every charter yacht. The licence holder and the radio certificate holder can be different people, but both must be on the crew list and aboard, or the base will not release the boat.
• Crew list and taxes. The charter company prepares the official crew list, which is stamped or registered with the harbour authority. There is a daily tourist tax (sojourn tax) per person, often paid at check-in; it is not usually included in the charter price.
• Changes. If someone joins or leaves the crew during the charter, the crew list must be updated at a harbour master's office.
• Operating area. Licences are accepted for Croatian internal waters and territorial sea; check your limits if you plan to cross to Italy or Montenegro.

Greece

• Skipper licence. Greek law requires a licence for skippering most sailing yachts and motorboats above a modest engine power. Broker guides disagree about whether Greece formally accepts the ICC under Resolution 40, but in practice an ICC is the document Greek port authorities and charter companies expect from a British skipper. Some companies and port police may refuse a Day Skipper certificate on its own, so the ICC is the safer choice. Apply several weeks ahead.
• Second crew member. Many Greek charter companies, and Greek practice for bareboat charter, expect a second crew member with sailing experience in addition to the skipper. Check your company's rule and name that person on the crew list.
• Radio certificate. Commonly required by charter companies; carry your SRC.
• Crew list. The charter company registers the crew list with the port authority before departure. Bring passports for everyone.
• Weather. The summer Meltemi in the Aegean can blow Force 6 to 7 for days. Companies may restrict sailing areas or hold boats in port in strong winds; their decision is final under the contract.

Italy

• Skipper licence. Italy requires a licence for motorboats above a set engine power and for craft going beyond 6 nautical miles from the coast; within those limits some small craft need no licence. For charter yachts, the ICC is accepted and is the normal document for foreign skippers.
• Radio. A radio operator certificate is often required for VHF use; carry your SRC.
• Local rules. Marine protected areas around many islands restrict anchoring and speed; some ban anchoring on seagrass. Rules are posted by local authorities and in pilot books.

Spain

• Skipper licence. Spanish rules have small-craft exemptions (for example short motorboats with low power and small sailing boats close inshore). For charter yachts, an ICC is widely accepted by charter companies and authorities, although broker guides note that Spain's formal position on Resolution 40 has been less clear-cut than Italy's or Croatia's. Day Skipper is accepted by many companies for coastal charters in the Balearics and mainland Spain.
• Radio. Carry an SRC.
• Local rules. The Balearic Islands protect Posidonia seagrass: anchoring on it is prohibited, and in summer some bays have buoy fields that must be booked. Fines are significant.

France

France has a national licence system (the permis plaisance) for powered craft above a modest engine power. For foreign skippers chartering a coastal yacht, charter companies generally accept an ICC or an equivalent foreign certificate, together with a sailing CV. Carry an SRC for the VHF.

France is also where many British skippers meet the inland side of the ICC:

• On the canals and rivers (Burgundy, Canal du Midi, Brittany), hire boats from canal-holiday companies are generally operated under a special temporary permit scheme, with a short briefing at the base, and no ICC is needed.
• If you take your own boat or a privately chartered boat that is not under that scheme, you need an ICC with the inland category, which means passing the CEVNI test. You also need the waterways toll licence (vignette) from Voies navigables de France (VNF) for boats over a certain length or engine power.
• French inland rules are set by the national code (the RGPNI) and local police regulations for each waterway. Speed limits on small canals are typically around 8 km/h, lower near locks and moored boats, and closures and lock hours are published by VNF as notices to boaters. Check the current VNF information before you go.

Quick comparison

This table summarises typical practice reported by charter companies and broker guides. It is not legal advice and it changes. Always confirm the current rules.

The VHF Certificate: Do Not Forget It

On a charter yacht the VHF is a fixed set, usually with DSC, and operating it legally needs an operator's certificate. In the UK that is the RYA/Ofcom Short Range Certificate, taught in a one-day course followed by an assessment. Croatia in particular treats the radio certificate as non-negotiable and charter bases will not release the boat without it. Get your SRC well before your first charter; it also makes you genuinely safer, because you will know how to send a DSC distress alert and a MAYDAY.

Check-in and Check-out

Before you arrive

• Send scans of the ICC, SRC and passports, and complete the online crew list.
• Read the charter contract: deposit amount, what the damage waiver covers, fuel policy, return time, cruising area limits, and wind limits.
• Plan provisioning, and arrange a transfer from the airport.

At the base

1. Paperwork. Show original licences and passports; sign the contract and crew list; pay any tourist tax and extras.
2. Deposit. A security deposit is taken, usually on a credit card. Some charterers buy a non-refundable damage waiver that reduces the amount at risk.
3. Inventory check. Go through the inventory carefully: safety equipment, lifejackets (correct sizes for children), liferaft service date, flares, fire extinguishers, first aid kit, tender and outboard, anchor and chain length, mooring lines, fenders, charts and pilot book, galley kit.
4. Technical briefing. A base technician shows you the engine, fuel and water tanks, batteries and charging, heads and holding tank, gas system and shut-off, bilge pumps, instruments and autopilot, sails and reefing system, windlass and anchor.
5. Photograph everything. Take photos of existing damage to hull, sails, tender and interior, and make sure it is written on the check-in report. This protects your deposit.
6. Questions to ask. Local weather patterns and forecast sources, harbours to avoid, emergency contact numbers, what to do if something breaks.

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At sea

Keep licences, crew list and boat papers together and accessible: port police or coastguard may board and check. Many Mediterranean marinas ask for the boat papers and crew list on arrival too.

Check-out

Return on time with the fuel tank full (or pay for fuel), the holding tank empty if required, and the boat tidy. A diver may inspect the hull and propeller. Report any damage honestly; hidden damage discovered later causes more trouble.

Worked Example

Planning a Croatian charter

Tom holds a UK ICC (coastal, sail, up to 24 m). He wants to charter a 13 m yacht from Split for a week with four friends.

1. Licence. His ICC covers a 13 m sailing yacht in coastal waters. Croatia accepts it.
2. Radio. Tom has no radio certificate, but his friend Priya holds an SRC. Both will be on the crew list and aboard, which satisfies the Croatian rule. Tom decides to take the SRC himself before the next trip anyway, so he can operate the radio confidently if Priya is busy or ill.
3. Company requirements. The charter company asks for a sailing CV. Tom lists his Solent seasons and a previous flotilla week in Greece. The company accepts.
4. Documents. Two months before departure he sends scans of his ICC, Priya's SRC and everyone's passports, and completes the online crew list.
5. At the base. He pays the tourist tax, signs the contract, checks the inventory (the liferaft service date is current, but one lifejacket has a fired cylinder, which the base replaces) and photographs a scratch on the bow, which is added to the report.
6. Mid-week. One friend has to fly home early from Hvar. Tom updates the crew list at the harbour master's office.

A Greek trap avoided

Sophie holds only RYA Day Skipper Practical. She books a bareboat in the Ionian. A month before departure the company emails to say that the port authority may not accept Day Skipper alone. Sophie applies to the RYA for an ICC on the strength of her Day Skipper Practical; it arrives in time. The company also asks for a named second experienced crew member, and she nominates a friend who has done a Competent Crew course and two flotillas.

Common Mistakes

• Forgetting the radio certificate. In Croatia, no SRC holder aboard means no boat.
• Sending licences at the last minute. Problems discovered at the base can cost you a day or the whole holiday.
• Assuming last year's rules still apply. Rules and charter policies change; check every year.
• Ignoring card limits. A 10 m power validation does not cover a 12 m motorboat charter.
• Not photographing damage at check-in. You may lose part of your deposit for damage that was already there.
• Changing crew without updating the crew list. In countries that check, this is an offence.
• Taking your own boat inland without the inland category. French canals need the ICC inland letter and CEVNI, unless you are on a hire boat under the hire scheme.
• Overreaching. A first bareboat in the Aegean in the Meltemi season is a big step. Consider a flotilla or a skippered first week.

Summary

• Two sets of rules apply: the country's law and the charter company's policy. The law is the floor; the company can ask for more.
• Typical documents: ICC or accepted licence, VHF certificate, passports or ID, sailing CV, crew list, contract.
• Croatia: recognised licence plus mandatory radio certificate, strict checks, tourist tax, crew list changes at the harbour master.
• Greece: ICC strongly advised, second experienced crew member often required, crew list registered with port authority.
• Italy: ICC accepted, protected areas.
• Spain: ICC widely accepted, Posidonia anchoring bans.
• France: ICC or equivalent for coastal charter; inland in your own boat needs the inland category and CEVNI.
• Check-in: paperwork, deposit, inventory, technical briefing, photograph damage.
• Always confirm current rules with the national authority and your charter company.

Check Your Understanding

1. Who decides whether you need a licence to charter, and who decides whether you get the boat?

Answer: The country's law decides whether a licence is needed and which ones are accepted. The charter company decides whether to release its boat to you, and may impose stricter conditions.

1. In Croatia, must the skipper personally hold the VHF certificate?

Answer: Not necessarily. The licence and the radio certificate can be held by different crew members, but both must be on the crew list and aboard.

1. Name three documents you should send the charter company before arrival.

Answer: Any three of: ICC or accepted licence, VHF certificate, passports or ID for the crew list, sailing CV, completed crew list.

1. Why is an ICC safer than a Day Skipper certificate alone for Greece?

Answer: Greek port authorities and some charter companies may not accept a Day Skipper certificate on its own; the ICC is the standard government-issued document they expect.

1. A crew member leaves halfway through a Croatian charter. What must you do?

Answer: Update the crew list at a harbour master's office.

1. You hire a canal boat from a French canal-holiday company. Do you need an ICC?

Answer: Generally no: such hire boats operate under a temporary permit scheme with a briefing at the base. You would need an ICC with the inland category (and CEVNI) for your own or a privately chartered boat.

1. Why should you photograph the boat at check-in?

Answer: To record existing damage, so it is noted on the check-in report and not charged against your deposit at check-out.

1. What is a common extra crew requirement for bareboat charter in Greece?

Answer: A second crew member with sailing experience, named on the crew list, in addition to the skipper.