What It Actually Takes to Go on a Bareboat Charter

Start the Bareboat Charter Master Bundle of online courses to follow a structured learning pathway for charter readiness - https://www.nauticed.org/bundle/view/...

Create a free NauticEd account, go to your Curriculum area, and open the free Charter Readiness Self-Assessment to see exactly where you stand today.

The goal isn’t to “muscle through” a charter and hope nothing goes wrong. It’s to understand what’s involved, prepare properly, and give your crew a vacation they’ll rave about.

Thinking about a bareboat charter in the BVI or Mediterranean and feeling a bit nervous? You’re not alone. In this video, we talk frankly about what’s really involved in going on a bareboat charter and why even experienced club racers can feel unsure about taking friends and family on a charter yacht.

This is not a full “how-to” lesson. Instead, it gives you a clear overview of the main skill areas you’ll need and shows you the learning pathway NauticEd has built to help you get there.

🧭 By the end of this video, you’ll:
Understand why it’s totally normal to feel anxious about your first bareboat charter
See the difference between being a good sailor/racer and being a responsible charter skipper
Get an overview of the key dock­ing and Med mooring challenges you’ll face on a bigger monohull or catamaran
Understand why anchoring confidently in busy bays is such a critical bareboat charter skill
Hear why you should be comfortable with your chartplotter, AIS, reefs, routes, and tides before you arrive
Learn that you’ll also be managing energy, water, the dinghy, and your crew’s experience
Discover how NauticEd’s Bareboat Charter Master bundle gives you a structured way to learn all this online
See when it makes sense to book a NauticEd Instructional Charter with an instructor on board so you can learn while you’re on vacation
Find out how to use our free self-assessment to see where your gaps are before you book

00:00 - Why bareboat charter feels intimidating
00:46 - If you’re nervous, you just don’t know it all yet
01:01 - NauticEd’s bareboat charter pathway & Med license
01:29 - Docking bigger charter boats and catamarans
01:43 - Med mooring: backing in, anchors & slime lines
02:15 - Anchoring every day and not dragging at night
02:31 - Navigation between islands, wind and tides
03:10 - Bareboat Charter Master Bundle explained
03:26 - Instructors, rubrics and checking your skills
03:46 - Instructional Charter: learn while on vacation
05:08 - Free NauticEd charter readiness self-assessment

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