The 411 on Bareboating power boats and sailing vessels from Miami Yacht Charters

Bareboat charters or Bareboating give you ultimate freedom, by being your own skipper. Choose a vessel to suit your personal requirements,and experience leve,l plan your own itinerary and enjoy independent holidays with your family or close friends, to a schedule of your own choosing. Skippers must qualify first to charter one of our select vessels and
although a Coast Guard Captain’s License or Certificate is not required, you must be 21 years of age and demonstrate you have previous experience on vessel of similar or greater size and power. The Captains Resume must be completely filled out and faxed or emailed to our office for review and approval by our bareboat fleet coordinator(s). Our bareboat charter specialists are standing by to answer all your inquiries.

You as the Skipper

You must discuss your position with your family and friends in advance, preferably before you even book the holiday. Having chosen you as skipper, they have to understand that your word is LAW on board. If they cannot accept this then do not accept the position. If you are the only one with sailing experience, you can always accept the position of navigator, and let someone else be skipper.

It has to be understood that the skipper's authority is not only confined to emergency situations where you are about to hit rocks (they will certainly accept commands then) but have to cover all the mundane daily tasks involved in living on board such as but not limited to cleaning, anchoring, docking and engine and vessel maintenance to mention some.

You are the crew - and you have to choose the Skipper

Again, an early decision is by far the best. If more than, one crewmember has sailing or power boating experience choose the one with the additional leadership skills rather, than the purely technical mariner. You should choose someone you respect and whose orders you will follow without question.

You hired a professional Skipper for your private bareboat charter

The option of hiring a professionally licensed Captain with local knowledge of area as well as much experience on vessel you are chartering is a popular and safe alternative to skippering vessel yourself part of the time or the entire time. This option will require a separate agreement between your employee (the hired Skipper) and yourself; the party renting the vessel for term. Our staff can help provide you with a list of qualified and friendly Skippers, first mates and cooks/chefs along with the required paperwork in order to make your bareboating experience a safe and smooth experience.

Where to go
South Florida, the Florida Keys and the Bahamas offer a vast variety of destinations and flavors. Visit our destinations section of our website for more information on our most popular destinations for bareboat and crewed charters. It is important to purchase local charts and study as well as plan your itineraries. Our experienced staff Captains are very familiar with our destinations and would love to assist you with any navigation or itinerary planning questions.

What to bring with you
No matter where your charter destination may be, they have a number of things in common: the sun, the sea and the fact that you will need to live for the duration on a yacht. There are a few items you should not forget to take with you, as they will make your life on board easier and safer.

The first thing you must keep in mind is that you will not need tons of clothes. Life on board is very casual and you will spend a lot of your time in a swimming clothing, a T-shirt and a pair of shorts. The storage space on a yacht is extremely limited and really does exclude a hard suitcase.

Therefore, I recommend that your personal luggage be carried in a strong duffel bag, large enough to carry all your needs. They come in two types - the old naval style kit bag, open at the top only and the type that has a side zip and a couple of carrying handles. Below are a list of recommended equipment and clothing.

Clothing - items should line up from the left and not center –ask me about this

· A pair of light weight casual trousers or jeans
· A pair of better trousers and a dressy shirt, a dress, so that you can visit a club or casino, good class restaurant or night spot - smart casual
· Sweatshirt or woolen sweater for the evenings
· 2-4 cotton T-shirts
· 1-2 pairs of loose fitting shorts or skirts
· A light weight long-sleeved shirt, particularly if
you are prone to sun burn – cotton is best
· A light weight wind breaker jacket
· A waterproof jacket with a hood
· A tracksuit - for early morning or late evening use
· Enough socks and underwear
· 2 swimming outfits
· Large towels
· A pair of deck shoes (preferable) or rubber soled running shoes
· A pair of sandals - for those with "sweaty" feet !
· A wide brimmed sunhat, wide enough to cover the face and neck
· Sunglasses -not forgetting the retaining "string".
- Polarized are a safety must for being on the water-
· A water bottle or jug, for those shore excursions
· A day bag - for shore trips- to carry essentials such as toilet requisites, cameras, etc
· 2 or 3 large plastic bags to separate clean from dirty laundry
· Money belt
· Sewing kit needles, cottons, safety pins, etc.
· Toiletries - soap, toothpaste, shaving foam, wet hankies, etc

In addition to the above clothing and personal equipment, you should take:

· Camera (still or video) and a good supply of films for both. You can not guarantee being able to buy your particular brand locally. A good, strong, waterproof bag for your electronic equipment. It is only too easy to get water ingress whilst yachting!
· A good supply of books, sketch pad, pen, chessboard, pack of cards, etc
· Although the charter yacht will usually be equipped with all the necessary navigation equipment,
experienced charterers often like to bring along their own binoculars, handheld GPS and/or VHF. A Swiss army knife is also a useful tool to have with you.