College Students want to Bareboat in Italy

[Ralstonlan]

My son and 4 friends, all 21, are planning on chartering a 40' sailboat in Genoa, Italy and spending the week cruising the coastline.My sons's experience is with small sailboats only, his roommate has a bit of experience in cruising in his family's 30' sailboat and the others have absolutely no boating experience whatsoever. I am of course, panicked.
Can anyone tell me of their experiences cruising around Cinque Terre, Rapallo, Portofino? Mooring availability, marinas, etc.? They really are clueless as what they are getting into but will not be told otherwise.
I have offered to pay for a captain to go along but again, they won't hear of it. They also have found a charter co. that does not require a license or proof of competency-which really has me worried.
Thank you in advance!

[S/V Illusion]

Assuming they found anyone dumb enough to give them a boat for a week, why not just tell him/them "no way"? I assume college students don't have the money to pay for it unless you give it to him/them?

[Ralstonlan]

Unfortunately, they do have the money. it will be about $800.00 per kid for the week and they all seem to have no problem with it. I know for a fact that my son has the money saved from summer jobs where he was making very good money.

[S/V Illusion]

May be a more appropriate topic for a different forum. One about which adult children have no respect for their parent's opinion. Although they may have the means to do something, the maturity to act responsibly is harder to achieve particularly when they are "smarter than everyone else". Rather than debate the psychology with strangers on some obscure web site, your time may be better spent parenting.

The newspapers are already full of tragedies which started out with this similar scenario

[Magic1st]

A bunch of 21 year olds on a large boat. What could go wrong? As a parent, yes, i would be concerned, but, you know your son and his friends, and.....

He's old enough and they are spending their own money. I would give advice against, then, when ignored, give advice about what good seamanship is about. Make sure you start with the simple rule number 1. No booze until anchored for the night. No idea about the area or local laws. I thought proof of competency was generally required in most of the EU?

[CarstenWL]

... why should parents make rules to full aged 'young adults'?

Give advise - yes, but rules? ...

One guy with "a bit of experience in cruising in his family's 30' sailboat" plus your son with "experience ... with small sailboats" sounds not too bad (for me).

As they probably know about the value of the boat they will handle it with great care I would think ... They should have a great time if they proceed with common sense ...

Carsten

[Magic1st]

Yup at 21, really more about sound advice, which is what i was going for.

[monte]

Mm great coastline. Not sure how much you could see in a week from genoa though. Some details of our trip along the coast there http://sephinacat.blogspot.com/2013/05/italy.html and some more in the following month. The problem is, unlike somwhere with a lot of islands like Croatia, it's very weather dependant. The med isn't like the movies with lazy sailing days on calm water, locals sunning on the rocks and jumping from the cliffs. You can easily get stuck in a port for a week waiting for suitable weather to continue or to find a tenable anchorage. A better choice for a week would be Ibiza or Croatia or Turkey or Greece

[Zanshin]

I think everyone should relax, take a deep breath, and recall some of the things you did when you were 21. Since you are reading this, you survived those things. And some of those actions made you into the person you are today.
Sailing the Med is not like going the wrong way around the Great Capes of the world. Chances are that they will spend more time motoring in calm conditions than actually sailing. I spent a year in Antibes and there were more windless days in season than days where a sailboat could actually get anywhere. Genoa is a nice city and the ports you mentioned are nice; although if I were 21 and single again I'd try my luck in Monaco, Nice or Antibes/Cannes!


What I would do is ensure that they get insurance.

[AZUS]

It sounds like the trip of a lifetime. At 21, they may not be fully responsible men, but they're not children either. Relatively safe cruising grounds. They'll make mistakes, get themselves out of trouble, gain confidence, learn to sail, and probably become lifelong sailors. I'd simply insist that they have 2 people awake at all times (nearly fell off once when my family was napping in those waters), and that they know their MOB drill.

[atoll]

why not? kids get to drive at 16,surely that is far more dangerous.

if the boat is insured and the company is willing to rent it to them why not?

[dpddj]

Max Verstappen is 17 years old and is the youngest Formula One driver ever. Oh, to be him.
Physical age is not the same as maturity age. Mine did not match
The experience they, in aggregate, have is more than what I think many boaters out there exhibit.
Encourage them to go for it, be careful, smart and come back with good stories.

[Suijin]

When I was 18 I spent 10 days on a 45' charter in the Grenadines with 4 others, the oldest of which was 23, but four of us had good experience. It was an "accident" as my father had a mild heart attack on the first day out and elected to go home for medical treatment, but insisted we continue on.

That said, I'm a bit surprised that a charter company would charter to 21 year-olds, but I suppose if they don't want a resume that they don't care about that either. Offhand, I might be a bit concerned about the maintenance level of their boats if they are so eager for customers. That would be a bit of warning signal for me.

If you're concerned about their trip but can't persuade or mandate them to abort it, then perhaps you can assist in ensuring that they are as prepared and safe as possible.

[SaltyMetals]

Ralstonlan, you do not say what nationality these youngsters are or even yr nationality. In the whole of the EU at least one person on the boat needs to have a licence. It could be any one of the licences issued by an EU state (UK is a bit different but the Yachtmaster coastal or Yachtmaster Offshore is fine. I am sure there are equivalent US certifications but they will need something. In the EU it is not poss to simply jump on a 25-50ft boat and go sailing if nobody onboard has any certification.

I speak , having had a life which has given me an Italian licence, a Swiss Licence and a UK Yachtmaster Offshore certification over a period of 40 years.

One of the guys needs to have some sort of certification. Even better if some of his friends have something equivalent to "Competent Crew". He might find someone willing to charter a boat to him but the problem is then that he will run the risk of being "relieved" of his boat by one of the authorities if he stops in a marina.

best of luck
Andrew

[FollowingCs]

When I was 22, I flew jets for the Air Force. All depends on the individuals involved. I have 48 year old friends now I would not trust with this, hell I wouldn't trust them on my Sea Do. My 22 year old boy would be fine, but probably not my 24 year old daughter.

Hate to get into thread drift, but the man's parenting skills were called in to question without knowing a single thing about the young men involved. And no 21 year old listens to elders, no matter how responsible. If I did back then, I wouldn't have been flying jets for the Air Force. "It's fricken Iraq Mom, how tough can it be. I'd still worry about Russia..." The war was over before I got through pilot training anyways.

~ Following Cs ~