Bareboat Requirements in Belize

[pnalen]

I was looking to bareboat in Belize. I just got off the phone with Sunsail and was told, I would need a Sailing Certificate—ASA 103 level, or US Sailing (I’m not sure the level). Other wise I would need to hire a skipper. Has anyone else heard of this, and what courses would you recommend? I have bareboat chartered over 10 times throughoutthe BVI’s, Antigua and Abacos and this is new to me.

[belizesailor]

Lots of companies are starting to require documentation these days.

Due to bare boat accidents in the past, the Gov't of Belize has threatened many times to require a captain aboard with a Belizean liscence, but as yet have not. Maybe Sunasail/Moorings is tightening up to try and avoid this.

Did you charter with them in other venues in the past? That might be a point of dscussion if so.

Re courses, if you feel your skills are up to it then you can just challenge these standards or some subset of them + take others as full classes.

[SailBeat]

Iv'e just had a similar experience with a client looking to charter in Belize. Sunsail/Moorings you must have ASA 103 or RYA Day Skipper. Its their companies policy now apparently. Despite him being very experienced, own boat in England they wouldn't budge.

You can try these yachts though he ended up chartering the Lagoon 380

SAILBEAT - Yacht Listings

[belizesailor]

And not just in Belize. There are recent threads here about similar requirements in other venues.

[backlesi]

Just as an update to this thread. The Belize Port Authority now requires bareboat skippers to obtain a Temporary Certificate of Competency that is applied for through which ever charter company you use. Approval of the certificate is based on a set of abilities that most competent and experienced skippers should be able to meet if they are current and even if they don't hold certification. The requirements are not unreasonable when you consider that the idea is to prevent damage to the environment.

General Criteria for Acceptance of Bareboat Charter in Belize

The following information is provided to give you a better understanding of the criteria used when evaluating the suitability of a skipper for a bareboat charter in Belize. The following criterion does not necessarily approve or exclude any application as all résumés are reviewed on an individual basis.
1) A minimum of 5 years of sailing experience including documented experience as skipper on a similar vessel.
2) ASA International Proficiency Certificate and/or European/Mediterranean Chartering Certificate plus 2 documented bareboat charters within the last 4 years as skipper on a similar vessel OR one of the following equivalencies:
a. 10 years of sailing experience with a minimum of 3 documented bareboat charters as skipper on a similar vessel. The prior bareboat charter must have occurred within the last 2 years.
b. Prior documented bareboat charter experience as skipper in Belize within the last 5 years on a similar vessel.
c. ASA 101, ASA 102, ASA 103, ASA 104 certification plus 2 documented bareboat charters within the last 3 years as skipper on a similar vessel.
d. Documented ownership of a similar vessel within the last 2 years plus 1 documented bareboat charter within the last 5 years.
3) Demonstrable experience handling a boat of similar size to what you want to charter, in similar conditions (e.g. sailing shallow waters with areas of coral), a strong knowledge of general seamanship and a working knowledge of coastal navigation via electronic charts, paper charts and line of sight.
Hope that helps to clarify things...