Licence in Poland

[John12]

Hi,

I have just bought a 37ft sailing yacht in Spain and have registered it in Poland.

Do I need any skipper licences/ qualifications to sail it in the Med and back to the UK. I have several thousand miles under my belt but no formal certification.

Thanks

[goboatingnow]

Depends on the country. Croatia Greece and a few others expect you to have competency certs typically ICC or RYA day skipper

[John12]

I will be stopping off in Spain, Portugal and France

[goboatingnow]

This is quite a complex area

Poland actually requires boats over 7.5 m to have competency certs so this is the flag stage requirement.

In addition however the U.N convention on the law of the sea allows national states to also insist on specific competency when in their waters. To my knowledge Spain requires foreign boats to have competency certs , since 2015

The easiest answer is to get the ICC.

[John12]

Thank you very much for your reply.

Unfortunately I omitted to research this issue earlier and now have not time to get the ICC!

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by John12

Thank you very much for your reply.



Unfortunately I omitted to research this issue earlier and now have not time to get the ICC!

Then your only choice is to “ wing it “ in practice oversight is sporadic and with a little luck it will not be a problem.

[boatman61]

It's unlikely you'll be asked for certificates as long as your ships paperwork is in order.. Bill of Sale, Insurance etc..
Just refrain from talking about it to anyone till you get home..

[John12]

Thank you both for your replies. Will keep my fingers crossed

[psk125]

If it's Polish-flagged, be sure to watch out for French aircraft carriers.