Skipper licence in the Med!

[Roger Tetley]

Hi Everyone,
I have been sailing in Australia for over 40 years and owned several boats. Do I need a licence to sail in the Med on my own boat?

[mcarthur]

It depends .
The reality seems to be that, as a non-European flagged vessel, some officials in some countries may ask you for paperwork indicating your ability. In some ideas of "the" theory, your Australian state license for driving a tinny (well, in Queensland ) is enough because that is all your home-country rules require. Good luck .

If you want to be slightly more careful, you could get an ICC appropriate for your vessel type/size. This can still be questioned or ignored by locals, but is generally a lot more known than, say, a Tassie fishing license . Note that sometimes getting the ICC translated into the local language beforehand may help (can it hurt?!).

The RYA may have a leeeeetle influence, perhaps, if you can confidently wave one of their competencies (and probably plead in the local patois)...

If you really, really want to be sure, I'd approach the appropriate embassy in Oz and get an email or letter advising that you're local competency has met the Australian standards. Letterhead is good.

[Roger Tetley]

Thanks for the info!
I get the impression that what ever you waive in front of the officials will do!
Thanks again

[Michael Cobbe]

I have been sailing in Australia for over 40 years and owned several boats. Do I need a licence to sail in the Med on my own boat?[/QUOTE]


I have sailed all the Med east then west and was never asked for a licence. The only country I iknow who wants one is Croatia.

[azul_b]

Aus / UK citizen with boat on Greece for 10 years. I used an expired Aus sailing club card as my °license" for the first few years and it was good enough with Greek Port Police to get Dekpa. Then before going to Montenegro and Croation I paid an instructor 1/2 day fee (150 euro ish) to certify me for ICC. Real benifit was she gave a lot of tips to me and my wife on med Mooring and wife has a lot of confidence since. Worth every euro!

[sailing_gal]

I have been sailing around the Med and the only place where they required some kind of licensure was Monte Negro. The Portbook I have says Croatia wants one too, but when I was there a year and a half ago, they did not ask for anything. Monte Negro insists that you have a certificate that qualifies you to captain the boat you are on. However, the port captain there will "captain" your boat into port if necessary, and help you sign up for a one day course to get you a certificate so you can take your boat out of port.

[sailcrazy]

We sailed the Medd for 4 seasons, heard the same rumors, and had the same concerns. Since we had never had any formal training in 30+ yrs of sailing, I found a ASA sailing school, explained the situation, then bought their books and wrote their exams, and was issued an ASA Bare Boat Certification. Still have it, but was never asked to show it! But we know some cruisers who did not have it, were challenged, and then denied entry. Better safe than sorry!

[robert sailor]

We sailed the Med for a couple of years and the only place we had to show that type of documentation was in marina in Turkey.

[meirriba]

Charter companies usually ask for sailing credentials.
On our private boat I was asked to present my licence in Greece to get the Greek transit log. This was last year.

[SaltyMetals]

Relax. Get an ICC and that is sure to be enough. (It automatically comes in many languages so no further translation is nec) . You will most likely find that having obtained the ICC tht nobody ever asks for it.

Best of luck
andrew

[Jacopo]

Originally Posted by Roger Tetley

Hi Everyone,
I have been sailing in Australia for over 40 years and owned several boats. Do I need a licence to sail in the Med on my own boat?

If you sail your boat with Australian flag and you are Australian passport you don't need any license in all the Med except in HR where is mandatory......Strange guys....

Fair winds, Jacopo.

[chuckr]

I have just returned from 6 years in the Med . Sailed to every country except 5 and 4 of those they shoot st you. I was asked on a few occasions for my Capt license .. they accepted me ASA cert

[Username25]

I was wondering about ICC. Is it for EU resident only? What would be the easiest way to get it just in case?

[nic26]

Try to find a school that works with RYA, they are all over the place.
https://www.rya.org.uk/courses-train...Pages/hub.aspx

[SaltyMetals]

Jacopo, i doubt that Roger knows what you are referring to when you mention "HR". I presume you are referring to Croatia. I have sailed in Croatia for the last 6 yrs. Never been asked to show any certificate of competence when on my own boat although it is quite standard that charter companies ask to see something.

Roger, The ICC is international, it is not only European and if you have some sort of certification already it is simply a matter of applying to RYA online. As various others hv already commented, you might go through the (simple) process of getting an ICC but most likely will never be asked to show it. But better safe than sorry.
Andrew