Boating Resume, Certifications, and Licenses
We have found that there is a lot of misinformation out there about boating certifications and licenses. So it is a good idea to clear that up now to meet your future expectations.
Boating Resume
A resume is a gathering of everything about your boating knowledge, skills, and experience. It includes your education, any professional instructor assessments, your experience, AND any previous certifications or licenses you may hold. Think of it like a job resume. It allows a yacht charter company to make a decision about the risk of renting a yacht to you as the skipper. Renting a yacht to you is NOT based on a certification – it is the resume. A resume is a way of quickly assessing your competence.
Knowing this, NauticEd built the software that issues certifications so that you only get the certification if you are deemed worthy of that certification and desired activity based on your resume. For example, if you have the NauticEd Bareboat Charter Master for Powerboats Certification, it means that your resume is worthy enough to hold such a certification as well as meet yacht charter company requirements and the requirements to be a competent bareboat skipper. It is a worthy goal. Thus we always say to our students, focus on your resume building activities – the certifications will follow your competence automatically. Build you resume by: taking courses, getting instruction if needed, and gaining experience.
Boating License
A sailing or boating license by definition involves government licensure. As you can guess, a proper boating license accepted by yacht charter companies also requires an accompanying properly structured resume. Presently, two main geopolitical areas in the world require a boating license:
- All of Europe
- The Seychelles
Two main international licenses will work for the Mediterranean and Seychelles:
- The first is the United-Nations-created ICC (International Certificate of Competence) which is administered mostly by the RYA out of the UK as well as various other European Country authorized bodies, who issue it to the citizens of their own country.
- The second is the NauticEd SLC (Sailing License and Credentials).
There are other licenses, but they are not resume-based and often lead to false expectations and denial at the charter base due to lack of experience. Be wary of associations offering a zero-to-hero program that promises a certification for yacht chartering in as few as 10 days or less.
To gain the NauticEd SLC for Powerboating, visit the SLC page.
Boating Certification
A certification by definition is a recognition by an educational body that you have passed some level of education and have some level of skills and experience. It is not a license and is not a guarantee that a charter company will let you rent a boat. Rental is based on the resume.
For Powerboaters, NauticEd currently issues these two certifications:
- Skipper Large Powerboat
- Bareboat Charter Master for Powerboats (a requirement for the SLC above)
To gain the NauticEd Skipper Large Powerboat Certification, complete this course and log a sufficient amount of experience qualifying time in your resume as detailed on this page:
To gain the NauticEd Bareboat Charter Master for Powerboats Certification
complete these courses
- Skipper Large Powerboat (this course)
- Navigation Rules
- Coastal Navigation
- Electronic Navigaiton
- Bareboat Charter Course
and log a sufficient amount of experience qualifying time in your resume as detailed on the FAQ page above.
The NauticEd Bareboat Charter Master for Powerboats certification is an extensive education program covering operations of recreational powerboats including the content of this course, coastal navigation, electronic navigation, and bareboat chartering. It is thus the acceptable and preferred certification for chartering a yacht in The Bahamas which is presently the only Country in the world requiring a Bareboat Certification and, for good reason. In the case of The Bahamas, the maritime authority wanted to protect their reefs by reducing the number of boats running aground. Considering the shallow depths in their aquatic playground, they are well justified in requiring boating knowledge for operators of pleasure craft.
Log Your Boating Experience into Your Logbook
For now, continue taking this course and when you need a break, log your past history of boating experience into your NauticEd electronic logbook. Your resume will grow organically as you complete courses and log boating time. And if you download our NauticEd App (see next page), you’ll always have your Resume, Certifications, and License with you electronically in your pocket
