Home / IYT / IYT International Bareboat Skipper
IYT International Bareboat Skipper
The charter qualification — and emphatically not a beginner course.
International Bareboat Skipper is not a beginner course.
IYT currently requires candidates to have accumulated more than 200 nautical miles and 10 days at sea before qualifying.
This makes it particularly relevant to:
- Who it suits
- Sailors with real miles who intend to charter without a professional skipper aboard.
- What it is not
- Not an entry-level certificate. IYT currently requires 200+ nautical miles and 10 days at sea first.
Primary source: IYT course catalogue. Course structures and prerequisites can change; confirm the current version with the training body and school.
The course in context
Bareboat Skipper is a command qualification for recreational cruising without a professional skipper aboard. It brings together handling, planning and looking after people. The practical question is whether you can organise a manageable trip and respond when something changes, not merely whether you can steer a yacht on a pleasant afternoon.
Before you start
IYT states that candidates must have logged more than 200 nautical miles and 10 days at sea before qualifying. Ask the school how it verifies experience and which radio documentation is required. Confirm the certificate’s current operating limits and your intended charter operator’s requirements; recognition is not a universal promise of boat hire.
Skills you will develop
Passage preparation
Consider weather, navigation information, crew ability and the proposed destination together. A skipper must be able to explain why the plan is suitable.
Practical command
Coordinate boat handling, anchoring and crew jobs. The quality of a briefing can be as important as the movement of the helm.
Boat and crew management
Understand the systems and routines that support a multi-day cruise. Ask the instructor to distinguish normal owner checks from faults requiring professional help.
Training and assessment
Theory and practical competence both matter. Check whether online study, classroom work and assessment are separate components. A compact practical course is not a replacement for the experience requirement, even if a provider offers a package marketed to people starting from scratch.
Questions to ask the school
- How will my logged experience be checked?
- Which operating limits apply to the certificate I receive?
- Does the intended charter operator require additional evidence or a checkout?
Related learning
Other IYT courses
IYT Sailing Course Pathway
The IYT route in order, with a catamaran variant at every skipper level.
IYT International Crew
IYT’s entry-level yacht course, and its closest equivalent to RYA Competent Crew.
IYT International Flotilla Skipper
Command of your own yacht, but within a flotilla with a lead boat in reach.
IYT Catamaran Sailing Qualifications
The clearest multihull pathway of any scheme: a catamaran version at every skipper level.
IYT Yachtmaster Coastal
IYT’s first Yachtmaster level, in sail, power and catamaran versions.
IYT Yachtmaster Offshore
The offshore level, for passages well beyond sight of land.
IYT Yachtmaster Ocean
The top of the IYT recreational pathway, celestial navigation included.
IYT ICC
Recognised in a number of countries, mainly European. Not a worldwide sailing licence.
Australian schools using IYT
These schools advertise training under the IYT system. This does not confirm that every school currently runs IYT International Bareboat Skipper; check the current course list directly.
Which course should you actually book?
Three questions — your experience, the boat you want to sail, and your goal — give you a starting course and the schools that teach it near you.