Bareboat Yacht Charter Checklist

Things to Pack:

• Charter Agreement/Boat Papers
• Passport and any Visas required (plus a photocopy of your passport kept separately)
• Wallets/Purses (but remove unnecessary cards, etc first)
• Polarized Sunglasses (more than one pair if possible!)
• Sun Cream with a good SPF, plus Suncreams for your Face and Lips which need extra protection!
• Glasses (if you need them)
• Sunhats and caps
• Medication if needed (if you get seasick, you may want to discuss remedies with your pharmacist)
• Camera (in a waterproof bag), or a waterproof camera
• Binoculars
• Guidebooks, particularly for the region you are travelling in
• Books to read
• Cash or Travelers Checks sufficient to pay for deposits, provisioning, tips, etc. in local currency
• Holiday clothes - bathing suits, dinner clothes, shorts, t-shirts, sarongs, flip-flops, deck shoes
• Toiletries including insect repellent and after-sun

Particularly for Bareboating

• Motor or Sailing Competence Certificate (inquire as to what papers are necessary in the country where you're chartering)
• Any other boat training documentation you have (course certificates, etc)
• Copies of contracts from boats you've chartered previously. (This gives the Operators confidence in your abilities)
• VHF radio licence (if you have one - not generally required)

Tech Items to Consider Bringing

• iPhone and/or iPad and or Kindle. These products are durable and work great on a yacht and have hundreds of uses. See our article on Technology for Chartering. You can even plot your course on a blog from your iPhone!
• Make sure you have a great playlist of sailing/yachting music on your iPod. 
• Download relevant apps - we have a page dedicated to the best iPhone and iPad apps for yachting and sailing.
• A GoPro 

 

Don’t forget to:

• Provide contact details and itinerary to at least one neighbour and family member
• Read up on the area you'll be visiting, looking for interesting itineraries and things to do. Google and Lonely Planet is great for this, plus the Boatbookings website has many itineraries for all destinations!
• Arrange for hotel rooms if required for your flights. (Most sailboats require you to be in port by Friday night on a Saturday-to- Saturday charter. You can stay on the boat if you like, or often people want the comfort of a hotel room)

 

Things NOT to pack:

• Non-essential valuables
• Watches etc. that are not waterproof
• Anything that if lost would cause you great inconvenience or distress
• Less is more – remember that boats do not have large storage areas 

 

When Leaving the Yacht:

• Check with the marina as to your responsibilities in regards to cleaning up, but in any case tidy it in a manner that shows you have respect for the boat
• Take your personal belongings with you
• If you have any comments about the boat, or if anything needs fixing, photograph them and report them to the Base Operator. Do not wait until you return home!
• Remove all food
• Don't forget to tip your Skipper (if you have one)

 

Arriving Home:

• Post your best pictures on our Facebook page, and hashtag #boatbookings on your Instagram posts so our followers can see them - everyone likes "real" shots!
• Add a comment to our site in the comments section of your yacht, so others learn from your experience
• Send comments and suggestions to your Boatbookings Broker - we love to hear your feedback!
• Report any problems that you encountered to your Boatbookings Broker