I love sailing, I got into it late in life. I was looking for something to do that would involve the whole family. Sailing was perfect, it is a bit like camping in a camper van, but way cooler and less busy.

There is nothing like the feeling of being out on the sea, with no sound apart from the wind in the sails and the woosh of the yacht as it cuts through the sea.

We are sooo lucky in the UK. We have some of the most amazing coastal features that are only really visible from the sea.

The coastline in the UK has been battered and abused by the seas and the weather for millennia. The west coast has been fully exposed to the North Atlantic and is constantly bombarded by the weather systems fired from the hot humid atmosphere of the Caribbean. Combined with the strong ebb and flow of the tides has carved some of the most amazing and beautiful rock formations and sights.

The east coast of the country has cliffs that have been gradually eroded over time and formed into the shallow mud and silt of the East Anglian coastline. Here there are plenty of creeks, rivers and broads to explore, and guess what the best way to experience this is by boat!

Features like the Needles, the chalk cliff formation at the west end of the Isle of Wight. The Jurassic coast and Old Harry rocks in Dorset. Hurst Castle, which is a Napoleonic era fort perched on the rocky Hampshire coast opposite the Isle of White. The Napoleon forts off the coast from Portsmouth. The more sedate yacht sailing in the Norfolk Broads. That is before I even mention Scotland! Although not for the faint-hearted, the weather can be unpredictable and fierce.

Although it is possible to get organised boat trips to see these sights, you only see a tiny snippet of what is available, and you lack the freedom of being able to choose where and when you want to go, and how long to stay.

The cost of a large enough yacht these days is beyond the finances of most families. So, how can you get on the water without your own boat?

The answer is to ‘bareboat charter’ a yacht.

The ‘bareboat’ term may conjure up images of running around naked on a yacht, but it is not that naughty! A bareboat chartered yacht is a yacht that is chartered and skippered by the charterer. This avoids the additional cost that a hired skipper would cost and the additional space the skipper would take up. Pretty much every professional skipper I’ve met have been very friendly, professional and discreet, so this may be a viable option for you.

There are about 50 companies around the UK that provide yachts for the public to charter.

However, there is a catch. Anyone chartering a yacht in the UK needs to be a qualified skipper or prove they have enough experience to confidently handle the yacht. You need a minimum of ‘RYA Day Skipper’ to be able to hire a yacht to sail in ‘known waters’ in the UK. This is for a very good reason. The seas around the UK are very tidal with strong currents, which can be dangerous if you don’t know what you are doing. Also, the weather can be very changeable and can turn very nasty in a very short space of time. You need to be skilled enough to get to safety, if it does change nasty. Even if you do own your own yacht, it is very wise to get the proper training.

The good news is that here in the UK we have plenty of places that provide sail training and they all conform to the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), standard, which means no matter where you learn and qualify in the UK, you can present the qualification and charter a yacht anywhere in the UK.

So How Much Does It Cost To Bareboat Charter?

There are a few different costs in the charter, it is not just the headline charter price. So, in this article I have listed the usual ones you need to be aware of, so that when you go to charter a yacht, you don’t get any surprises.

Here is a breakdown of the costs:-

Charter Fee

This is the cost to hire the actual vessel for the duration of your sailing holiday.

The charter cost usually depends mainly on three factors: length of the yacht, location and the age of the yacht.

Security Deposit

Because you are going to be in-charge of the charter company’s very expensive yacht, they almost always ask you for a deposit. The minimum is around £1000 for a very small yacht and many thousands of pounds for a large catamaran. For a typical 40ft monohull it is £2000.

The fee is usually based on the ‘Excess’ value that the charter company have agreed with their commercial boat charter insurance provider.

Most charter companies will accept the deposit as a pre-payment on a credit card, but some still request it in cash. Confirm with the company before you arrive to avoid the embarrassment of having to have a whip round for the cash or the last minute dash round cashpoints to scrape together enough money!

Fuel

Fuel is generally not included in the charter price. Normally you collect the yacht with a full fuel tank. Then at the end of the charter, you are expected to return the yacht with a full fuel tank. So, on the last day of the charter, before you bring the yacht back to the home berth, visit the fuel berth and top the fuel tanks up. You will normally pay for the fuel at the fuel berth.

Wet Weather Gear

If you know the British weather at all, you know how variable and potentially wet it can be. It really does pay to have the correct wet weather gear when you are sailing around the UK. If you don’t have your own gear, most charter companies provide the facility to hire wet weather gear for the whole crew, and some actually include wet weather gear in the charter cost.

The typical cost for wet weather gear is between £5-£10 per day per per person.

Berthing Fees

Depending on where you moor the yacht during your holiday, you may be charged for mooring. Most marinas charge based on the length of the yacht and the cost varies between marinas. You can expect to pay between £25 and £50 per night.

Be sure to ask the charter company for affiliated marinas. Sometimes there may be marinas in the area that are affiliated to the home marina, which means you can moor there without charge.

Of course if you can find a sheltered anchorage overnight, it will cost you nothing!

Extras

Charter companies may also offer extras to your charter, which may be useful. If you are travelling to the charter marina on public transport, there may be no other option but rent them. Here are some of the typical extras:-

• Outboard Engine
• Paddle-boards
• Canoes
• Barbecues
• Fishing gear

Where Can I Sail

There are lots of places to sail around the UK. The main sailing community in the UK is centred around the Solent in the south of England. There are centres around other parts of the UK, providing access to others areas of the coastline.

Some other popular sailing areas are:-

• East Anglia
• Devon
• Cornwall
• Cardiff
• Anglesea
• Cumbria
• Clyde Estuary
• West Scotland

What Qualifications

So the charter companies are going to let you loose with a very expensive yacht. Before they do that they need to be sure that you know what you are doing. This is where the qualifications come in. All charterers in the UK recognise the qualifications provided by the Royal Yachting Association (RYA). The RYA have a series of training courses consisting of theory and practical parts. They cover crew training and various stages of skipper training. Most charter companies in the Solent area take a minimum of the Day Skipper (Tidal) qualification, and the rest of the country takes a minimum of Coastal Skipper. The alternative is that you have to prove that you have sufficient sailing experience without a qualification.

It is way easier just to get the Day Skipper qualification.

How To Find A Charter Company

The obvious place to start is Google or Bing. Just search for ‘bareboat yacht charter uk’ and you’ll get a list of yacht charter companies and agents operating in the UK.

There are a few yacht charter agencies that promote yachts on-behalf of owners. The main agencies with yachts in the UK market are:-

• Sunsail
• Dream Yacht Charter
• Samboat
• Globe Sailor
• BorrowABoat

These companies only promote yachts that are signed up to their services and they also take a cut of the rental fee you pay for the charter.

Alternatively, https://sailfinder.org is a UK only yacht listings service. It lists every charter-able yacht in the UK. It is free to use and is does not take a cut of your rental fee, so it allows boat owners to offer you a better price if you are make a request from the website.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I setup the https://sailfinder.org website a year ago to help promote sailing in the UK.

Booking Your Boat

Once you’ve found the perfect boat you need to book it.

When you contact the owner or agency, they will normally send you a form to fill in, their terms and conditions and they will normally expect you to pay a deposit to hold the boat.

Terms and conditions vary widely between charter companies, but I have tried to illustrate below what the key points in the normal terms are, so you are not surprised when to receive them!

Booking Deposit

This is usually about 25–30% of the charter cost, depending on the charter company. It is payable immediately to secure the booking. The deposit is normally non-refundable, if you pull out of the charter before the charter date, the company will keep the deposit.

Charter Fee

The majority of charter companies expect the full balance of the charter fee to be paid 1–2 weeks prior to the charter date. I have found that most charter companies in England will take payment by credit card or debit card. Some companies will not take credit cards and will only accept cash, a cheque (yes really), with fully cleared funds, or bank transfer.

Security Deposit

I’ve explained about the Security Deposit before. It is a deposit held during the charter period. If there is any damage to the yacht or unpaid fees, these charges will be taken from this deposit. If there is any significant damage to the yacht, you may lose your deposit completely. Mileage varies a lot here, some companies will accept a pre-payment on a credit card, other expect cash, or bank transfer. Some will accept payment of the charter day, others expect it 2 weeks before the charter. The best thing to do is check with the charterer.

It is advisable to take out holiday insurance to cover your deposit payments and the charter fee, so if something un-expected happens and you are unable to go, you will get your money back.

Sailing Qualifications

I’ve talked a lot about sailing qualifications earlier. The charter company will request what sailing experience and qualifications you and your crew have.

Sailing Area

All charter companies want to know where you intend to take their boat! They almost all track their yachts using AIS, so can tell at anytime where you are. This can be quite handy when things go wrong!

All charterers also have an accepted sailing area that they expect you to keep within, unless you agree with them prior to the charter.

Other Useful Things To Check

• What state do they expect you to return the boat in? Do they expect a full clean, or can you just do a first pass ‘remove the rubbish’?
• What bedding is required: Most charter yachts just have a basic foam mattress. You may want to bring duvets, sleeping bags, pillows etc., or hire them. It is best to check to be comfortable.
• Is the dingy included and does it have an outboard motor?

That’s It!

I have been bareboat chartering in the UK and in the Mediterranean for a few years now. This is all the information I’ve collected by trial and error over that time. I really hope you agree with me that it really is the best way to way to sail. I hope that my article has been helpful?

For more information about sailing qualifications, check out the RYA website here: https://www.rya.org.uk/training

Please contact me with your stories and check out my yacht search site: https://sailfinder.org

Good luck and happy sailing!