For people new to sailing
2 Day Course for new sailors wanting to experience (have fun) sailing while learning basic sailing skills.
Multi-day Sailing | Near Coastal Passagemaking | Bareboat Charter Master Certification | International Licensing
For many sailors, the prime motivation for pursuing sailing is to take a sailing vacation in an exotic location – Tonga, the Seychelles, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, just to name a few. With the Bareboat Charter Master Course and Certification, you’ll gain the confidence, competence, and the credentials to do just that.
You’ll benefit greatly from the training and experience of near coastal passage making as well as multi-day sailing. Both require comprehensive knowledge and skills to become competent – you’ll get that in our Bareboat Course, hands-on and online.
During a 4-day or 7-day cruise you learn to become a competent Bareboat skipper with near coastal passage making, multi-day trips, and on large keelboats 30 to 45 feet. You’ll learn how to skipper on a bareboat charter, including passage planning, coastal and electronic navigation, anchoring, mooring, crew overboard rescue, reefing, heaving-to, and other advanced sailing and boat management skills.
A Bareboat Charter Master is an individual who possesses comprehensive knowledge and competence in sailing. This training and certification enables you to confidently lead your friends and family on sailing vacations along coastal waters for multiple days. Becoming a Bareboat Charter Master requires a combination of practical experience, comprehensive online coursework, on-the-water training, and a demonstration of your sailing skills.
At Santana Sailing, our Bareboat courses cover all the essential aspects of multiday sailing. You will learn navigation rules, buoy systems, various sailing techniques, effective boat management and systems, boat handling skills, coastal navigation, electronic navigation methods, and much more. Our sailing school offers a charter-ready program designed to immerse you in practical on-the-water education. Additionally, you will have access to six in-depth multimedia knowledge courses available online.
By completing the Bareboat Charter Master certification program with Santana Sailing, you will develop the necessary skills and knowledge to confidently navigate and manage a sailboat during extended trips. Our comprehensive training will prepare you for the challenges and responsibilities that come with leading a crew on a bareboat charter vacation.
Practical On-the-Water Training:
Course Options:
Online Coursework:
This course is all about multi-day voyages, the kind you’ll want to do on your own. You’ll learn passage planning and provisioning, navigation, anchoring and mooring, and how to handle systems and maneuvers under sail and power, on a large sailboat, on multi-day voyages. You’ll work on all the skills in the Bareboat Charter Master Rubrics, and you can elect to test through for the SLC Mediterranean Sailing License.
This practical on-the-water course utilizes NauticEd’s online Bareboat Charter Master course bundle ( includes 6 courses) sold separately. Additionally, you can also take the included free Navigation Rules and Basic Sail Trim courses (highly recommended). Learning the theory and knowledge online integrates perfectly with our practical on-the-water instruction – letting you learn the knowledge-theory at your own pace, improved retention, and online testing (that you can retake as many times as needed). Overall, this maximizes the amount of time available on-the-water training (and fun).
Upon successfully passing the online knowledge testing and practical training assessment, and logging appropriate experience, you’ll earn the NauticEd Bareboat Charter Master Rank certification with a Near Coastal Endorsement. Learn more about how the BBCM certification.
Optional International License: Upgrade your training to the SLC (International Sailing License and Credentials), accepted by Port Authorities worldwide. The SLC is especially needed when chartering in the Mediterranean and is accepted in lieu of the ICC (International Certificate of Competence).
Assessment: Knowledge and theory competence are assessed online, whereas instructors assess skills and on-the-water competency continually during training or separately and according to a rubric to meet standards. View the Bareboat Charter Master rubrics >
View Bareboat Options below for more schedule and pricing information.
Please contact us for scheduling, Pricing, and Registration.
Contact us to register: please submit the following form and we’ll contact you to discuss pertinent details, and we’ll certainly answer any questions you may have! Alternatively, please feel welcome to contact us at marc@santanasailing.com or 949-939-8123.
How to Gain the BBCM Rank and Certification?
Prerequisite: NauticEd Skipper Rank, or ASA 103, US Sailing Basic Cruising Certification, or equivalent experience. Please contact us to discuss your level of experience prior to registering for this course.
Complete the NauticEd Bareboat Charter Master bundle of online courses.
Join one of our Sail Training Adventures to complete the training and assessment for the BBCM rank. See this link, BBCM Rubrics, to see exactly what the training and assessment covers. If you have experience and can execute the skills in the rubrics, get your practical competency verified with a one-day assessment – contact us for details.
Log 50 days sailing in the free online sailing logbook, and you’ll receive the Bareboat Charter Master Rank Level III, accepted by Dream Yacht Charter, The Moorings, Sunsail, and charter companies around the world.
How does this course compare to ASA 103 or US Sailing Bareboat?
ASA schools have a list of skills they train you on, and you’ll get what amounts to a certificate of attendance. ASA 103 is usually conducted in three days, totaling about 32 hours of training in total. Additionally, critical near coastal and multi-day sailing topics such as Coastal and Electronic Navigation are barely covered by ASA 103 or US Sailing Bareboat. In fact, Coastal Navigation is a separate ASA course that’s not included in their 103 / Bareboat training (which we find absurd – navigation is an essential part of sailing).
At Santana Sailing, we train for a minimal 4-days and 7-days cruises. The online knowledge courses includes a full suite of Bareboat related courses, including Coastal Navigation, Electronic Navigation, and Anchoring/Mooring – all of which are practiced on the cruise. More importantly, we train you to become competent in all of these required skills.
We think you really want a certification of competence, not one of attendance. When you train with us you’ll be ready to charter your own sailboat. See our Commitment To Sailing Competence.