How the NauticEd Sailing Certification Ranks Work

This is a brief for Yacht Charter Companies on How the NauticEd Sailing License and Certification Ranks Work.

THE BOTTOM LINE

As adequate certification for charterers, charter companies should look for:

Bareboat Charter Master Rank Level III, IV, or V; or
Captain Rank Level III, IV, or V

These Ranks and Levels mean that the student has more than 50 days sailing on the water experience and completed at least 40 hours of bareboat chartering theory study coursework including navigation.

The Student’s sailing resume with all the details can be viewed online at www.nauticed.org/student_verification. Enter the student’s email address and logbook code to gain full access to, and download, the student’s resume.

Students can also upload their other sailing certifications into their NauticEd resume. Charter companies can look to see if these exist under “Other Certifications” in the resume. This is recommended when the student has not reached the above NauticEd Ranks and Levels.

The SLC license is accepted by all countries in the Mediterranean and the Seychelles as a legal license to sail. It also means that the student has at least Bareboat Charter Master Rank and at least Level III (50 days) which is sufficient for chartering. The SLC can be seen on the student’s resume OR it can be viewed online at www.nauticed.org/SLC with the student’s license number and logbook code.

THE FULL DETAILS

Introduction:

The NauticEd Rank and Level system is based on on-the water practical experience as well as educational theory knowledge.

Of all the global certifying bodies, NauticEd focuses the most on educational knowledge reinforced with real practical on the water sailing experience. NauticEd does so by analyzing the student’s electronic logbook of their practical experience.

We believe that a student is only worthy of bareboat skippering a charter vessel when they have an adequate resume demonstrating knowledge AND experience.

We do not issue certifications in a weekend-long course. There are no “Zero to Hero” programs with NauticEd. A NauticEd bareboat certification means the student is bareboat worthy because they have adequate experience by definition.

EXPERIENCE IS MEASURED IN LEVELS

Levels indicate the amount of ON-THE-WATER experience the student has logged in their electronic logbook. To attain a level a student must have at least 50% of the days as master of the vessel.

Level I: Logged 10 days of sailing experience
Level II: Logged 25 days of sailing experience
Level III: Logged 50 days of sailing experience
Level IV: Logged 100 days of sailing experience
Level V: Logged 200 days of sailing experience

For example, a student with Level III has logged 50 days of sailing experience; at least 25 days must be as master of the vessel.

EDUCATIONAL KNOWLEDGE IS MEASURED IN RANKS

There are 4 ranks with ascending educational theory knowledge.

Qualified Crew: Deckhand and crewing type knowledge – 8 hours theory study
Skipper: Day skippering a sailboat knowledge to approximately 5 miles offshore – 20 hours theory study
Bareboat Charter Master: Weeklong bareboat chartering knowledge – 40 hours theory study
Captain: Advanced offshore sailing knowledge – 65 hours theory study

But note: Rank CANNOT be attained without on-the-water experience. In this sense then, when you see Rank and Level of a student you know exactly their knowledge and experience and thus their worthiness.

Bareboat Charter Master Rank Level (III, IV, or V)

Students who have attained this rank have completed:

A full suite of Bareboat Chartering theory courses taking approximately 40 hours study and testing.
Logged a minimum of 50 days of sailing; 25 of which as master of a sailing vessel and 25 of which on a sailing vessel greater than 28 feet (8.3 m)
Note that there is no Bareboat Charter Master Level I or Level II. We consider that too little experience.

Thus, students who have attained the Bareboat Charter Master Rank will always meet a charter company’s own resume requirements. Additionally, the resume produced by the NauticEd software will show relevant vessel size experience.

Skipper Rank – Level (I – V)

Students who have attained this rank have completed:

A 20-hour extensive online Skipper course
A 5-hour online Maneuvering Under Power course
Logged experience in their logbook according to the above Level table.

Possibly this student is good for coastal day sailing up to 5 miles offshore depending on their experience Level. Thus Skipper Level I, for example, would be a student with not very much experience. Skipper Level V would be a very experienced person with minimal theory training. But, perhaps acceptable for charter in a simple location.

Qualified Crew Rank – Level (I-V)

Students who have attained this rank have completed:

A comprehensive crew hand course
Logged experience in their logbook according to the above Level table.

A Qualified Crew Rank student would not be worthy of chartering a vessel, (unless they have an adequate resume outside the NauticEd system)

Captain Rank Level (III, IV, or V)

Students who have attained this rank have completed:

A full suite of Bareboat Chartering theory courses plus extra offshore courses taking approximately 65 hours study and testing.

Logged a minimum of 50 days of sailing; 25 of which as master of a sailing vessel and 25 of which on a sailing vessel greater than 28 feet (8.3 m)
Note that there is no Captain Level I or Level II. We consider that too little experience.

Thus, students who have attained the Captain Rank will always meet a charter company’s own resume requirements. Additionally, the resume produced by the NauticEd software will show relevant vessel size experience.

THE NAUTICED STUDENT RESUME

Student’s resumes are automatically built in real-time based on the student’s logbook and course completion and are viewable online at:

www.nauticed.org/student_verification

Yacht Charter companies need only input the student’s email address and “logbook code” provided by the student to gain full access to the student’s resume.

The student resume lists:

Completed theory classes
A summary of their on-the-water experience in the past 2 years, 5 years and 10 years all broken out by vessel size, monohull or catamaran, and sailing or power
Instructor on-the-water practical assessments (if any)
Rank and Level.
Any images of any other sailing certifications attained from other sailing certifying bodies.
VHF License if complete

THE SLC (SAILING LICENSE AND CREDENTIALS)

The SLC is an acceptable license for yacht chartering in the Mediterranean.

To attain the SLC, the student must:

Have attained at least Bareboat Charter Master Level III
Have a VHF endorsement on their certificate
Completed an extensive on the water assessment by a NauticEd assessor
Obtained a USA State Boater License, a PCOC for Canadians or a lawful boater license in their country of residence.

If a student is fully experienced, the SLC can be attained in as little as 4 days from start to finish. The License is issued digitally for immediate download after completion of the requirements.

A student’s SLC can be verified by entering the student’s license number and logbook code on this page www.nauticed.org/SLC or via the www.nauticed.org/student_verification page with the student’s email.

For more information on the SLC, visit www.nauticed.org/SLC