In short
A first charter rests on three things: the right paperwork, the right kit and a calm first day.
Crew paperwork means the crew list, the skipper's licence, insurance and a transit log or charter contract.
Soft holdall only: a hard suitcase has nowhere to live aboard. Shoes with pale, non-marking soles.
The first morning aboard matters more than the first passage: fridge, water, heads, seacocks, lifejackets, extinguishers.
At the base briefing ask about depths, no-anchoring zones, fuel and the engineer's number.
Plan a short first passage in daylight, with a second anchorage in reserve.
What paperwork the crew needs
Crew list. Everyone aboard with their passport details. The base prepares it, you check it: names must match the passports letter for letter, children listed exactly like adults. A mistake here is not a typo, it is the port authority refusing to clear the boat.
Skipper's licence. A valid international skipper's certificate in your name. Ask the base in writing which certificates that country accepts: requirements differ and they change. The base keeps a copy in the boat's folder.
Insurance. The boat's policy lives aboard. Check your own travel medical cover separately: basic policies sometimes exclude sailing.
Transit log or charter contract. Turkey issues a transit log; in Greece and Croatia the folder holds the contract with the boat's charter licence. It is asked for in every port and must be the original.
Passports for the whole crew. Keep them together, in a dry bag, in one place everyone knows, and photograph each page on your phone.
Radio station licence and operator's certificate. In Croatia the inspection asks for the VHF station licence, and many countries want a radio operator's certificate aboard. Ask the base what applies there.
What to bring aboard
A soft holdall, never a suitcase. The first rule, and not negotiable. A hard case will not fit a locker and will not fold away: it stands in the gangway all week. A holdall is emptied, rolled up and stowed under a bunk.
Shoes. Deck shoes or trainers with pale, non-marking soles. Dark soles leave black streaks on the deck, and the base will happily hold back part of the deposit for them. Add flip-flops for the shore showers.
Layers. It is always cooler on the water than on the promenade: a T-shirt, a fleece, a windproof or light waterproof. A night passage or a fresh breeze calls for trousers, not shorts. Keep one dry change of clothes in its own bag.
Head and eyes. A sun hat with a chin strap, or it goes over the side in the first hour. Sunglasses on a lanyard. High-factor sun cream and a lip balm: reflected light burns even under cloud.
Medicine. Your own seasickness remedy — enough for the whole crew — plus painkillers, plasters, antiseptic and a week of anything personal.
Small things that earn their place. A head torch with a red mode, a dry bag for phone and papers, a power bank, gloves for handling lines, a light towel, a refillable bottle.
What to leave at home. Suitcases, heels, black-soled shoes, spare glassware and a stack of books: space aboard runs out faster than you expect.
The first morning aboard
The first day of a charter almost always goes on the boat rather than on a passage. That is normal and correct.
1Switch the fridge on the moment you step aboard: it does not get cold instantly.
2Empty the bags, stow them under the bunks, put things away. Anything not stowed is on the sole by evening.
3Work through the handover checklist and take your photographs before you sail.
4Find with your hands, and show the crew: seacocks, battery isolator, extinguishers and fire blanket, lifejackets, emergency tiller, bilge pump handle, softwood bungs.
5Explain the heads rule: paper in the bin, nothing but water down the pump. A blockage is the most annoying way to lose a deposit.
6Run a safety briefing: how to put on a lifejacket, what happens for man overboard, who calls for help on the radio and on which channel.
The base briefing: what to ask
The base briefs quickly and to its own script. Keep your questions on your phone and ask them yourself.
Depths on the way out of the marina, and the shallowest spots on your intended route.
Where anchoring is prohibited: marine reserves, seagrass beds, cable runs.
Where to go for fuel and when the pontoon closes.
The duty engineer's number and what to do if something breaks.
The working VHF channels of the marinas along the route.
Where the spare impeller, the fuses, the tools and the emergency kit are kept.
Which way this boat walks her stern astern — prop walk differs from boat to boat.
Which anchorages the base recommends for the current forecast, and where to run from the wind.
Ask the simple things too: how this engine starts, where the boom brake is, how the furler behaves. Shown alongside it takes a minute; worked out at sea it takes rather longer.
Roles in the crew
A crew where everyone has a job works twice as calmly. Hand out roles on the first evening, not at the moment of berthing.
The skipper decides and steers in the tight places.
The navigator runs the route: depths, forecast, time of arrival, fallback anchorage.
The foredeck hand owns the lines and fenders.
The cook looks after water, food and order in the galley.
Before berthing, say the roles out loud: who passes the stern lines, who holds the fenders, who picks up the mooring line. Give children a real job — lookout for buoys and boats works very well. Rotate the watches: three hours on the helm is more tiring than it sounds.
Planning the first day
Make the first passage short: two or three hours under way, in daylight, in a direction the base knows. Twenty miles is plenty. Arrive well before evening — berths run out early, and going stern-to in the dark with the wind on the beam is no way to start a holiday.
Keep a fallback: a second bay nearby if the first is full or the wind is in the wrong quarter. Check the forecast in the morning and again before you slip.
Seasickness
Almost everyone gets it, and it is no sign of weakness. Simple things work.
Take the tablets early, an hour before you sail, not once you feel bad: in a seaway they no longer help. Look at the horizon, not at a phone, a chart or a book. The helm is the easiest place aboard, so steering often cures the sufferer. Sit in the air, on the windward side, near the middle of the boat where the motion is least. Eat little and often and drink water. Do not go below for long, especially into the heads or galley.
If it gets bad, put the person in a lifejacket and a safety line, settle them in the cockpit and leave them in peace. It usually passes in a couple of days.
Common questions
What paperwork do I need to charter a yacht bareboat?
A valid skipper's certificate, passports for the whole crew, the crew list, the boat's insurance policy aboard and a transit log or charter contract in the folder. Some countries also want the radio station licence and an operator's certificate. Confirm the exact set with the base in writing beforehand.
What should I pack for a first charter?
A soft holdall, shoes with pale soles, three layers of clothing, a hat with a chin strap, sunglasses on a lanyard, sun cream, a seasickness remedy, a head torch, a dry bag and a power bank. Everything else is aboard or in the marina.
Which yacht should I choose for a first charter?
The newer and simpler one: a recent hull, a straightforward furler, an electric windlass. Size her by the number of people rather than ambition — a forty-footer for four is handled by two and berths far more calmly than a fifty-footer.
What must I ask at the base briefing?
Depths out of the marina and on the route, no-anchoring zones, where the fuel is, the engineer's number, the VHF channels, where the impeller and tools live, and which way she walks her stern astern. Those answers cover most of the first week.
What helps with seasickness aboard?
Tablets early, eyes on the horizon, fresh air on the windward side near the middle of the boat, a little food and plenty of water. Taking the helm often works better than any remedy. Stay out of the cabin and off the phone.
What next
The app carries a first charter end to end: "Boat handover" walks the 48 items and collects your photographs before departure, the "Logbook" records the first passage with its track and miles, "Weather" shows wind, gusts and swell for the anchorage, and the anchor watch keeps an eye on the night. The "Learning" section covers what comes up in the first days: stern-to and alongside berthing, leaving in wind, the safety briefing, crew roles, reefing, man overboard.
Read next: "Yacht charter handover: the checklist that protects your deposit" for what to inspect before you sail; "Stern-to mooring: step by step, with the usual mistakes" for the week's most nerve-racking manoeuvre; "Working out an anchorage: how much chain to veer and what radius" for the first night at anchor. For the screens themselves, see "Handover: where to start", "Recording a passage" and "Departure weather".