Chartering with a skipper. Now that you know you need or want to go chartering with a skipper, how much will it cost to hire one?

Price. In 2026 the most typical price for chartering with a skipper was between €240 or $240 per day. Whilst advertising rates are quoted per day, it can be difficult to charter for anything short of a week, as most skippers are seeking full employment at peak times. The exception is assisted sailing.

Assisted sailing. This is where a skipper joins you for several days at the commencement of your charter. It's particularly useful if you are a little out of practice, a new sailor, or sailing a bigger boat than you are used to.

How much does it cost to charter a yacht. We do recommend you check out our blog How Much Does It Cost to Charter a Yacht if you would like to piece the whole picture together.

On high-end charters, known as crewed charters, the crew on the boat full-time have resumes and CVs that will be sent to you before booking. On skippered charters, where the boat and skipper are hired separately, skippers more typically come from a pool and, for operational reasons, might only be allocated at short notice. This might not always be the case: smaller companies may allocate well in advance and changes are rare.

Being denied access to your crew in advance is a common policy from operators. This ensures that the crew focus entirely on you when you are on charter, rather than dealing with communications from charters in the weeks ahead.

In some cases, your operator may not know who your skipper is, or may leave themselves the ability to move people around at the last minute. This is priced in when compared to crewed charters.

SailChecker will always honestly manage expectations about crew access. We are also a team of ex-crew members who can often answer many of the questions without needing to revert to the crew.

This might seem an odd thing to need to know when you're chartering with a skipper, but it can be useful to know as it might not be quite what you were expecting.

Crewed charter. If you are chartering a boat with a permanent crew, they are almost always salaried, or own the boat. If they are employees, they will have contracts with the crewed yacht charter operator. They are very typically a couple who share a cabin, which allows cabin space to be maximised for guest use.

Skippered charter. If you are hiring your skipper separately, it's commonly referred to as a skippered charter. You are, in essence, adding a skipper to a bareboat charter, like you might add a driver to a hire car.

Key info. Keep in mind that every crew member will need their own cabin to comply with employment law in most countries. That said, there are lots of exceptions, but it pays not to assume.

Employment status. When chartering with a skipper in this manner, they will typically be self-employed. The operator will have their own reputation to protect and will always try to work with the best they can find, yet they won't always be directly responsible.

Here is a list of seven things you will typically find your skipper is unlikely to do as part of your agreement.

Pay your deposit. Most boats have a non-refundable element to the deposit. As a charterer, it may come as a surprise to know that in many cases you are still responsible to the operator, and the skipper is responsible to you. If damage is caused through an extraordinary event that the skipper could not have ordinarily made provision for, then the liability falls to the charterer, not the skipper. If the skipper damages the boat, say during docking, they will almost certainly cover that cost, and many are insured, yet do not take that for granted.

Cook. There are many great skipper cooks out there, yet it cannot be an expectation. It's not even possible to demand one; it's something you might be able to influence through your agent, so if it's important to you, make it known at the start.

Serve drinks or meals. On the contrary, it's actually your duty to ensure they are fed and watered. This need not be in the style you are feeding yourselves, although it is quite rare to discriminate, but so long as you discharge your responsibility, the skipper will be more than happy.

Sail if unsafe. No matter your crew's experience, the decision to sail will always lie with the skipper. This can even come at a difficult time in the charter, yet the skipper will always put the safety of the crew and boat before any practical considerations.

Wash up. Skippers will always tidy up after themselves if they are preparing their own food, for instance, but they will not discharge any domestic duties whilst on board. They take more practical measures, such as stowing garbage, but it will be your responsibility to dispose of it ashore.

Late runs ashore. The way you will get ashore for land-based activities is via the tender. During the day this will often be the skipper or other crew. Yet in the evening, they will not stay awake to run guests back to the yacht after a certain time.

Provisioning. Your skipper will not do any provisioning. You will need to hire a chef or a hostess if you need this doing for you. Many good agents will help you do your initial provisioning remotely so that it is delivered to you on your first day without the need to visit the local supermarket.

Work all hours. Your skipper will work hard during your charter and will always be on duty if you are underway, though not always on watch in exceptional circumstances such as a night sail. Whilst chartering with a skipper, they will always be available for advice at the dock or at a mooring, but their duties are considerably curtailed. Typically a skipper should not be working more than 8 hours a day.

Pre-charter support. Charters are pretty intensive for crew, ensuring you have the very best time. The last thing you want on your charter is the crew being inattentive because they are dealing with questions from guests of upcoming charters. For that reason, most operators protect their crew by dealing with your questions and pre-charter support up until much closer to the day, if not the day of your charter itself.

Teach you to sail. This is a strange one, as it appears in both what skippers won't do and what they will do. Most skippers love teaching, yet willing students can be difficult to find. For that reason, some skippers will shy away from any formal teaching that isn't formalised in a syllabus.

Responsibility. It's a clear obligation for the charterer to ensure the skipper is properly provisioned for.

Provisioning on board. How to provision for your skipper is a matter of discretion, and a decision you can amend as you see fit without upsetting your skipper. They will be more than happy preparing meals from food you have bought for them, or eating your meals whilst aboard; this is the most common approach.

Provisioning ashore. In some cases, the skipper might prefer to eat alone on the boat to do some work or attend to other matters. If this is the case, you can simply leave some provisions to use, or provide an allowance.

Summary. In the end, chartering with a skipper and feeding them is not an exact science. You should not be afraid of making your own plan, so long as they are catered for.

How much you tip when chartering with a skipper can depend on a few factors: the price of the charter, location, number of crew, and so on. Tips are generally higher in the Caribbean and North America due to the tipping culture.

The Mediterranean Yacht Brokers Association (MYBA) has suggested tipping guidelines. The general rule is to tip between 10% and 15% of your weekly charter fee, excluding running expenses and taxes.

That seems about right to us, although we do see more.

This is a complex question. There are many recognised schemes around the world and hundreds of training providers. It largely depends on what you want to use your qualification for and what you want to leave open in the future.

If you only care about chartering and will only sail in these cruising areas, then you should read our blog on the International Certificate of Competence (ICC), which is the qualification most bareboat and skipper hire arrangements will accept.

If you have further ambitions as a professional charter, flotilla, or delivery skipper, then there is more information available to help you plan the next step. The route from recreational sailor to professional skipper usually runs through a recognised shore-based and practical syllabus, building up sea miles and endorsements as you go.