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Course: 

International Bareboat Skipper

Course Description

The scope of this 5 day course is for the student to obtain the theory and practical knowledge required to safely and competently operate as skipper/captain.

During the practical course you will be sailing in the south coast of Portugal, exploring the Ria Formosa Nature Park and the local islands.

As we are in tidal water you will have the chance to plan and do exercises using the tides, including rules of twelves, tidal diamonds and tidal atlas.

Maximum of 3 (exceptionally 4) candidates onboard, so expect a intensive course.

Accommodation onboard.

You can combine this course with a sailing expedition and explora the Gulf of Cadiz and the Spanish coast.

Listen an ex-student. What he says about our Bareboat Skipper training

Check in time

9:30

Pre-Requisites

16 years of age
?
VHF certification
?
International Crew certification
?
10 days and 200 miles
?

What's included?

Fee to our conservation project
?
Course notebook
?
Online theory course
?
Insurance
?
Accomodation onvboard
?

➞ Combine this course with a sailing expedition!

What does this mean? Instead of doing this course in a fixed location, you can optionally set sail towards a destination. We call those adventures our Sailing Expeditions. Accommodation is included in our Sailing Expeditions! If you are searching for adventure and a unique learning experience, you should check this out.

Available combinations:

READ: Combining a course with a sailing expedition
Red alert icon
Important: Before booking

Before booking any of our expeditions, please make sure to have read all the relevant information showed above and understand all conditions that may apply when joining a sailing expedition. For a better experience onboard for all crew members, some basic rules should be understood and followed. You can find them in this links:

READ: What to expect?

READ: Terms and conditions

Upcoming dates for this course

2025
19
May
 - 
23
May
Person line icon
Only 1 Place Available!
3
places Available
Departing soon!
Booking now
Postponed
Fully booked
cancelled

Course Booking Form

International Bareboat Skipper
starting on
May 19, 2025

Please fill this form in order to book a place in our course! After completing, please wait up to 48 hours for further information and booking confirmation.

Personal and contact information
Expedition combination

When possible, we offer the possibility to combine courses with a sailing expedition! Please let us know if you are interested and we will confirm if it is possible for this date.

Would you like to combine the course with a sailing expedition?
Send us a message

Any thoughts? Something you want to tell us? Please write to us here!

All good, you are ready to send the application.

Before submitting this form, please understand that you are freely giving us your personal and contact information, which will be used only for booking purposes and won't be shared with other parties.

Thank you! Your submission has been received and we will be contacting you within the next 48 hours to guide you into the next steps in order to confirm the booking. If you have any doubts, please contact us here.

The Atlantic Explorers Team
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

* Please fill in the required fields.

2025
2
Jun
 - 
6
Jun
Person line icon
Only 1 Place Available!
3
places Available
Departing soon!
Booking now
Postponed
Fully booked
cancelled

Course Booking Form

International Bareboat Skipper
starting on
June 2, 2025

Please fill this form in order to book a place in our course! After completing, please wait up to 48 hours for further information and booking confirmation.

Personal and contact information
Expedition combination

When possible, we offer the possibility to combine courses with a sailing expedition! Please let us know if you are interested and we will confirm if it is possible for this date.

Would you like to combine the course with a sailing expedition?
Send us a message

Any thoughts? Something you want to tell us? Please write to us here!

All good, you are ready to send the application.

Before submitting this form, please understand that you are freely giving us your personal and contact information, which will be used only for booking purposes and won't be shared with other parties.

Thank you! Your submission has been received and we will be contacting you within the next 48 hours to guide you into the next steps in order to confirm the booking. If you have any doubts, please contact us here.

The Atlantic Explorers Team
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

* Please fill in the required fields.

2025
23
Jun
 - 
27
Jun
Person line icon
Only 1 Place Available!
3
places Available
Departing soon!
Booking now
Postponed
Fully booked
cancelled

Course Booking Form

International Bareboat Skipper
starting on
June 23, 2025

Please fill this form in order to book a place in our course! After completing, please wait up to 48 hours for further information and booking confirmation.

Personal and contact information
Expedition combination

When possible, we offer the possibility to combine courses with a sailing expedition! Please let us know if you are interested and we will confirm if it is possible for this date.

Would you like to combine the course with a sailing expedition?
Send us a message

Any thoughts? Something you want to tell us? Please write to us here!

All good, you are ready to send the application.

Before submitting this form, please understand that you are freely giving us your personal and contact information, which will be used only for booking purposes and won't be shared with other parties.

Thank you! Your submission has been received and we will be contacting you within the next 48 hours to guide you into the next steps in order to confirm the booking. If you have any doubts, please contact us here.

The Atlantic Explorers Team
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

* Please fill in the required fields.

2025
11
Sep
 - 
15
Sep
Person line icon
Only 1 Place Available!
3
places Available
Departing soon!
Booking now
Postponed
Fully booked
cancelled

Course Booking Form

International Bareboat Skipper
starting on
September 11, 2025

Please fill this form in order to book a place in our course! After completing, please wait up to 48 hours for further information and booking confirmation.

Personal and contact information
Expedition combination

When possible, we offer the possibility to combine courses with a sailing expedition! Please let us know if you are interested and we will confirm if it is possible for this date.

Would you like to combine the course with a sailing expedition?
Send us a message

Any thoughts? Something you want to tell us? Please write to us here!

All good, you are ready to send the application.

Before submitting this form, please understand that you are freely giving us your personal and contact information, which will be used only for booking purposes and won't be shared with other parties.

Thank you! Your submission has been received and we will be contacting you within the next 48 hours to guide you into the next steps in order to confirm the booking. If you have any doubts, please contact us here.

The Atlantic Explorers Team
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

* Please fill in the required fields.

2025
22
Sep
 - 
26
Sep
Person line icon
Only 1 Place Available!
3
places Available
Departing soon!
Booking now
Postponed
Fully booked
cancelled

Course Booking Form

International Bareboat Skipper
starting on
September 22, 2025

Please fill this form in order to book a place in our course! After completing, please wait up to 48 hours for further information and booking confirmation.

Personal and contact information
Expedition combination

When possible, we offer the possibility to combine courses with a sailing expedition! Please let us know if you are interested and we will confirm if it is possible for this date.

Would you like to combine the course with a sailing expedition?
Send us a message

Any thoughts? Something you want to tell us? Please write to us here!

All good, you are ready to send the application.

Before submitting this form, please understand that you are freely giving us your personal and contact information, which will be used only for booking purposes and won't be shared with other parties.

Thank you! Your submission has been received and we will be contacting you within the next 48 hours to guide you into the next steps in order to confirm the booking. If you have any doubts, please contact us here.

The Atlantic Explorers Team
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

* Please fill in the required fields.

2025
13
Oct
 - 
17
Oct
Person line icon
Only 1 Place Available!
3
places Available
Departing soon!
Booking now
Postponed
Fully booked
cancelled

Course Booking Form

International Bareboat Skipper
starting on
October 13, 2025

Please fill this form in order to book a place in our course! After completing, please wait up to 48 hours for further information and booking confirmation.

Personal and contact information
Expedition combination

When possible, we offer the possibility to combine courses with a sailing expedition! Please let us know if you are interested and we will confirm if it is possible for this date.

Would you like to combine the course with a sailing expedition?
Send us a message

Any thoughts? Something you want to tell us? Please write to us here!

All good, you are ready to send the application.

Before submitting this form, please understand that you are freely giving us your personal and contact information, which will be used only for booking purposes and won't be shared with other parties.

Thank you! Your submission has been received and we will be contacting you within the next 48 hours to guide you into the next steps in order to confirm the booking. If you have any doubts, please contact us here.

The Atlantic Explorers Team
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

* Please fill in the required fields.

No upcoming dates found. Click here to request a new date!
No upcoming dates found. Click here to request a new date!
No upcoming dates found. Click here to request a new date!
No upcoming dates found. Click here to request a new date!
No upcoming dates found. Click here to request a new date!
No upcoming dates found. Click here to request a new date!

* Shown above are the already fixed dates for this course that you can join straight away.
  If none is suitable for you, click here to request another date!

Structure of the course

The following are the main subjects to be taught during this course. After completion, the student should be competent at an acceptable level.

Where:

Marina of Olhão - Algarve

Sailing ground - Algarve | Ria Formosa |

Duration:

5 days - 5 days of practical course

Accommodation: private bunk

When:

Check our calendar - choose the desired course and explore the calendar. If open course are not good for you suggest another date. It is easier for us to open a new course if you have a group of 3-4 people.

Exams:

Practical: continuous assessment

Theory: day #5 in the morning / but can be day 3 or 4 according to weather forecast and course layout

Syllabus:

  • Responsibilities of a bareboat skipper
  • Crew safety checks
  • Hull and rig checks
  • Machinery and systems checks
  • Fuel and water capacity and range
  • Menus and quantities
  • Float plan
  • Sources of meteorological information
  • Weather patterns
  • Sea and land breezes
  • Cloud types and formations
  • Pilotage and passage planning
  • Considerations when planning a passage
  • Routine for navigating a coastal passage
  • Passage strategy
  • Port regulations, customs, immigration
  • Pilotage plans
  • Vessel handling in confined quarters
  • Mooring, anchoring, coming alongside
  • Ropes, knots, care and use of lines
  • General deck work
  • Tides and currents theory
  • Tidal heights, springs and neaps
  • Rule of “twelfths”
  • Position fixing, running fixes
  • Plotting the effect of tides and currents
  • Collision regulations
  • Lights, shapes and sounds
  • Application of the regulations
  • Advanced dingy handling

The instruction will take place over a period of the whole course emphasising the practical applications of a sailing vessel handling.

If you want to know more details about the course outline and subjects, please contact us here.

Requirements

Some of our courses require some qualifications or previous experience from the candidate due to the nature the course.

This are the pre-requirements to book and join this course:

16 years of age
?
VHF certification
?
International Crew certification
?
10 days and 200 miles
?

If you want to know more details about certifications and proven experience onboard, please contact us here.

Downloadable resources

Use this documents to start learning and preparing your course. Please note that you should go through all this information before you start your course with us.

If you need more details on course preparation, please contact us here.

News from the Ocean!

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