Can I charter a boat abroad with the Spanish PER?

It is one of the questions I am asked most in port: “Ricard, if I get my PER with you, can I go to Greece next summer and charter a yacht?”

The short answer is yes, in most Mediterranean destinations. The full answer has a few nuances worth understanding before booking flights and a charter. I explain it the way I explain it to my students on board.

First: the PER is a recognised official qualification

The PER (Patrón de Embarcaciones de Recreo, Recreational Boat Skipper) is an official Spanish State licence, regulated by Royal Decree 875/2014 and issued in Catalonia by the Generalitat. It is not a school diploma or a private certificate: its privileges are set by law and are valid throughout Spain.

Its privileges in Spanish waters are clear:

• Boats up to 15 metres long (up to 24 m with the additional requirements).
• Navigation up to 12 miles from the coast from any point.
• Day and night, power and sail (with the corresponding endorsement).
• With the Balearics extension, passages between the mainland and the islands with no distance limit.

That Spanish base is what opens doors abroad.

The golden rule: the flag decides, not the country

This is the key concept. What determines the qualification you need is not the country you are sailing in, but the boat’s flag.

Spanish-flagged boat

If the boat flies the Spanish flag —it is yours, a friend’s, or you charter it from a Spanish company operating a fleet under the Spanish flag— your PER keeps all its privileges anywhere in the world. You can take the boat to Sardinia, the Cyclades, Turkey or the Caribbean, and the rules on board are Spanish.

This is key for boat owners and for anyone chartering from Spanish owners who spend the season abroad.

Foreign-flagged boat

If you charter a boat flying the flag of the destination country —the usual case for a charter in Greece, Italy or Croatia— then it depends on what that country recognises. And here comes the good news.

What happens in practice, country by country

Real charter practice in the Mediterranean is much more flexible than the theory. Charter companies have worked with Spanish clients for decades, and the PER is well established in the circuit.

A special case worth knowing: Spanish boats at the destination

Many Spain-based charter companies operate Spanish-flagged fleets in foreign ports. It is more common than it seems, especially in Sardinia and the south of France.

What does this mean for you? If you charter one of those boats, you sail under the Spanish flag and your PER has all its privileges, without depending on local recognition. Ask about the boat’s flag when you finalise the booking: it can make life simpler.

Why the PER with the Balearics extension and sail endorsement is the winning combination

If you are getting the PER with charter abroad in mind, do it with both extensions. Here is why:

• Without the sail endorsement, your PER limits you to motorboats. And the bulk of the Mediterranean charter market —the most attractive, the cheapest per person in a group, the classic island-hopping experiences— is sail and catamaran. Without it, you watch them from the pontoon.
• Without the Balearics extension, your PER does not allow the passage between mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands. With it, you can cross to Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza or Formentera with no distance limit.

The full PER, with sail and Balearics, is the all-round licence that gets you ready for almost any Mediterranean charter without falling short on any booking.

And if something serious happens? What does the boat’s insurance say?

It is a question that almost always comes up: “If I charter a boat in Greece with the PER and there is a serious incident, will the insurer say my licence is not valid outside Spain?”

Here you need to understand how insurance really works in a charter, because the logic is not the same as car insurance.

The owner insures the boat, not you

The charter boat’s insurance (hull and third-party liability) is taken out by the owning company in the country where it operates: the Greek owner with a Greek insurer, the Italian with an Italian one, the Croatian with a Croatian one. As the charterer you are not the policyholder. You are the skipper authorised by the owner through the charter contract.

And that nuance changes everything.

The insurance follows the contract, not official recognition

Professional charter policies do not require the skipper to hold a licence recognised by the State where the boat sails. They require the skipper to meet the qualification requirements the owner set in the contract. Typical wording: “the skipper shall hold a certificate of competence accepted by the charter company”.

In plain words: if the charter company accepted your PER when you signed the contract and handed over the boat, for the purposes of the owner’s policy your licence is valid. It is not that the insurer looks the other way: the insurance responds to the contract you and the owner signed, not to a criterion of recognition between countries.

That is why Greece, Italy, Croatia and France have chartered to Spanish skippers with the PER for decades without systemic incidents. The international charter circuit is well oiled with the licences of the main issuing countries, Spain included.

Where you do need to be careful

Where insurance cover can really go wrong is not the origin of the licence, but other things:

• Lying in the booking. If you declare a higher licence than you really have, the owner can void the contract and so can their insurer. Always declare exactly what you hold.
• Leaving the contractual area. Each charter contract defines a permitted sailing area. Outside it, the insurance may exclude cover.
• Night sailing without permission. Many contracts forbid it unless agreed in writing in advance.
• Ignoring gale warnings or sailing with an official warning in force.
• Alcohol or drugs in the skipper in charge.

In any of those cases the problem does not come from the PER: it would be the same with any other licence, even the highest in the world.

Good practice before casting off

• Keep the charter company’s written confirmation accepting your PER before paying for the booking. An email is enough. If there is ever an argument, that email is gold.
• Take out deposit (excess) insurance (around €150-400 depending on length). It covers the deposit in case of damage and is the best cost-to-peace-of-mind ratio in chartering.
• If you will sail outside Spain regularly, consider a skipper’s liability policy with an insurer specialising in international yachting. These products are designed exactly for this scenario.
• Ask for a copy of the boat’s insurance certificate at check-in. As the charterer you are entitled to it.

Practical tips before booking a charter abroad

After more than 27 years watching students go sailing all over the Mediterranean, this is the advice I give them:

1. Confirm in writing with the charter company which documents they require. They all have a requirements page by licence, and if you send a photo of your licence they reply within minutes.
2. Bring the original physical licence, not just a photo on your phone. Some countries’ harbour authorities still prefer to see the card.
3. A valid passport or ID: obvious, but people forget.
4. A simple sailing CV: a summary in English of your miles and experience. Almost every professional charter company will ask for it, and it is good practice to have it ready.
5. The owner provides the insurance, but check the excess and whether deposit insurance is worth it. It usually is.

In short

With the Spanish PER, its Balearics extension and the sail endorsement, you have direct access to recreational charter in Italy, Greece, Croatia, France, Portugal and most of the Mediterranean. The licence you get at Altair is not a diploma limited to Spanish waters: it is the key to sailing Europe’s most spectacular destinations.

If you want that Greek charter next summer to happen, now is the time to start. Practical training places fill up from spring, and the PER with its extensions can be done at your own pace, alongside work.