Escape with confidence
Skipper yourself bareboat charter company
Escape with confidence
No formal boating qualifications or licences are required to charter with Whitsunday Escape. Some boating knowledge and experience is all it takes. It is a requirement to have a minimum of 2 people to charter a boat.
To ensure a safe and happy holiday you should have:
Note: holders of recreational boat licenses are not automatically qualified to take out a bareboat.
No fancy boat parking skills are required. Upon departure Whitsunday Escape staff will take your boat out of the marina and on return our staff will refuel your boat and berth your boat at Coral Sea Marina.
Before you leave you will be thoroughly briefed on the cruising area, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park rules, the weather, the tides, the charts, radio procedures, resort facilities and your boat systems. At this time you will be asked to demonstrate your navigation and boat handling skills.
The briefing is an important part of your pre-charter experience and takes around 3-4 hours to complete, depending on your level of experience. The cost of the briefing is included with your charter fees. The skipper and at least one other crew member must be present at the briefing.
For those who wish to brush up on their boating or navigation skills or those whose crew may need a little more training, you can hire a ‘training guide’ for half-a-day, a few days or the entire trip.
Have one of our qualified staff show you, and your crew, how to do everything with some practical hands-on training.
If you are taking a sailing boat or any boat for that matter but you don’t have enough experience or are a little rusty we suggest you do some pre charter training, many facilities offer a ‘prepare to bareboat’ course.
A “pre-charter kit” is useful in gaining general boating information and planning your cruise around the Whitsundays. Contact our office to purchase a kit, it includes: