At Barefoot we take your safety and the stewardship of the yachts in our care very seriously. As such we require minimum levels of sailing experience on the three different classes of yachts in our fleet. Should you feel that there are circumstances that qualify to use one of our yachts despite not meeting the standard required and you would like to bring it to our attention, please send us a message and we will be very happy to look at your situation and get back to you.

To bridge the gap between our sailing school and chartering a bareboat we offer our mentor program. This program will get you to the first level required (Proficiency Level 1) to charter a bareboat from any serious charter operation.

We seek to work with you to build your skills as you gain experience and expand your comfort zone, progressing your way to larger boats with more complex equipment in a safe, fun, process.

  • Proficiency Level 1

    5 days as captain or 100 nautical miles on equivalent sized boat as the one you wish to charter. Easy to handle boat with simple, uncomplicated systems. Navigators Fleet only.

  • Proficiency Level 2

    10 days as captain or 200 nautical miles on equivalent sized boat as the one you wish to charter. More complex boat with more complicated systems from our Navigators Fleet or uncomplicated, less complex boat from our Flagship Fleet.

  • Proficiency Level 3

    20 days as captain or 400 nautical miles on equivalent sized boat as the one you wish to charter. More complex boat with complicated systems from our Flagship Fleet. Must have experience with systems like water makers, air conditioners.

  • Proficiency level 4

    50 days as captain or 800 nautical miles on equivalent size boat as the one you wish to charter. Experience using specialty downwind sails outside of racing. Must have cruising experience with speciality downwind sails on furling systems and snuffers (Screecher, Code 0, Spinnakers).

  • Proficiency level 5

    100 days as captain or 1500 nautical miles on equivalent size boat as the one you wish to charter. Has done one ocean crossing as captain or watch leader. Extensive experience with specialty downwind sails both racing and outside of racing. Extensive experience sailing performance cruisers and with all types of downwind sails in all conditions. Familiar with the use of navigation routing software.