Trafalgar Sailing Blog

Is my RYA certificate valid worldwide?

So in this everchanging environment, what with Covid and Brexit, there have been more developments of interest to the yachting community.

As you may know, when Britain left the E.U. in January, there was a big question mark about U.K. qualifications and Spain stated that R.Y.A. qualifications would no longer be accepted. This caused more than a ripple of concern amongst people who regularly charter in the Med as it essentially meant that you could no longer charter a yacht in Spain. After the usual head scratching and dismay the R.Y.A. amongst others sought clarification and discussion on what appeared to be a ‘shoot yourself in the foot’ policy . Well! The good news is that after a ‘financial impact assessment’ by the Spanish powers that be, R.Y.A. qualifications at all levels, will be recognised in Spain.

Notwithstanding any comments about it being a pretty daft idea in the first place, obviously this a relief for all concerned and means that R.Y.A. certificate holders can charter again.

Another bit of ‘surprising’ legislation that appeared at the same time was that British flagged vessels under 14 meters could no longer be used for charter purposes in Spain. For clarification, one of the advantages of E.U. membership was that an E.U. vessel could be used for charter, as long as it complied with local safety rules and regs etc, through a Spanish company. After Brexit, British flagged vessels could no longer do this, which is understandable as you couldn’t run a Spanish flagged charter yacht in the UK. However, the Spanish authorities have changed tack and British flagged yachts can again operate through a Spanish company. This is particularly good news for the many small British run sailing schools and charter operations based in Spain who have been using British flagged vessels, both power and sail for many years. Not getting political, but it essentially gives us back some of the freedom we had when members of the E.U. and I think shows a promising attitude on the part of the Spanish authorities.

So, to celebrate, come and enjoy some of our fantastic sailing conditions. Get your RYA qualification and sail anywhere in the world.