Sailing school in Puerto Banús
Passing the exam is the paperwork. Handling the boat is the point. Official Spanish qualifications, with all practical training aboard our own sailing yachts out of Puerto Banús.
A school with its own fleet
You train on our boats
We don't hire a boat for exam day. You train on the same sailing yachts we run all year, berthed in Puerto Banús. Four boats available for sail training.
Taught by skippers who actually sail here
The person teaching you to berth is the one who berths here every day, in this wind, on this pontoon. Not classroom theory — the real manoeuvre in the marina you'll be sailing from.
Officially approved training
Courses and practicals are delivered with a school approved by the Spanish Merchant Marine authority (DGMM). An official Spanish qualification, issued by the administration.
Built around your calendar
Theory in person or by video call. Practicals on weekend intakes or on request. If you work Monday to Friday, that shouldn't decide whether you get your licence.
I already have an RYA certificate. Do I need a Spanish licence?
If you're a resident in Spain and you charter or own a boat here, the short answer is usually yes. Spanish authorities require a Spanish qualification — or an officially validated equivalent — for residents operating Spanish-flagged recreational vessels. Visitors on holiday and non-resident owners are a different case.
It's not a question worth guessing at from a forum thread. Tell us what you hold and what you sail, and we'll tell you exactly where you stand — including whether any part of your existing certification can be validated instead of repeated.
Ask us about your RYA certificateSeven qualifications, one fleet
2 h theory + 4 h practicalBasic Boat Licence
Jet skis and small boats, daylight only
Up to 6 m2 nm from a port, marina or place of shelter
8 h safety and navigation + radio coursePNB · Basic Navigation Skipper
Motorboats
Up to 8 m5 nm from a port, marina or place of shelter
16 h safety and navigationPER · Spanish Boat Licence
The standard recreational licence
Up to 15 m12 nm from the coast
48 h, min. 36 h on passagePatrón de Yate · Yacht Skipper
Coastal and offshore passages, professional endorsements
Up to 24 m150 nm from the coast
48 h, min. 36 h on passageCapitán de Yate · Offshore Yacht Skipper
No geographical limit
Up to 24 mUnlimited
16 h under sailSail endorsement practicals
Adds sail to your licence (PNB, PER, PY or CY)
12 h (4 theory + 8 simulator)SRC · Short Range Certificate (ROCA)
Operate VHF DSC radio. Compulsory from PER up
Which licence do you need?
Start from what you want to do, not from the acronym.
- What it allows
- Jet skis and small boats, daylight only
- Length
- Up to 6 m
- Range
- 2 nm from a port, marina or place of shelter
- Exam
- No
- Practicals
- 2 h theory + 4 h practical
- Prerequisite
- Age 16
- What it allows
- Motorboats
- Length
- Up to 8 m
- Range
- 5 nm from a port, marina or place of shelter
- Exam
- Yes
- Practicals
- 8 h safety and navigation + radio course
- Prerequisite
- Age 16 with parental consent
- What it allows
- The standard recreational licence
- Length
- Up to 15 m
- Range
- 12 nm from the coast
- Exam
- Yes
- Practicals
- 16 h safety and navigation
- Prerequisite
- Age 18
- What it allows
- Coastal and offshore passages, professional endorsements
- Length
- Up to 24 m
- Range
- 150 nm from the coast
- Exam
- Yes
- Practicals
- 48 h, min. 36 h on passage
- Prerequisite
- PER
- What it allows
- No geographical limit
- Length
- Up to 24 m
- Range
- Unlimited
- Exam
- Yes
- Practicals
- 48 h, min. 36 h on passage
- Prerequisite
- Patrón de Yate
- What it allows
- Adds sail to your licence (PNB, PER, PY or CY)
- Exam
- No
- Practicals
- 16 h under sail
- Prerequisite
- One of those licences
- What it allows
- Operate VHF DSC radio. Compulsory from PER up
- Exam
- Yes
- Practicals
- 12 h (4 theory + 8 simulator)
- Prerequisite
- None
Most people who write to us need the same three things: PER + SRC + sail endorsement. That's the combination that lets you charter a 15-metre sailing yacht anywhere in Spain. If you don't know where to start, start there.
Three things nobody explains and you should know before choosing:
- All of these are motor licences by default. Sail is an endorsement, added through the 16-hour sail practicals. Without it, your licence won't let you skipper a sailing yacht.
- The PER can be extended to 24 m with 24 further hours of practicals on passage, including night navigation — which also covers the mainland–Balearics crossing.
- The PNB's radio course is not the SRC/ROCA and doesn't replace it. If you move up from PNB to PER, you still have to do it.
SRC and sail endorsement: done once, valid for life
This is the question we get most often, and almost nobody explains it properly.
The SRC (ROCA) isn't repeated
It's compulsory for the PER, the Patrón de Yate and the Capitán de Yate. Do it once and it covers all three. If you move up later, it's already done. Note: the shorter radio course that comes with the PNB is a different thing and doesn't replace it.
See the SRCNeither is the sail endorsement
Sixteen hours of practical sail training — the hours that add sail to your licence. Without them, a PER is a motor licence. Done once, valid for life and for every qualification you hold afterwards.
See the sail endorsementPut differently: if there's any chance you'll go for Patrón de Yate one day, doing these two now isn't spending early — it's work you'll never have to repeat.
From 1 October 2026, renting a boat without a licence ends
Until now you could rent a motorboat of up to 5 metres and 15 hp with no qualification at all. That exemption is being removed. Royal Decree 1188/2025 repeals it, and from 1 October 2026 anyone renting will need the corresponding licence.
If your plan for next summer was to rent a small boat and go, you now need at least the Basic Boat Licence. Six hours, no exam.
See the Basic Boat LicenceHow it works
- 01
A ten-minute conversation
Tell us what you want to do with a boat and we'll tell you which licence you actually need. It's often less than you think.
- 02
Theory, at your pace
Small in-person groups or live video sessions with a tutor. Material kept current with the regulations — not a PDF and good luck.
- 03
The official exam
We prepare you for the regional exam and handle the admin with you: dates, fees, paperwork.
- 04
Practical training in Puerto Banús
Anchoring, berthing, boat handling, safety. On our sailing yachts, with our skippers. This is where it's actually learned.
The school, straight answers.
For a yacht up to 15 metres you need the PER, plus the sail endorsement. If the boat carries a VHF radio — and every charter boat does — you'll also need the SRC (ROCA). That's the full package any charter company will ask for.
In practice, across most of the Mediterranean, yes — charter operators in Croatia, Greece, Italy and elsewhere routinely accept the PER. But it's worth being precise, because there's a lot of confusion about this: there is no automatic mutual recognition of recreational boat licences within the EU. Each country sets its own equivalences, and Spain does not issue the ICC. Always confirm with the local operator before you book. On a Spanish-flagged vessel, your licence is fully valid.
Yes — live video sessions with a tutor, not a pre-recorded course. Practicals are in person in Puerto Banús.
Between six weeks and three months, depending on your pace and the exam date. You set the theory; the exam and practical intakes set the calendar.
Yes. The PER requires 16 hours of safety and navigation at an approved school; Patrón de Yate and Capitán de Yate require 48 hours each, of which at least 36 must be on passage with day and night watches. Some Spanish regions allow the PER practicals to be replaced by an official practical exam instead — tell us where you'll sit the exam and we'll tell you which route applies to you.
If you never did the 16-hour sail endorsement, you can't legally skipper a sailing vessel on that licence. It's the single most common gap we see — and it's a weekend.
Practicals depart from Puerto Banús, Marbella — pontoon 4. Theory in person or by video call.
Not sure where to start?
Message us and we'll tell you in two minutes which licence you need. No obligation, and no selling you a course you don't need.