In the Netherlands
What sailing pleasure boating courses are there? In the Netherlands, you need a Small Sailing Licence if you sail on a boat longer than 15 metres (up to 20 metres for commercial shipping or 25 metres for pleasure craft) or can (i.e. not: ‘goes’) faster than 20 km/h. Then it is compulsory. You already reach that speed easily. The fine for sailing in a boat subject to a boating licence if you do not have one is €550. That would be quite a waste of money wouldn't it?
In other cases, it is very handy to have, because even if you don't need a boating licence for your boat, you still need to know the traffic rules on the water. It is a good idea to know the most important things about safety, technique and buoyage. You will learn these things with the Small Sailing Licence course.
The difference between Limited Certificate 1 and Limited Certificate 2 is in the sailing areas: KVB1 is valid on inland waters, KVB2 is for if you want to sail on IJmeer, Markermeer, IJsselmeer, Waddenzee, Ooster- and Westerschelde and the Eems/Dollard. The Small Vaarbewijs 2 therefore mainly deals with matters you encounter on larger waters: navigation, meteo and additional regulations.
Renting a boat abroad
If you want to rent a boat abroad, you often need a boat licence, which is called International Certificate of Competence. In the Netherlands, you will automatically receive your ICC Inland Waters if you have obtained your Klein Vaarbewijs 1. You will get your ICC Coastal waters if you have obtained your Klein Vaarbewijs 2. The exact requirements differ per country, but there is a clear trend towards stricter requirements. Somewhat logically, you sail an (expensive) boat on challenging waters, so some knowledge is useful.
More information on which boating licence you need abroad can be found here.
CBR
Since 1 January 2020, CBR has taken over the exams from Vamex. This means you can choose from one of 20 exam locations spread throughout the country. There's no need to worry, the exams conducted by CBR are similar in content to the VAMEX exams. Currently, there is no practical exam yet and the exam is purely theoretical. Despite water sports enthusiasts having been calling for this for some time. Whether this will come about in the future is still unclear. But of course, a boating licence is always handy to have!
If you want to know how and whether it is difficult to get your boating licence, read this article.
Vaarplezier.nl
Vaarplezier.nl provides the above courses in a unique way, namely with two days of theory, one of which on the boat. Not because you have to, but because it's more fun, more educational and actually quite logical.
On the first day, you are presented with all the material in a well-organised way, we make connections and show how things are connected and why they are the way they are. On the theory day on the boat, we revisit the same material, but this time in practice. We practice the right of way rules, show you the technical things you need to know, look at safety equipment and go through the mooring procedures as described in the textbook. After that, you'll be all set for your exam!
Want to know more about boating licences and boating courses? Go to www.vaarplezier.nl