Instructions for yacht captains when sailing out of Hong Kong waters

1. Apply for a port clearance The master or his agent shall present a valid yacht Registration Certificate or Pleasure Vessel licence book (licensed in Hong Kong) to the nearest Marine branch office for processing. If there is no certificate of registration, the Certificate of Sale or Certificate of Construction may be presented. The Master or his agent shall complete and sign each column of Form M.O. 618A "Declaration of General Particulars" (in duplicate) and "Notice of Departure" (in one copy). Please fill in "Not applicable" in any field that is not applicable. A clearance will be issued upon examination of the relevant documents and receipt of the prescribed fee of HK $97. If the yacht does not leave Hong Kong waters within 72 hours after the permit is issued, the permit will become invalid. The master or his local contact shall notify the Marine Branch Office of cancellation of the original voyage; If the original voyage is delayed for more than 72 hours after the clearance is issued, a new clearance must be applied for. 2. Mail "Arrival Notice" Upon arrival at the destination or any other port, the master shall return the "Notice of Arrival" to the Marine Department of Hong Kong by airmail. If the yacht is going to the high seas, Macau or other Mainland coastal ports adjacent to Hong Kong waters, it is not necessary to send back the "arrival notice". The Marine Department assumes that these yachts usually only go out for a short time and will make a declaration to the Department upon their return to Hong Kong waters. 3. Ensure effective operation of radio equipment and signal equipment The Director of Marine of Hong Kong is normally responsible for search and rescue operations in waters north of 15° N and west of 120° E. Yacht masters should bear in mind that without information on the location of the vessel in distress, search and rescue operations, even if initiated, will not be successful. Therefore, yacht captains are required to ensure that their communications equipment is in proper operation as far as possible. 4. Contact your local contact before sailing The details of the Hong Kong contact should be as detailed as possible in box (8) of the "Notice of Departure". The Hong Kong contact person is responsible for reporting to the Marine Department directly if he suspects that the yacht has failed to return, or if he is concerned about the safety of the yacht due to any other circumstances. Whether the Marine Department will mobilize a search and rescue operation depends mainly on the information provided by the Hong Kong focal point. To avoid false alarm, yacht masters are required to provide accurate and detailed information to their local contacts.

Yacht Driver

The technical operation of yachting is simple and easy, but the ability to hit the road is much more complicated. The so-called work is outside the "poem"! Let's talk about driving and licensing first. Simple yachting skills are very simple and easy to learn. Of course, this refers to small and medium-sized yachts, and large yachts have to spend some time driving. The driving of yachts in Western countries is generally divided into two levels, namely primary and senior two. Both captain and engineer are two-tiered. Training and licensing are generally conducted by government-designated private commercial organizations, which can assist you in obtaining a powered boat license as long as you are over 16 years old and medically qualified. However, unless you have boating experience, most people with a license are unable to sail on their own. That is why I recommend that anyone preparing to qualify as a yachtsman, before enjoying the unrestrained pleasure of sailing, must attend the practical courses offered by the senior captain, and the yacht agency of choice of the average shipowner is also obliged to provide such services. Part of China's maritime bureau itself has the training of the captain engineer, the maritime bureau also has the designated entrusted maritime agency training, in order to obtain a yacht driver's license is best to participate in some professional maritime boat business organization training. Water transportation is different from ground transportation, the training programs are many and complex, and the examination requirements are relatively strict.  These regulations have taken the first step towards yacht maritime, and will certainly be upgraded to areas such as sea area and sea power in the future. Taking Shanghai as an example, the Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration has formulated and promulgated the "Management Measures for the Training, Examination and Certification of Yacht Drivers", which stipulates that the yacht driving license examination is divided into theoretical part and practical part (referred to as the pen section and the technical section). Private persons must receive special training before taking the examination of the maritime department. The training time is at least half a month, and the real private yacht license needs to wait for another two months. And because of the different waterways in different parts of the water, the current issued yacht driver's license is often limited to local use, to achieve mutual recognition of driver's licenses, national general, but also wait for a period of time. In addition to the problem of driver's license training and assessment to be standardized, the buyers of yachts are also facing a series of difficulties such as channel opening, port construction, standard inspection, and water rescue.