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Proving your sea miles: what counts for the SKS, charter and your own record

· by Knotlog

The miles are sailed. Then somebody asks for proof, and you start to reconstruct: which trip was that, how far, who was the skipper? This text says what to record from the start. It also says where we only count and where others decide.

Who decides what counts

Not us. For the German coastal skipper licence (Sportküstenschifferschein, SKS) the regulation sets the requirements. The basis is § 6 SportSeeSchV. It asks for 300 nautical miles on yachts. Whether your miles and your proof are accepted is up to the examination office. For charter, the company you book with decides. Every company can set its own requirements.

So ask first. Ask the examination office which proof it accepts. Ask the charter company what experience it expects and in what form.

What to record per trip

This is not an official list. These are the details people usually ask for and that are hard to reconstruct later:

  • date of the trip
  • area and harbours
  • name of the yacht and its length
  • your role on board, for example crew or skipper
  • nautical miles sailed
  • night hours
  • name of the skipper and their licence number

Write it down the same day if you can. After a year nobody remembers whether it was 112 or 121 miles.

The skipper's signature

Proof without a countersignature is a claim. The skipper knows the trip and can confirm it. Collect the signature right after the trip, not when you need the record. If you were the skipper yourself, add logbook extracts or the confirmation of a crew member. Here too, the receiving office says what it accepts.

What Knotlog does for you

Knotlog is a logbook, not a navigation app. It does not replace the logbook of the person in command. It pre-fills what you would otherwise copy by hand.

  • You enter trips and legs in the logbook or import a GPX file.
  • The miles are counted. You pick a goal, SKS, SSS or SHS, and see what is still missing. The app only counts. The examination office decides what is accepted.
  • The skipper can confirm the trip by link, with name and licence number. No account needed. The link is valid for 30 days and works once.
  • Your trips become a proof as PDF, with a signature line for each skipper. The preview is free, the PDF comes with Premium.

It works without an account too: the sea miles proof generator is a printable template with signature fields for each skipper. Your trips stay in your browser.

In short

  1. Record every trip on the same day.
  2. Have the skipper confirm the trip.
  3. Ask the examination office or the charter company beforehand what they want to see.
  4. Do not assume a proof is accepted automatically. The decision lies with the office that receives it.