Did you know the Swiss “Motorbootführerschein Kategorie A” can be converted into a German/International Inland Waters Captain’s License “SBF Binnen” without an additional exam?
All it takes is sending a physical copy of your Swiss license together with a recent passport photo and an authorization to debit around 35 Euros from your account to the Deutscher Motoryacht Verband DMYV. This is the application form (PDF in German; as of November 2020).
An international certificate is available from the Swiss authorities as well. It comes at a hefty price and has the disadvantage that it’s not valid by itself. You always have to have your Swiss license with you that comes as a bulky piece of paper. The credit card format is so much more convenient.
Looking into the future, my Coastal Waters captain’s license “SBF See” will just be added to line 11 of the card as “CWM <date>” once I pass my exam. There will be no separate license to carry around.
For now, I’m just going enjoy the SBF Binnen giving me access to inland water rentals in 21 countries, with 8 more currently listed as forthcoming.
.