Captain and pilot licenses for recreation vessels in Spain will change as from 2014. The whole scheme is coming into the 21st century!
All the previous recreational captain licenses for small vessels are being swept away, and a single new license is being introduced (called the PER, Patrón de Embarcación de Recreo) which will allow you to captain recreational boats of up to 24 meters.
Also, this license will allow anyone to sail from any Med. port to the Balearic Islands! Instead of the current 6 nautical mile limitation.
Also, the Certificado de Navegación and PER exams will be carried out by Federated sailing clubs and sailing schools, meaning they can be carried out in small groups or even on demand, instead of two or three times a year, as was the current scheme.