Sailing Charter News

I often get asked about safety and security on charter, and most of the time I shrug and say it’s a matter of common sense, just like at home. Some places may be more prone to issues than others, but it’s usually a matter of luck—good or bad. For example, you may be warned to ...read more

There’s no doubt last year’s hurricanes caused a major upheaval within the Caribbean charter industry. Nor is there any doubt that it has rebounded well. The biggest and most obvious obstacle—after rebuilding bases and other infrastructure—was boat availability. But a year down ...read more

A positive event and a lot of goodwill from the whole community based on the fact that ALL of the people involved went through a lot just getting back on their feet after Hurricane Irma and Maria.  The US VI charter yacht show has 65 boats on its roster this year with 55 ...read more

A little know-how goes a long way on vacation They say cruising is just fixing your boat in exotic places. Maybe that’s why so many people prefer to charter. After a week of sailing you pack your bags and step off your charter boat without another care in the world, leaving the ...read more

It was a bit of an unexpected flashback. After all, it had been decades since I lived in the old Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) and yet the feeling that bubbled up was the same. I stuck my camera out the bus window to capture yet another of a dozen billboards dotting ...read more

Like Goldilocks, charterers look for a bareboat that’s not too big, not too small, not too expensive, not too complicated and generally “just right.” Just right, though, means different things to different people, and each charter has its own circumstances, so what’s a sailor to ...read more

In the wake of the hurricanes that devastated the Virgin Islands last year many charterers ended up going farther south to Grenada and the Grenadines where they found the sailing excellent and the vibe just fine “God must have been a sailor when he created the Caribbean,” a ...read more

Five years ago I was invited, as the token sailing virgin, to set sail with my girlfriends and explore the British Virgin Islands. Six women of a certain age ditched their husbands, picked up their ukuleles and had the time of their lives. Fast forward to 2018, and I jumped at ...read more

“The BVI is now a bit like it was 20 years ago,” Josie Tucci, vice president of sales and marketing for sister companies Sunsail and The Moorings, told me last December. “Instead of full bars, it may be a guy on the beach with a cooler and a barbeque, but the spirit of the place ...read more

So you graduated from navigation class where you practiced dead reckoning, doubling the angle on the bow and maybe even celestial nav, and you now feel well prepared for your first charter trip. Well, you won’t be doing any of that on vacation—not past the first day, anyway. ...read more

I’m pretty well used to the reactions I get when I arrive somewhere to captain a charter or flotilla. The base manager usually stretches his hand out to the nearest graybeard and says, “Hello, you must be the captain.” When all eyes turn to me, there’s always surprise, sometimes ...read more

Chartering beautiful boats in exotic locales will give your wallet a workout. Expenses go well beyond the cost of the vessel and airfare. It all adds up quickly, but there are ways to pinch enough pennies on each charter to get a head start on the next one. Here ...read more

When my friends and I booked a one-way bareboat charter with Sail Caribe, starting in the U.S. Virgin Islands and finishing in Puerto Rico, we were a little nervous about what we would find in the aftermath of hurricanes Irma and Maria—even seven months later. When our plane ...read more

Ah, Tahiti! Even the sound of the word elicits thoughts of heaven on earth—a Polynesian paradise and a bucket list cruise to talk about for years. Most people are lucky to come here once in a lifetime, so I have to wonder why charterers are always in such a hurry ...read more

The Great Recession birthed a new concept, the “staycation,” in which you enjoyed a mini-vacation without venturing far from home. Hotels loved it because they filled empty weekend rooms, and local businesses benefited too. Today, expanding the concept a little, a staycation ...read more

Heaps of history—that’s not usually what comes to mind when you plan a sailing charter, but if you like a bit of culture mixed with your cruising, Croatia is the place to go. Caught between two worlds, (the whitewashed laid back vibe of the Mediterranean and the brash demeanor ...read more

Cruising from Guadeloupe to Grenada, heading more or less south with the wind east-northeast, basically on the beam the whole way—yup, sign me up for that! That’s how I approached a recent delivery charter of 12 days and 400 miles, including a few loops and harbor hops. With ...read more

Ducking out of the pouring rain in Trinidad, Cuba, we ran smack into a thin man with a few missing teeth and a woven basket. He made room for us under the shelter and started suggesting in Spanish that we buy some food or beer from the bar upstairs. When we politely declined, he ...read more

The burbling of the percolator in the galley accelerates frantically as the bubbling crude’s strength began to build. Soon the crew’s clinking mugs fill the galley sink as the baitfish leap over the line that tethers Sohcahtoa, our Sunsail Jeanneau 41, to the rocky shore of ...read more

Checking in and out of different countries or islands while on a bareboat charter can be a time-consuming and expensive proposition. Not only do you have to check out of the first port but also into the second, and then vice versa. Rinse and repeat. Some ports will allow you to ...read more

Irma and Maria wreaked havoc in much of the Caribbean leaving us with heartbreaking images of devastated homes, displaced citizens and destroyed bareboat fleets. Photos of dismasted monohulls and flipped cats have flooded the Internet, with the fleets looking more like piles of ...read more

So you’re looking for adventure. Not of the bareboat party barge variety, but the kind where the weather is sketchy, the wildlife plentiful, the sailing serious and the boats rugged with serious looking reels of anchor rode and line on deck. Whether you’re seeking to cross ...read more

The back of my tongue erupted in flame and the heat of a thousand suns spread in my mouth like lava gushing from the depths of Hades. Tears ran down my cheeks as I gasped for air and groped for the nearest liquid—fortuitously a bottle of Singha beer, which I downed in three ...read more

Stuff I’ve learned and sometimes re-learned on charter In a typical year, I’m probably on charter at least once every other month, and during that time I’ve learned (and re-learned) a few valuable lessons. Common problems usually have to do with electrical systems, reefing and ...read more