By Jeff on 8/14/2006 2:58 PM

I like to think of chartering (and sailing, for that matter) as a metaphor for life. You get what you put into it. Taking it too seriously will let you down. And, the basic equation below is helpful to keep in mind:

reality / expectations = happiness

(Caveat: expecting nothing is not the point - it's that simply keeping expectations realistic goes a long way ;-)

In addition, I find that what makes chartering enjoyable is that you "get all kinds" of people. Some will make you laugh. Others will make you cry. You'll probably get frustrated at others (as I did below).

To keep a long story short, my wife and I were wrapping up a 2-week charter and feeling that strong sense of, "is it over already"? We pulled into a beautiful little bay for the last night and despite it being densely filled, found a nice spot that had good holding and wasn't a nuisance to other boats anchored before us.

In order for us to accomplish this, we arrived early (before 2pm). After our first spot proved to be dead coral under the anchor (good reason to dive on the anchor, BTW), we moved. In the new spot, we made sure not to encroach upon others. All in all, a good job anchoring in a tight area. Time for a swim, cocktails, and a celebratory dinner ashore!

But, wouldn't you know it, a 40' bareboat rolls in around 5:30pm. After trying (unsuccessfully) to anchor 5 times in other locations (yes - 5 times), where do they anchor? Right on top of us. I watched closely (from the boat and - later - the dinghy) and after determing they were swinging within their length of us (in no wind), told them "no good - you guys need to find another spot".

They said "no - it's all fine - we're experienced charterers - we'll swing clear." But, knowing that the holding was a combination of sand patches, eelgrass, and dead coral (and considering they didn't set the anchor properly nor did they dive on it in 14 feet of water), I was nervous and didn't sleep well that night. Before the sun went down, I took the dinghy over and said in very clear (by reasonable) terms that if anything happpened in the night, they were responsible and would have to pull up anchor. They scoffed at it and one guy - I believe the skipper - said some things I don't want to repeat here.

Take a look... here's a pic of their anchor spot from our cockpit.

So, the point? It takes all kinds. And, I can certainly be one of them. These folks were not only irresponsible, they were rude and indignant. I can deal with that. But, my question is, what would you do? How far would you go, on the last night of a slendid trip, to protect yourself and the boat you're responsible for? Share you comments below.

Tags: sailing, yacht charter, bareboat charter, anchoring

By Jeff on 8/13/2006 2:57 PM

Australia, including the Great Barrier Reef, is one of our top choices for our next charter. With incredible diving and cool "down under" culture, why wouldn't it be?

While searching for charter options in Australia, I ran across a company featuring the most interesting charter company name yet: "Magnetic Palms Rent-A-Yacht".

Magnetic Palms? Fascinating! At first, I expected to see a bunch of palm trees with metal objects sticking to them! (only joking).

Seriously, after reading about the area, it sounds pretty interesting. Not quite the Barrier Reef, the Magnetic Island and Palm Island cruising areas offer relatively low-key sailing without the volume of boats in other areas. For more info, check out their video - it's pretty informative and well-produced. (note: if in North America, it may load slowly... net latency between AUS and NA can be frustrating)

Cool fact: the area includes 340 reef species (only 10 fewer species than the Great Barrier Reef). Amazing...

Tags: sailing, australia, great barrier reef, yacht charter, bareboat charter

By Jeff on 8/9/2006 10:29 PM

Most people planning a charter usually think about leisurely sails between gorgeous anchorages topped off with a few cocktails, possibly some excellent regional food, and a good nights sleep after a bit of exploring.

What many do not realize is that it's possible to add a little bit of racing to the equation if you plan your trip and location right. While charter boats do not necessarily epitomize the pinnacle of grand-prix racing, it can be a lot of fun getting a number of similar charter boats racing (think "relaxed one design racing") against each other for a few days.

Antigua Race Week has long been a favorite. But, the number of events catering to bareboat charters is on the rise. An interesting recent event was the Tahiti Pearl Regatta. Having just completed its 4th annual regatta, the Pearl represents a great way to see Tahiti's Leeward Islands (Raiatea, Tahaa, Huahine, and Bora Bora) while getting those competitive juices flowing.

For this event, Moorings, Sunsail, Archipels Croisières et Tahiti Yacht Charter, and Paradise Adventures and Cruises offered special considerations for event participants.

Here is a look at the recent program for details. The site is a bit sparse on details (including results for this past event) but all signs point to an annual March timeframe.

Tags: sailing, tahiti, antigua, yacht charter, bora bora, regatta

By Jeff on 8/7/2006 2:56 PM

One of the best tech innovations I've used is Tivo. For a busy person and family, it not only makes it easy to catch regular TV shows when you want them but it's also a great way to find shows you never knew existed.

A recent favorite find is the PBS show "Globe Trekker". (BTW - the episodes featuring Ian Wright are fantastic!) I can never figure out when this airs. Fortunately, Tivo can. And, a recent episode I watched last night was fantastic. It featured islands of the Indian Ocean and as you might guess, it had me scrambling for my laptop and Google too look for charter options in the region.

Mauritius looks amazing. The water, the wind, great people and fantastic culture. I want to go now! For charter enthusiasts, there are also some options. While not for the weak of wallet, there are a number of companies that exist offering bareboat and crewed sailing charters. Here are just a few to check out:

• Paradise Adventures & Cruises
• InterYacht Charter

(and... be sure to check out Globe Trekker when you have a chance. You can find it on PBS in the U.S. or you can also buy the DVDs here.)

Tags: sailing, mauritius, bareboat+charter, yacht+charter, pbs, globe+trekker

By Jeff on 7/23/2006 2:55 PM

I have to give kudos to Sail magazine. At one point a few years back, I stopped reading it because - frankly - the writing wasn't very good. Lots of fluff and very little useful information. On a recent business trip, I picked up a copy and WOW - what a turnaround. The current format has actionable knowledge and is engaging throughout for novices to experts alike. I also like that they utilize the web in a smart manner to complement the print medium... Unfortunately, they do not archive these articles on their website though. If so, I could link to the article below.

In the June issue, there was a great article by Stacey Collins, who along with her husband, daughter (and cat!), are cruising the Caribbean.

The article talks about how easy it can be to rig a spring line to the anchor rode to effectively change your angle of attack to rolling swells while at anchor. This (in addition to using sedging techniques) is a very useful tool in the anchoring bag of tricks - particularly in desirable anchorages in the Windwards that can be exposed at different times of the year.

For example, we rocked and rolled (as we expected) while anchored off of Mustique one night. In April, the current runs north to south but the swells roll in from the northwest at about a 30 degree angle to the bow of the boat. Had we used this technique, it would have dramtically reduced the rolling which at one point had us seriously considering a trip ashore to grab a room at the Firefly.

Tags: sailing, anchoring, bareboat+charter, yacht+charter, firefly+mustique

By Jeff on 7/21/2006 2:53 PM

I'm way behind on blogging. Between my "day job" and family commitments, life has just been crazy. I'm off to Singapore on Sunday for a week of work there. Last week, I was in the UK for work as well. So, I've been spending a little time on planes. Later next week, I'll be able to provide a first hand comparison of British Airways and Singapore Air. (OK - I'll admit it - I'm a little excited about the inflight wi-fi on Singapore Air... should be cool. While a little pricey, connectivity is a nice treat for a 17.5 hr flight.)

I'm looking forward to seeing Singapore and hope to do a little sailing while I'm there. In the meantime, watch this space. I'll be blogging more in the coming days and (fingers-crossed) hopefully showing off some new things on Charter Island.

Also - any good tips on chartering in Singapore or nearby regions? Let me know.

Tags: sailing, singapore, crewed+charter, yacht+charter

By Jeff on 5/30/2006 2:52 PM

I'm often surprised by when and where I hear about great charter vacations. During the long Memorial Day weekend touring Washington State wine country, I joined a few folks on a 42 mile bike ride through the country side around Walla Walla. A fantastic ride! (except for the reminder that a 15kt wind on the nose is not only tough when trying to sail from one place to another... it's very tough on a bike).

One of the other riders and I started chatting and he mentioned that he and his wife had a fantastic charter in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) a few years back. He had some limited sailing experience but his wife was an absolute novice. They had been considering trips to some rather exotic locations but in the end, they selected a crewed charter and couldn't believe what a fantastic experience they had. By the end, they had learned a bunch about how to sail and had made great friends with the skipper and his wife (the chef).

I of course asked many of questions and and came away with some interesting observations  including a couple good tips for first time charterers:

• Crewed charters are a great way to go for first time charterers. But, it's probably worth thinking about how much you might want to get involved with operating the boat before you plan your trip. This couple is quite active and really appreciated the skipper's willingness to let them "run the boat" as much as they wanted. Assessing charter party interests around this can help the skipper (and you) plan accordingly and afford good opportunities to learn how to sail, anchor, etc. It also helps locate the right skipper and crew to match your overall interests.
• After chartering for a few weeks, too much time in a resort can be a letdown. He mentioned was that being on a boat provided so much unexpected seclusion and flexibility that they felt very spoiled. They could go where they wanted and see places few on shore ever see. The downside of this incredible experience? Being landlocked in a room for too many days after the charter was boring and offered too many limitations.

I could tell they now have seen a glimpse of what many of us that have chartered know: it's hard to beat chartering in beautiful places. The flexibility, the seclusion, and the immersive experience that chartering provides is second to none.

Tags: sailing, crewed+charter, bvi, yacht+charter, bvi+charter, british+virgin+islands, walla+walla, wine

By Jeff on 5/13/2006 2:42 PM

Last spring while in the Grenadines, my wife and I bumped into a group while touring Mustique that suggested we "must charter in Croatia". Well, we chalked the testimonial purely up to enthusiasm about the last charter (it's understandable, we're still talking about the Grenadines!).

 

It was fascinating to me that they strongly recommended a charter skipper. Between new waters and language barriers for English-speaking bareboat groups, it sounded like these salty charter experts were very happy they had gone with a skipper despite their preference to skipper themselves.

Fast-forward to the recent Strictly Sail event last month it sounds like Croatia has really become the HOT charter spot this season. According to folks from Kiriacoulis and Moorings, many people are booking their charters for Croatia this summer and beyond.

It sounds incredible, with over 700 islands, historic villages, and national parks such as the Kornati Islands, this has quickly climbed the priority list for our next charter.

Photo coutesy of Kiriacoulis Charters (www.kiriacoulis.com)

By Jeff on 5/3/2006 2:37 PM

When it comes to May in the Pacific Northwest, the weather is a complete crapshoot. But, here at the Charter Island base, we've had an incredibly nice week. High 60s and even cracking the 70s which I'll take on any May day. For most "normal people", that tells enough of a story. But, here's how I can tell the weather is nice...

As I was starting the day (around 6am), I stepped outside onto the backporch. The sun, while still low in the sky, provided enough light to see everything outside. As with most sunrises, the cool blue tone of the dawning light was crisp and clean with just a wee bit of a chill to it even though the full force of the sun was hitting me directly.

I scanned the area - instictly as if to determine what may have changed through the night - with my first cup of coffee in-hand. I began to turn back inside when I realized... the light, the moment, everything (despite the missing boat!) felt just like the many days I've experienced waking up while anchored on a boat. There's something about staring the new day straight into the eyes, taking a sip of strong coffee, preparing mentally for the day, and getting on with it, all while bobbing a little bit in a slight swell and and listening to the lap of small waves against the hull.

I think it's the still of the morning combined with the color of the new daylight that reminds me of waking up on a boat (the sun doesn't hurt either!). Whether it's been sitting off Raitea, Mayreau, Jost van Dyke, or Orcas Island, the feeling is the same. A precious time when the day and it's stories have yet to be written.

Seize the day. Write interesting stories with your actions. The oppportunity is yours. Get out and do it. And, see you at sunset over drinks in the cockpit.

What's your favorite place to wake up at anchor? The Caribbean? The Med? That one particular harbor, as Captain Jimmy would say?

Tags: sailing, cruising, anchoring, yacht+charter, jimmy+buffet, one+particular+harbor

By Jeff on 4/22/2006 2:36 PM

I'm just back after attending the Strictly Sail 2006 event in Oakland, CA. I spent half a day there on Friday and it was pretty impressive. The weather was great, there was a large selection of sailboats in the water to look at, and it appeared that many attendees were having a great time as they prepare for the upcoming sailing season.

I had the opportunity to talk with a number of charter companies and get the latest details about the hot charter areas, great deals, and more. It was particularly interesting to see how different charter companies approach a show like this. While most were there providing general info and brochures, Moorings had travel planners on-site with laptops ready to book charter vacations. A subtle yet telling difference.

I'll be posting some of the info over the coming week so be sure to check back daily for more news and details.

Tags: sailing, strictlysail, yacht+charter, moorings