By Jeff on 3/2/2009 1:55 PM

Here’s a vision: flat water, decent trade winds, incredibly clear water, great fishing, and – get this – less than 200 miles from southern Florida. That’s the Abacos, located in the northern Bahamas. For those with kids or limited sailing experience, the Abacos offer a tremendous experience for sailors. There are a handful of experienced charter companies servicing the area, from world wide Moorings to local experts Sail Abaco and Abaco Bahamas Charters both based in Hopetown. I’m guessing that given the relatively shallow and flat waters, this is a great location to charter a catamaran. So, between a truly idyllic location and ease of access, it sounds hard to beat. That’s why it’s on our short-list for future charter destinations.

By Jeff on 2/18/2009 1:48 PM

In this week’s bareboat charter gear feature, I’m going to suggest the Xantrex Micro Inverter.

Why? Chances are, you (and your crew… especially young kid crew) probably have a handful of electronics you’ll pack along with you on your charter. You probably have an iPod, a digital camera, maybe a camcorder, and likely a few other things (FRS walkie talkies, handheld GPS, handheld VHF, etc.).

With most of these electronics, your battery will get you about a day of flights and half a day into your charter before you need to recharge them. When chartering, it’s rare to get shorepower. So, this little gadget can help you charge those essentials and capture those great digital pics captured by power hungry digital cameras.

By Jeff on 2/11/2009 10:46 PM

I’ll admit it; like many sailors, I'm a bit of a gear nut. Sailing, and of course chartering, provides ample opportunity to buy more gear. However, chartering provides some different types of gear to add to your list and I'm going to begin featuring each Wednesday. Why Wednesday? Well, it's just enough time to still buy something online, have it shipped next day air, and get it before the weekend (and either some local sailing or hopefully a charter).

I'm not someone that's into gear for gear-sake. But, some types of gear - sometimes even the simple things - can really make the difference between a sailing trip and a blissful, safe, and fun bareboat charter adventure.

So, the the gear I'll be featuring fits some specific criteria: it must be travel-friendly (light and packable), it must offer utility that makes the charter experience better, and it must have some durable, after-charter usefulness whether it be for sailing, other types of travel, or even just around the house.

To kick things off, here’s the first featured piece of gear:

The Joby Gorillapod Flexible Tripod

Why it’s cool?

On a boat, there are rarely any flat, sticky, reliable spots to mount something temporarily. And, since you’re on a wonderful vacation, you’ll probably want to take pictures.

The Gorillapod is light, flexible, and has this incredible adaptable way of clinging to things with a combination of sticky rubber rings attached to legs that can really clamp down tightly. So, place your digital camera or small camcorder on a the compass binnacle and get that family shot. Attach something to the bimini frame tubes. Or, simply use it while touring on shore as a very useful portable tripod.

There’s also a bonus model that features a slick suction cup base too!

Don’t leave home without it!

By Jeff on 1/22/2009 11:27 PM

When I tell stories about our trips to the Grenadines... the BVI... Tahiti... the San Juan Islands... each time on our own boat without a skipper or crew to cramp our style, most people look at me in with complete and utter doubt. "Are you joking? Someone let YOU take a boat by yourself in paradise?" Then, after I explain that I've been sailing my whole life, actively cruising and racing, they then withdraw with that a look that says, "Oh... I see... you know some secret handshake or codeword that the mainstream doesn't... I knew there was a catch."

But, the reality is, there's no "catch". It's possible for just about anyone. Too few people, other than diehard sailors that crawl the many ads in the back of sailing magazines, understand that you CAN charter a boat in paradise. Charter companies WANT to charter their boat to you (especially in this economy!).

What I commonly find is that people simply lack the understanding of the basics of how to go about chartering. From my experience, there are a handful of decisions that need to be made in conjunction to get things rolling towards a great charter experience. These are decisions including: who you want to charter with, what company you want to choose, and a handful of others. However, the single most important decision - in my opinion - is the destination.

The BVI (British Virgin Islands) are where bareboating got it's start. But, it's a great big world out there with many choices that constantly expand for chartering. That's why we've created a Charter Planning Guide that can help people new to the experience (and experts too) sort out their priorities. Choosing a Destination is a key factor and you can learn about the basics here.

In fact, this guide helped us recently. We were seriously considering a charter in the Sea of Cortez this spring. One of it's advantages is that most of the anchorages and destinations are incredibly remote. I've spoken with others that said they saw only a handful of other charter boats over a weeklong trip. Upon reflection - and asking ourselves, "do we really want to escape from it all?" and "what types of cultural experiences are appealing?", we realized that it just wasn't a great fit for our group which included small children and many that wanted to experience more social interaction with locals.

So - you can bareboat. Get started with considering your locations. And, if you have questions, be sure to register for Charter Island (it's free!) and post your questions in the Forum. We're happy to answer them.

By Jeff on 1/21/2009 7:55 AM

Finally, after many hours over a timeframe longer than we envisioned, many new content sections and site features are available. Way back, when we initially thought about this community and what we would like it to become, we had no idea of the time, effort and perseverance required to build it. There were also plenty of challenges - technical and otherwise - that periodically threw themselves in front of us.

However, we're here today in large part because we simply believe that chartering - bareboat and crewed - is simply the most incredible way to explore and experience our world. We also believe that community - where experts, novices, industry professionals, and vendors come together based on a common interest - is something special that we hope to foster through our forums other features coming soon.

So, take a look and enjoy. Please let us know what we can do to shape this community to better suit your needs. In the end, we're simply here to support you and the community of users that climb on board. Send us your requests!

By Jeff on 1/15/2009 2:13 PM

Competing for the number one thing you DON'T want to face while on your next charter is anchoring an unfamiliar boat equipped for light cruising in extreme weather. I guess this video at least represents one far end of the weather spectrum, don't you think? Fortunately, not much bareboat chartering happens at 50 degrees south latitude.

By Jeff on 12/25/2008 11:00 PM

We're taking a few days off here around Charter Island. However, here's hoping that those of you around the world are enjoying a festive and healthy holiday season. Despite the general weirdness going on around the world these days (any days?) I sure hope that someone is actually listening to Jimmy sing "Christmas in the Caribbean" in St. Barts, possibly gearing up for Christmas festivities at some place Foxy's on Jost van Dyke, cooking Christmas dinner on their bareboat anchored in the Tobago Cays while gazing out across the Atlantic, or maybe even celebrating Christmas on Christmas Island. To everyone - at home or on the water - cheers from the folks at Charter Island!

By Jeff on 12/15/2008 11:37 AM

As someone that spend many years of my youth exploring the San Juan Islands (U.S.) and Gulf Islands (Canada), I'm not surprised that the region has quickly become a popular bareboat charter destination. With protected waters, hundreds of anchorages, lush, green foliage, and many quirky and quaint towns to visit, it is without question an ideal cruising area with something to do for everyone.

One of the more popular destinations in the San Juan Islands is Roche Harbor. Featuring one of the larger marinas, a large bay with good holding, and a collection of restaurants, spa options, and more, it just offers so much to do. It's also host to some pretty famous parties - specifically 4th of July. It's also usually quite warm in the summer and has some pretty cool traditions, such as the retiring of the colors each evening.

However, with the frigid blast of cold hitting the Pacific Northwest this past weekend, it cast a very different look on an otherwise warm and cheery place!

Actually, it might be hard to imagine for some of the sunseekers (like myself) but cruising the San Juans in the winter is quite enjoyable. Despite the colder temperatures, it's strikingly beautiful and features relatively decent weather due to residing in a rain shadow that keeps it drier than areas further south such as Seattle. It's also very quiet (possibly too quiet - you might find some services closed down for the winter months so check ahead) and is certainly far away from the rat race of major cities.

(photo courtesy of Roche Harbor Resort and Islandcam.com)

By Jeff on 12/10/2008 3:39 PM

A while back, I mentioned that Channel 19 on XM - "Kenny Chesney's No Shoes Radio" - was a good one to dial in from time to time. Well, earlier this week, I hit paydirt while randomly clicking the the XM dial in the car. After stumbling past "E Street Radio" and "Grateful Dead", I landed on... "Radio Margaritaville". Now, I've been an online listener since the early days of streaming. I was also quite frustrated when Jimmy signed the deal for Sirius Radio. While not necessarily making my XM Radio obsolete, it certainly rendered it significantly less valuable in my eyes!

Now, with the merger of XM and Sirius, the entire lineup has become more interesting featuring the best of both worlds. Thanks XM and Sirius for getting Jimmy (and related artists) onto my XM radio.

BTW - a portable XM device might be a good Charter Gadget for your next trip. While the satellite coverage is theoretically limited to the 48 contiguous states, I've *heard* reach does go beyond the borders to surprising distances!

By Jeff on 12/9/2008 1:56 PM

Now that we've reached December, many can breathe a collective sigh of relief. Atlantic Hurricane Season is officially over for 2008. Man, was it a doozy. According to The Weather Channel, there were a total of 16 storms, 8 of which turned into hurricanes with 5 being defined as "major".

What does that have to do with chartering, you ask? Well, if you've ever given your contact info to a charter company, you've undoubtedly received the many "summer/fall discount" offers in the mail. This is because summer and fall are slow travel seasons for places like the Caribbean due to both climate unpredictability and the fact that come September, many families are back to school and unable to travel as much.

The weather unpredictability is driven directly from hurricane season which runs from June 1 through November 30th. When you consider that Atlantic hurricane season supposedly peaks around September 10th, you can see why charter companies (in the Caribbean, at least) work so hard to motivate sailors to charter in the fall months. I've seen offers for as much as 30% off of charters, specials on larger boats in various fleets, and more.

The big question is simple: is it worth it? Well, here are a few points to consider.

1. Years ago, I did a charter in the BVI during early June. It was damn hot and particularly humid. I'm not sure that I would charter at that time again simply because it was uncomfortable. Were the savings worth it? At the time, the savings made the difference between chartering and not chartering.
2. Hurricane weather impacts more than your sailing experience. Many islands and infrastructure can be devastated by hurricane weather. While it's also GREAT to visit to help inject cash into local economies as they wrestle with the impact of hurricanes on many services we take for granted, it's likely better to do it AFTER the season has passed when some sense of order and reason has returned.
3. Hurricane activity, and the impact on weather, can vary wildly. A crystal ball would be nice right now if you're considering a charter for next fall (BTW - you might want to wait and book closer to get the better deals then). Some years - like 2008 - can really impact the quality of your trip. Here's an interesting comment from a recent Weather Channel article:

"The 2008 hurricane season was an all time record breaker; 5 of the 6 months of hurricane season had a major hurricane. The old record (2005) was a least one major hurricane in 4 months of hurricane season."

In other words, had you booked a discounted charter during "charter discount season", there wasn't really a month where a serious hurricane didn't threaten that trip.This is significant because most people, when spending their hard-earned cash (especially right now) plan a trip of charter-like proportions and expense (even at a discount), they want to know they're going to get paradise and nothing less!

What to do?

It really depends on a number of factors:

• Where are you going? Some locations (definitely beyond the Caribbean) remain adequately removed from the impact of these storms. Places like the Windward Island (southern region) have more stabilized temperatures and suffer less nasty weather. Also be sure to look at locations you're considering to see what historic averages show for weather. Here are some interesting charts for the BVI:

Average rainfall (by month) for Road Town, Tortola, BVI

Average temperature (by month) for Road Town, Tortola, BVI

(charts and images courtesy of www.weather.com)

Looking at these charts, September is likely hot and wet in the BVI. And, who knew that November could experience so much rain? Granted, it's tropical rain (warm, quick bursts) but if you're expecting cloud-free days, you might want to think again.

• How flexible are you? From all of the research I've done, it's best to approach the discount season for charters with a very flexible gameplan. That allows you to really understand the local impact of hurricane season, react to weather patterns, and being to be selective. From what I've seen, there remains plenty of inventory for boats to charter at this time of year for those flexible enough to play it loosely.
• Utilize travel insurance. If you can't be flexible and need to book far in advance, it's probably worth it to purchase travel insurance or some charter protection plan that ensures that if you do need to cancel at the last moment, you'll be covered and recoup the majority of your charter costs.
• "Hug the corners". Figure out the months and focus on the earliest part of hurricane/discount season or the latest part. This will enable you to at least get closer to the more favorable times (and more ideal weather, possibly) that something right in the middle of the season.

I'm sure there are more ideas (please share them in the comments field!) but hopefully some of these thoughts share a little light on how hurricane season affects discounts on bareboat charters and why.