As you can see in the photograph above, the 76-foot Akasha is not your average sailing catamaran. She is one among three large, upscale, and nearly identical sisterships (the others being Zingara and King’s Ransom) that are available for charter in the Virgin Islands.
Chris and Joanna Plowman, whom I met aboard back in November, continue to serve as one of two captain-and-chef teams aboard Askasha. They e-mailed recently to tell me they are now working with a new couple, named Arnold and Rica, in the roles of deckhand and stewardess.
Arnold and Rica apparently bring some nifty qualifications to their jobs. Rica is being promoted as a “qualified beauty therapist,” allowing Akasha to offer two complimentary, 40-minute massages during each charter. The massages are done on a professional table, either in your private cabin or outside on the yacht’s flying bridge.
Arnold, meanwhile, is a certified PADI scuba instructor, so Akasha is now offering six complimentary dives per week-long charter. There’s also an option for you to take a Discover Scuba course during your charter.
In addition to the new crew, Akasha has some new amenities. One is a new tender exclusively for guest use, which means you can explore beaches and coves on your own without the help of a crew member. Two Sunfish sailboats are also on their way to the yacht. These small boats are ideal for children or single adults with minimal sailing experience. (I had a Sunfish as a kid at my grandfather’s lake house and would sail it for hours with my little sister without any worries.) For indoor fun, Akasha now has a Nintendo Wii with 40 games. It’s in the main saloon, which the Plowmans say offers enough room “for all the family to have a bowling match.”
All this new and fun stuff comes in addition to the unique tender Ajira, a 75-mile-per-hour Bladerunner 35 that is available to Akasha‘s charter guests for an extra fee. (You can view photos of Ajira going from zero to 60 mph in five seconds at the yacht’s own website.)
Akasha is a Silhouette 760 by Matrix Yachts and is part of the CharterPortBVI fleet. She takes as many as 10 guests at weekly rates that range from $42,800 to $48,000 depending on the season.
Tags: Bladerunner 35, Caribbean, CharterPortBVI, Matrix Yachts, Silhouette 760, Sunfish, Virgin Islands