The head of this new operation is Lex Raas, who joined the company as president the first week of January. Raas is a veteran of charter operations and comes to the new venture from TUI Marine, where as CEO he helped engineer the merger between Moorings and Sunsail. He is expected to eventually grow the BVI base to more than 30 boats.

MarineMax Vacations is now operating out of Tortola, in the BVI.

Thirteen Dufour sailing yachts arrived at Hodges Creek Marina in Tortola, British Virgin Islands on January 3rd. Eight Dufour 425s will now be known as MarineMax 433s, and five Dufour 405s will be put into service as MarineMax 413s. All the vessels are new and will have more than $50,000 worth of modifications and amenities such as water makers and enhanced electronics.

The charter company also announced the addition of power catamarans to its Caribbean-based fleet starting in June of 2012. Ten Aquila 38 power cats will become the MarineMax 382 and will be equipped with electric stoves and barbeque grills, gensets, air conditioning, water makers, and wireless connectivity. The two-cabin and two-head vessels are designed by renowned Los Angeles-based naval architects Morrelli & Melvin and built in Fuyang City, China. It is expected that power cats will be very popular with MarineMax Vacations’ target audience of experienced boaters looking for premium charter vessels in a tropical location.

MarineMax Vacations is part of MarineMax, the country’s largest retailer of powerboats. The positioning for the charter company is focused on the total luxury charter experience and will differentiate itself by providing performance yachts and personalized service. The new base at Hodges Creek is a short ride from the BVI airport on Beef Island. The base offers bareboat and crewed vessels as well as organized group events and tours.

For more information, visit MarineMax Vacations.

Many bareboat charters come with accessories like kayaks, allowing you to explore each harbor. Photo: Neil Rabinowitz

Depending on the charter venue a resume, a careful checkout, and an insurance deposit are all typically required; some level of certification may also be necessary. The charter company may encourage, or require, the skipper to take a professional captain along for a day or two until the charterer is comfortable handling the boat and its systems.

Choose from large companies operating multiple fleets in different parts of the world, all year round, or go with a local outfit that manages a handful of boats in season. Larger companies tend to offer larger boats, typically in the 35 to 50 foot range for sailboats. Smaller companies in more seasonal areas usually offer boats 25 to 40 feet long.

Families can be involved in running a bareboat. Photo: Neil Rabinowitz

Bareboat charter yachts have historically been sailboats, but with the introduction of sailing catamarans, power cats have been growing in popularity.

The new Vision Hybrid allows silent cruising for family and friends along the gorgeous waterways of Europe.

One way to experience all this is to charter a crewed canal boat or barge – and from the reports we hear, in these adventures the chef is just as important as the captain (if they’re not one in the same). The other way is to bareboat (or “self-drive” as they say in Europe).

Le Boat, a leading bareboat company with over 1000 cruising vessels available for European waterway charters, has just announced some major fleet refurbishments for 2012, including the addition of hybrid versions of their Vision cruisers, which use powerful battery banks in combination with solar panels and plug-in power to reduce engine-running time and allow significant amounts of all-electric propulsion.

Two Vision models are available with slightly different accommodation arrangements, and with either hybrid or all-diesel power. Here’s a YouTube video of the Vision Hybrid in action.

From July through September 2012, and only on the Canal du Midi in southern France, charterers will be able to book a Vision with a captain and chef.

Le Boat, established 40 years ago, operates in France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Italy, England, Scotland, and Ireland. For more information on destinations, other vessels in the fleet, training and orientation, rates, and special offers, visit Le Boat.

For more information, read Le Boat Canal Cruisers: Smart, Sexy and Green

Sunsail is investing in their charter fleet with 230 new yachts slated to be added for the 2011-2012 season. The latest, the Sunsail 38 monohull,  is scheduled to sail out of the British Virgin Islands beginning November of this year.

The good-looking Sunsail 38, designed by Marc Lombard, features dual steering wheels and an easy-to-manage sailplan.

The Sunsail 38 is also known as the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 379, which is the latest performance cruiser offered by the French builder. The sleek and sporty boat offers a large cockpit with twin helms, a self-tacking jib, and a fold-down transom that makes boarding easy and is a great launching platform for kayaking, swimming, and snorkeling. Designed by Marc Lombard, this boat follows in the footsteps of its award-winning sister, the Jeanneau 409 (Sunsail 41) and is perfect for two couples or a chartering family.

The Sunsail 38 is easy to sail shorthanded, with all sheets led aft to the helms under the coachroof so the deck stays clear and safe. With a draft of 6’4”, the boat should point well and offer excellent performance even in light winds. There’s a full suite of electronics, including instruments and a plotter that pivots to be viewable from both helms. The Sunsail 38 displaces nearly 15,000 pounds and its 12’ 4” beam offers a lot of living space below.

The interior layout has full cabins fore and aft and a full-sized head next to the companionway with access to a large stowage area under the port-side cockpit.

Most of the charter boats in French Polynesia today are catamarans, and their shallow draft is appreciated.

Getting Acclimated
Ia ora na (“hello”). After landing at Faa’a airport in Papeete on the island of Tahiti Nui (“big island”), most people take a few days to orient themselves before stepping aboard their charter boat. For North Americans, this is easy as Tahiti is three hours behind Pacific Standard Time, so up at 6:00am with the sun isn’t hard even if staying up much past 9:00pm is.

A must see in town is the municipal market where you can grab breakfast in the form of fruit, pastries or a variety of Tahitian goodies and then spend an hour or two taking in the colors of the local wares. The first floor is mainly food and flowers and the second includes handicrafts and souvenirs.

An afternoon bus or car tour of Tahiti Nui will lead to stops at the Gauguin Museum, the James Norman Hall house (co-author of Mutiny on the Bounty, 1932) and Point Venus lighthouse where both captains Cook and Bligh landed at various times. After six o’clock, the place to be is the newly rebuilt Gare Maritime, the main quay on Boulevard Pomare. As night falls, les roulottes, or food trucks, roll in and serve up delicious fish, stir fry, curry, pizza, poisson cru (marinated fish like ceviche), salads, and crepes in a fun outdoor atmosphere. It’s the cheapest and best grub you’ll find in Tahiti and a great way to spend time with the locals.

The next day, hop a ferry to Moorea, which was probably the centerpiece of your pool deck sunset the night before. Rent a moped or car and circumnavigate the lush island with its jagged peaks, stopping at the rum distillery and fruit juice factory for samples. If you’re staying the night, you will find the Intercontinental or Sofitel provide charming over-water bungalows that you’ll probably photograph a hundred times before you leave.

Moorea provides a centerpiece of this pool deck sunset.

Maeva (“welcome”) to Your Charter Yacht
After your Windward Islands sojourn, a 45 minute flight from Papeete to Raiatea, followed by a 5 minute car ride will deposit you on the docks at Apooiti marina, home of both Sunsail and Tahiti Yacht Charters (TYC). Moorings boats are around the corner but in the same vicinity. Do your technical checkout and chart briefing while the crew heads to the town of Uturoa by taxi to fill out a partial provisioning from the charter company.

Most of the charter boats in the area today are catamarans rather than monohulls and that’s a good thing. Not only are catamarans more sociable platforms for multiple couples, but their draft comes in handy in the skinny water near the motus (islands on the fringing reefs). I know that ten years ago, my sail to the back side of Bora Bora on a monohull was more of a nail-biter than it was this time on a Lagoon 380. Amazing what two feet less of draft can do.

It’s also amazing what returns in a taxi when you send six people for food – unquestionably, too much. Everything is expensive in Tahiti because most of it is shipped in, so shopping local or French brands will stretch your dollar, or franc (CFP). Mangos, pineapples, bananas, papaya, guava, coconuts and pamplemousse (grapefruit) are excellent. If you want watermelon, be prepared to pay upwards of $40 for two mid-sized melons. French wines and cheeses are terrific as is the mahi mahi mousse, a kind of fish pate that, combined with the ever-present and cheap baguettes of French bread and a chilled white wine, make a happy hour very happy.

Hurepiti Bay is about two hours from the charter bases.

Heading Out
Raiatea and Tahaa share a fringing reef so it’s easy to stay in protected waters for the first day or two. Heading up to Tahaa about two hours from the base is Hurepiti Bay. Alain and Christina Plantier, who sailed their 32’ plywood boat to Tahiti from France some 30 years ago, today provide a memorable 4×4 land tour. He’s a botanist and together they built a Robinson Crusoe homestead that is green architecture at its best. A 4-hour tour ($65) includes a visit to their home and grounds, a stop to feed coconuts to chickens, multiple gorgeous photo opportunities, a chance to sample local fruits, and a reason to learn more about vanilla pollination than you ever imagined. Alain will even provide noni, the fruit of a tree in the coffee family. Noni became popular several years ago and has been touted as a healthful magic bullet, supposedly providing everything from a slew of vitamins to a cure for cancer. And it had better be the fountain of youth because I can’t image any other reason to choke it down; it smells and tastes like boiled sweat socks.

Alain Plantier pollinates vanilla.

After a morning stop at one of Tahaa’s many black pearl farms (most businesses are open by 7:00 am) it’s time to head for one of the passes. Depending on the length of your charter, you may choose to bash to weather first and visit Huahine about 22 miles east. This is the least developed of the bigger Society Islands and you can enter from either Avamoa or Avapehi pass and anchor near the town of Fare. I found that a great way to see the island was to rent a bike and ride over the northern tip to visit the stone fish traps in Lac Maeva, the many maraes or religious sites, the copra drying beds, and the sacred eels in the fresh water river. These eels average 5 feet in length, have blue eyes, and will embarrass themselves for a taste of canned fish.

It’s too far to make the downwind run from Huahine all the way to Bora Bora during daylight, so break up the trip and re-enter Raiatea’s reef via Irihu pass. In Faaroa Bay you can take the dinghy on an Indiana Jones-esque trip up a river. The river can be narrow and shallow and a paddle or drag over the shallows without the use of the outboard is sometimes necessary. Back near the reef, three miles south in Onoa bay is Marea Taputapuatea, one of the major religious sites on what is known to Tahitians as the Sacred Island – Raiatea, mother to all the other islands, including the “first born,” Bora Bora.

The reef on the south side of Bora Bora requires careful navigation.

The First Born
Sometimes, the weather is such that Huahine is out of the question on a week-long charter. Many boats run immediately down to Bora Bora, the most photographed and mystical of the islands. You can almost hear the Rodgers and Hammerstein’s song Bali Hai when entering Bora’s Teavanui pass on the west side. Turn right and duck in behind Topua motu, the remnants of an ancient volcano, for an afternoon kayak paddle followed by a quick run to the village of Vaitape for ice. We’ll take more Hinano too, mauruuru (“thank you”). Try dinner at Bloody Mary’s, a palapa style building with a sand floor that serves great fish in a tropical atmosphere. If you’re lucky, grab one of Bloody Mary’s moorings. If you’re not lucky, head around the corner to drop the hook in shallower depths because near the central islands, the water is deep, dark and usually fouled with something. One of the boats in our group dragged up a huge anchor chain from something that might have sailed by a century ago.

In the morning, it’s time for the trek to paradise on the back side of Bora Bora. Check your charts often. In fact, be zen and become one with your charts. In our most recent fleet of ten boats, two grounded within the first two days. Binoculars and the depth sounder will become your best friends when negotiating the reefs. And remember that in French Polynesia, it is NOT Red, Right, Returning. Having the hook down before the sun gets low and the glare obscures the shallow reefs is key.

It’s easy to become obsessed with Otemanu, Bora Bora’s main mountain that rises 2,300 feet above the crystal lagoon. It is hard to resist as a backdrop to just about every photo, including ones taken from Le Meridien’s beautiful deck bar where you can enjoy a fruity cocktail for $25. As I said, nothing is cheap in Tahiti.

Bloody Mary’s serves great fish in a tropical atmosphere, and offers moorings to a lucky few.

Snorkeling along the central reef or through the Lagoonarium ($55), a kind of underwater zoo, is a nice way to compare the mantle colors of the clams that embed themselves into the coral heads. Anchoring is easy so long as you avoid the coral heads because in a tussle with one of them, you’re bound to lose. A second night can be spent four miles south near another beautiful motu where you can then enjoy some early morning drift snorkeling. You have to love any place that gives directions like, “Best anchorage is near the five tallest coconut trees on the white sand beach.”

It’s possible to make it back around Bora, out the pass, and across open water to Raiatea in one day, but be prepared for 20-30 knot headwinds in the afternoon and a lot of pounding. Then settle in for one more idyllic evening, maybe on a mooring by Taravana Yacht Club on Tahaa, to soak up the last sunset and grab another Hinano.

Most of the Society Islands are around 16 degrees south latitude so the days are short, the temps are steady between 75-90 degrees Fahrenheit, and the tide is about a foot—which can make a difference if you’ve got a keel perched on a coral head. The diving is not always clear or colorful, the motus are often private or reserved for hotel guests, and the prices are steep. But the people are friendly and the scenery is incomparable. Even if you chafe at the thought of $25 cocktails, you can’t beat the view.

For a detailed one or two week itinerary, read Tahiti Itineraries.

The Moorings 50.5

A sail area of 1268 square feet and a deep bulb keel (6’6” total draft) should provide lively and weatherly performance in the tradewinds.

The Moorings 3900

The 50.5 is available for charter in the Moorings fleets in the British Virgin Islands, St. Lucia, St. Martin, and Grenada.

The company’s latest catamaran, the Moorings 3900, is another well-coordinated collaboration between the design team of Morrelli & Melvin and builders Robertson & Caine of South Africa. A development of the award-winning Leopard 38, the Moorings 3900 is set up with three double cabins and two head compartments. The saloon and cockpit are both designed to maximize the dual pursuits of most charterers – enjoying life in and on the water, and relaxing belowdecks. A raised steering station to starboard under a hard-top bimini offers good visibility all around, and the helmsman has winches and sail controls right at hand.

The 3900 will be available in The Moorings’ charter fleets in Greece starting in June, 2011, and later in the year in the British Virgin Islands, St. Lucia, the Bahamas, and Mexico.

At 121 feet, Olga provides a truly luxurious getaway for two.

Even better, your charter broker can work with the yacht’s captain and crew to arrange for romantic surprises throughout the experience. This is far different than selecting from a pre-packaged menu of options. Think of onboard or on-the-beach massages for two, whenever the urge strikes. Or champagne and strawberries being served to you in the top-deck hot tub as the sun sets. Or a steel-drum band brought onboard to serenade you with soft, tropical music while you enjoy a romantic dinner for two. If you can imagine it, a good charter yacht (like Olga, pictured above) can make it happen.

Several styles of charter yacht are available for honeymoon vacations. The first is a bareboat, which lets you and your new spouse work together as a team to manage everything from docking to raising the sails. If you are an experienced sailor and want to enjoy ultimate privacy, then a bareboat might be the ideal honeymoon charter for you.

Olga's hot tub provides a romantic spot to enjoy a sunset.

Next are the smaller crewed yachts that are typically found in locations such as the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. These yachts, which range in length from 40 to 80 feet, typically accommodate charter parties of two to six guests and generally have two to four crew members onboard. That means you and your partner can still enjoy a great deal of privacy, and you also can relax completely while the crew run the boat.

Larger yachts that take 10 to 12 guests are also available for honeymoon vacations. These feel palatial with only two guests onboard, especially when you consider that crews of eight to 12 people are onboard to serve you—and only you. These yachts often have full spas in the master suites, media rooms with plush sofas, and more water toys than you could use in a month. If ultimate pampering is your goal, then a charter aboard a yacht 80 feet or larger is the way to go.

Onboard massages are offered on larger yachts like Olga.

In terms of pricing, the larger yachts are almost always the most expensive. However, many charter yachts offer staggered pricing that depends on the size of your group. A yacht may have one price for two people for a week, and another price for six people for a week. Most yacht owners will negotiate a reduced rate if you’re coming aboard for a single week with only two people, a discount that you can receive by working with a good charter broker who is experienced in contract negotiations.

Yacht charters can also turn your honeymoon into a family affair. If you are celebrating a second marriage and the blending of two sets of children, then a yacht charter honeymoon can be an excellent opportunity to bond. Many yacht crew are experienced in creating memorable experiences for children such as treasure hunts, sailing contests, and water-skiing rides. While the crew or your nanny are helping the children get to know one another in a fun setting, you and your new spouse can relax aboard the yacht with a chilled drink and a romantic, private lunch.

Editors’ Note: Photos of Olga courtesy Churchill Yacht Partners.

But there’s an alternative to Caribbean chartering that most boaters don’t know about: bareboat charters on powerboats like this Jefferson 48.

The second image is likely to be that of a luxury megayacht, carrying a half-dozen crew members, cases of champagne and a charter price to match. But there’s another alternative to Caribbean chartering that most boaters don’t know about, and that’s bareboat power charters.

Picture this: We have cleared Customs into the British Virgin Islands aboard our 48’ Jefferson motoryacht and headed immediately for Norman Island, where Robert Louis Stevenson reportedly set his tale of pirate loot, Treasure Island. Using the electric anchor windlass, we effortlessly ease our anchor down into the gin-clear water and are soon off in our outboard-powered dinghy to see if we can find any leftover chests of gold doubloons in the sea caves nearby. After swimming into the caverns and spending the afternoon snorkelling among the brilliantly coloured fish on the nearby reefs, we return to our yacht, aptly named Holiday.

The Virgin Islands offer too many harbors for most week long charters; the reliable transport of powerboat chartering maximizes the possiblities.

Stepping onto the swim platform, we rinse off the salt with a warm freshwater shower, dry off and head for the salon, which we’ve left closed up all afternoon. On a sailboat, we’d expect it to be sweltering inside but, aboard Holiday, it’s cold enough to hang slabs of beef because we left the air conditioner running.

Changing into dry clothes, we’re soon sprawled on the settee, the blender is churning out icy pina coladas and a football game is on the television.

Blender? Air conditioning? Television? For anyone used to the often Spartan sailboat charters in the Caribbean, this is pure decadence. It is, as I tell people who ask about power charters in the Caribbean, not exactly man against the elements.

All the comforts of home, including air conditioning: power charters in the Caribbean are not exactly man against the elements.

Best of all, you can have all the comforts of home without having to sell the home to pay for it. Holiday, our Jefferson 48 from VIP Yacht Charters on Saint Thomas in the US Virgin Islands, rented for about US$6300 during our seven-day charter in late May. The peak charter season runs from mid-December through the end of April, during which time the same boat would have been US$700 more. I like chartering just outside the prime charter season because it is not only less expensive, but less crowded as well.

While we had a crew of friends Bob and Cathy DeBusk, we could have carried another couple since Holiday has two staterooms forward and an owner’s cabin aft. That would have worked out to $2100 per couple for the week, which isn’t out of line with a vacation ashore in the islands, yet we could move to a new harbour every day.

VIP Yacht Charters is the largest power charter company in the Virgin Islands, with a fleet of more than two dozen yachts, mostly in the 46’ to 53’ range although they do have several smaller powerboats. With their own marina, the yachts are maintained in Bristol condition and, on boarding Holiday, we found her spotless. VIP’s Simon Ferguson quickly walked us through the yacht and, frankly, we were impressed. Fully equipped with everything from sheets and towels to kitchen utensils, dinghy with outboard to cellular phone, all you really need to bring are swimsuits and suntan cream. While VIP will provision the yacht to your needs, we chose to pick up the supplies at a nearby grocery store ourselves.

One of the three staterooms on the Jefferson 48

Holiday is a 48’ cockpit motoryacht, meaning that she not only has a large aft deck for entertaining, but a water-level cockpit for easy access both for swimming and to the dinghy provided with the yacht. The aft deck, with a wet bar, barbecue and dining table, has a hardtop for sun protection, and we found it the perfect place for alfresco dining in the evenings. The main salon has an L-shaped dinette, an entertainment centre with television and VCR, a fully equipped galley, and an inside steering station. Surrounded by large windows for great visibility, our two chefs enjoyed meal-making with a spectacular view.

Two steps down, a stateroom to port has a large double berth, and the forward cabin has a double berth as well as a single bunk that serves as a seat when not used by youngsters. Both cabins share a large enclosed head with electric toilet and separate stall shower with pressure hot water.

As the captain’s perk, I grabbed the owner’s stateroom aft which has a queen-sized berth, built-in bureaus, a big hanging locker, and even a combination desk and vanity. The en suite head also had an electric toilet and spacious shower.

Underway, we spent most of our time on the flybridge, which is protected from the sun by a bimini top. The skipper has a separate helm seat behind the dash, and there is wrap-around lounge seating for the rest of the crew. The hardtop just behind the flybridge doubles as a huge sunning area for those who want to take home a bronzed tan, and the built-in settee on the foredeck was another place to enjoy a cool drink and watch the stars at night.

The Baths on Virgin Gorda feature a tumble of huge boulders that creates quiet wading pools and shelters friendly tropical fish.

Our generator was so quiet that you couldn’t hear it more than a few feet away from our stern, so I wasn’t concerned that we were bad neighbors in an anchorage, although more than a few of our neighbors aboard sailboats viewed us with undisguised envy. I know, because they told me. At night, as they were tucking into their bunks and hoping that the tiny portholes would bring a few breaths of warm air, we had the air conditioning on high and were sleeping soundly in luxurious comfort.

The generator did more than provide power for the air conditioning and blender; it also provided endless hot water for showers, allowed us to run the microwave (we popped popcorn!) and kept the ice cream in the two big freezers rock hard.

The twin Caterpillar diesels provided an economical propulsion that doesn’t rely on the sometimes-iffy winds in the British Virgins, and we were able to cruise comfortably between anchorages and make the most of our time exploring, swimming and beachcombing.

After Norman Island, we motored east along the island chain, stopping to explore The Baths on Virgin Gorda, a tumble of huge boulders at the water’s edge that creates quiet wading pools inside sunlit caverns and shelters tropical fish that are friendly enough to peer into your face mask. On the same island, we shopped at the Pusser’s store at Leverick Bay, buying rum ($7 a fifth!) and nautical mementos.

Jefferson 48 floorplan

Off Salt Island, we explored the wreck of the Rhone, an 1800’s Royal Mail ship that sank in shallow water and is probably most famous for Jacqueline Bissett’s wet t-shirt diving scene in the movie “The Deep”.
We anchored off Sandy Cay, owned by Laurance Rockefeller and maintained as a botanical sanctuary, which has a flawless crescent of white sand beach. At the nearby island of Jost Van Dyke, we stopped in Great Harbour and dinghied ashore to Foxy’s Tamarind Bar, a legendary yachting hangout for 25 years. Foxy, a seventh generation Jost native, is a calypso singer of renown who makes up his tunes to fit each audience in the open air bar.

With regret, we crossed back into the US Virgin Islands and returned to VIP Yacht Charters, where we quickly eased through the check-in procedures and headed for the airport.
In addition to the base charter fee for our yacht, we had paid an additional $175 for insurance that protected our yacht during the charter as well as eliminating the need for a sizable security deposit. Though we ran the generator much of the time and kept the twin diesels at cruising speed while running, we only used $412 worth of fuel, bringing our total cost for the boat to under US$7000.

The bottom line is that we had an incredible vacation at a price that was the equivalent of what we probably would have spent at a four star resort on shore, yet we had complete mobility and access to islands that landbound tourists can’t reach.

There were, as they say, too many islands, too few days. The sheer luxury of our powerboat charter has made me a convert to this decadent lifestyle, and I know that we’ll be back to explore the rest of this island paradise. No question about it, we’ll choose a powerboat again.

For more information about chartering in the Virgin Islands, visit the Yachtworldcharters.com Caribbean page.

View a BVI sample charter itinerary

Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in the February/March 2010 issue of Yachtworld.com Magazine. View current issue

Choose your power source and your steering: the canal boat has a joystick for close maneuvering.

The 1500 Series is powered by a hybrid system that can be diesel only, electric only or a combination of the two, kind of like a Prius.  Diesel power is provided by a 75HP Volkswagen engine which, when it’s not providing propulsion, charges a bank of Valence lithium iron magnesium phosphate batteries.  Six solar panels also generate green energy and the boat can run up to three hours on electric power at a cruising speed of 6-7 knots.

The combination saloon and galley are in the bow with a wraparound window for panoramic views and a walkthrough to the bow deck.

Each boat can be configured with 2, 3 or 4 cabins.

Steering is provided by a traditional wheel or, for close quarters maneuvering, a joystick which connects to the ZF Marine POD drive and a bow thruster.  There is no rudder, but complete control comes from a rotating propeller so the boat can literally move sideways into a tight spot at a dock.  The operator chooses the kind of power (diesel or electric) and the method of steering (wheel or joystick) from one of two helm stations, one inside and one on the flybridge.

The 1500 Series is not a small boat.  It measures 46’ x 15’ and displaces 20,000 lbs.  But it draws only 2 ½ feet and its fiberglass hull is designed to minimize waves and therefore river bank erosion.  The plugs are being created now in Slovenia and the boat will be built by Groupe Beneteau in France.  There is only one hull and deck design but the modular interior has rails which slot in the cabin walls so a boat can be configured with 2,3 or 4 cabins.

Much thought has been given to modernizing the accommodations as well.  All cabins come with air conditioning, flat panel televisions, ensuite bathrooms and foldaway beds for children.  The combination saloon and galley with a U-shaped settee are in the bow with a wraparound window for panoramic views and a walkthrough to the bow deck.  There is 7 foot standing headroom and plenty of light from numerous windows along the port side cabins.  A walkway runs the length of the starboard side and provides visibility aft from the inside steering station which is also in the saloon area.

The flybridge above is perfect for relaxing and is high enough to see over canal banks.  There is plenty of seating, a BBQ, a bar fridge, a shower/sink and a bimini cover.  The tankage on these boats is impressive too; 390 gallons of fresh water, 115 gallons of fuel and enough grey and black water storage to accommodate 8 guests for a week.

The fiberglass hull is designed to minimize waves and therefore river bank erosion.

TUI Marine expects the 1500 Series to simplify and improve the way canal cruising is enjoyed.  Given the economical nature, comfort and ease of operation, there is no doubt they’re onto something here.

Castle Urquhart on the banks of Loch Ness

It was a moonless night, but the Scottish air was so clear that the umbrella of stars overhead cast an eerie blue tint over the entire scene. The sound I had heard was the breeze moaning though the battlements and parapets of the ruined castle looming nearly overhead, and I half expected to see legions of ghostly Highlanders moving about on guard duty in the predawn hours. We were moored at Urquhart castle on Loch ness, deep in the Great Glen that slashes across the width of Scotland, separating the fabled Highlands from the rest of the country. This was the charter cruise of a lifetime … one that I’d been preparing for from the day I first read an account of the Loch Ness Monster.

The often sighted but never captured creature was the focus of my interest, but the highlands and islands had always called to me, and I’d returned a number of times, but never by water. As charter sailors, we’d grown blasé, having done most of the well-travelled paths: Caribbean and Bahamas, South Pacific, Pacific northwest, Mediterranean. So the idea of chartering a powerboat on Scotland’s Caledonian Canal, the manmade chain of canals that connect the lochs of the Great Glen, was heaven-sent. Pottering through little Scottish villages and exploring the castles and coves of the Highlands sounded like the perfect cruise, and I’d invited my parents to join us for a family vacation.

Though the wind had shifted enough to put us on a lee shore, I wriggled back into my sleeping bag comfortable in the knowledge that it wasn’t blowing hard enough to pose a problem. Besides, Loch Ness is so narrow that there’s no room for waves to build up, and I turned my attention to finding the last few warm spots in my bunk.

The locks of Fort Augustus with Loch Ness in the background.

Later that morning, having forsaken a warm sleeping bag for a less warm parka that scraped roughly against the stubble on my face, my father and I stood in the cockpit and surveyed the world. It was, as the Scottish say, a fine soft morning. Translated, that means that if you stand outside for very long, you’ll either freeze solid, be soaked through, or both. It wasn’t exactly raining, but the air was full of Highland mist drifting down off the hillsides. It was our second day in Scotland, but I was still feeling the drag of being eight time-zones and thousands of miles from home. While the rest of the crew sorted out the cabin and tidied up after breakfast, I lurched back into my bunk for a little more sleep. After all, I was the captain.

We had departed from Los Angeles just a couple of days before, but we had decided to fly straight through rather than sleeping over in London. The long polar haul was nearly eleven hours, followed by five hours waiting on hard seats in Heathrow Airport for our shuttle to Inverness. By the time we stumbled into our hotel, we’d been up for more than 24 hours straight, and it was showing.

Our first night in Scotland was spent at the Glen Mhor Hotel on the banks of the River Ness in Inverness. It was wonderful, and that wasn’t just because the huge bed was covered by an eiderdown under which we sank into oblivion. After a cheery breakfast the next day, we ventured out for a quick stroll in the sunshine along the riverbank and into Inverness. Spying a burly man striding along in a brilliant red kilt, we knew we were in the Highlands!

With a taxi to carry our duffels, we arrived at Caley Marina in nearby Muirtown, home of Caley Cruisers. Caley Cruisers was the first company to establish boating holidays on the Caledonian Canal and has been in operation since 1970. Owned and managed by the Hogan family, over the past 38 years the business has introduced thousands of families to the pleasure of boating in the splendours of the Scottish Highlands. They operate ten different classes of cruisers, all of which are fully equipped and with their wealth of experience, they have everything well-organised.

The charter base includes covered servicing and dry dock areas, showers for charterers, and storage areas for hard suitcases. Our Eriskay class cruiser was waiting for us, moored stern-to, and we piled our gear aboard. One of the Caley crew showed us how everything operated, from the single Volvo diesel to the galley stove. The layout was fairly predictable: double cabin forward and twin side cabin allowing a family of four to sleep comfortably without having to convert the table into a berth, inside steering, electrical hook-up, bow thrusters. The boats are fully equipped with hot and cold water, shower, refrigerator, freshly laundered bed linen, duvets for all fixed berths and sleeping bags for the convertible berths, large fridge, full size gas cooker, hairdryer, toaster, flat screen TV and DVD/CD player for the sounds of mournful Highland bagpipers. You bring books, sense of humour, and perhaps a willingness to relax and savour life for a few days.

Provisioning was handled by pointing us up the road where we found a grocery with a long line of schoolchildren waiting outside. Every few moments, one child, laden with sweets, would exit from the store and another would be admitted. We considered standing in the queue for our food, but decided that it was only for youngsters and the stern proprietor, guarding the door, gladly let us in. It didn’t take long to fill our shopping carts and the clerk, used to charterers, let us take the trolleys downhill to the marina, promising to send a lad to pick them up later.

Anxious to be off for Loch Ness, we stowed our gear and prepared to leave. We were told to wait until a tour boat passed along the canal, and to follow it through the first set of locks and a swing bridge. Moments later, a 1900s vintage double-decker appeared around the corner, chuffing smoke. We were off on our Highland fling. The first section of the canal wound through lush countryside, the swing bridge opened at the very sight of the steamer, and we slid through in their wake. At the lock, we rafted up alongside the tour boat, where the engineer leaned down to regale us in a deep Scots burr with tales of the Loch Ness monster even though we weren’t paying for his spiel. Out the other side, we dawdled along on a spring-like day, passing immense country homes with crisply trimmed hedges and Edward Gorey-style urns on the lawns.

The Caledonian Canal was built in the early 1800s as a method of connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea for both military and commercial shipping. In its day, it was big enough to take sea-going vessels, those trading with the Baltic and America as well as the Royal Navy, and save them from the often fearsome weather off the Hebrides or in the Pentland Firth at the tip of Scotland. The canal is 60 miles long, of which 38 miles are lochs and, in recent years, its use has been for yachts, charter cruising, and the occasional fishing vessel passing through. The lochs are now all electrically operated from dawn until dusk.

A grey misty dawn on Loch Ness. In the distance are the hills towards the south end of the loch with the distinctive dome of Meall Fuar-mhonaidh on the west side of the loch.

Caley Cruisers had provided us with a chart of the canal that was fully annotated, including such suggestions as where to watch for red deer or eagles, where not to anchor, and even the names of the lockkeepers (we had just waved goodbye to Mr S. Murray). The end of Loch Ness is marked by, of all things, a lighthouse, although it has to be seen to be believed. It’s simply a large white house, and the light shines up the loch from one of the upper bay windows! Passing the lighthouse, we were officially on the loch, which stretched 23 miles long and a mile wide into the afternoon haze. Moments later, we encountered our first castle, the empty, but not ruined Aldourie Castle, which pokes its witch’s peaks and turrets through a grove of trees.

Our plan was to run the few miles up to Urquhart Bay and explore the ruined Castle Urquhart before mooring for the night. With hot peanut butter sandwiches, the senior and junior Caswells toasted their voyage and discussed what lay ahead.

A small pier serves the tour boat at Urquhart, and we moored alongside. To enter the castle, we had to cross a hillside through a flock of large sheep that looked like they might attack. Nervously staring them down, we marched uphill, paid our admission, and wandered through the ruined castle until daylight waned. Originally built to dominate the natural shipping route through the Highlands in the 1100s, it was ruined twice and rebuilt in stone during the Wars of Independence in the 1300s. It was finally blown up by government soldiers to keep it from Jacobite use during the Highland revolution in the 1700s, and the ruined castle keep is one of the most recognisable landmarks in Great Britain. It also overlooks Urquhart Bay, where Nessie has often been seen.

Highland sheep – watch those horns!

Fascinated by the castle, my father and I reexplored it at sunset, and it was easy to imagine the world as it had been hundreds of years ago, centuries before Columbus had even been born. This was a land of hardy men and women, of pirates and of princes, shepherds and kings. The lake was mirror-smooth as we climbed down off the battlements and went aboard our cruiser for dinner. As the blue hour settled over the loch, I found it hard not to keep looking up at the castle. After all, how often can you moor in such a setting?

By the next morning, however, I wasn’t quite so excited about castles and quaint moorings. After our dawn retreat from the pier, we had decided to head up the loch, but the weather was unlike the day before. The wind was, mercifully, behind us but the cloud hung low on the crags and the windshield wipers were needed to erase the rain. Outside, the cold nipped at any unprotected flesh but inside the cabin it was quiet and pleasant. The heater was on, we were in shirtsleeves, and spirits were high in spite of the damp. The Eriskay is flat out at about six knots, probably as a defence against inept charterers, so the trip to Fort Augustus at the end of Loch Ness took nearly three hours. Along the way, the mountainsides towered high on either side, with tall waterfalls spilling their white ribbons only to be frayed and whipped by the wind into a mist. But even the grey day couldn’t fade the brilliant yellow-gold blooms of the gorse, of which huge patches coloured the otherwise monochrome day. It was in this area that racer John Cobb was killed while attempting to break the world water speed record. At more than 200 mph, his boat appeared to hit something, disintegrated, and Cobb was never found. Was it Nessie or just another legend for the Highlands?

Fort Augustus was heralded by the bulk of a Benedictine abbey hunched in the trees with only the tower visible, but the Caley chart showed the jetty entrance clearly and we were soon moored on the Ness side of the locks. Fort Augustus is notable for having a flight of five locks that carry everything from yachts to naval ships right through the centre of the village. It was still drizzling and, after our previous evening, we decided to spend the night ashore. We found the Braes Hotel, where charming owner and her golden labrador Monty (who runs the hotel) welcomed us to a view, lace curtains, Victorian furnishings and afternoon tea. It was here that we heard the weather slogan that was to prove true: “If you can’t see across Fort Augustus, it’s raining. If you can see across Fort Augustus, it’s about to rain.”

The following day, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, and then wandered down to explore the town before returning to our Eriskay. Bisected by the locks the town is the epitome of the small Scottish village, where everyone knows everyone and even strangers dressed in bright parkas are greeted cheerfully. In the village store, which also served as the post office, my parents overhead this bit of conversation between a villager and the postmistress: Villager: “I got a letter from the Queen yesterday.” Postmistress: “Yes, dear, I saw the Buckingham Palace envelope.”

At that point, my parents moved on, not wanting to intrude on a personal conversation, but it was a pleasant morsel for us to consider later on the boat. Does the Queen use stamps? What was in the letter? Was she being invited to high tea, a family celebration, or simply being asked to contribute to the Lifeboat Fund? Passing through the locks at Fort Augustus (which is no quick matter), boats slide along a manmade canal before emerging on Loch Oich. The view is dominated by Mealfourvornie, a towering mountain that looms nearby. Halfway down the Loch are the ruins of Invergarry Castle, one-time home to the McDonnel clan and straight out of an old movie, at least when we saw it. The sky was still grey; rain showers had darkened the castle walls so that it blended with the high trees surrounding it, and it sat brooding as if awaiting the return of the clans. A well-protected cove below the castle has moorings and a pier, with a pleasant area for picnics and barbecues. When we were there, several other boats were also using the area, including a big offshore ketch on it’s way to the North Sea.

A calm, clear day at Loch Ness.

Departing Invergarry Castle, it’s only a short cruise to the “Well of the Seven Heads,” which also has a protected cove, picnic sites, water and a nearby grocery for restocking. The name refers to the scene where seven clansmen were killed during the purges after the battle of Culloden. Loch Oich, the highest point on the canal at 106 feet above sea level, leads into the manmade area called Laggan Ave, a peaceful tree-lined waterway with walking paths along the bank. It’s pleasantly quiet, and reminiscent of European waterways.

Loch Lochy is the last natural waterway, with the mighty peaks of Sean Mheall and Ben Iaruinn glowering nearby. The flight of eight locks, called Neptune’s Staircase at the western end of Loch Lochy, also mark the end of the charter cruising area. The stretch of the Caledonian Canal from Fort Augustus to Loch Lochy is called the secret stretch, because there are no highways or tourist areas nearby, and the scenery is literally untouched in most areas. It is much the same as it was when Bonnie Prince Charlie fled for his life through the area on his way to the Isle of Skye.

Our return was uneventful, although the breeze had swung again to give us a downwind slide along Loch Ness, and the charter boats headed upwind were getting wet in the wind-driven chop. The lighthouse with its beacon burning brightly in the upstairs window appeared in the distance and we were soon nestled up at the Caley Marina dock as a work crew descended to prepare our boat for its next guests. Unlike charters we’ve had in other areas, our boat had been spotlessly clean, everything operated flawlessly and the entire week went by too rapidly. We celebrated our last night in the Highlands with, of all things, a wonderful Italian dinner at the marvellous Glen Moriston Hotel, where we had Nessie-dreams in a four-poster bed before flying to London the next day.

Do we have any regrets other than not seeing Nessie? Only one. I wish my parents had found out if the Queen uses stamps on her letters.

Notes for Charterers
Summer is, obviously, the best time to cruise the Caledonian Canal, but come prepared for rain and cold even in July. Scotland’s weather is highly changeable, so a blustery day is often followed by a warm sunny one. Book as early as possible, since preferred weeks fill early. For more information, visit the Yachtworldcharters.com UK page.

This story first appeared in the October 2008 issue of Yachtworld.com Magazine. View the latest issue