Yacht charter in the Pacific Northwest

The most popular chartering area in North America is this cross-border region featuring the state of Washington and the province of British Columbia. Winds are rarely strong in the summer, although tidal currents can be, so it’s an ideal area for power or sail yacht charters. Often flanked by mountain peaks to the east and west, yacht charterers can enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of the San Juan Islands, the waterfronts of Victoria and Sidney on Vancouver Island, and the mountainous splendours of Desolation Sound to the north. The rugged coastline of 290-mile-long Vancouver Island could keep a cruiser occupied for an entire summer season.

View a five day charter itinerary in the San Juan Islands

In Oregon, limited charters can be found on the Columbia River which is navigable well inland.

Alaska

The Inside Passage is the most popular cruising destination in Alaska from Vancouver up to the Glacier bay National Park. Treat yourself to Heroic, historic and romantic scenery and the majestic wildlife: whales, eagles and bears. The more adventurous should head out into the North Pacific to visit Icy Bay before moving up to Prince William Sound and witnessing the huge ice face of the Columbia glacier calving enormous bergs of ice into the water.

When chartering a yacht, make sure you'll be able to use the personal watercraft that are included.

What many charter clients don’t know, however, is that in a growing number of locations, the use of personal watercraft is restricted. In some places, it’s illegal to use them at all because they are noisy and can disturb other boaters. In other destinations, the use of personal watercraft is legal, but you must have a license to operate them. Many charter-yacht contracts now include provisions that require charter guests to have licenses before using any personal watercraft onboard.

Charter yacht captains are therefore working on creative solutions for guests who want to ride personal watercraft during their vacations. Some yachts, like the 191-foot Proteksan-Turquoise Baraka, decided to forgo having the toys onboard at all. Instead, the crew works with shore-based companies that bring Jet Skis out to the yacht to collect the guests.

Other charter yachts are becoming certified licensing centers in and of themselves. The 139-foot Alfamarine Lady Feryal is one example. Her crew are certified to teach charter guests the basics and provide licenses so that they can use personal watercraft all week long.

Your best bet if you want to ride personal watercraft during a yacht charter is to first verify through your broker that the toys are legal to use along your scheduled itinerary. Sometimes, they will be legal on some days and not on others, such as when you cruise through the Tobago Cays national park as opposed to other regions in the Grenadines. Your broker and charter yacht captain can let you know how many days of potential Wave Running are in your future, and you can decide at that time whether it’s worth the effort to get a license.

Then, if your charter yacht doesn’t have a licensing center onboard, you can get licensed on your own before the charter begins. You will need to take a Small Powerboat Handling Class, which usually includes about eight hours of classwork, a written exam, and a few hours of on-water practice at docking, turning, running forward and backward, and holding steady against the wind. Local Power Squadrons tend to offer these classes regularly.

Online classes like the one offered through BoatEd.com include everything except the hands-on practice—which, of course, you can get with the yacht’s crew. Deckhands tend to be masters at personal watercraft use, since it is part of their job to teach guests how to use the specific models that each yacht has onboard.

Most classes provide graduates with a Safe Boaters Card that is accepted worldwide, and that never requires a renewal. Fees for the classes can be as low as $30—a worthwhile investment no matter the cost of the charter vacation itself.

Photos: Neil Rabinowitz

the 110-foot Southern Wind Thalima is available for charter through YCO.

One example is the 110-foot Southern Wind Thalima, which turned a lot of heads at the late-2011 Antigua Charter Yacht Show thanks to her contemporary cruising design and true racing pedigree. The owner offers the yacht for charter through YCO with regular sails or with seamless sails—the kind designed specifically for and used regularly by America’s Cup contenders. The crew, too, all have racing backgrounds and are eager to show charter clients just how fast they can cruise into the history books.

Most other owners make their charter yachts available to attend regattas, but just not to race in them. Charter clients thus get to enjoy all the festivities associated with the race, but from a safe distance as spectators. Megayachts are often chartered for this purpose, with the sundecks on tri-level yachts offering one heck of a bird’s-eye view as the sailing yachts race around the course.

Between races, charter clients on the spectator boats can enjoy all of the other fun that yacht charter offers. Spectator yachts still have Jet Skis, standup paddleboards, water slides, and all of the other amenities that clients enjoy year-round.
Plus, since this particular event is in St. Barth’s, there’s plenty of shopping, dining, and touring available on land. Day trips to nearby Ile Fourchue are also an option for anyone who wants to escape the racing scene and spend some time in an undeveloped harbor filled with natural beauty.

In general, if you want to book a racing yacht for any regatta (including the next St. Barth’s Bucket), you must book at least six months in advance to give the yacht time to register for the races. If you simply want to charter as a spectator, then the time restriction does not apply—which means there is still plenty of time to charter for this year’s event.

C class boats race in the Bahamas.

The clear, shallow waters and crowd-free anchorages of the Bahamas, only a short hop by plane from Florida, are a favorite charter destination. According to Wikipedia, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, (which declared its independence from England in 1973, but remains a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, which is made up of former member states of the British Empire), consists of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets.

132 companies offering charters in the Bahamas. Many of the islands are within a couple hundred miles of the Florida coast, so it’s an easy destination to get to by air. And while many regard the Gulf Stream as an insurmountable barrier between their Florida-based boat and the gin-clear waters of the Bahamas, in as few as 45 miles you can be enjoying conch fritters while safely tucked away in a cozy marina.

Weather-wise, the Bahamas, especially the northern portion, can be more challenging and changeable than the Caribbean. Blue Northers (cold fronts sweeping down from Canada and across the Gulf Stream) can send temperatures plummeting and winds howling, especially in the Abacos, the island chain that runs along the Florida coast from Palm Beach down to Hispaniola.

But temperatures are relative; when it’s 10 degrees in New York City, even the coldest temperature ever reported in the Abacos (46 degrees) sounds pretty good. And down here fronts pass through so quickly that even colder temperatures will soon move back up toward average, which in February is in the seventies.

If you choose to head to the Bahamas in summertime, hurricanes are a concern. Since 1999, four major hurricanes (Dennis, Floyd, Frances, and Jeanne), and many more tropical storms have rolled over the Bahamas, causing millions of dollars in damage. Monitoring the excellent hurricane forecasts from the National Hurricane Service will help you avoid danger.

The shallow, reef-laden waters of the Bahamas can be tricky, rewarding the careful navigator and punishing the foolhardy. Oft-used harbor entrances are well marked and buoyed, but most everywhere else requires careful planning, use of the several excellent private charts and cruising guides that are available, and a strict, daylight-only navigation rule. The water visibility is outstanding most of the time, which allows for sight navigation especially when the sun is high in the sky.

The shallower draft your vessel has, the better off you’ll be, which is one of the reasons that catamarans are a popular choice for charter companies and charterers. Any vessel that draws over 5 feet will prove a challenge, and its navigator will have to pay close attention to the 3-foot tidal range.

Bareboat charter fleets are available in the northern group of islands called the Abacos, but crewed yacht charters may extend throughout the archipelago, dependent only on the length of your charter vacation. Besides offering excellent bonefishing, the Bahamas offer deep-sea fishing charters as well.

Nassau is renowned for plush resorts with golf courses, giant pools, spas and Vegas-type entertainment. But that’s just Nassau, located on the island of New Providence and one of 700 islands that make up the island nation known as the Bahamas. Only a handful of the islands are inhabited and most of its renowned reefs are pristine and untouched. Mostly flat and sandy, the outer islands are laid back and unhurried, where you can meet friendly local people, retired captains and sailors, old fishermen, and the artist seeking inspiration in incredible sunsets.

Read about a charter in the Exumas

Chartering a crewed yacht like this Turkish gulet can be the ultimate relaxation.

Looking for a vacation that combines a private holiday with the freedom to go where you like, when you like, and to do as you please? Yacht charters provide all this, and more.

Imagine a week or more spent exploring out-of-the-way locales that folks in their automobiles will have trouble finding. On top of that, visualize never having to re-pack your suitcase.

Yacht chartering can be luxurious, but it can also be quite cost-effective when compared to the expense and aggravation of owning a boat. It can also compare favorably with the costs of equivalent land-based vacation, since it combines accommodations and transportation into one vessel.

Yachts can also be a perfect platform to entertain clients. Some companies offer yacht charter as a business incentive, instead of a week at a ski resort or hotel.

Whatever charter destination you choose, the type of boat will affect your overall experience. There are two basic types of yachts available for charter: bareboat and crewed. Within each category are choices of power or sail, monohull or catamaran, traditional or modern. You can even select a yacht with a full-service spa.

Photo by Neil Rabinowitz

Many fully crewed yachts are custom or semi-custom designs. But a great number of charter yachts, such as those found in bareboat fleets, will be comfortingly familiar whether you’re sailing them in the Indian Ocean or the Caribbean Sea. And if you want to guarantee familiarity with your charter yacht, you can even look into the benefits of yacht ownership, which can guarantee you a certain number of weeks per year on your boat, or others just like it.

Whatever the boat and wherever you go, a yacht charter vacation is sure to provide memories for a lifetime. We invite you to browse the wide variety of yachts and destinations available through YachtWorldCharters.com, to discover what would suit you best.

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.

Crewed charters allow you to set the itinerary but leave the details to others. Photo by Neil Rabinowitz

For many, a crewed yacht charter vacation is the ultimate luxury. You live aboard a large yacht that is the envy of all who see it when you enter a harbour. It’s managed by a skilled crew and your meals, drinks, linens, and more are provided.

It is important to research the working condition of the yacht and the chemistry of the crew. Except on very large yachts, you are still living in relatively close proximity. It pays to work with a knowledgeable and experienced charter broker, so we invite you to browse the wide variety of yachts available through brokers on YachtWorldCharters.com. Let us help you find your perfect charter vacation.

Yacht charter is a great way to explore new places without having to pack another suitcase. Photo by Neil Rabinowitz

Yacht charter in the Caribbean

View yachts for charter in the Caribbean

The Caribbean is one of the finest and most popular charter destinations in the world. The Caribbean Sea is bounded by the northern coast of South America, the east coast of Central America, the large islands of Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, and a beautiful ring of islands to the east known as the Windward and Leeward islands.

Charter Destinations – Caribbean Region:

Antigua
Bahamas
Barbados
British Virgin Islands
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Martinique
Puerto Rico
Saint Lucia
St. Martin/Sint Maarten
St Vincent and the Grenadines
St. Barths
U.S. Virgin Islands

Chartering in the Caribbean evokes images of gentle breezes, palm trees, white sandy beaches and amazing marine life. Short ‘hops’ from one to the next of the more than 7000 islands in this area make it ideal for chartering. Due to the easy navigation and regular breezes, the Virgin Islands—divided between the U.S. Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands—feature the largest bareboat charter fleets in the world. The French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, plus the French portion of St. Martin/Sint Maarten, host fleets nearly as large. And islands such as St. Barths bring in the jet set from all over the world.

Yachts available for charter in the Caribbean:

Yachts for charter in Caribbean: Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, St. Martin/Sint Maarten, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Barths, U.S. Virgin Islands.

On the west side of Esperitu Santo and Partida are protected coves perfect for sailing, kayaking, hiking, swimming, diving and camping.

La Paz maintains its small town ambiance and old Mexican charm while hosting multiple marinas where yachtie culture permeates everything. Most West Coast cruisers find themselves here after their 800 mile jump down from California, taking in the desert beauty, mostly hospitable weather, and the Sea of Cortez so full of life that it was called the ‘aquarium of the Pacific’ by explorer Jacques Cousteau.

Driftwood on Esperitu Santo

The city center offers dozens of fantastic restaurants from the touristy to the sublime. A scenic boardwalk runs along the edge of the harbor with cafes, nightclubs, dive shops, art galleries, souvenir emporiums and museums. Marina Costa Baja, just outside of town, is a very posh boating destination with new slips, several restaurants, a pool and full yacht services. It also hosts The Moorings that offer both power and sailing catamarans for bareboat and crewed charter. Marina Costa Baja’s position offers the shortest and straightest shot out to the local islands, offering access to cruising grounds like few other in the world.

The main destination for a one week charter centers on the isles of Esperitu Santo and Partida, which lie just across the San Lorenzo channel about 15 to 27 miles north of La Paz. These two islands, separated literally by a spit of sand, offer a dozen dramatic coves or caletas on the west, or lee side—perfect for sailing, kayaking, hiking, swimming, diving and camping. During the twelve mile crossing to theses isles of cruising paradise, it is not unusual to see breaching whales, pods of dolphins and even jumping rays—all before breakfast.

Espiritu Santo, which was designated as a protected area in 1978, is an ecologically significant island. Its ecosystem is largely undisturbed and the most diverse in the region. California sea lions and more than 500 species of tropical fish swim in these waters, along with twelve species of whales and the elusive whale sharks that come to these waters to feed and to breed.

The best time for whale sightings is from March to June, which coincidentally offers some of the best weather as well. The Sea of Cortez is arid which means it’s sunny, warm and mostly dry. December through February bring cooler temps in the 50s and 60s and the summer months reach into the oppressive 90s. Spring and fall are the best bet for a comfortable charter and lots of sea life.

Caleta Partida separates the two islands and offers a large anchorage. The waters are so clear you can practically see your anchor in 10 to 25 feet and the giant cacti, some centuries old, pose for photographers as if on cue. A vivid and usually cloudless blue sky forms the backdrop for the red desert earth, and contrasting craggy rocks result in dramatic vistas in every direction.

Partida Cove offers a large anchorage between the two islands.

Both islands are uninhabited, but a small fishing station in Partida Cove invites a bit of exploration and a walk along a long white sand beach. Farther north is Ensenada Grande, a cove with three fingers and good anchoring up against sheer cliffs. You’re very likely to encounter eco tour outfitters on the beach where meals are cooked for patrons in a pseudo glamping (glamour camping) style.

On a weeklong charter, it’s easy to explore four or five coves and still have time on either end for margaritas and shopping in La Paz. And if you’re lucky, you’ll also get to talk to some salty old cruisers who came to town and never left.

The Moorings 393 PC Powercat is another thoughtful collaboration between designer Gino Morrelli and builders Robertson & Caine of South Africa.

Designed by the California naval architecture firm Morrelli and Melvin, the 393 PC was conceived based on charter customer feedback. The current Moorings 372 PC was very popular, but only offered two cabins. The Moorings 393 PC features three cabins and two heads, and offers three levels of living space including the hull accommodations, the main deck and cockpit, and the flybridge where the helm is positioned.

The 393 PC is based on a 38-foot sailing catamaran design introduced two years ago and launched as the Moorings 39. “We made some significant modifications to turn a sailing cat into a power cat,” says designer Gino Morrelli. “First, we redesigned the bottom completely from just above the waterline. Power cats need less rocker overall and a flatter run aft with a prop tunnel to keep the draft down. Second, we put a staircase up to the flybridge where the old helm used to be on the 38. The flybridge adds real estate, provides great visibility when docking, and is a fun place to hang out. Finally, we added fuel tankage [211 gallons total] and larger engines [twin 110-hp Yanmars]. The boat is slightly heavier so the bottom shape accommodates this bit of extra displacement, but when you take off the rig and sails, there’s all sorts of extra weight that can be added without changing the structural integrity.”

The interior layout features three cabins and two head compartments.

The Moorings 393 PC has a top speed of 17 knots and will cruise at 12 to 14 knots. For the design team, this meant that the laminate needed to be beefed up in places to accommodate the greater powering speeds. Also, the forward trampoline was replaced with a solid surface to help with any pounding. This area is now a cushion-covered tanning platform.

The Moorings 393 PC is outfitted with air-conditioning, a genset, upgraded electronics, a flat screen TV/DVD combo, solar panels, and electric flushing toilets.

The first Moorings 393 PCs are expected to sail out of the Moorings base in the British Virgin Islands beginning in November 2011.