However, management company WEM Lines just announced to charter brokers that the yacht has two bookings confirmed this winter in Costa Rica. One is from December 25 through January 2, and the other is March 20-27. Both charters are round-trip from Golfito, which is on Costa Rica’s western shoreline.

That means RM Elegant will be in the area if you are interested in chartering before or after those specific dates. And there should be no delivery fee from the yacht’s home port in Sint Maarten, a nice financial bonus.

I was on Costa Rica’s western shore some years ago for Yachting magazine, which in 2007 uploaded my article to its website. I can still vividly recall the tropical dry forests full of howler monkeys, whitewater rafting along a river flanked by towering waterfalls, and the sheer scope of the banana plantations that stretched across the land. Believe me when I tell you that I do not recall all my charter experiences so clearly. Costa Rica remains a unique charter destination in my mind, one whose sights I have yet to see anywhere else in the world.

Silver Angel, the brand-new, 211-foot Benetti motoryacht shown in the photograph, is planning to charter in Costa Rica this winter before returning to the Mediterranean for the summer 2010 charter season. The weekly base rate is €450,000 for as many as 14 guests with 21 crew–an unusually impressive charter yacht in general, let alone in a destination as off-the-beaten-course as Costa Rica.

Also heading to Costa Rica this winter is Perseus, the 163-foot Perini Navi sailing yacht that I have written about before. I’m especially happy to hear that this yacht is following its plan to cruise around the world after the tragic death of Capt. Drew Gollan in January. Apparently, the new crew are onboard and ready to move forward with the owner’s charter program (which will include the South Pacific later on) at a weekly base rate of $175,000 for 10 guests with nine crew.

I was in Costa Rica back in 2001 for this Yachting magazine article about a yacht that is no longer available for charter. I absolutely loved the remoteness of the destination, which offers terrific scuba diving, nature hikes, and inland whitewater rafting. The scenery is lovely as you cruise up the coast, and at the time, I felt like a true explorer because there were so few marinas. Not much has changed in that department, so you can enjoy a similar feeling during charters in today.