The Charter Connection Blog

New Year and Christmas have been heavily booked for months and some of the larger Catamarans have been sold out for a year, but we do have some nice options open, particularly in the $4-5,000 per person, per week range.

One of the more popular 80′ monohulls is still open in The British Virgin Islands for a party of 6.

The 76′, 10 passenger catamaran Zingara is one of the most luxurious charter yachts of her type available anywhere. Her holiday charter, which was booked months ago, had to cancel this week. She is open for Christmas but already has a tentative booking for New Year, which we can challenge if you can move quickly! They don’t get much better than this.

The 67′ Catamaran Marmot has also had a cancellation. She has four cabins but is really more comfortable for just six guests.

Smaller and mid-size sailboats are tougher to find, although there are more monohulls than cats available. The cost of flights over the holidays becomes more of an issue and they are difficult to get. If you missed out this year, you might want to think about booking for next year. You might be surprised by how many savvy charterers already have!

The owners of larger luxury Motor Yachts often announce their holiday charter plans much closer to the season, so availability is currently much better than for crewed sailing charters, but of course prices are considerably higher. Most are based in St. Martin or Antigua.

If you are considering a last minute Holiday Charter, don’t wait. Call us at 800 621 7855, email us, or contact us through the Ed Hamilton & Co site, and tell us about your plans.

A big thanks to everyone who sent us pictures of Hurricane Omar. While this storm was thankfully somewhat of an anticlimax in the US and British Virgin Islands, The Leeward Islands certainly had some damage and we received several pictures of flooded cars and downed trees, both in St. Martin and in Antigua (Jolly Harbour was particularly hard hit).

Rather than showing photographs of flood damage, which is rapidly being cleaned up, the pictures featured here were taken of the entrance to Marigot Bay, St. Lucia, many miles further south. Though Omar was miles away, the storm surge was impressive, particularly considering this is the leeward side of the island. No damage, just great pictures. Thank you Dick and crewed charter yacht ‘Frangines’ (she’s the catamaran in the foreground) for sending them to us.

Hurricanes affect The Eastern Caribbean far less than Florida and islands further west, though we certainly cannot say they don’t happen. So a storm like Omar, even though it had relatively little effect on the Caribbean Yacht Charter Industry, is news. This is the slow season, so we only had a few charters affected.

Most trip cancellation insurance covers weather interruptions, but for full coverage, it is important to select the right company. We can give you lots of advice with this.

If you don’t mind taking a chance of your charter being cut short, there are all kinds of bareboat charter bargains to be had. Email or call Ed Hamilton & Co at 800 621 7855.

Hurricane Omar tracked slightly east of his projected path, passing through The Anegada Passage between The British Virgin Islands and St Martin last night. Thankful residents and crews in The Virgins billed it as a relative ‘non event’ - more rain than wind. If anything, St Martin was more affected, as the storm was not expected to pass this close and less preparation was done. From the people we have heard from this morning, St. Croix had closed roads and trees down, St. Thomas lost power, Tortola is still without power as of this writing and St. Maarten lost some roofs and trees, although we understand there might be more damage in the marinas in Simpson Bay. The storm came from the ‘wrong’ direction, so much of the southwest of the island was less protected. Some small tornadoes were reported in this area.

One reason for the lack of more wide spread damage was that the storm moved very quickly through the area. After stalling for days further south, it raced past the Virgins at 25 knots and is expected to decrease in intensity as it meets cooler water. Judging from the relatively few precautions some private boat owners took in The Virgins, this is a good thing. The Virgins haven’t had a direct hit from a major hurricane for many years and I wonder if this has made people take them less seriously.

The weather is already back to normal, with light winds and lovely sunshine. Email or call Ed Hamilton & Co at 800 621 7855 if you have any questions about Caribbean weather or bareboat charter bargains during these low season months.

A big thank you to our friends in The Caribbean, for letting us know. Glad you’re all OK.

We occasionally hear from clients interested in exploring the Turks & Caicos. This beautiful cruising ground, just a short 2 hour flight from Fort Lauderdale, consists of 8 main islands and more than 20 smaller islands, with over 230 miles of beach front. The area has also been rated by some, as one of the top 10 Scuba diving destinations in the world.

There are relatively few yachts who charter here, but Arabella, the 160 schooner has added another trip to this destination after their first cabin-charter cruise to the Turks & Caicos sold out!  This trip will be held from May 30th - June 5th. She books charters by the cabin and rates for staterooms vary from $1050 - $1750 per person (based on double occupancy).

If you are interested in getting more information on this chance to charter in a new cruising ground, call us at 800 621 7855, email us, or contact us through the Ed Hamilton & Co site, and tell us about your plans. .

Once again, The Sint Maarten Yacht Club is inviting guests to compete in the 29th annual St. Martin Heineken Regatta. Race dates are from March 5 - 8, 2009, but this event is not only for the racing fanatics. It’s fun to watch from a crewed yacht and spectators have plenty to do even after racing is completed, with on shore venues, parties and feasts! With the generous donations from last year’s participants, the Yacht Club was able to provide sailing lessons for one lucky local youth. This year the yacht club is hoping to triple online donations and add 3 more children to the program.

Whether you are looking to charter a bareboat or crewed yacht to participate in the race, or a spectator vessel to follow the action, give us a call at 800-621-7855, visit the Ed Hamilton & Co Website or email us to see how we can make you a part of this excellent event!