The Charter Connection Blog

The lovely 80′ ‘Matelot’ is offering 10 days for the price of 7 in September, to round out her successful season in Tahiti. This is a great time to visit the Society Islands. The August heat has gone and the winter rainy season hasn’t arrived!

Matelot is a beautiful, sleek, Nauta 80, designed by Bruce Farr and built by the Southern Wind Shipyard. Her captain, Angus Fuller, knows the area well and has prepared two examples of possible itineraries, one for the Society Islands (Tahiti) and one for the more northern and remote Tuamotu Islands. We hope you enjoy them and they inspire you to visit one of the last truly pristine cruising grounds in the world!

When you’re ready, Ed Hamilton & Co. can help you with all aspects of your charter. Call us at 800 621 7855, email us at info@ed-hamilton.com, or tell us your plans so we can suggest some suitable bareboat charter companies or yachts with crews!

The Moorings kept a fleet for many years at the beautiful Secret Harbor Resort, on the south coast of Grenada. They closed this some time ago, but have just announced they will be opening a base in the new Port Louis Marina. Old timers will remember the somewhat run down Grenada Yacht Services Marina, in the lagoon just south of the main town of St Georges. This has been bought out by Camper and Nicholson and replaced with a new marina aimed at megayachts. The lovely marina, with pool, bar and restaurants, is mostly completed, but much of the surrounding area, which is being developed by Peter de Savary, is still in the planning stages. Guests can take a short ferry ride across to the center of town, and there are also US style supermarkets for provisioning nearby.

Grenada is below the normal hurricane route, but the lagoon is also particularly well protected from storms, which is a big bonus for bareboat fleet operators and the owners of the megayachts that plan to base their boats there.

When sailing in the Grenadines, it is important to remember the direction of the prevailing winds. Heading north from Grenada to Carriacou, and the popular islands of the Grenadines, involves sailing into the wind and seas. These can be considerable in the winter, particularly in the open sea just north of Grenada. It is not generally a good idea to visit the Grenadines from Grenada, but doing a one way the other way, starting in the islands and finishing in Grenada (which Moorings offers for around $1,100) is a different story. Once in the lee of Grenada you might run out of wind and have to motor, but if you particularly want to visit Grenada, rather than spend the whole time in the Grenadines, this is an easy trip and one we often recommend, particularly to our crewed clients.

Another option for anyone starting out of Grenada, is to head south. There are virtually no anchorages along the western side of the island, which is generally steep to, but the southern coast has many bays and beaches. It is even possible to explore some of the eastern (windward) coast but this is generally best left to crewed boats. If you have sailed the Grenadines several times, the south coast might be a nice (though smaller) alternative. Grenada itself is a fascinating island and taking a taxi to visit some of the interior forests, distilleries and sites is well worthwhile. Horizon Yacht Charters also has a bareboat base in Grenada, at True Blue Bay, conveniently located on the southern coast. They will deliver a yacht to the Grenadines for charterers looking for a one way charter, for an additional charge.

Moorings has a base in St. Lucia, so a one way to Grenada is possible, but we would recommend taking more than a week if starting this far north. There are excellent flights into St. Lucia (and Grenada), but starting from Marigot involves a relatively long sail across open water to reach the southern end of St. Vincent, Bequia, the Tobago Cays and the other attractions of this lovely cruising ground. Moorings also has a base in Canouan, but now that American Eagle has stopped flights to the island, getting there is not as easy, plus the base is in a very unprotected anchorage. Apart from this, Canouan is a very convenient starting point to see the highlights of the area. St. Vincent is another good starting port, both for crewed and bareboat charters.

We know these islands extremely well and have been booking charters here for almost 30 years. You can contact us at info@ed-hamilton.com, find more Grenadines information on the Ed Hamilton & Co website, or tell us your plans so we can send you some boat and itinerary suggestions.

We’ve tempted you with the last six posts describing our recent travels around the beautiful Mediterranean, but here’s the best news! With the value of the EURO dropping to just 1.23 US dollars, there has never been a better time to take a charter in Europe.

Turkey, The Greek Islands (Ionian, Saronic, Cyclades, Dodecanese), Croatia, Italy, France - take a look back through the previous posts and pick an area. For many more photographs, check out our Facebook page. We would love to tell you more.

Email us your questions or ask us to recommend a selection of charter yachts that fit your plans. There’s also more information on the Ed Hamilton & Co website. Bareboat charters, crewed yachts, sail, power, traditional gulets, modern multihulls - there’s something for everyone. If you’ve ever dreamed of discovering something new, now is the time!

We are heading back to the Cyclades Islands of Greece. Compared to Turkey and the Saronic Gulf, this area involves much more open sailing and winds can be particularly strong later in the summer. As the photographs show however, the weather we are having for this trip is just beautiful, with temperatures in the high 70s and low 80s. May and September are excellent months to visit these islands. The two most famous are Mykonos, which is everyone’s idea of what a Greek island should look like (small white box shaped houses with blue doors and curved edges) and Santorini, which is nothing like anything you have ever seen.

We have always said that if you like wild (expensive) nightlife and don’t mind all the trimmings and prices that come with the jet set,  then you will love Mykonos.  Be warned that we found some stores selling jewelry at twice and even three times the prices back in the US.  By local law, all residential buildings have to be the same design and while this keeps the traditional character, the sheer number of mostly holiday houses that have now been built on the island can make one wish for more variety. Having said that, the island is a photographer or artist’s dream and the narrow streets in the main town of Mykonos are very pretty. We just feel it is all a bit commercial.

Santorini is very different, but while it is on everyone’s list, it is actually quite hard to visit on charter. The islands are all that still shows of the rim of a sunken volcano, so the water in the center is extremely deep and there are few places to anchor. When the wind gets up, there are strong downdrafts and little protection, so some bareboat charter companies ask that you keep a crew member on the boat at all times, which can take away from the enjoyment. This is not as much of a problem for a private crewed charter, and we have sometimes used Santorini or Mykonos as a finishing port, allowing guests to spend a few days on the island after their charter.

Fira, the main town of Santorini, sits on the ridge. To say the view is spectacular is of course an understatement. The town is lively, with many narrow streets filled with stores, restaurants and nightclubs, but the atmosphere is more relaxed. Unlike many other islands, the town and even tourism, are relatively recent. Remember this is an active volcano (the last eruption was in 1950), but visitors should not be concerned as today these things are accurately forecast. There is an excellent ferry service from Athens and several nearby islands (and even a small airport), so you can visit Santorini before or after your holiday.

Santorini is the name given to the whole group of islands formed by this sunken volcano, but if you have trouble finding it in the atlas, look for Thira, which is the name of the main island and is sometimes more prominently marked.

Much of the Mediterranean can get crowded in July and August but the weather can also become unpredictable in the Cyclades during these months, with strong Meltemi winds, which is an additional reason to try to sail here in May and June, or September and early October, rather than at the height of the season. When chartering in the summer, your itinerary might well depend on the weather and in extreme conditions, boats can be ordered by the port authority to stay in the harbor. Keeping things flexible is therefore important. Ed Hamilton & Co can give you first hand advice when chartering in the Cyclades or any of the Greek Islands.

The last few days we have been visiting Turkey. The cruising ground is between Bodrum and Gocek, on the southwest coast. Several major bareboat charter companies have bases here. The popular crewed boats are the local gulets, although there are some more conventional yachts available.

Your money goes further in Turkey than in any of the popular Mediterranean cruising grounds. The people are incredibly friendly, the crime rate is the lowest in Europe and the scenery is spectacular. There are some wonderful archaeological sites in this cruising area, including the Roman city at Caunos, but many people combine a charter with a visit to the magnificent Roman ruins at Ephesus, a short ride north by private coach/taxi.

Almost all routes home involve flying through Istanbul and if you have time, it’s well worth spending a night or two in this unique city. Straddling Europe and Asia either side of the Bosphorus, its people, its architecture, religion, everything, is a fascinating mixture of east and west.

We hope that when you decide to plan your charter, you will contact Ed Hamilton & Co. It costs no more to use our services and our knowledge of both boats and cruising grounds can make all the difference to your holiday. Incidentally, we take our own photographs and all pictures on this Med trip were taken by Ed.

We are taking 16 days to re-visit some of the popular charter destinations in the Eastern Mediterranean, starting in N.E. Italy. Venice is like no other city in the world and is well worth a visit. There are some bareboat companies based here and you can start your crewed charter from the city, but any attractions outside the lagoon are a long sail away. We would therefore generally suggest visiting Venice before or after your charter, unless you are chartering a large motor yacht or taking a particularly long vacation, or the boat you wish to charter cannot start and finish in Croatia (many can’t).

The original Venetian settlers built their city on swampy islands off the Italian Coast, to avoid being attacked by the ‘Barbarians’ on the mainland. There are no cars beyond the bus terminal at the end of the bridge connecting the city to the shore, so all transportation is by water taxis or larger water buses. A 24 hour pass on the water buses for all routes is about 15 Euros. Smaller ferries take you to your hotel, or to get around in style, you can rent a gondola or a private water taxi (around 80 Euros for most routes in a taxi. A gondola costs about the same for a 40 minute ride). Art is everywhere, but for those people looking for more, you can buy a single pass for many different museums and galleries. The more expensive shops and restaurants are around Piazza San Marco, but as you head toward Rialto Bridge and beyond, prices get more reasonable.

From Venice, you can fly or take a ferry to Croatia (our next stop), for your charter. Ed Hamilton & Co can help you plan an itinerary to fit your specific requirements.

Version 4.0 of the Navionics’ iPhone charts is now out. If you own an iPhone and are planning a yacht charter in the Caribbean, Bahamas or New England you should get this app. It’s even a pretty good reason to buy an iPhone! The new version has Google overlays over the land, so you can easily identify landmarks. The iPhone gps, particularly in older models, isn’t accurate enough to replace your chart plotter but this app is incredibly useful as a backup, a dinghy gps, or a tool to plan an itinerary before you even take your charter. See our article describing version 3, which shows some of the many things you can do. Prices now start at $4.99 - the same charts in your chart plotter can cost several times this!

Back home, I use the Maine iPhone charts all the time when planning our trips or checking out the next anchorage. Scrolling and zooming is much easier than using a chart plotter. Charts for the whole US East Coast cost $14.99!

Ed Hamilton & Co’s Steve McCrea recently chartered a Moorings 4300 bareboat in the British Virgin Islands and took these two pictures as he was approaching Cooper Island. The top picture shows the Raymarine chart plotter on the Moorings boat, which used the same Navionics charts as the iPhone. The second picture, taken a couple of minutes earlier, shows his phone giving the same position (the chart is turned so north is upwards). Steve says his iPhone (the latest version) was every bit as accurate as the plotter and the fix on each device was identical!

You can find many Virgin Island crewed charter deals on our website’s ’specials’ page, so we don’t post every one in our blog, but these two caught our eye.

Pas de Deux is offering 7 nights for the price of 6 from now until July 7th! Six guests can therefore have 7 nights on this great 60′ cat for $2786 p.p. instead of $3250, including all meals and open bar. Harvey and Tracy are an excellent young crew. This is a good price for a 60′ cat offering this standard of quality.

For two guests looking for an inexpensive 54′ monohull, the Gulfstar Verna Breeze is offering full board and half board specials up until December 15th, 2010.

Full Board all inclusive special - $5999 for 2 adults. $500 for each additional child.
Half board (7 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 3 dinners) $5499 for 2 adults. $400 for each additional child.

This 1987 Lazzara design had a refit in 2006 and is in nice shape. She has a traditional interior with plenty of varnished wood and lots of charm.

For deals offered by bareboat charter companies check out our bareboat specials on the Ed Hamilton & Co website. Click on your favorite cruising ground for a full list.