The Charter Connection Blog

Mediterranean Bareboat Specials:
All of Sunsail’s Med bases: May 1 - June 30, September 1 - October 31: 10% off all charters.
10% off charters booked at least 6 months in advance. Excludes Easter.

Caribbean Bareboat Specials:
Many companies are offering free days this year, and they’re starting a bit earlier than usual. Most free day specials in the past few years have started in July, or even as late as August.

TMM is offering 10 for 7 at all bases June 6 - October 31.

Horizon is offering 10 for 7 in Tortola from May 1 - October 31, and has some great offers on small monohulls in Tortola - charter fees as low as $1500 per week.

Even Moorings is offering free days: June 15 - Sept 30, 6 days for 5, 9 for 7, or 13 for 10, (excludes the Moorings 4600 and new Moorings 54.5).

Dream Yacht Charter - up to 30% off all monohulls up to 45 feet, and the Catana 41 and 50′ cats.

Visit our bareboat specials page. For more information on these and many other bareboat charter companies and boats, call us at 800 621 7855, email us at info@ed-hamilton.com, check out the Ed Hamilton & Co website, or ask us to suggest some specific boats that fit your requirements!

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.

The latest Charter Connection Newsletter asked readers to vote if they felt Air Conditioning was a necessity when choosing a Bareboat. The advantages of A/C are obvious, but the article pointed out some of the disadvantages which might not be so evident, particularly as most Bareboat Charter Companies charge for A/C in some form or another. The results are also interesting. Currently only 28% say ‘Yes’, 43% say ‘No’ and 28% are not worried, so an amazing 70% don’t feel it is a requirement. The comments are also informative and cover a wide range of views. If you are surprised that so many people feel this way, read the article! You can also add your vote to this survey, and any previous ones.

TMM was the first Bareboat Company to add A/C to a significant number of their boats. Sunsail and Moorings offer it on their larger cats and monohulls, but the trend is to not install it in the midsize and smaller monohulls due to the reliability of the smaller generators. Horizon, BVI Yacht Charters, Voyage, Footloose, Conch and The Catamaran Company all have boats with A/C, as do most of the bareboat power boats.

The Bareboat Charter Companies would be only too happy to do without the maintenance headaches a generator and A/C cause. Our suggestion would be to have it available on the premier boats, but add a charge for those that wish to use it, in fairness to those who don’t.

We would love to hear your feedback. There’s now no need to register to add a comment. Just click on the ‘comments’ link below!

If my previous post on the Caribbean sailing seasons didn’t sufficiently allay your fears of tropical storm systems interrupting your sailing vacation; or if you can only get away from August to October when the statistical risk of storms in the Eastern Caribbean is higher, then you may want to consider sailing the Grenadines.

The Grenadines is a magical cruising destination, and when compared with the ever popular British Virgin Islands, a relatively undiscovered one. The beauty of considering it for spring and summer sailing is that it lies south of the route that tropical storms or hurricanes generally take. While it is known to have more aggressive sailing conditions than the Virgins, (which could be said of almost anywhere!), the summer affords far more benign conditions with its more gentle winds and lack of groundswell, making it the perfect time to sail this area for the first time.

Several bareboat yacht charter companies now operate from the heart of this cruising ground: TMM, Sunsail and Barefoot Yacht Charters operate from St. Vincent; The Moorings is located in Canouan; and The Catamaran Company has recently opened a base at Union Island. If you’d prefer to start further south, Horizon Yacht Charters operates from Grenada, and also offers complimentary one way charters to Grenada, embarking at Union Island.

If crewed yacht charters are more your style, there are usually more yachts to choose from in the Grenadines during the summer months.

The Catamaran Company has joined ranks with Sunsail and The Moorings in offering discounts instead of free days this summer in the British Virgin Islands. When sailing from June 7 - October 31, charters of 7 - 13 days are 10% off and 14 days or more get 20% off.

Footloose Charters, on the other hand, has broken ranks with its bigger sisters and has actually gone back to offering free days on summer bareboat charters from Tortola. From June 1 - October 31, you can add 1 free day when you book a charter of 6 - 8 days, 2 free days to 9 - 12 day charters, and 3 free days to charters of 13 days or more. It’s a bit confusing in its presentation, but in short it’s 7 days for the price of 6, 11 for 9, and 16 for 13.

Horizon Yacht Charters is offering 10 days for the price of 7 from July 10 - October 31 on their lovely Bavaria yachts. Horizon’s Virgin Islands yacht charter fleet also includes Jeanneau’s, Beneteau’s and Lagoon cats, including the new Lagoon 420.

TMM is also firmly in the free day camp, offering 10 for 7 from August 1 - October 28.

Along the lines of Sunsail’s traditional “Reef Weeks” which you may have seen before, Voyage Charters are now offering “Red Hot” and “White Hot” sail weeks at 20% and 25% off respectively for specific weeks March through November on their fleet of Voyage catamarans.

Welcome to The Charter Connection. This Blog will address every aspect of Bareboat Charters and Crewed Yacht charters. It will include news of the various Bareboat Charter Companies such as The Moorings, Sunsail, Footloose, TMM and Horizon. If you don’t have sufficient sailing experience, we will discuss Private Yacht Charters with a crew, including a honeymoon yacht charter, crewed sailing charters or luxury motor yacht charters. We will also compare the many possible yacht charter destinations all over the world - Tortola, in the popular British Virgin Islands, The beautiful Tobago Cays in The Grenadines, The Pacific Islands, the many cruising grounds in The Mediterranean, from The Bay of Naples to Bodrum, Turkey, and many more.

Use the links in this post as a source of information on everything to do with yacht charter!