The Charter Connection Blog

From Dalyan, we sailed southeast down the coast, to The Bay of Fethiye, arriving in time for lunch. We motored through a relatively narrow entrance between two islands, into the beautiful sheltered cruising ground known as Skopea Limani. This lovely area is strewn with pretty bays and places to explore.

Most yachts drop an anchor and tie a stern line to a tree ashore. In July and August these anchorages get crowded, both with charter yachts and local holidaymakers, but in May we could pick a bay and have it to ourselves. We anchored close to Kapi Creek for lunch and a swim. It’s possible to spend several days here, but schedules had to be met and we motored past such highlights as The Wall and The Tombs, to anchor closer to Gocek for the night.

Not only did Izzet produce a spectacular dinner for us, he also serenaded us with some beautiful local songs. We knew he was a talented chef, but learned he also grew up in a musical family. His singing was just wonderful in the warm clear night air. It was so lovely that the large white motoryacht anchored nearby stopped their expensive live music to listen! If you charter Blue Capricorn and enjoy Turkish music, encourage him to play for you.

The next morning we had business to do in Gocek and motored into the harbor. We met with the crews of Anam Cara and Panta Rhei, two conventional sailing yachts with British crews that offer good value in the 50′ range. I spent the afternoon visiting bareboat charter companies, as this is a popular bareboat cruising ground. Moorings / Sunsail have a large base here, as do some lesser known operations such as Top Yacht.

Gocek is a town expanding in every direction. On either side of the old waterfront and square, new marinas and upscale villas are being built everywhere, to accommodate the influx of new tourists in the season. It felt ironic to be sitting in an open-air cafe in the Square, uploading a blog to the internet, as the sounds of the ‘azaan’ summoned the faithful to mid-afternoon prayer. Turkey is such an area of contrasts, a fascinating mixture of old and new. Local people are amazingly friendly, unlike some of the more ‘discovered’ places and there is as much ancient history here as any other part of The Mediterranean.

Our trip came to an end early the next morning, when a driver took us to Dalaman Airport, now only a few minutes away using the new tunnel, and we caught a flight to Istanbul. Then it was British Airways to London’s new terminal 5, and on to Boston, where it was still daylight when we landed that evening. In one day we had moved from one world to another.

Contact Ed Hamilton & Co - we would be happy to give you more information on Blue Capricorn and other crewed charter yachts or bareboat charters in Turkey. Note - when using the above link to Blue Capricorn, you need to scroll down the page to see the yacht’s website.

It’s always surprised me that the demand for either crewed or bareboat yacht charters in Belize isn’t far greater. Perhaps it’s one of those places that people simply don’t know enough about yet, and speaking selfishly that’s a good thing in many ways. I was reminded of this during the past week as I helped two different customers explore the sailing possibilities there. As is often the case, and one of the reasons I love working in the charter industry, fond memories of my own vacations are refreshed in chatting through various anchorages to visit and activities to take part in.

Simply put, Belize is a spectacular destination. It has all you expect from the typical Caribbean yacht charter destination - myriad low lying sandy palm-strewn islands with steady trade winds to afford easy island hopping. Some have larger towns with eclectic shops and unique restaurants, some have smaller towns, and some have nothing but what you bring along and a nice coral garden to snorkel.

As if that weren’t enough, Belize offers so much more. It’s of course known for its diving and snorkeling on the world’s second largest barrier reef; but, often overlooked by the sailor is a fascinating interior, filled with everything from Mayan ruins, (the ancient Mayan city of Caracol in Western Belize is believed to rival in size its better known neighbor Tikal, in Guatemala), to free-flowing rivers surrounded by lush jungle, it even has a pine forest as well as the world’s only jaguar preserve. While Ed Hamilton & Company specialize in arranging yacht charters, and it might not be in our best interests, I do recommend reserving some time in your vacation to do a land based stay to explore Belize’s mainland wonders.

Clearly I get carried away - back to the sailing. The cruising ground could be described as two halves. The northern half is accessed from San Pedro on well-known Ambergris Caye, and generally speaking, has larger islands with more population and development. San Pedro itself is perhaps the most touristy town in Belize with its many dive resorts due to a 5 minute ride to numerous dive sites on the barrier reef, but somehow retains its charm as a colonial village filled with friendly people who possess a disarmingly genuine nature. The island hopping is easier here, albeit the water is very shallow and I would choose to sail from here if I were more interested in a mix of culture and island ambience, with the easiest access to a variety of dive operators. TMM operates a fleet of catamarans from San Pedro, a 5 minute ride from the airport.

The southern ‘half’ of the cruising ground is accessed from Placencia, where The Moorings operates a fleet of both monohulls and catamarans. As you go south, the Belizean coastline bends in to the west, giving more, (and deeper), water in between the mainland and the barrier reef. This area has a wonderland of sparsely to uninhabited cayes to explore, many of which are part of national parks. One can still find a few restaurants at resorts on some of the cayes, and this area is a great choice for people who want to enjoy the natural beauty from their yacht, and don’t require nightlife. You have a bit more room to stretch your legs, so in my view the sailing itself is also better in this area.

On a bareboat charter, all of the sailing takes place inside the barrier reef, so you can explore all the cayes in relatively flat water sailing conditions. If you take a skipper aboard your yacht, or opt for a fully crewed yacht, you can also access the outlying atolls of Turneffe, Lighthouse, and Glover’s Reef, which are a must for the serious diver.

At Ed Hamilton & Company, our role is to paint as accurate a picture of boats, crews, and destinations as possible for our customers, and we strive to highlight the positives as equally as the negatives. As I’ve written this blog entry, I’ve been searching for the downsides of Belize to note, and have come up relatively empty. I do recognize my own bias, so will say that if you are looking for shopping, continuous nightlife, and 5 star resort after 5 star resort, don’t go to Belize; if you’re looking for the opposite of that, go there, you won’t be disappointed. I’ve been twice, and can’t wait to go back

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.

We’re well into the season, and we have already had many guests starting their charter at the new Moorings, Sunsail and Footloose, marina in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. These three major bareboat charter companies moved in together last Fall, so we were particularly interested to hear how everything was running. This was an enormous undertaking, made harder by the merger of the companies’ booking offices. Sunsail moved from Annapolis to Florida so many of the booking staff are new. There have, quite naturally, been problems and growing pains, but in many ways, we feel there could have been far more. I visited the base in November and was concerned by the shear size, knowing how many hundreds of people would shortly be descending on these docks.

We would like to hear what you think about the advantages of having these large companies in one location, particularly if you have started a charter at the new facility. Someday we will do a larger article in the newsletter, but in the meantime, we’d love to hear your comments.

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!