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!

We don’t make a habit of quoting charterer’s comments in our blog, but this one really summarizes the service we offer!

Here’s what our client said:
“Learned about this company about 5 years ago and remembered them because they send very useful bareboat literature package. I didn’t use services of this company until this year - booking directly seemed to be simpler. However I gave it a try this year - it worked perfectly. Besides obvious options (Sunsail, Moorings, TMM) you get a ton of other choices and you still have a single point of contact.
The knowledge and helpfulness of staff is amazing - now on, this would be my first choice to book a bareboat charter.”

Thank you Roman for your kind comments. We hope you enjoy the Bahia 46 (his second charter through Ed Hamilton & Co this year).

Rather than offering our clients just a few obvious options, our brokers have always worked with a wide range of bareboat charter companies. We try hard to match each client’s requirements, so even when we book a client with one of the big companies, our clients have the confidence of knowing that this really is the best choice for them. No bareboat company is perfect for everyone and for some people, a boat in one of the smaller, less known fleets is the best match. Our principal aim has always been to choose the right boat for each individual client.

Whether this is your first charter or your thirtieth, you can gain from using our services. We book more charters, through more companies worldwide and our advice is based on 36 years of experience in the charter industry. Booking through us costs no more than calling the bareboat company directly!

Email one of our three bareboat brokers today, or call 800 621 7855 and ask for Susan, Jackie or Steve. To get started, just tell them about your plans and receive their specific suggestions by email.

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.

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!