The Charter Connection Blog

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.

It was great to see Charlie and Ginny Cary named one the ‘Top 40 Sailors Who Made A Difference’ in SAIL magazine’s 40th anniversary issue. I knew them well.

Charlie and Ginny first came to the Virgin Islands in the late 60’s to retire. To keep busy, they bought four Pearson 35’s with Tony Reynold and some other friends from the oil industry back home in New Orleans, with the idea of starting a bareboat charter company.

They called their company The Moorings.

I first met them in 1972, when I had just sailed in to Road Town, Tortola from England. I was a young man of 25 and was desperately looking for a job. Charlie had just taken delivery of 15 Morgan Out Island 41s. I eventually convinced him to hire me and I worked for him for just over a year, before running another bareboat charter company and eventually starting my own in 1975. Ed Hamilton & Co came in 1982.

Charlie and Ginny were a wonderful team. Ginny was the one that always seemed to get everything done, but Charlie was the soft spoken boss! Looking at The Moorings empire today, with 32 bases worldwide, in every conceivable cruising ground from New Zealand to The Pacific North West, it is easy to forget how this company began.

In the early 70s they rented an office and dock space in front of the ‘new’ Waterfront Condominiums in Road Town, next to the Francis Drake Pub. This was a smart move, as it looked like they owned the whole complex, as the above picture shows. Charlie always did have big ideas! Having such a small staff, he and Ginny were very much involved in the day to day activities.

In the bareboat business, you learn to expect the unexpected, but I remember them being so disappointed when two of their brand new boats collided – they were the only two boats sailing that afternoon in the whole of the Drakes Channel and they managed to hit each other! If I remember correctly, one was being delivered from the US, with the delivery crew still on board. We could all fill books with stories like these!

On a personal note, I owe an enormous amount to Charlie and Ginny, as do many of their early staff.

Charlie never seemed to mind that his managers moved on to other bareboat charter companies. In the mid ’70s, when the industry was less competitive than today, the heads of all the BVI companies used to meet for lunch at the Treasure Isle Hotel, to share stories and supposedly discuss policy, etc. I remember Charlie looking round the table and realizing that he had employed and trained every single manager except one! It was to his credit that he accepted this as an enormous compliment!

Charlie and Ginny always owned a boat in their fleet, which they named ‘Flying Ginny’. It was always the best kept and had the top crew. Their last boat, ‘Flying Ginny VII’ is indeed still chartering (privately). She’s a very popular Lagoon 55, run by an English couple, Tom and Gemma.

Charlie also enjoyed fast powerboats and it was no accident that The Moorings chase boat (‘Windchaser’) was a nice new Bertram 28. On my weekly trips to St. Thomas to pick up supplies, I was always instructed to cruise at the rated rpm, but when Charlie was aboard he loved to ‘red line’ it. The two of us had some thrilling rides together!

The Moorings was eventually sold to a European travel group – a fact that was not widely broadcast in the US. For most people chartering in the Caribbean, The Moorings was as American as apple pie.

Later a group of American investors bought the company back and Charlie, once again, became a figurehead. While not as involved in the day-to-day business, it was great to see him at boat shows and Moorings events. Ginny’s health failed and he retired (once more) in The Bahamas and Florida. He died June 14th, 2007 at Vero Beach, Florida.

Ed

Our clients have been particularly happy with the “Tahiti Twosome” program. This is an economical way for a couple to experience magical Polynesia and is a real step up from a simple bareboat charter with skipper. The focus is on couples and honeymooners, sailing on a nice one way itinerary from Raiatea to Bora Bora.

The package is based on a Tahiti Yacht Charters Lagoon 380 catamaran, and includes all meals (except 2 evening dinners), table wine with meals, 2 kayaks, floating sun mats, snorkeling gear, a complimentary Tahitian massage at the Deep Ocean Spa of the Intercontinental Bora Bora, plus a Skipper who is not only your host, but who also does the cooking.

Your skipper will either be Polynesian or a French ex-patriot who has been sailing Tahiti for years. Their ages range from 28 to 50, all are passionate sailors and experienced hosts, and of course fluent in English. Your skipper will be chosen based on the personalities and interests in your group; while this isn’t quite the level of crew matching offered by a fully crewed charter, it offers a great advantage over a bareboat with a completely unknown skipper.

The 6 night/7 day itinerary takes you through the 4 major islands that make up the Leeward Islands of the Societies, starting at Raiatea, sailing on to Tahaa, then to Huahine, and ultimately to Bora Bora, where you disembark on your final day. Activities can include visiting a vanilla plantation, dinner while watching Polynesian fire dancers at a pearl farm (dinners ashore extra), coral gardens, glorious snorkeling, with many types of sea life, including manta rays, visiting a black pearl farm (yes you can buy directly), deserted ‘motus’ with miles of incredible sandy beaches and sunsets you will never forget.

With the addition of a cook, this program is also adaptable to larger groups of couples or families, or if you would like all of your meals on board. The pricing starts at $3,450 per person for the standard Tahiti Twosome package.

The Tahitian Government places many restrictions on private charter yachts who wish to use these islands as a base, so unlike the Caribbean, there are very few smaller private crewed yachts available for charter. The rules are different for the bareboat charter companies, which is why TYC is able to do this. We think their program fits the gap nicely, offering a reasonably priced vacation with more personal service than a regular skippered bareboat. While these are not private boats with full time personal skippers, we can discuss your interests and requirements to tailor your cruise.

This program is very adaptable, so email us or tell us what you are looking for using our online form and we will help you plan your vacation. We know the area well. There is also more information on the Ed Hamilton & Co site and of course more luxurious options available. We look forward to helping you arrange a private vacation or a honeymoon yacht charter like none other.

Photo credits for this page: All photographs were taken by David Kirkland who owns the copyright. They were supplied by Tahiti Yacht Charters and are used with permission. They may not be reproduced without permission from the photographer/owner.

Scuba Diving Magazine recently announced the results of its annual reader poll, called the ‘Top 100 Readers’ Choice Survey’. In the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands took first place in the ‘Top Beginner Diving’ category, second place in ‘Top Underwater Photography’ and third in ‘Top Wreck Diving’.

The British Virgins have always been a popular place to dive and there are many well organized dive companies on several of the main islands. Most offer rendezvous dives for crewed charter yachts, when a dive boat meets a yacht and takes those guests that want to dive off to the dive site, returning them later. The dive company supplies all the gear and the group can be as large or as private as you wish. The advantage is that those not interested in diving don’t have to sit over a dive site or listen to a dive compressor filling tanks.

Many bareboat charter companies have dive shops on site or nearby and of course qualified scuba divers can dive from their bareboat.

Serious divers can also select a private crewed yacht that offers diving, so guests can dive at any time and in any location they choose. There are some wonderful yachts and crews to choose from. We would be happy to make some suggestions. Check the scuba box when telling us about your plans, or email us. There is also more information on the Ed Hamilton & Co site.