The Charter Connection Blog

In the Mediterranean, Anahita is using the same figures, but instead of Euros, they are now US dollars! $8,500 for 2, $10,000 for 4 and $11,500 for 6, plus expenses. In addition, she is offering 8 days for the price of 7. She can charter in the Western or Eastern Med or Croatia with no delivery fees.

In the Caribbean, the popular 65′ catamaran True North has shaved $5,000 of their price for this summer and next winter. She is now $24,500 for 6 and $26,500 for 8 ($3,313 per person) for 7 nights, and this includes all meals, open ships bar, and scuba diving (scuba courses also available at extra cost). During August and September she moves to the Grenadines, but otherwise she is available anywhere from the British Virgin Islands and Antigua, to Grenada, depending on her booking calendar.

Further north, in New England, the 123′ luxury ketch Galileo G has dropped her rate to $39,000 plus expenses. This glorious yacht was designed for world cruising by Sparkman and Stephens and built by Palmer Johnson. The classic interior was done by John Munford. All are great names in the yachting industry! She accommodates up to 6 guests in three comfortable cabins. The master is however so huge and magnificent (it comes complete with a private study/reading room) that she could also be the ultimate private yacht charter for just two guests! Extravagant? Of course. Worth it? Absolutely!

We can find you the best value in every price range. You can call us at 800 621 7855, email us at info@ed-hamilton.com, read more on the Ed Hamilton & Co website, or tell us about your plans so we can suggest some suitable boats and crews!

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 now on the other side of the Adriatic, in northern Croatia. We looked at many different charter yachts based in Split. Two were getting ready to receive our clients!

Split is an interesting mixture of modern marinas and ancient history. There is a Roman palace in the center of town, right on the waterfront. This was built by one of the Caesars in 293 AD, for his retirement. The original outside walls are still standing, though much of what is inside is more recent.

Further up the coast, Trogir is a pretty port and can be a better choice for starting a crewed charter. It’s closer to the airport and less commercial, though the docks can get crowded in the summer, particularly when several megayachts moor along the waterfront.

The many off-islands along the coast from north of Split, all the way to Dubrovnik in the south, are what make this area such a great cruising ground. They vary from barren but spectacular uninhabited rocks, to large islands with several villages, farms and a thriving community. Split and (magnificent) Dubrovnik are the two charter centers. You can start and finish in either one, or do a one way between them. Both have small airports with plenty of connecting flights to larger cities. For crewed boats that cannot start and finish in Croatia (which is normally the case), consider starting in Montenegro, just to the south.

Ed Hamilton & Co can advise you on starting/finishing ports and itineraries, for your particular group.

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.

The popular crewed charter yacht Anahita will sail to the Mediterranean May 1st. If you have ever dreamed of sailing the Atlantic, she has two berths still open.

Anahita is a 62′ Dynamique monohull. Bijan, her owner, has sailed her thousands of miles from Newfoundland and Maine, to the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. He came to the US from Persia in 1957, and was a celebrated ballet dancer in New York until the age of thirty. He became a successful real estate developer for ten years, before retiring to yachting. He loves watersports, boats, photography and exploring new places. He also enjoys teaching others to sail, if they should wish to learn. This would be a great boat and captain for a first transatlantic experience.

We have had several excellent charters with Bijan. He still has limited availability in the Caribbean this winter. Once in the Med, he will be available in France and Western Italy, including Corsica, in June and September, but will move to Croatia, Montenegro and the Greek Islands during July and August.

If this sounds interesting, call us at 800 621 7855 or email us. For more general information, look at the Ed Hamilton & Co site or tell us about your plans and we will send you suggestions of suitable private yacht charters.

This picture of the Antigua Show at night, taken by Lucy Tulloch (thank you Jim Long, Caribbean Boating) gives a different view of this incredible show. With enough generating power to light a small town, the yachts illuminated the night Antigua sky and were visible for miles around. Of the almost 100 yachts in the show, more than half were over 100 feet and almost 30% over 150. The largest was 270 feet. This show has always attracted magnificent superyachts, but this year was a record. No hint of recession here.

Our brokers had 5 days to inspect these beautiful yachts and it was hard work. As usual, we all took copious notes on each boat, captain and chef, to try to decide which yachts would be most suitable to present to our clients. These shows are so important to us and we take them seriously, though sampling some of the fabulous meals the chefs offer is a nice bonus.

This was one of the best Antigua shows we have attended, which is very encouraging. The winter Caribbean yacht charter season is shaping up nicely and there is every indication that 2010 will be a big improvement over 2009!

We would like to wish everyone a merry Christmas and all the best for the New Year. Perhaps, while the family is all together, this is also a good time to plan that winter getaway to the British Virgin Islands or the Grenadines, or a summer charter in the Mediterranean - fascinating Turkey, Croatia, the coast of Italy, or maybe the Greek Islands. Email us, call us at 800 621 7855, check out the Ed Hamilton & Co web site or tell us about the holiday you have in mind so we can suggest some yachts. We will be standing by!

Whether you’re bareboating the Caribbean for the first time, or you’re an experienced Caribbean sailor looking to explore somewhere new, a great way to get your feet wet is to sail in a flotilla. When it comes to flotillas, there are few operators who do a better job than the company who pioneered the concept - Sunsail.

Sunsail is a well known and very popular bareboat company, but few people realize that Sunsail started some 35 years ago as a small organization with a few boats offering flotilla sailing vacations in the Greek Islands. When many potential or active bareboaters hear the word “flotilla,” they immediately think of a rather uninspiring and regimented game of follow the leader. With a Sunsail flotilla, nothing could be further from the truth.

The concept behind Sunsail’s flotillas is actually more based in the social aspect than it is in providing a stepping stone, but they can be used either way. Their flotilla format can be as loose or as scheduled as you like. While Sunsail publishes an itinerary for their flotillas, (which is subject to change depending on weather, events not to be missed, or even consensus of the flotilla party), the schedule is more of a guideline. You sail on your own boat, with up to 12 other boats and a lead Sunsail boat with a skipper, flotilla hostess, and engineer. There is a port to meet up in at the end of the sailing day, and the course you take to get there is up to you - if you want to follow the lead boat, you can; if you want to take your own tack and simply meet the group that evening at anchor, that’s fine too.

Some experienced sailors also use flotillas to become comfortable with a new area. If you’ve sailed your own boat in the Northeast for years, for example, but have never sailed the Caribbean, a flotilla is a great confidence builder. Not familiar with Med-mooring? The flotilla skipper can show you the ropes and help make your vacation seamless. Worried about finding a good restaurant or speaking the local language? The flotilla hostess can help ease you into the locale.

While a flotilla can readily be used to become familiar with a new sailing area, don’t overlook the social benefit. At the end of each sailing day, you have the opportunity to get together and relive the day’s great sail with other like-minded sailors. In the summer months, in particular, a flotilla is a great way for families with children to find ready-made playmates.

Sunsail offers 26 different flotilla routes in the British Virgin Islands, Grenadines, Croatia, Greece and Turkey, so there’s plenty of variety for all tastes. In most cases, any of Sunsail’s available bareboats can be added to the flotilla, and the flotilla fee covers not only the knowledge and service of your lead crew, but also fuel, yacht insurance, welcome punch party and breakfast pack. There’s no better time to try the flotilla concept, as Sunsail is offering 25% off Caribbean flotillas this spring and summer, when you confirm by May 30th.

If you would like to know more, call us at 800 621 7855, email us, or contact us through the Ed Hamilton & Co site and tell us about your plans. Not only have we booked many flotilla vacations, we have even run them in Tortola, so are very familiar with all aspects of flotilla chartering.

This month’s ‘Charter Connection‘ Newsletter, which was emailed to subscribers last week, included an article describing the many different yacht charter destinations around the world. Readers were invited to vote on any cruising grounds they had visited on either a crewed yacht or bareboat charter and for the purpose of this vote, these areas were divided into the following categories:

BVI / US Virgin Islands, Leeward Islands, Grenadines, Western Caribbean, Bahamas / Florida, Western Mediterranean, Croatia, Greek Islands, Turkey, New England, Pacific Islands, New Zealand / Australia and Asia

You can view the initial results as they start to come in. It seems that most people only voted on their favorites, which they naturally rated as a ‘3′, so there are some ‘perfect scores’. We expect this to change as more people vote.

If you haven’t voted yet, feel free to do so, and if you only voted for your top choice, we’d love to hear about those other areas you visited and how you felt they compared.

You can also vote on the past surveys we have run, accessed via the results page. It is always satisfying to see a surge of votes come in after each ‘Charter Connection’ mailing, some for articles over a year old! For this reason we keep all articles open and update the results as they change.

If you would like us to describe any of these beautiful cruising grounds or the fine charter yachts that sail there, call us at 800 621 7855, or email us, or visit The Ed Hamilton & Co website.