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Although the bareboat charter industry was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic this past spring, things are opening up again. To help prospective charterers make sense of the situation, we’ve put together this online charter resources directory in cooperation with a number of our charter industry partners. What follows is an idea of what’s open and available everywhere from the Med to the Caribbean and South Pacific. 

Because the situation remains a fluid one, we’ll be updating this page on a regular basis—again in cooperation with our charter industry partners—so be sure to check in as you begin setting your sights on your next adventure under sail.

Conch Charters

Conch Charters is a small, friendly, highly personalized family run charter business, with its original co-founders still at the helm. They are excited to welcome everyone to their 34th Charter Season.

The British Virgin Islands government has relaxed the protocols for vaccinated clients, making it easier than ever to visit. Head down to discover some of the best sailing waters in the world.

This season the Conch fleet has its greatest selection of layouts and sizes ever, including catamarans 38-48ft and monohulls 32-52ft and over 40 yachts to choose from. They have recently added a 2019 Bali 41, a 2019 Lagoon 42 and a 2021 Lagoon 46.

Conch charters are the only charter that has a personalized tablet for your specific yacht, helping reduce in-person contact between travelers and staff. It will take you on a virtual tour of your yacht’s equipment/systems, and even give you a virtual charter briefing. Of course, staff is also always available to share their favorite secret palm tree fringed bay or secluded snorkeling spots.

For the 2021-2022 season, the team at Conch wants to help you plan your dream holiday in paradise. Let them show you their BVI love!

Cruise Abaco

Cruise Abaco reopened on November 1, 2020 and Abaco, Bahamas, is ready and eager to welcome tourists back to our beautiful islands,” says Cruise Abaco’s Mark Gonsalves. “Most of the restaurants and bars have reopened to date with more scheduled, and everyone is planning on a great 2021-2022 season! Our reefs look amazing, and the water is unlike anywhere in the world. Our fleet is new and ready for charter, and we offer the unique “captained by day, bareboat by night,” concept where you sail with the comfort of a captain during the day and each evening the captain leaves you safely moored, anchored or docked your preference and you have a dinghy to explore on your own. Your captain returns next day and off you go for another adventure and different destination.

Cruise Abaco welcomes you back and the Sea of Abaco and our outlying Cays await you! 

CYOA Yacht Charters

CYOA Yacht Charters in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands is open for business and accepting reservations for bareboat charters. The company’s fleet includes dozens of recently launched, fully loaded, catamarans and monohulls ranging from 38 to 50 feet in various cabin configurations. Specific brands include Lagoon and Fountaine-Pajot catamarans and monohulls from both Dufour and Beneteau.

“CYOA Yacht Charters is open for business! Due to international border closures, our sail area is currently constrained to the U.S. Virgin Islands. However, our guests have all had wonderful experiences cruising the hidden gems of St. John, St. Thomas, and St. Croix” says CYOA Yacht Charter’s base manager Jay Pennington.

In light of the pandemic, the company is allowing penalty-free re-bookings if the borders of the U.S. Virgin Islands are closed to leisure travel beginning 30 days and ending 10 days before the charter start date or the sleepaboard date. For the latest updates and details, click here. 

To keep charterers safe, CYOA Yacht Charters is offering a 100 percent online pre-charter briefing system as well as online check-in. It is also implementing enhanced cleaning and sanitization procedures between charters. After sanitization, each boat is physically sealed until guests arrive onboard. For details, click here. 

“The season is filling up,” Pennington says. “Book the original “social distancing” vacation today!”

Dream Yacht Charter

Global charterer Dream Yacht Charter is accepting reservations for charter destinations in the Caribbean, including the British Virgin Islands and the Bahamas (Exumas and newly reopened Abacos). Further afield, you can sail with them the Mediterranean, Mexico, Tahiti, Seychelles, and many more. Entry requirements for some destinations mean that fully vaccinated travelers can visit with just proof of a negative test prior to arrival. Restrictions remain in place for some locales—check before you book.

For those wanting to sail closer to home, DYC has plenty of choices for sailors in the United States. “We’ve kept more customers sailing during the disruption than any other charter company. We significantly rearranged our fleet to cater for heavy demand for local destinations,” says DYC’s vice-president of global tourism, Dan Lockyer. “This includes the USVI and St. Thomas, Key West, Annapolis, Newport and Lake Champlain. Mexico is also proving a very popular choice for West Coast sailors.”

To ensure the safety of its guests, DYC follows guidelines by the World Health Organization (WHO) and ECDC. A booking protection program allows travelers to plan ahead during uncertain times. If you are unable to get to your departure destination due to COVID-19 disruption, you can:

● Reschedule without a fee for alternative dates within 12 months following your original departure date. Your deposit will be transferred to your new booking

● Receive a credit note for the deposit paid, which you can use towards a future charter within 12 months of your original departure date. For complete details on scheduling flexibility, click here.

For more information, keep watching Dream Yacht Charters’ Facebook and Instagram pages, or sign up for their newsletter on their home page. For more on the company’s many bases, visit the destinations page.

Horizon Yacht Charters – BVI

The BVI reopened its borders on December 1st, 2020, and the Horizon Yacht Charters base in Nanny Cay Marina on the island of Tortola has been welcoming guests back. The company is only requiring a non-refundable $200 administration fee for reservations made on that date or later in order to secure the yacht of your choice. A wide range of boats is available, including monohulls from Jeanneau and Bavaria, and catamarans from Lagoon, Nautitech and Fountaine-Pajot.

In addition to a low deposit fee, Horizon is offering other great special offers and up to 30 percent off click here.

Fully vaccinated travelers need only a PCR test or Rapid Antigen Test five days prior to arrival and a negative result to enter the BVI with no restrictions. Different protocols apply to partially vaccinated or unvaccinated travelers so click here for more details.

“There has never been a better time to charter from Horizon Yacht Charters in the BVI,” says Horizon’s Sylvia Driver. “The islands are absolutely beautiful, and the ocean is pristine with a water clarity not seen here since the 1980s, due to so little environmental impact in the last six months. The marine life is prolific, with dolphins and turtles being regular sighted. What better way to escape from the crowds than on your own meticulously prepared yacht?”

In recent months, the company has been working with its local Environmental Health Department to ensure its sanitization methods are as thorough as possible as it works to ensure each yacht is meticulously cleaned and sanitized after each charter. For a complete rundown on the company’s Covid-19 policies and practices, click here.

Horizon Yacht Charters – Grenada

Horizon Yacht Charters’ two bases in St. Vincent and Grenada are open for business and accepting immediate charter reservations. Available out of the Grenada base is a variety of monohulls and catamarans, including a brand-new Fountaine-Pajot Elba 45, a Lagoon 42, and a well-apportioned Jeanneau 519. Among the many boats available at the Horizon base in St. Vincent are a number of Lagoons and a Jeanneau 469.

“We can accept charters now. However, visitors from overseas will have to complete a mandatory period of quarantine prior to the charter start,” says Horizon’s Jacqui Pascall. “The time frame depends on the country you have travelled from and is completed in an approved hotel or resort.”

To keep its customers safe, Pascall says Horizon has implemented a set of rigorous, government-approved procedures that cover everything from yacht sanitization, social distancing and the mandatory wearing of masks in the office, on the dock and during chart and boat briefings, to regular temperature readings and paperless transactions

“We understand that it is a difficult time for people to make plans; however, we are able to be flexible in light of this pandemic,” Pascall says. “We would like our clients to have something to look forward to and are here to assist in answering any questions you may have.”

NCP & Mare—Croatia

NCP & Mare—Croatia is located in the heart of the Adriatic, in Mandalina Marina in Šibenik, Croatia, an easy sail from a wealth of picturesque islands like Hvar and Vis, and historic harbors. The location is also conveniently located between two international airports, Split and Zadar, and right next to Kornati and Krka Waterfalls National Parks. Additionally, it’s a certified RYA training center. The company is currently accepting charter reservations for its entire fleet, which includes over 70 boats including Dufours, Beneteaus, Hanses, Lagoons and Grand Soleils, depending on your sailing style.

Croatia is open to U.S. sailors, and according to NCP & Mare manager Paško Klisović, there’s no better time to explore his part of the world. “Sailing holidays are considered the safest holidays in these unusual times and choosing a charter company with 25-years of experience focused on safety can make your holidays even better,” Klisović says.

NCP & Mare has also begun implementing a set of comprehensive disinfecting procedures for its entire fleet and makes a point of ensuring its entire staff is both well equipped with PPE and practices social distancing. Click here for details. 

Southwest Florida Yachts

From remote islands to first-class resorts, from sugar sand beaches and wilderness waterways to bustling marinas, Southwest Florida has it all. Founded in 1984, owners Vic and Barb Hansen are celebrating their 37th Anniversary with 10 percent off charters and 5 percent off classes from May 1 through October 31 of 2021 and 2022. Southwest Florida Yachts is located at the gateway to unlimited cruising choices. The cruising grounds include the barrier islands of Sanibel, Captiva and Cayo Costa to the West. The Okeechobee Waterway extends east from Fort Myers to Stuart on the East Coast of Florida. Heading South, cruisers can visit charming downtown Naples or set sail to the resorts of Marco Island. All Florida Marinas and anchorages are open for business!

Southwest Florida Yachts has a range of vessels from about 30 to 50 feet for chartering including both monohulls as well as Fountaine Pajot and Leopard sailing cats. The company also charters trawlers, motor yachts and power cats including Grand Banks, Beneteau and Sabreline yachts. Their Cruising Concierge service will assist you with cruising plans, anchoring suggestions and marina reservations. No matter where you cruise in Southwest Florida you will see dolphins, manatees and over one hundred species of birds in the area including osprey, bald eagles, snowy egrets and great blue herons.

The Florida Sailing and Cruising School offers both sail and power boating courses from basic to advanced cruising, having been an American Sailing Association training facility since 1985. The company also offers a Trawler Training program. SFY’s flexible Yacht Management Program offers owners the option of purchasing a vessel to place into the charter fleet. Barb Hansen is also a licensed Florida Yacht Broker. Visit the website to see the many options they offer for your sailing and cruising enjoyment.

Sunsail

With charter bases stretching from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean to the South Pacific and the Mediterranean, Sunsail is in a position to offer a number of charter opportunities for U.S. sailors this fall and winter. For a complete list of base re-openings, click here. (Scroll down a bit when you get there.)

Staff worldwide have been trained in a comprehensive cleaning and safety program that includes everything from strict mask-wearing and social distancing during checkouts to disinfecting its boats via fogging and supplying all linens in sealed bags at the start of each charter. (For details click here)

In addition to offering flexible booking terms with the option of either changing dates or receiving a credit certificate in the event a charter becomes impossible due to travel restrictions, Sunsail is also offering what it calls its “Flex Protection Plan” option for all charters scheduled to take place by the end of the year. For details click here.

TMM Yacht Charters

The British Virgin Islands are open again, and fully vaccinated people only need a test within three to five days of traveling in order to enter. TMM Yacht Charters, based in Road Town on the island of Tortola, is back to full speed with many of its repeat and first-time charter guests visiting this summer. Demand for next season is high so be sure to book early.

The company offers a wide range of multihulls for charter. Current Lagoon models include the 380, 40, 42, 450F, 450S, 46 and 50. From Fountaine-Pajot the MY37 Power cat, Helia 44, Elba 45, Saona 47 and Saba 50. From Nautitech they have the Open 46. Many models are available in both owner and charter layouts.

To ensure the safety of its charterers TMM has instituted a strict cleaning/social distancing policy both aboard its boats and in its shore facilities. Masks, for example, are to be worn at all times during check-in and checkout and will be provided if necessary. All boats will also be cleaned and sanitized between charters. For Covid 19 details and travel requirements click here.

The Moorings 

The Moorings currently has charter bases that are open for business and accepting charter reservations. Because travel requirements and border openings/closing are changing all the time the company is continually posting updates here.

Whatever the location, the company offers a wide range of charter-optimized Moorings-branded cruising boats, including the 4500, 4500L and 5000 catamarans and Moorings 51.4 and 42.1 monohulls. “Demand for yacht charter vacations is high, and our guests can’t wait to get out on the water again once their favorite destination reopens,” says senior marketing manager Ian Pedersen. “Things are trending upward with strong charter demand worldwide in 2021 and into 2022.”

Recently, The Moorings has established an especially flexible rebooking policy that includes an allowance for a change of departure dates or a credit certificate for COVID-19 related changes/cancellations any time up until 7 days prior to departure. The company is also offering what it calls a “Flex Protection Plan” that allows for changes for any reason. For details, click here. 

With respect to safety, Pedersen says: “As we are slowly reopening our global charter destinations, we have aligned our cleaning procedures with the current guidelines. For example, facial masks and following social distancing and hygiene guidelines is mandatory for staff and guests. Each yacht will be disinfected via fogging immediately upon return to the dock. They will then be cleaned, sanitized and disinfected again prior to the next boarding.”

For a complete list of the safety measures The Moorings is taking, click here. 

June 2021