Destinations

Sail Your Telltales!

by Ryan Jolley, Posted March 3, 2010

I know how to sail, right? At least I thought I did. I mean, I have a copy of Sailing for Dummies in my office, and I have worked at SAIL for 3 years, for Pete’s sake, so I know how to sail, right? That, at least, was my thinking going into a 10-day sailing course with my dad at the Offshore Sailing School. I couldn’t have been more wrong.We arrived at the Mansion House bed-and-breakfast

Turkish Delights

by Tom Dove, Posted April 15, 2010

We had already concluded, after only a few days in Istanbul, that we’d never figure out the Turkish language. Then we saw our Sunsail charter boat. The stern carried a French flag and the boat’s name: UAGIZ. My wife, Kathy, and I have dealt with a lot of foreign languages, but this one truly had us scratching our heads. And asking a dockhand didn’t help much. I heard “Oo-gosh,” and

The Perfect Off Season

by Meredith Laitos, Posted April 20, 2010

On the first day of our charter we sailed to Cuttyhunk, Massachusetts, a charming island at the tip of the Elizabeth Islands between Vineyard Sound and Buzzard’s Bay. We dinghied ashore and bought fresh cod from a fisherman whose wife had lived on Cuttyhunk her entire life. We moseyed on to a general store, where Jaci, one of our crew, bought the Sunday Times and cut out the crossword

Insider Tips from the BVI

by John Glynn, Posted June 2, 2010

After fairly busy Winter and Spring seasons in the BVI, things have slowed down a bit lately. In the wake of months like February, March, and April, when anchorages are full of families on school holidays, May and June are a time for couples to get together (often with like-minded couples) and charter a boat or go on a sailing vacation at a fraction of the peak-season cost.While May and

Brand New World

by Adam Cort, Posted November 10, 2010

It quickly became a running joke. “How come we never went snorkeling here before?” my wife, Shelly, would ask. “What a great beach. Why didn’t we go swimming like this the last time we were here?”The answer in each case was exactly the same: we’d been sailing, beating our way up and around St. John, reaching through the trades, reveling in the sheer joy of our boat speed. Not until the sun

The Other Pacific

by David Schmidt, Posted November 10, 2010

Simply put, sailing in Hawaii is a dream. Bountiful winds, gorgeous islands, friendly people, unbelievable marine life and crystal-clear water make this place a paradise, as I found out last winter while sailing from Ala Wai Harbor in Honolulu to the coastal town of Lahaina on Maui’s northwest coast. Along the way I experienced enough of Hawaii’s magic to realize that it’s one of the world’s most

The Great Octopus Hunt

by Peter Nielsen, Posted November 10, 2010

Some people start a charter with a set itinerary worked out well in advance. Sunday night in anchorage X, Monday night on a mooring in bay Y, Tuesday the lobster special at bar Z, and so on. Others take a more free-form approach, only deciding where to go after they get up in the morning and check out the wind strength and sea state; if getting to X involves a stiff beat that’ll wipe the grins

Much Ado About St. Martin

by Meredith Laitos, Posted November 11, 2010

Most people think of St. Martin/Sint Maarten—northernmost of the Leeward Islands—as being half-French, half-Dutch. But it’s also Creole, Caribbean and a hodgepodge of over 125 other nationalities. More importantly, it is an excellent jumping off point for a charter cruise replete with lovely sailing, blue bays, white sand beaches and high-end French shopping and cuisine.Several charter

School's in Session

by Rebecca Waters, Posted November 11, 2010

If your goal is to be able to charter a boat in your dream destination, nothing will prepare you better than a sailing course taught on a charter boat. Working on a charter boat, your instructor can walk you through the entire charter process, from chart briefing and provisioning to the final return. And who’s to say your class can’t be in that dream locale?“We use charter boats to teach

Does Size Matter?

by Lisa F. Mann, Posted August 11, 2010

I was sitting on the beach in Philipsburg, St. Maarten, in awe of the enormous cruise ships docked there, including the mammoth Oasis of the Seas. A couple sitting in beach chairs next to me asked which ship I was on. I laughed and said, “See that little charter sailboat out there, anchored in front of the cruise ship dock?” They nodded their heads in unison. “That’s the ship I’m on.”