Most North American sailors choose the Caribbean for a winter sailing vacation. There are good reasons: a well-developed chartering infrastructure; a variety of discrete cruising grounds to choose from; great sailing conditions; numerous flights to Caribbean locations; lots of charterboats.Here are essential considerations when planning your charter.1. The
This months contributor is Tom Reinke, who sails a Flying Scot with his wife, Mary. They love leading bareboat charters and turning over the helm to the officer of the day. If youre new to charteringor if your friends areyoull find his organizational ideas helpful.The primary objective of a charter is to have a good time, and that means different things to different people.
Will a tiki tattoo make a better fisherman? Only time will tell.By Duncan GouldWe didnt clear in at the first island we visited in the Marquesas, which are part of French Polynesia. Unfortunately, the windwardmost and easiest to get to, Fatu Hiva, is not a port of entrya port where new arrivals must declare themselves before proceeding anywhere else. Fortunately,
Unfavorable winds turn an offshore adventure into a sleepy crawl down the DitchBy Dave BaldwinWe emerged from the darkness of an overnight passage 10 miles off the North Carolina coast when Joe asked an ordinarily easy question: Should we turn off the engines and sail? The light breeze had finally clocked around so that it wasnt hitting us on the nose andhaving spent
The Moorings is building a new charter village at the southern end of its Tortola, BVI, base at Wickham’s Cay II Marina in Road Town. Construction began last summer on the $10 million-plus expansion, which includes such amenities as a customer reception and lounge area, boutiques, a restaurant and bar, a spa and bathhouse, a conference facility, a briefing area, and oceanfront hotel suites. In
A thousand islands, a balmy climate, friendly people: Croatias Dalmatian Coast knocks the socks of most other cruising groundsWith my wife, Roz, and my old Scottish mate, Patrick, Id bought tickets on a low-price airline from London to Split. Two and a half hours later we were losing altitude over a fairytale fortress on a tiny island. Well sail there for sure, I
If youre in the thinking-about stage of planning a charter vacation, youre probably in the process of collecting information about the cruising ground(s) on your must-do-sometime list. How do you find out about the weather, the sailing conditions, the best itineraries? Tourist guides wont be much help, and your local library probably doesnt stock cruising guides. For me, step one is
As Sunsails Peter Cook says, You never know what will happen on a boat. Enter charter insurance, which is designed to cover you in case of a serious eventmajor loss or damage.In the well-established charter world of the Caribbean, the pattern is industry wide, though the actual amounts differ by company; the variables are the size and age of the boat and the location of the charter.
I was recently confronted with the not-unpleasant conundrum of how to make the best use of a one-week charter in a place (a) Id never sailed before, (b) I am unlikely to return to, and (c) that is too big to sail and see it all in a week. What I consider to be best use involves a pleasant amount of sailing (but not dawn to dusk) and a reasonable amount of time to see the sights ashore and
Myth, mystery, and Midnight Magic evoke childhood adventures on a Lake Michigan charterWe were lost in the woods on Garden Island. The trail we followed from the Native American graveyard had melted into a woodland clearing, leaving us guessing at the path ahead. My brother Xander had even stopped pointing out peculiar vegetation and was instead studying the trail map
A Clean Bottom and No Burglars Nighttime dinghy theft is a major issue in the Caribbean. Even in parts of the United States it is
Editor’s Note: In 1956, Alan Nicol—nicknamed “Stormy” for the weather he seemed to attract—was Francis Chichester’s main crew on Gipsy Moth II, sailing with Chichester
When they think about the Society Islands, most sailors likely conjure the most famous of this French Polynesian group—Tahiti, Bora Bora, perhaps Moorea—the stuff that
Peter Harken needs little introduction in the world of sailing. With his brother, Olaf, he started a shoestring business building collegiate and Olympic class dinghies
The new Windelo 50, which made its U.S. debut in February at the Miami International Boat Show, is an updated version of an earlier launch
Three Grenada men have been charged with two counts of capital murder in the deaths of American cruising sailors Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel. The
Hallberg-Rassy builds carry a reputation of solid offshore cruising boats. However, the forecast for my date with the 40C was among the lightest air the
Sailing hasn’t been a sport of the masses during Cole Brauer’s lifetime. In fact, there’s a full generation of young adults who grew up after
When Cole Brauer crossed the finish line of the Global Solo Challenge in A Coruña, Spain, early today, she was met with scores of fans
The April issue of SAIL is here, and we’ve got your wanderlust covered as we head into spring. Here’s a preview of what you can
