SAIL AWAY

on your dream holiday this year with the latest news and off ers

Your Island Sanctuary

Ushering in a new era for Caribbean holiday home communities, SILENT-RESORTS and EcoIsland Development have announced Club Ki’ama Bahamas, the world’s fi rst equity club to offer ultra-sustainable solar residences and carbon neutral solar yachts.

Club Ki’ama is located within the new Ki’ama Bahamas enclave on Elizabeth Island, a private island in Elizabeth Harbour. It represents a one-of-a-kind co-ownership opportunity that combines luxurious solar-powered, oceanfront homes with a fl eet of solarpowered and crewed yachts, as well as electric day boats, a beach club, spa and restaurant. Silent-resorts.com

CRUISING THE UK

We asked North Sail for some of its favourite UK cruising destinations which, if you are planning a UK holiday, might help you choose your stop-overs.

Up fi rst is a visit to Wales with Pwllheli, Abersoch and the Llyn Peninsula in Wales, a protected Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is also said to be the best sailing venue in Wales. What more could you ask for?

Always a popular destination down on the South Coast is Devon, which boasts wonderful locations such as Plymouth, Dartmouth and Salcombe. A very popular Plymouth Sound anchorage is Cawsand Bay, although there is a quieter alternative in Barn Pool, north of the Bridge Reef. You might want to combine a Plymouth trip with July’s SailGP. Then, after Plymouth, why not carry on eastwards to Salcombe and Dartmouth.

Of course, you might already be familiar with the Solent area (pictured), but if you are not it is a wonderful place to visit, with so many choices to moor be it on the Isle of Wight or on the mainland. Newtown Creek or the Beaulieu River, make a base and explore the many treasures to be found here.

From south to north, Scotland has some of the best cruising waters in the world. Head to the Kyles of Bute and the Isle of Arran for sheltered cruising amongst small islands. For those looking for dramatic scenery, whirlpools and whisky, the Inner Hebrides is the place for you. www.northsails.com

LAST-MINUTE DEALS

Think you have missed out on the best holidays this summer? If you are fairly fl exible about where and when you want to go, keep an eye out for last-minute cancellations and special deals. As well as a dream getaway, you will get a great price too.

Dream Yacht Charter, for example, has a dedicated special offer page where you can fi nd 10 – 30 per cent off a whole range of holidays including, when we looked, Polynesia, Seychelles, Guadeloupe, Palma de Mallorca and St. Martin with prices as low as £714 per person for a seven-night By The Cabin Caribbean holiday on board a Fountaine Pajot Ipanema catamaran.

PlainSailing.com also got in touch about a couple of tempting cancellations offers: n Nautitech 40 catamaran, Trogir, Croatia, 4 – 11 June n Sun Odyssey 439, Dubrovnik, Croatia, 2 – 9 July Even if these are not still available, you can be sure others will come up. ww.dreamyachtcharter.co.uk/special-offers

It is a shame that snorkelling gear is not on board as standard, but you can probably fi t them in your hand-luggage or you can buy them locally. Image: Patryk Kosmider / Shutterstock

What Covid-19 did for yacht charters

Covid-19 triggered changes to almost all aspects of life – including how you go about chartering a yacht or catamaran.

When the Covid pandemic was fi rst identifi ed, the world came to a virtual standstill. Travel was banned, and people, businesses and whole industries were locked down. Thankfully, over the last two years we have found a way to live alongside the virus, but there have been changes - often dramatic - to many aspects of our lives.

This includes the way in which yacht and catamaran charters are managed, so what is new for the 2022 season? The main difference is the advent of digital solutions to allow a ‘contactless check-in’ or to communicate with the charter company, such as offering boat familiarisation guided by a smartphone App.

As well as getting you to personally check that everything listed is on board, the better apps also allow you to take photographs or video of any issues, to communicate with the base during the week and can even update you on weather conditions. Apps have been on the horizon for a number of years, but Covid has really accelerated their implementation. Like them or loathe them, they are probably here to stay.

Other changes are more obvious, such as a focus on cleaner boats - some charter companies boast of revolutionary cleaning techniques to ensure that the boat is completely virus-free, whilst a handful of charter companies have even chosen not to offer ‘early check-in’ in order to give themselves time to get their boats as clean as possible.

Likewise, a similarly expected change is that snorkelling gear is no longer available - it used to be included as standard (mainly so you can check the hull, or see what is dragging the anchor, but also for checking out the local sea-life), but you will not fi nd them for obvious hygiene reasons. Plainsailing.com

Image: Kite-Rin / Shutterstock

HAPPY TRAVELLERS

Once you have chosen where you are going on holiday create an itinerary of the places you would like to visit day-by-day and review the nautical charts for the areas where you will be sailing. It is a good idea to plot a route for each section of your itinerary and make a note of distances, sailing times, navigational hazards and anything else you need to consider. It is also a good idea to go easy on the fi rst day of your holiday, whilst you get used to the boat, so plan an easy sail for your departure day.

FURTHER INFORMATION n Nautilus Yachting: www.nautilusyachting.com n Nisos Yacht Charter: www.nisosyachtcharter.com n Seafarer: www.seafarersailing.co.uk n BVI Charters: www.bviyachtcharters.com n Ocean Elements: www.ocean-elements.co.uk n The Moorings: www.moorings.co.uk n Dream Yacht Charter: www.dreamyachtcharter.co.uk n Mallorca Yacht Charter: www.mallorcayachtcharter.eu n Tall Ships Youth Trust: tallships.org

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