world of chartering

This month we offer a roundup of ideas for summer Chartering Relatively Close to Home, plus Charter Notes.

Summertime Chartering

That Won't Break the Bank You may be wearing a wool hat and mittens while reading this, but the sunny days of summer will be here before you know it, so there's no time like the present to nail down your summer sailing plans. Throughout the year we dedicate a lot of ink in these pages to profi ling dreamy charter destinations in faraway places. But we know that for many budgetminded sailors the airfare and travel time required to reach some of them can be a deal breaker. So this month we'll focus on a menu of excellent charter venues that are relatively close to home. The Channel Islands — The fi rst destination on our suggestion list doesn't necessarily require any outlay for airfare. As every Southern California sailor knows, clustered close to the SoCal mainland lies the Channel Islands archipelago, one of the West Coast's unspoiled natural treasures. As a group, they form the Channel Islands National Park. The most popular, Santa Cruz and Catalina, are reachable in a day's sail from charter bases (generally sailing

Unspoiled by modern development, the Sea of Cortez is a nature-lover's paradise. Its waters are clean and abundant with sealife.

schools or 'clubs') in Santa Barbara, Oxnard, Marina del Rey, Long Beach and elsewhere. Despite lying less than 25 miles from the coast, both offer a dramatic contrast to the buzz of suburban or big-city life, and can provide ideal practice for more ambitious chartering or cruising elsewhere. As we often note, Catalina's most popular anchorages, Two Harbors and Avalon, have wellmaintained mooring fi elds for public use, but the backside of the island has many less-traveled anchorages, some offering excellent diving and snorkeling. About 50 miles to the north, Santa Cruz Island — our favorite — has more than a dozen great anchorages as well as many amazing sea caves that can be explored by kayak or dinghy when surge from ground swell is mellow. Lying on the hook under clear, starry skies here, you'll feel as though you're a million miles from mainstream urban living.

Sea of Cortez — With countless wellprotected anchorages carved out of rugged natural landscapes, Mexico's Sea of Cortez is another geographic marvel of the West Coast. Because there's almost no development throughout most of its island-studded expanse, the Sea is a nature-lover's paradise — but, conversely, a bad choice for vacationers who thrive on nightlife, fi ne dining and shopping. One of the big attractions here is the wildlife, both above and below the surface. Bird life, fi sh and marine mammals are all abundant. That, combined with clear, clean water, makes swimming, snorkeling and diving here a high priority for many sailors. As wonderful as we think it is, though, the Sea has always been a sleeper destination for international charterers. So these days, Dream Yacht Charters' recently opened base in La Paz is the only game in town. (Book well in advance.)

Belize — This tiny Western Caribbean nation is an anomaly within Central America, as it was formerly a British — rather than Spanish — colony. The big attraction for most waterborne visitors is excellent snorkeling and diving in clear, warm, tropical waters. Navigation between the many islands and uninhabited cays is simple enough, as it's mostly done by line of sight — with one eye glued to the depth gauge, that is. It is probably

SPREAD & INSET FRED LEBLANC / MAINE WINDJAMMERS ASSOCIATION

the only charter destination we know of where you can sail in 15 feet of water for hours at a time, which explains why both The Moorings and TMM primarily offer catamarans from their bases here.

The Salish Sea — If you're a regular reader you know that we profi led the Pacifi c Northwest's Salish Sea here last month. So we'll simply remind you that this lush mariners' playground offers a seemingly endless variety of forested islands, dreamlike fjords, and wellprotected anchorages. As we noted last month, the May-to-September season is short, and, as a consequence, charter fl eets are relatively small. So it's essential to book well in advance. (Please see our January article.)

Downeast Maine — Without a doubt one of the most stunningly beautiful sailing venues on the East Coast is Downeast Maine, where maritime traditions run deep. Sailing among lush green islands, coves and inlets where proud homes and cottages look out over the water may have you checking the real estate listings before you fl y home. Although some modern bareboats are available here — Morris Yachts is a longtime source — to us, the most enticing

Spread: "Windjamming" in the waters of Downeast Maine can be a great change of pace from bareboat chartering, and the scenery is spectacular. Inset: A traditional lobster bake is included in every cruise.

option is to book a berth on a historic (or replica) schooner from the local "windjammer" fl eets. (Check the websites of the Maine Windjammer Association and the North End Shipyard Schooners.) Trips of three to seven days are scheduled throughout the summer months, with many itineraries focused around festive gatherings called schooner gams, where many vessels converge on a picturesque, historic seaport. Although hands-on participation with the sailing chores is not required, most who sign up for such trips are eager to help trim sails and take a turn at the wheel. Fine meals, often including freshbaked goodies, are a highlight of such trips — and a traditional Maine lobster bake ashore is almost always on the itinerary of each trip. The one caveat about windjammer cruises is that most of these vessels have relatively open layouts below decks, which translates to minimal privacy in your personal berth. While this openness tends to build crew camaraderie, we'd suggest you bring ear plugs in case your crew includes a snore-monster or two. The Chesapeake — Acclaimed as the USA's largest natural estuary, the maze-like waterways of the Chesapeake are fascinating and fun to explore, not only because of their natural beauty, but because every twist and turn is steeped in early American history. Although lush and green, the western shore of the Chesapeake is dotted with urban centers such as Washington D.C., Baltimore and Annapolis (where bareboat charter bases are located). But by contrast traveling to the so-called Eastern Shore is like stepping back in time. Picture-perfect antebellum-style homes look out across serpentine waterways where fl at-bottomed crab boats have worked the shallows for generations. Quaint waterside towns such as Oxford and St. Michael were small but essential commercial ports even before the American Revolution. The one thing that's a bit tough for West Coast sailors to wrap their heads around is that sooner or later you're bound to go aground — or at least tap the bottom — as the soft sand of the narrow rivers and tributaries here is constantly shifting, and consequently defi es mapmakers' best efforts to chart depths accurately. But as local sailors like to say, "You haven't been around unless you've been aground." In our experience, the soft sand was easy to back out of. Had it not been, we simply would have had to wait for the change of tide to get unstuck.

The Florida Keys — Needless to say, sailing and other watersports are big all over Florida, but for our money the most exciting place to charter is the Florida Keys, where bareboats and other crewed charter yachts are based. The fun-loving spirit of Ernest Hemingway's favorite town is pervasive year-round, and a variety of safe anchorages are within a day's sail away. As with Caribbean islands in similar latitudes, daytime temperatures can be hot, hot, hot and humid, so the water is generally warm enough

Many Belizeans live a traditional lifestyle tied to the sea. It's a pleasure to explore their shallow waters aboard a modern charter cat.

to swim or snorkel in for hours. The Keys are considered to be a year-round charter destination, with the LATITUDE / ANDY May and September 'shoulder seasons' being our favorite times to visit due to smaller crowds of tourists. We'll take a break here from this onceover-lightly survey of summertime charter possibilities, but we hope we've inspired you do your own research and dig a little deeper into the possibilities, because, as we said, summer will be here before you know it. Wouldn't it be grand to fl ip over the calendar and see the notation "Charter with the family?"

— andy

Charter Notes Our solitary Charter Note this month is on frequent fl yer miles, about which we'd like to share some thoughts. If you're like us, you've probably amassed a mountain of them over the years through outright. If we sound a bit sour on this subject, it's because we have twice had our entire stash of miles wiped out by a particular airline because we failed to keep track of the use'em-or-lose-'em date. Yeah, stupid, we admit it. In any case, we've decided the whole freaky fl yer mess is a costly tease, the worst part of which may be that you're likely to sit on them for years waiting for a 'special-enough' occasion to cash them in. So we say why not pick a destination where you'd like to vacation — that is, a sailing vacation — and burn those miles before the administering airline goes belly up, or the sky falls in? Better yet, gift them to your kids and invite them to take a sailing vacay with you! Then the whole transaction would be money well spent.

Navigation in the Chesapeake isn't too tricky, as hazards are well marked. But don't be surprised if you touch bottom in the sandy rivers.

credit card purchases, and let them sit like a special bottle of wine for some special occasion. As comforting as this reasoning may seem, most fi nancial analysts would tell you that due to the annual fee for owning such credit cards, the whole frequent fl yer concept pencils out to being a bad deal for you, as it takes years to amass enough miles to go someplace special — by which time you may have spent enough in fees to buy the lousy ticket — andy

DISCOVER THE DIFFERENCE DISCOVER THE DIFFERENCE

NOW REOPENED! CHECK WEBSITE FOR AVAILABILITY

CATAMARAN

CHARTERS & LESSONS

Discounts on Winter/Spring Classes & Charters

NEW Sea of Cortez Charter Base

Great Escapes Close to Home

*The sun will shine, the warm breeze will blow. Our team provide a personal service and truly care about your charter experience. Since Services will be limited, but TMM will be chartering 1979 friendly and memorable staff have welcomed our clients, delivering first-hand local knowledge of the British Virgin Islands. Year after year we strive to deliver this experience with new boats entering our fl eet. whilst maintaining a diverse fleet of modern yachts at competitive prices.

All the information you need to book your charter can be found on our website, www.sailtmm.comAll the information you need to book your charter can be found on our website, www.sailtmm.comTo book your charter go to www.sailtmm.com For additional information please contact: For additional information please contact: 1-800-633-0155 1-800-633-0155

or charter@sailtmm.com or charter@sailtmm.com

Representing these fine yacht manufacturers: Representing these fine yacht manufacturers: Sea of Cortez & San Diego, California

• Bareboat Charters • Skippered Charters • Private & Group Charters • ASA Sailing School • Learn to Sail Vacations • Private & Group Lessons

www.charter-catamaran.com

(619)517-5630 sail@westcoastmultihulls.com