WORLD W
How Chartering Led Two Small-Boat Sailors to a Life-Changing Decision What do Hobie sailors do to relax? They charter a big cat where they can sail all day with a beverage in hand and stay dry! Years ago, a group of Hobie sailors started chartering boats in faraway places, inspired by the fact that the Hobie Worlds was staged at fantastic locations around the globe. My first opportunity to join this group was about 10 years ago in Belize, where we took all 11 cats available in the charter fleet for a weeklong trip. I had my two boys with me; the youngest was eight and the oldest person aboard was 88. A week aboard a Fountaine Pajot Bahia 46 was quite a treat. Several years later, the Hobie sailors were at it again and sought out another Hobie sailor who chartered her own cat named Safari in the British Virgin Islands. Safari is a Lagoon 440 with the steering station on top and plenty of room for everyone to be together as you’re cruising along. With nine aboard, my girlfriend and I became quite smitten with the chartering life and sought to do more trips — especially after falling in love with the Lagoon 440. Last year, we followed Latitude 38 editor Andy Turpin’s lead, after reading his article about sailing a 55-ft Carbon Catana through Tahiti's Leeward Islands. With a group of friends, we flew out to Tahiti and chartered a similar We were thrilled to hear that our article played a role in inspiring John and Monique's French Polynesian wedding.
55-footer from Dream Yachts. For 10 days we toured around Raiatea, Bora Bora and Tahaa, where Monique and I were married on a motu (islet) at the end of the trip. We fell in love with the chartering life and have had the opportunity to go several places and compare several catamarans. Of course, we decided that we needed to find a cat of our own to call home. Deciding on which boat to buy was by no means easy, though. One thing we knew was it had to be a catamaran. The question really came down to whether she should be built for speed or a 'rooma-ran', as they say. The several charters we'd done on different boats made us realize that 90 to 95% of the time we would be anchored in a beautiful cove, relaxing. So, although speed and performance were still important, these were no longer the driving forces behind our decision-making. We really loved the Lagoon 440 that we'd chartered in the British Virgin Islands. The steering station on top had plenty of room for everyone to be together while cruising, and its four staterooms with ensuite bathrooms had plenty of space to comfortably accommodate four couples, without feeling crowded. We also adored its forward cockpit — or 'conversation pit' — for hanging out and visiting. And quite honestly, its performance is perfectly fine. The Lagoon 440 was simply the best choice for us. Once we'd decided on the boat we wanted, the next step was to find one in
ALL PHOTOS MONIQUE BOUCHER & JOHN SCHULTHESS
ith a special report this month from longtime Bay Area sailors on how chartering led to a New Acquisition and a New Lifestyle.
our price range that was in great condition. We went through all the listings we could find, put them into a spreadsheet with their pros and cons, went to visit most of them that were in the States and BVI, then almost gave up and shelved the idea of buying a boat for a year or two — perhaps when we are "more ready," we thought. We'd looked at boats that were coming out of large charter companies and others that were private-party sales. Our goals (or should I say our wishes) came down to finding a non-chartered, 'owner’s version' with low hours on both diesel engines and the generator — a boat that had been owned by 'a little old lady who never used it', right? It took looking at several boats to finally decide what we could live with and what we simply could not live without. We were just about ready to give up when we met a fellow who had just purchased his Lagoon 440 and tricked it out as we would have done — in fact, I recall making notes on how we would make changes on our boat to match his when the time came. We'd called the guy to ask him to preview a boat for us that was in his neck of the woods, to see if it was worth our while to fly cross-country
