world of chartering

This month we explain Why Splurging Now Will Pay Off for Decades and take a look at the One-Way Charter Concept, plus miscellaneous Charter Notes.

Weighing the Options:

Can You Afford to Stay Home? To our way of thinking, a stint of vacation sailing far from the pressures of the workaday world is one of the most life-enriching and soul-nourishing things a sailor can do. As we've observed countless times, even if you're stressed to the max when the trip begins, by the time you're a half day into it you'll have traded your mundane worries for a carefree smile. There's no denying, though, that for most of us, taking an exotic sailing vacation is a bit of a splurge. So many would-be vacationers talk themselves into staying home no matter how desperately they need a change of pace. If that sounds like you, read on. We've made it our mission this month to lay out several key reasons that vacationing — specifi cally yacht vacationing — should be a high priority on your 'must do' list. It seems to be human nature to procrastinate, especially about things that are non-essential. But for certain aspects of life there are 'windows of opportunity' that can close before you know it. A

Need to change your attitude? It would be hard to fi xate on your troubles back home when visiting an idyllic charter venue such as this.

prime example is spending quality time with adolescent kids or aging parents. If you include either or both on a fun-fi lled sailing vacation to some dreamy, sunkissed destination, the special memories created along the way will likely endure for decades — long after you've paid off those once-daunting travel expenses. Take it from us, you may assume that your kids will be able and willing to join you on future trips, but as they get older their lives get much more complicated and demands on their free time often leave few opportunities even to hang out — let alone travel — with their mom and dad. Similar limitations apply to parents and grandparents. As we all know, the window of time when they'll be active and agile enough to participate on a liveaboard boat trip could close quickly and without warning. The following are a couple of real-life examples of what we're talking about. Many years ago, my brother and I set up an "all-guy" sailing trip to British Columbia's Desolation Sound with our four sons, who were then between eight and 12 years old. They had a blast hiking to waterfalls, swimming in mountain lakes, and swinging on the famous rope swing in Prideaux Haven. But as we wove our way through the lush, pine-covered fjords, we wondered if the jaw-dropping beauty of the primeval landscapes around us was registering with the boys. They seemed a lot more focused on playing cards and goofing around belowdecks than bonding with nature. These days, more than 20 years later, our boys are busy with their careers and have kids of their own. But every time we all get together for a family reunion, the boys invariably share a few laughs and fond memories from that bareboat cruise long ago. Another time we invited my wife's ever-energetic father and his wife to join us on an interisland cruise in the Eastern Caribbean. They were in their 60s at the time. For them, being unaccustomed to the sailing life, it was a huge adventure. They absolutely loved it, and vowed to join us on a future cruise. Sadly, though, they never did, and now Grandpa is in his 80s. But he still lights up whenever he is reminded about that trip, which had three generations of family members aboard, all equally enjoying the sailing, snorkeling and celebrating. Some sailors contend that it makes no sense to charter if you own your own boat. But we don't buy that reasoning, especially if you're working toward the goal of cruising internationally. The experience of piloting a similar-sized boat in unfamiliar waters, and caring for its complex onboard systems, is excellent practice for cruising. Trip-planning, navigation, sail-handling, anchoring and provisioning are all part of day-to-day life during a charter cruise, just as they are when cruising. Consider this also: If you are thinking of taking friends or family members on an extended cruise with you — or on a long ocean passage — you'd be wise to spend time with them during a week or more in foreign waters in order to see how they handle minor challenges in unfamiliar surroundings.

LATITUDE / ANDY

Sunset on the Huahine Lagoon. As you think back over time, special memories of scenes like this can stay with you for decades.

As we said, vacationing under sail can not only be therapeutic for battling the stresses of mainstream living, but it can also allow you to cement important family bonds and give you hands-on practice in the key elements of cruising. So if you're still hung up on the 'cost of admission', we suggest you look at it this way. Instead of asking yourself, "Can I afford to?" ask "Can I afford not to?" — andy

Maximum Exposure Via

One-Directional Chartering In most popular chartering venues the vast majority of sailors do a loop tour, ending up at the same charter base where they started. But we'd like to introduce another option that will let you maximize the sights you'll see without doing any backtracking: one-way chartering. You probably won't ever fi nd this option actively promoted on a website or brochure, but many companies will allow it, providing downtown marina, then sail off the wind for all but about 20 miles of your cruise, visiting every major island of the Societies along the way. Your group would experience the exhilaration of offshore sailing between the atolls, plus an overnight passage, all with the relative comfort of beam- to deep-reaching wind angles — conditions potentially mild enough that you could invite your grandma to come along, or your daughter's untested new boyfriend. Another thing we love about onedirectionals is that you can visit a greater variety of anchorages, towns, beach bars and/or dive sites in a week or 10 days than you could possibly see if you had to backtrack to square one at the end of your trip. Having done several 10-day onedirectionals in the Eastern Caribbean, we know how cool this can be. Here are two examples: Once a few of us fl ew to St. Maarten and delivered two big cats upwind to Antigua — yeah, sort of a 'hate mission', but fun nonetheless in a masochistic sort of way. The next day the rest of our entourage arrived and over the next 10 days we island-hopped off the wind past the still-smoldering volcano at Montserrat, on to Nevis, St. Barth and St. Martin (French side), then did an overnight to the British Virgins, arriving at the Round Rock cut at dawn — all without a single mile of upwind bashing. (At the end we paid a delivery crew to take the boat back to St. Maarten.) Another year, with a different set of

that you pay for the extra days and crew wages required to return the boat to its home port. Split among several couples, or a boatload of individuals, the extra cost shouldn't be too painful, especially when compared with the advantages of one-directional chartering, which we'll outline here. For starters, one-way itineraries can eliminate most if not all upwind sailing (or motoring). And that can be a huge advantage if you're bringing along friends or family members who have delicate stomachs or are otherwise unfamiliar with bashing and crashing upwind. Here's an example: Out in Tahiti, if you could arrange to have a big charter cat delivered from the charter base at Raiatea (in the Leeward Islands group) roughly 100 miles upwind to the Papeete waterfront, you and your guests could step aboard at the capital city's swank new

One of the rewards of arriving at St. Barth was sampling the authentic French pastries at the local 'pâtisserie'.

sailing mates, we all fl ew to Guadeloupe and island-hopped to Les Saintes, then to the Isle Pigeon nature preserve, on to Antigua, Barbuda, St. Barth, Tintamarre, St. Maarten (Dutch side), and overnight to the BVI. As you might imagine, your captain will spend a good deal of time clearing in and out on a multi-nation trip, but that's all part of the fascinating cultural experience. When planning such complex itinerary, we'd suggest allotting at least a day or two at each stop for exploring ashore and relaxing, and making interisland passages only every second or third day. However you fi ne-tune your game plan, though, we're sure you'll be thrilled by the variation of the places you visit. Other destination options that might work well for one-directional cruises are Croatia, the Turquoise Coast of Turkey and the Pacifi c Northwest's Salish Sea. So why not get out your atlas or fi re up Google Earth, and start route-planning today for your own dream cruise? — andy

The sleek Leopard 39 'Balajan' glides across the Central Bay.

Charter Notes As regular readers know, we absolutely love sailing in French Polynesia, especially to charter in Tahiti's Leewards. While there last month we learned that a new discount carrier, French Bee, has begun direct service from San Francisco, with three pricing options based on amenity and luggage options. Also, United Airlines is expected to begin fl ights from the West Coast later this year. Believe it or not we try hard to avoid editorial blunders, but last month we made a major screw-up in our annual Bay Area charter boat listings, while introducing you to a new addition to the fl eet. So we'll give it another try here:

Balajan: Our Leopard 39 catamaran is a perfect setting for sharing a special moment with friends, family or for a memorable small-group occasion. Prepare your next charter vacation by practicing your catamaran sailing skills with our Captain, ASA certifi ed catamaran instructor. • Carries up to 6 guests. • Berthed in Marina Bay, Richmond. • Available for private charters, special events. • Price all-inclusive, including Captain and First Mate. • Preparation for bareboat catamaran charters. • (510) 710-1968; www.catbalajan. com; www.facebook.com/catbalajan; captaindaniel@catbalajan.com

All the information you need to book your charter can be found on our website www.sailtmm.com

Locations in San Diego & Mexico CATAMARAN

CHARTERS & LESSONS

• Bareboat & Skippered Charters • 5 & 7 Day Learn to Sail Vacations • Private & Group Lessons • ASA Certification • Flotillas & Rallies 13th Annual Catalina Multihull Rally

August 16-19 Book Your Cat Now!

www.Charter-Catamaran.com

(619)517-5630 sail@westcoastmultihulls.com