CHARTERING: A Taste of the Cruising Lifestyle

By Ray Bryan

Boats come in all shapes and sizes—and a wide range of prices—as do boat charters. Whether sail or power, catamaran or monohull, bare or crewed, a charter boat makes for a fantastic vacation experience. If you have a craving for the cruising lifestyle, a charter boat vacation is a fun, economical way to satisfy it. I highly recommend sampling the lifestyle before you make the leap.

In today’s charter market, most people are simply looking for a fun week of vacation on the water in a great location. A week of partying in the BVI on a big catamaran with multiple families aboard, plus a captain and a cook, might be just what you need. Or, maybe you want a peaceful week for two in idyllic waters exploring new places. Either way, you have many options through the major charter companies, managed fleets, and private owner-operators. There’s also the option of using a broker to find the best boat for your group or shopping directly with the companies. While these kinds of charters may give you a taste of the cruising lifestyle, it is likely only to be a nibble. Fortunately, there are ways to get a more nuanced understanding of the cruising lifestyle while still having an enjoyable vacation experience. Chartering a bareboat can be one way to get closer to the cruising lifestyle. But, a boat Latitudes & Attitudes 43

with a crew that can share their onboard experiences might be even more appealing. The boats that charter bare, like many charter boats in the market, tend to be coastal cruisers, a popular choice for the cruising lifestyle. These boats are readily available, both new and used, and a good fit for many pocketbooks. Still, many cruisers choose other styles of boats, making some makes and models more popular and more desirable for the cruising lifestyle. Why not avail yourself of some other choices? Maybe a blue-water boat—a strong, durable, sea-kindly boat made to last—is to your taste. Or, maybe you have always thought it would be fun to sail a ketch, a yawl, or a schooner-rigged vessel. You are unlikely to find those choices in the bareboat fleets. If you do find and charter one, it might be a good idea to have a knowledgeable captain aboard. Longer charters may also be a way to get a more satisfying experience. Crewed or bare, more time aboard will give you more of the feeling of living aboard. A more extended charter may offer you the chance to get more involved with meal planning while underway, re-provisioning, storing goods aboard, and tossing those that did not last. The extra times creates the possibility of traveling greater distances—perhaps with a few shorter

passages mixed in—or the experience of clearing out from one country and into another. Finding a charter boat that will get you a more authentic cruising lifestyle experience may involve a bit more research. You will probably need to look beyond the major charter companies and fleet operators, which could put you into the “niche” charter market. Here you will find the atypical boats and crews that can offer you something a little different. While some of the niche market boats are listed with the clearinghouses, many are not, so brokers may be a resource for identifying candidate boats from those listed with the broker clearinghouses.

When using a broker, be sure to explain exactly what you want. Clarify that the charter needs to be both fun and provide exposure to more of the cruising lifestyle. Otherwise, you may find yourself back aboard one of their favorite big catamarans for that “party week” vacation. Explain what you might like as the boat, the kind of background for the crew, how involved you want to be while aboard, and the destinations you would find interesting. The broker should search through available boats and present you with options that most meet your needs. When searching yourself, be aware that most boats in the niche market that are candidates

for the “authentic cruising lifestyle experience” will be individually owned operations with small advertising budgets. If you use one of the big search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo!, etc.), you will need to dig beyond the first few pages of the search results. The major charter companies and brokers will dominate those first few pages. Try various keywords in your searches and go several pages deep in the results. Alas, this can be a frustrating experience with mixed results. You can also try the same booking sites you use to find a condo, villa, or winter ski house when you travel. These are surprisingly good places to find those niche charter operators. The boats get buried in all the land-based listings, but you can find them using the sites’ search filters for things like “unique stays” or “accommodation types.” Try narrowing the results by searching specifically for boats or yachts. When using boat and yacht search filters, you can keep your destination broad while returning a manageable number of options to pursue. A more off-the-beaten-path destination can also allow you to savor the cruising lifestyle more fully. Places like the BVI might be an ideal party spot, but the right boat and crew can still make the Virgin Islands an excellent place to experience a bit of the cruising lifestyle. So can charter destinations found throughout the world! The Caribbean has several great cruising grounds, as does the South Pacific, the Mediterranean, and places beyond. There’s no need to forego tropical weather or beautiful scenery for your cruising experience; great cruising grounds and great chartering locations go together, with some offering more off-the-beaten-path opportunities than others. For example, in the Caribbean, the Grenadines tend to be less crowded and a bit more remote than the Virgins yet has many similar attributes. A voyage amid the islands of Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Martinique can provide another cultural and geographic experience without losing that Caribbean flavor. Why should the French hoard all the fun, natural beauty, and great food? Exploring cruising destinations around the globe can offer unique anchorages and different sailing experiences as part of your next charter vacation. Your cruising lifestyle vacation should still have all the elements of a good charter vacation. Eating well, drinking, dancing, swimming, snorkeling, reading, relaxing, hiking, shopping, sailing—all can be part of the experience along with that extra element of more cruising lifestyle exposure.