rikki davis at churchill yacht partners
charter news luxury yachting vacations | volume 2 | issue 2
You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore —Christopher Columbus.
Rediscovering the Virgin Islands from fun nightlife and fabulous restaurants to the loveliest beaches where you’ll rarely find another set of footsteps on the sand.
Contact us to plan your next luxury yacht charter vacation. Rikki Davis Yachts at Churchill Yacht Partners orchestrates luxury yacht charters for an elite clientele, specializing in yachts—power and sail—from 60 (18m) to 400 feet (120m) in length. We ensure the luxury charter yachts we offer meet the finest standards suitable to our client’s expectations through personal knowledge of the yachts and their crew and of the world’s most enchanting locales. give us a call or visit us online to find out how we can help you plan your dream yachting vacation.
tel 954.761.3237 www.churchillyachts.com charter@churchillyachts.com
With the closing of the 2012 election season we said good-bye to the nightly political ads that consumed our evenings and sent our thoughts and prayers to those affected by the storms in New York/New Jersey. Storms like these disrupt our daily lives and create a domino effect for travelers worldwide, revealing a need for charterers to consider obtaining special insurance designed specifically for luxury yacht charters. These policies cannot be obtained through your usual insurance company but we can direct you towards some of the most respected agents in the industry. We’ve had a very busy last couple months. Besides our annual trip to the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, Maggie Vale, one of our charter specialists, visited Turkey on board S/Y Regina. The captain and crew showed her the best places for a luxury charter in the Eastern Med and we are gathering this information and a selection of the best charter yachts in the region for Summer 2013. Early in December we were at the Antigua Charter Show, a broker-only show, where over 100 yachts were on display for us to inspect. For this winter/spring season we explore a classic and always exciting destination: The Virgin Islands—the western island group of the Leeward Islands which forms the border between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. The archipelago is a consolidation of three island groups, but one great charter experience—The U.S. Virgin Islands, The British Virgin Islands and the Spanish Virgin Islands. Chartering a yacht is by far the best way to get around. U.S. Virgin Islands | The best known of the group, the USVI are comprised of St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas. This area has so much more to offer than the traditional beach vacation. Charter guests can enjoy a true cultural experience through historical tours, culinary encounters, parades and fairs. Walking adventures around St. Thomas
and St. Croix feature architecture that represents the various colonies of the islands. Make a work-out of the “99 Steps” on St. Thomas or enjoy the thrilling 700-foot skylift to the top of Charlotte Amalie. St. John offers a breathtaking National Park and pristine beaches for a relaxing walk. British Virgin Islands | The BVI consist of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada and Jost Van Dyke, along with over fifty smaller islands and cays. After exploring Road Town— where most of the residents live—enjoy snorkeling off deserted beaches, scuba diving and horseback riding. Be sure to visit The Baths in Virgin Gorda, where huge boulders seem to have been arranged by a playful giant to provide a myriad of rock pools and trails. If you wish to dine off the yacht, you’ll find wonderful restaurants that will please the most discriminating palate. Anegada and Jost Van Dyke are islands of coral sand and their beaches are the loveliest in the region. Anchor off and take the tender ashore. Chances are you won’t see another set of footsteps on the sand. Spanish Virgin Islands | The SVI—formerly called the Passage Islands, and also known as the Puerto Rican Virgin Islands—consist primarily of Culebra and Vieques (east of the main island of Puerto Rico) plus multiple smaller islands and islets. For guests flying into San Juan, making the SVI the start of a charter is ideal. Touring San Juan provides a thorough history lesson: the island was claimed by Christopher Columbus during his second voyage to the Americas in 1493. When you leave San Juan, you’ll come upon Culebra where you can visit the Culebra National Wildlife Refuge or veer south to Vieques. The Vieques National Wildlife Refuge is formerly a U.S. Navy facility. An hour or so to the east you will arrive into St. Thomas. We wish you a great holiday season, a happy new year and we look forward to helping you plan your next yacht charter. —Maggie, Rikki, Mary, Els, Lara-Jo & Ben