Holiday charter advice, please.

[richardcamm]

Hello all,

Finally took the plunge and registered after over a year of lurking and reading others posts. Never really felt I had anything to offer as I am a novice of only 2 years.

But to my question, my wife and I went on a one week bareboat charter last year to Croatia, Zadar to be precise. We loved it, the good bits were safe sailing with lots of choices for safe ports and anchorage opportunities.
We are ready to book this years holiday and are looking for advise, we did go to the boat show last week and asked lots of charter companies but ended up with more questions than answers. We were thinking of maybe the BVI's as its my 40th birthday but is it worth over five thousand pounds compared to, say Ionian Isles at less than half the price. We can afford the dearer but both being new to sailing would the latter be just as much fun and twice the value for money. We are wide open to other suggestions, looking to go around late June !

Now the exciting part, all the varied replies !

Many thanks, Richard.

 

[KellysEye]

I keeep saying this, have a look at www.latesail.com they guarantee to beat any price and there is a name your price. That will allow you to check boat prices in different areas. Bear in mind that the cheapest airline prices are Med Easy Jet three months in advance of departure and Caribbean BA/Virgin six months.

 

[mjcoon]

... We were thinking of maybe the BVI's as its my 40th birthday ...

Re BVIs in late June: see threads BVIs - Top Tips/Places to see etc.? and BVI's in July/August.

You don't say whether you are limited to one week: BVIs is a long way to go for just one week and we did not consider that in summer it was really worth the extra travel hassle/time, even though we were there for two.

Mike.

 

[Finbar]

The Ionian is beautiful, with easygoing sailing, tends to be calm in the morning, with a light afternoon breeze. Perfect for a leisurely start, drop the anchor somewhere nice for lunch, and sail on to the evening harbour. It can be busy with flotillas, but you can generally fit in somewhere. Mediterranean mooring just like Croatia. Some bays are breezier, and like anywhere else, the wind can get up.

The BVI are in the tradewinds, so generally 16-18knots of wind all day, more in a squall. Sir Francis Drake Channel is sheltered, so a weeks sailing is often a beat up, then downwind home. Mostly anchor or pick up and pay for a mooring buoy. Lots of nice bays and famous bars where you can try a painkiller. Anegada is well worth a visit, about 15m offshore, but off limits to some charter companies.

So pick the Ionian for very relaxed sailing, or BVI for a little more breeze. In fact why not do both, in which case I would start in Greece.

 

[aBod]

Good Morning Richard,
I hope you don't mind me contacting. I just noticed an old post stating you were looking for informaiton and advice on sailing holidays. I am from www.OneStopSailing.com, a small advice based sailing agency and I hope we can help.

The BVIs aren't neccessarily as expensive as you might think. We have boats available from just £1,130 per week throughout April and flights range from £600 to £1000 per person.

But I would agree with Finbar, the Ionian Islands are very beautiful, not neccessarily great for sailing as during the high season it can be quite light. However either side of the summer holidays you can often see force 4 to 5s, I had a great charter in May last year. The prices of not only chartering a yacht but also eating in Greece has gone up, it could be as much as three time the price of a week in Croatia.

It all depends on what you're looking for, if you want any more infromation don't hesitate to get in touch; alasdair@onestopsailing.com

Many thanks.
Alasdair

 

[Moonshining]

Hello all,

Finally took the plunge and registered after over a year of lurking and reading others posts. Never really felt I had anything to offer as I am a novice of only 2 years.

But to my question, my wife and I went on a one week bareboat charter last year to Croatia, Zadar to be precise. We loved it, the good bits were safe sailing with lots of choices for safe ports and anchorage opportunities.
We are ready to book this years holiday and are looking for advise, we did go to the boat show last week and asked lots of charter companies but ended up with more questions than answers. We were thinking of maybe the BVI's as its my 40th birthday but is it worth over five thousand pounds compared to, say Ionian Isles at less than half the price. We can afford the dearer but both being new to sailing would the latter be just as much fun and twice the value for money. We are wide open to other suggestions, looking to go around late June !

Now the exciting part, all the varied replies !

Many thanks, Richard.

Late June in the BVI is getting towards the end of the season, so it should be relatively quiet and certainly cheaper than the winter high season. It is the beginning of the hurricane season though, so the weather could be getting less settled. It will certainly be getting hotter by then.

From early July through to the end of October Horizon Yacht charters do a 10 days for 7 low season deal. I'm not sure if that's matched by other operators, but it does make it better value.

 

[jordanbasset]

Not sure when you are going but the Ionian is hard to beat, although if possible would avoid the school holidays. Lots of companies and as already has been mentioned Latesail do have some bargains. Also plenty of cheap flights and prices to eat out are still reasonable, especially if you look at where liveaboards are eating. When we eat out we could have 2 courses and a beer each for 20 euros total,(cheapest was 15 euros) although of course you can pay a lot more, but even in the more expensive tourist restaurants you will struggle to pay over 40 euros.
For me it would be the Ionian, but also consider the rest of Greece, the Peloponese is quieter and very nice.

 

[mjcoon]

... I am from www.OneStopSailing.com, a small advice based sailing agency and I hope we can help.

Your web site needs some proof-reading. PM me with an offer if interested!

Mike.

 

[GlennG]

I too am finally looking for some sailing in a place that's warm and clear (unlike the east coast!). Wife fancies Croatia, so seems a good starting point. Looking at two weeks beginning September.

I want to charter a boat of up to 40' for the two of us. The challenge is that just about every boat I've seen is a 'holiday' version, e.g. full of tiny cabins. I'd imagine that it would be rather uncomfortable in a warm climate.

Does anyone know of charterers with non-holiday version boats - something centre-cockpit with larger aft cabin?

 

[mjcoon]

... Wife fancies Croatia, so seems a good starting point. Looking at two weeks beginning September.

... I'd imagine that it would be rather uncomfortable in a warm climate.

Croatia in September (especially late September) is nowhere near as hot as, say, Turkey in July. Not something to worry about, in my experience. (Which is varied, see Yachting holiday trips; 1974 to present)

Mike.

 

[Tranona]

I too am finally looking for some sailing in a place that's warm and clear (unlike the east coast!). Wife fancies Croatia, so seems a good starting point. Looking at two weeks beginning September.

I want to charter a boat of up to 40' for the two of us. The challenge is that just about every boat I've seen is a 'holiday' version, e.g. full of tiny cabins. I'd imagine that it would be rather uncomfortable in a warm climate.

Does anyone know of charterers with non-holiday version boats - something centre-cockpit with larger aft cabin?

Most unlikely. Charter boats have to earn their crust and that is determined by the number of berths. You will NOT find a 40 footer uncomfortable for two people for 2 weeks. Remember you are living outdoors for most of the time and down below the boats have very spacious cabins and lots of hatches for ventilation. Had a 37 footer for 10 years in the Med. Even with two aft cabins, never found it too small for the two of us.

 

[KellysEye]

>Does anyone know of charterers with non-holiday version boats - something centre-cockpit with larger aft cabin?

By definition charter boats come in the charter version. The only option is to charter a private boat but I wouldn't recommend it. If there is a problem with a charter boat they will replace it, private owners can't do that.

I've sailed many 40 foor charter boats and never felt the cabins were too small. Bear in mind that in warm climates you spend very little time below decks, most of the time you will be on deck.

 

[Paddy_N_Murphy]

As for the original post - I / we went to Antigua with relatively little experience (still have little !), and have been the Med ever since.

Carrib sounds ideal to many, but I think it firstly suits the large (obvious) Blue Water type cruisers for the swell, and as above - the wind tends to blow 24/7.

I felt that for liveaboards who like to be loafing around or out on a free hook in sand it may suit, but for me a Holiday is also about getting ashore too - eating out in Taverna's on the rocks etc.

We did not find this at all in Antigua - but I accept BVI's may be different.

We chose Antigua as it was one week only and a single flight made it do-able. BVI's has more buggering about to get there and back - eating into the One Week.

June : Greece or Turkey please.

I too am finally looking for some sailing in a place that's warm and clear (unlike the east coast!). Wife fancies Croatia, so seems a good starting point. Looking at two weeks beginning September.

I want to charter a boat of up to 40' for the two of us. The challenge is that just about every boat I've seen is a 'holiday' version, e.g. full of tiny cabins. I'd imagine that it would be rather uncomfortable in a warm climate.

Does anyone know of charterers with non-holiday version boats - something centre-cockpit with larger aft cabin?

Look at the independents.
I too like to have the space, and we have found that there is one or two 40CC in Turkey, or some 42's that have a healthy sized forecabin.

 

[Whiskey Bravo]

As for the original post - I / we went to Antigua with relatively little experience (still have little !), and have been the Med ever since.

Carrib sounds ideal to many, but I think it firstly suits the large (obvious) Blue Water type cruisers for the swell, and as above - the wind tends to blow 24/7.

I felt that for liveaboards who like to be loafing around or out on a free hook in sand it may suit, but for me a Holiday is also about getting ashore too - eating out in Taverna's on the rocks etc.

We did not find this at all in Antigua - but I accept BVI's may be different.

We chose Antigua as it was one week only and a single flight made it do-able. BVI's has more buggering about to get there and back - eating into the One Week.

We're just back from the BVI's and would echo what's been said about winds and swell. In 2 weeks we only had 3 days when the wind didn't top F5, the rest of the time F6/7 was the norm. The swells were recorded by local weather forecasters at 6-7 feet with 9ft forecast for Anegada region[so we didn't go]. There was also more rain than normal, especially the first week. Talking to locals they said it was the 'Christmas winds' which are still persisting.
We were in a 33foot Bavaria which coped very well.

We did get ashore every night and generally had a great time.
However we still have a Turkish trip & 2 to Greece to come,, so hoping for a little bit more 'relaxing' sailing in the future.

Wherever you go, enjoy it.

 

[TeeRev]

For us it depends a lot on the time of year, these days we tend to head for the Med around June time to avoid the worst of the crowds and the Caribbean around Nov/Dec to get affordable prices. May/June should be fine out there though as Low/Mid Season doesn’t end until early July.

Our first proper sailing trip was a flotilla on a 32’ in the Ionian in June and our second was a flotilla on a 32’ in the BVI’s in Febuary. The Ionian was exactly what they say on the box, flat water with steady winds mostly in the afternoons, nights moored stern to in pretty little harbours, great food and very social if a little busy on occasions, can't go wrong with that as a choice.

The BVI’s were definitely breezier and had a lot more swell but as we were on a flotilla we felt pretty secure and a trip to Anegada posed no problems. Most nights are spent on the hook or on a buoy so the dinghy gets used a lot to get ashore to the restaurants which are excellent. It’s a great destination with lots to see and do, we’ve been back again but bareboat and it easily justifies another trip or two.

Antigua involves much more time sailing and even more swell, it’s bareboat only there and there are fewer places to park so much more time is spent on the hook entertaining yourselves, we had a 42’ there with our brother and sister in law and it was really good fun but I wouldn’t recommend it for an inexperienced couple on a bareboat alone.

Haven’t done Turkey yet but loved Croatia, unfortunately it’s got a bit expensive now but I’m sure we’ll get back there sometime. We’ve also been to the Grenadines a couple of times, what I said about Antigua pretty much applies but it’s got the Tobago Cays which are a-bloody-amazingly beautiful.

Size is not particularly important when chartering but anything between 35' and 40' should have plenty of room for a couple, for four people 42' - 44' is fine, make sure whatever you book is well equipped though. Hope that helps you guys with your choice’s, feel free to PM me if you need any more info.

PS. Another plug for Latesail, nice people, really helpful and they get great deals.