CHARTING A COURSE
Charting A Course - Luxury Travel Magazine
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Charting A Course | |||||
| By: David Lockwood, Issue 17 – Summer 2004 | |||||
| (boats, yacht, motorboat, superyacht) | |||||
| IF THE BUDGET DOESN’T STRETCH TO YOUR OWN FLOATING GIN PALACE, CHARTERING A LUXURY YACHT OR MOTORBOAT IS THE NEXT BEST THING. | |||||
| Someone once likened boat ownership to taking a cold shower while tearing up $50 bills. Of course, boat owners know this isn’t true. These days, you get a hot-water shower and the bills are more likely to be hundreds. But there is an alternative to boat ownership. It’s called charter. Chartering lets you sample the joys of boating, of being your own skipper and sailing off into the sunset, without the monthly maintenance and mooring costs. A charter a couple of times a year is a shrewd alternative to boat ownership and by chartering you can play nautical hopscotch all over the world. Interested? Sure you are. So how do you get started, which boat is best, where are the best boltholes, and how do you and your guests survive two weeks in a yacht? My advice, rest easy. There are charter boats to suit all tastes and budgets from fetching little riverboats to floating homes, big game-fishing charters to sailing holidays, self-driven boats to fully catered and crewed luxury craft. One only needs to peruse the telephone book or internet to find a boat primed, provisioned and ready to pull out of the dock. The drive-yourself or ‘bareboat’ charter craft generally range from about nine to 15 metres in length, but the sky’s the limit if you take the full-crewed, five-star option. If you intend to sail away for more than a day, charter the biggest boat you can, and if you plan to take friends or family, you will appreciate a boat with two heads instead of one. Would-be skippers who are green-around-the-gills should start with a motorboat. Less can go wrong and without a deep keel, you can anchor close to shore. There is also a greater sense of liberty when you aren’t relying on the wind to go places. If you have a modicum of experience and prefer sailing, then charter a catamaran. In fact, power or sail captains will find a catamaran streets ahead of monohulls. Without heeling decks, the whole boat can be used when cruising. Cats are also shallow-draft craft, so you can anchor a short paddle from that picture-perfect picnic spot. Most yacht charter companies insist on some prior knowledge and experience of sailing before waving you goodbye but acquiring basic sailing skills isn’t difficult. In fact, it can be almost as much fun as chartering itself. Virtually every yacht-charter company provides tuition via its in-house sailing school and you can charter their yachts locally before gaining the courage to travel interstate or abroad. Then again you may prefer to relinquish the cooking and cleaning, setting sail and navigating to a skipper and crew. A skippered charter is a real indulgence. Big-game aficionados often follow this route, fishing for marlin by day on a game boat, then returning to a luxury mother-ship for pampering at night. Crewed charters are popular for corporate racing or team-building exercises, off-shore sailing training trips, and week-long private escapes to exotic places like the Great Barrier Reef. Helipads, seaplanes and high-speed water transfers allow time-poor executives to drop straight into a charter, while satellite communications – phone, fax and net access – let you keep check on those stocks, if you must. All good charter companies will furnish you with destination information, the lowdown on the best anchorages, recommended routes to take, bedding and provisions, plus menus ranging from hearty to gourmet. Alcohol is usually priced at a premium, but the bar is included in many top-drawer charters. For example, the 102ft superyacht Pacific Eagle costs US$35,000 a week for six guests in three cabins, including five-star food and unlimited house wines. The yacht is situated at the gateway to the Marlborough Sounds at the top of New Zealand’s South Island. Which brings me to destinations. Hotspots for chartering abound throughout the Pacific but the best of them generally feature an island group and short passage-making routes in between islands. Before settling on a destination, consider seasonal weather. Anywhere north of the Tropic of Capricorn might be bargain-priced in the wet season but what fun is there in a week of grey-sky cruising? The peak season for charterboat holidays in the tropical Pacific is winter. Sydney Harbour, Pittwater and Port Stephens are year-round charter playgrounds. In high summer, consider sailing south about the Gippsland Lakes in South-Eastern Victoria with its myriad local charters, pubs, restaurants, jetties and safe anchorages – or try the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, south of Hobart. While the Whitsundays beckon in winter, Keith Williams’ new marina complex, Port Hichinbrook, an hour’s drive north of Townsville, is this writer’s latest hotspot. The marina overlooks the mountains of Hinchinbrook Island and the passage sailing is terrific. Everything from fuel to food and charterboats is available. If you prefer to put the planning, boat-searching and operational concerns in someone else’s hands, no worries. Jenni Monds, from 37 South Ltd in New Zealand, handles exactly these kinds of inquiries for time-poor charterers in NZ and the wider Pacific. Typically, her charters cost up to US$55,000 for a week-long packaged charter holiday on an 110ft superyacht that can take eight guests in four cabins, plus air fares. Across the Tasman, the Bay of Islands is tailor-made for chartering, with picturesque landscapes and warm waters. The Hauraki Gulf, just off Auckland, has some superb cruising with plenty of breeze, as the America’s Cup racing attested, and lots of protected scenic shores to anchor for the night. At the northern end of the South Island is the Marlborough Sound with its deep fiords, rugged coastline and popular vineyards. Among the hotspots in the wider Pacific are Fiji, which is known for its warm waters and exceptional diving. A 10-day itinerary will let you experience a different island anchorage every night. Vanuatu is an untouched area with a comparatively primitive culture, lots of big fish ready to pounce on the hook, and some gorgeous passage sailing. But for a cultural experience try Tonga. The untouched beauty of the South Pacific is so remote that yours will often be the only yacht seen for days. As for Tahiti, well, we all know it’s magnifique – and don’t forget your spending money for those famous black pearls. | |||||
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