|
How
to Choose a Charter....
Thinking of charter
a yacht, but confused by all the options? Let's see if I can
help you with the basic planning so that your trip will turn
out to be everything that you expected!
Bareboat, skippered or in-between?
The first thing you need to determine is if you will need
a skipper or if you or someone in your group is competent
and qualified to sail the yacht. Competent means you have
the knowledge and experience to sail the yacht. To be qualified
means that you have presented the Port Authorities of Greece
a sailing certificate and/or signed affadavit stating that
you are qualified to sail a yacht.
If you are qualified then you can choose a bareboat
yacht(although a lot of experienced sailors choose to
have a skipper- it will relieve you of responsibility for
the yacht AND give you a 24-hour guide for you trip- believe
me, a skipper is worth his weight in gold and will show you
places(on land and sea) that you would very rarely chance
upon yourself.- and they make great translators also! BJ is
one of my favorite skippers).
If you are qualified to sail but a little leery about sailing
in foreign waters then maybe a flotilla is for you. In a flotilla(Greece
, Turkey or  Croatia)you
would be the skipper of your own boat, but you would be one
of a group of boats following the "lead boat". The
lead boat has the flotilla leader aboard who will guide you
through the cruise and make you aware of what to expect for
each days sail. It's a great way to have the freedom of skippering
your own boat, but not being completely on your own.
Seascape offers a Don't
lift a Finger All Inclusive charter which covers almost
all onboard expenses.
The final option is the skippered
by owner yachts. These are usually larger yachts- 4+ cabins.
These have an advantage in that the owner is on board and
you are sailing on his pride and joy and they sometimes come
with a skipper and crew(Caraya
and Stressbuster come
with a skipper AND first mate).
As for the size of the yacht, most cabins sleep 2(double
bed or two twins). You'll want to get a yacht that has at
least one berth(bed) for each person and then determine whether
there will be two people or one person in a cabin(room). Once
you've figured how many people will be in each cabin, you
can choose the yacht by the number of cabins(add one for the
skipper as he will need his privacy also).
The other consideration is the number of heads(bathrooms).
All yachts have at least 1 head, but you'll have to determine
whether you want more than the minimum.(And keep in mind,
you probably don't want to spend your sailing trip waiting
to get into the one occupied head!)
Cabin Cruise?
A cabin cruise is when you charter a cabin on a larger yacht,
not a cruise ship, but a
yacht that has 8 to 50 passengers in 4-20 cabins.
Two of the smaller options are The
Poseidon Archaeological Cruise and the Seascape
Singles and Couples cruises are on 45-55 foot sailboats
and take 8-12 passengers. These are smaller more intimate
cruises on a sailboat.
If you would like to charter a cabin on a larger
yacht you'll want to look at the Zeus
Cruises. These are approximately 50 passenger motor yachts
and motor sailing yachts(they depend on their engines but
have some sails to help them move). As these yachts are larger
they will be more stable on the water(although you will have
to expect some swaying no matter how large the yacht is).
The Zeus cruises have some great itineraries that allow you
to see a lot of Greece in a very short time.
When and Where
to go.......
|
