Guide to Yacht Chartering

Last Updated on Sunday, 20 May 2012 12:30 Written by Sunday, 29 January 2012 09:09

Check your seasons! Yachts are cheap out of season for a reason, pouring with rain or hurricanes isn’t much fun. even in shoulder months services start to close down. Your less likely to sail in your home off season, why go to somewhere else’s?

Provisioning, if you see it, buy it. Caribbean and Mediterranean stores aren’t as consistent as the the US or mainland Europe. Think about bringing favorite condiments and the odd sauce to get you started (and a washing tablet or two if you need to rinse something through).

While you might not want full provisioning, think about the heavy stuff like bottled water or cases or beer and mixers.

Check the yacht specification against what your used to, or need for an extended stay does it have -

autopilot
plotter with charts
Bimini or sun canopy
Sail reefing systems
what life jackets are onboard, they could just be foam, so bring your own if you want to wear them all the time

Remember anchoring is often king, hopeful the only time you’ll be tied up in a Marina is when you pick up and drop of your chosen vessel. So water and diesel will need to be managed.

Yacht checkouts are a real pain, check the time of the pickup and how long checkout will take. If an express checkout is available with skipper think about it as it might give you another days holiday.

Double check when the yacht needs to be returned, it’s easy to lose a night at the start and a day at the end in the same spot while you check in/out.

Some charter companies send you out a pilotage guide ahead of your charter. If not think about picking one up before you go, while in date they do retain there resale value.

For sailing in the Caribbean remember it’s a collection of island nations, if you travel between countries you’ll have to visit customs and immigration each time, both checking in and out.

You often have to pay to fill up with diesel at the end of the trip be ready to pay. If you’ve lost something might be worth sourcing it yourself as the charter companies can charge fortunes for simple items like fenders.

If you have a PLB, handheld plotter, fishing gear, snorkelling gear or favourite torch you might want to bring it along.

Any gizmos to charger ? remember the 12v chargers or consider a cheap in car inverter.

Internet access is handy for weather and booking meals out etc look out for a local sim card.

If it’s hot, how will you keep cool? A windscoop is fairly portable as is a 12v car fans, just watch the battery drain.