Destinations

Dream Yacht Charter Starts New Flexible Program

By Peter Janssen on April 27, 2021 Charter, Destinations

The world’s leading yacht charter company, Dream Yacht Charter, just launched a new Sail Pass program to help you plan ahead in these uncertain times. With the Sail Pass, you can charter up to three times a year, twice in high season and once in low season, for one annual price. The actual price varies depending on the size and type of charter yacht you want. The people at Dream Yacht Charter recognize that with the world-wide Covid-19 pandemic in the past year, many people have postponed their vacations and some may be reluctant even now to commit themselves to…

The Moorings Starts Charters in Key West

By Peter Janssen on April 21, 2021 Charter, Destinations

The Moorings just opened its latest charter operation in Key West, the southernmost point in the United States; it’s actually closer to Havana than it is to Miami. Key West, just in case you haven’t been there, also exists in a different mind-set than the rest of the United States; it’s fun, it’s historic, and the boating is sensational. Once the home of Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams and Jimmy Buffet, Key West offers a vacation, on land or on the water, that you won’t forget. It has a unique architecture, and is full of pastel homes and colorful bars. You…

Foxy’s Iconic Bar in BVI Adds a Music School

By Peter Janssen on April 18, 2021 Cruising Life, Destinations

If you’re heading for Foxy’s Tamarind Bar on Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands, you may not find Foxy himself. That’s because Foxy (Foxy Callwood ) is spending a lot of his time at his music school down the road behind the restaurant, helping kids from the islands. Foxy’s has become an institution of almost folklore proportions ever since it opened on the beach in Great Harbour in 1968, a destination for cruisers and charter-boat customers from all around the world. (If you don’t have your own boat, you can take the ferry from West End, Tortola, across…

Bumfuzzle: Playing Tourist in St. Croix

By Peter Janssen on April 14, 2021 Destinations

The Schulte family, Pat and Ali and their daughter Ouest, 11, and son Lowe, 9, have been cruising on their 1984 Grand Banks 42 Bumfuzzle for a few years now. (Pat and Ali previously sailed around the world.) Now they’re in St. Croix, playing tourist while waiting out the pandemic, learning about the history, the flora and fauna, and the kindness of strangers in a new land. Here’s their report: A couple weeks back Ali and I were hiking back to the boat from the grocery store, where we had purchased way too much. We were struggling with all the…

Bar Harbor, Maine: All the Way Down East

By Peter Janssen on March 31, 2021 Destinations

If you’re thinking of cruising to Maine this summer, you might as well go all the way Down East and head for Bar Harbor, a bustling vacation destination with lots to do and the gateway to Acadia National Park, with some of the most beautiful vistas in the United States. Bar Harbor is on Mount Desert Island, all the way around, past the iconic boating communities of Southwest Harbor and Northeast Harbor, across the way and the start of Somes Sound. Overlooking all this is Cadillac Mountain, the highest mountain on the eastern seaboard. As a community, Bar Harbor was…

Top 10 Charter Destinations in the World

By Peter Janssen on March 17, 2021 Charter, Destinations

Many countries still have Covid-related travel restrictions, but now is a good time to plan for better times ahead. To help with that, Marina Nazario at Denison Yachting put together a list of the top ten charter destinations in the world. Take a look, and start dreaming: 1.Florida Keys. You don’t need a passport here, just a change in attitude to go with the change of latitude. You can cruise down the Atlantic to Key Largo, Islamorada and Key West, where you might even be able to capture the green flash as the sun goes down. If you go, you…

Top 15 Whale-Watching Spots in the U.S.

By Peter Janssen on March 10, 2021 Destinations

There’s probably nothing so dramatic when cruising than seeing a whale, or pod of whales, in their native state. It can be an absolutely awe-inspiring experience, one you’ll never forget. (If you’re downwind, you also won’t forget the fish smell when they breach; it’s terrible!) But where to find them? Here’s some great advice about the 15 best whale-watching destinations in the U.S. from localadventurer.com, with advice about when to go. Read on: Thar she blows! If you’re lucky enough to catch a glimpse of these massive and majestic creatures, there’s nothing quite like it. Before you go on your…

St. Michaels: Historic Gem on the Eastern Shore

By Peter Janssen on March 4, 2021 Destinations

A historic waterfront town on the eastern shore of Maryland, St. Michaels is one of the favorite stops for people cruising on the Chesapeake. With several marinas and a lot of waterfront activities, it can seem like boating central during the season; on the other hand, it’s small enough (only one square mile with about 1,200 people) so you can get away from it all, if that’s what you have in mind. St. Michaels’ appeal is not a secret. Indeed, USA Today once named it one of the Top 10 Best Small Coastal Towns, and Coastal Living said it was…

A Possible Comeback for Historic Miami Marine Stadium

By Peter Janssen on February 24, 2021 Destinations

Miami’s historic Marine Stadium, closed since it was condemned in 1992, may be in for a revival – finally. But it’s been a long time coming. The 6,566-seat stadium opened in 1963 as a venue for powerboat racing, and then special events. Located on Virginia Key and accessible by Rickenbacker Causeway, it offered spectacular views of downtown Miami and Biscayne Bay. The stadium was designed by Hilario Candela, then 27 and a Cuban immigrant, and featured a 326-foot-long cantilevered roof, supported by eight slanted columns. It was the longest span of cantilevered concrete in the world at the time. And…

Good News for the Erie Canal…Maybe

By Peter Janssen on February 17, 2021 Destinations

There seems to be the prospect of good news for people planning to cruise on the historic Erie Canal this summer. It is scheduled to be open from mid-May to mid-October, according to Gil Quiniones, the president of the New York Power Authority; the Authority has owned the New York State Canal Corporation since 2017. First opened in 1825, the Erie Canal runs 363 miles from Albany, on the Hudson, to Buffalo, on Lake Erie, a crucial waterway for cruisers on the Great Loop. (Another section runs up to Lake Champlain, leading to Canada, for anyone cruising to the St.…

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