Charter

Now You Can Charter an Aquila 44 Power Cat to Cruise Australia’s Incredible Whitsunday Islands

By Peter Janssen on June 18, 2018 Charter, Cruising Life, Destinations

The Whitsunday Islands, a collection of 74 largely uninhabited islands between the northeast coast of Queensland, Australia, and the Great Barrier Reef, are some of the most beautiful cruising grounds in the world. The water is filled with coral and marine life, while the islands are speckled with white sand beaches, rainforests and hiking trails. And that’s before you get to the Aboriginal caves, fjord-like inlets, or bays overflown by colonies of butterflies. Now MarineMax Vacations has teamed up with Cumberland Charter Yachts and Luxury Yachts Whitsundays to offer the popular Aquila 44 power cat for charter in the Whitsundays…

Le Boat Opens North American Boat Rental Operations on Canada’s Historic Rideau Canal

By Peter Janssen on May 29, 2018 Charter, Cruising Life, Destinations

Le Boat, the largest boat rental company in Europe, just opened its first operation in North America on the historic Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Canada. The company, which has 16 bases in eight different countries, hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Kilmarnock Lock Station on the Rideau Canal, with three of their new Horizon Cruisers among the first vessels to transit the lock to start the 2018 boating season. The Rideau Canal winds 125 miles through picturesque towns, unspoiled lakes and rolling pastoral countryside from Kingston, on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence, up to Ottawa,…

Five Best Places To Snorkel in the BVI: Grab Your Mask and Fins

By Peter Janssen on May 15, 2018 Charter, Cruising Life, Destinations

The British Virgin Islands have been a cruising and chartering paradise for generations; the waters are clear blue, the winds usually mild, the navigation easy and often line of sight, the people are friendly, and when you get tired of one island, it’s easy to head for another one. And then there’s the snorkeling. The BVI were hit hard by the hurricanes last fall, but now things are getting back to normal. The only problem with snorkeling in the BVI now is deciding where to go first, or second, or…To help you decide, here’s a list of the top five snorkeling…

For a Real Charter Vacation, Try a Luxurious Crewed Cat from MarineMax in the BVI

By Peter Janssen on April 23, 2018 Charter, Cruising Life, Destinations

What could be better than a charter vacation in the British Virgin Islands, with some of the most beautiful, and boater-friendly, cruising grounds in the world? Well, how about a crewed charter vacation in the BVI, where someone else does the driving, the planning, the cooking and the cleaning up? Sounds good? Take a look at the MarineMax Vacations crewed charters now located at Scrub Island Resort, Spa and Marina, next to Tortola. They’ll move to their new permanent location at Nanny Cay in the fall, once construction is finished there. The rebuilt Nanny Cay, on the south side of…

New Tax Law Offers Great Incentives To Buy a Boat for Charter Business

By Peter Janssen on April 3, 2018 Charter, Cruising Life

The new federal tax law could be some very good news if you’re thinking about buying a boat for a charter business. Under the new law, if you buy a new or brokerage boat from Jan.1 of this year through 2022 and use it in a charter or other business activity, you can score some significant tax savings. You may even be able to deduct the whole purchase price, plus improvements. According to interpretations of the new law from United Yacht Sales and Bluewater Yacht Sales, it has some fairly dramatic, and lucrative, benefits for boat owners. The details: You…

Ten Things You Must Do in the Caribbean: A Highlights List from The Moorings

By Peter Janssen on April 2, 2018 Charter, Cruising Life

Just on case you need an extra nudge to sign up for that next charter or plan your next cruise in the Caribbean, here are ten great things to do, once you’re there. This highlights list, compiled by The Moorings, the world-wide charter powerhouse, covers a lot of bases, including some that are old-hat to me (and I suspect a lot of others) and some that are new. Even the old-hat ones have an evergreen appeal. After all, if you’re in the neighborhood, who wouldn’t want to at least think about heading over to Foxy’s or the Soggy Dollar Bar…

The Moorings Reopens Its Charter Base in Beautiful, Historic Mallorca in the Med

By Peter Janssen on March 27, 2018 Charter, Cruising Life, Destinations

The good news is that The Moorings is reopening its charter operation in Palma, Mallorca, on April 1, after it has been closed for the winter. Just 50 miles off the east coast of Spain, Mallorca is surrounded by the Med’s sparkling blue waters and is dotted with secluded beaches and natural beauty. And from Palma, you can cruise through the other Balearic Islands – Ibiza, Menorca and Formentera – or just enjoy the sun and gentle breezes around Mallorca itself. Mallorca is rich in history. The Romans first occupied the island in 123 BC and founded Palma as an…

Now You Can Take a Tropic Ocean Airways Seaplane to Your Moorings Charter in the Bahamas

By Peter Janssen on March 14, 2018 Charter, Cruising Life

Now it’s going to be a lot easier to get to your charter in the Bahamas. The Moorings has joined with Tropic Ocean Airways for a new ‘Fly & Sail’ program where charter guests can fly directly to their Bahamas destinations from the Tropic Ocean Airways lounge at the Fort Lauderdale International Airport private FBO, or from the Miami Seaplane Base on Watkins Island. When guests arrive, their Moorings’ power or sail charter yacht will be prepped and ready in the Abacos or the Exumas. The Moorings is the world’s premiere charter yacht company, and Tropic Ocean Airways is the…

Now You Can Charter an Iconic Albury Brothers Boat Almost Anywhere on the East Coast

By Peter Janssen on February 27, 2018 Charter, Cruising Life

The Albury family has been building boats on Man O’War Cay in Abaco, Bahamas, since 1952, and they have earned a reputation for creating solid, seaworthy vessels with clean, easily recognizable lines. I stopped by the yard, where they were making one boat at a time, on my first trip to the Bahamas just after Albury switched to fiberglass in 1985; they had depleted the supply of wood from the durable Madera tree. I’ve been a fan, along with a whole lot of other people, of Albury Brothers boats ever since. Now you can charter an Albury, almost everywhere from…

NW Explorations Has New Owners. Brian Pemberton Will Still Lead Mother Goose Flotillas

By Peter Janssen on February 21, 2018 Charter, Cruising Life

NW Explorations, the first-rate charter organization in Bellingham, Washington, has new owners, but Brian Pemberton, the former owner, will stay on as CEO and will continue to lead the company’s popular Mother Goose Flotillas up the Inside Passage to Alaska. The new owners are Ross and Evelyn Tennant, who live just across the border in British Columbia, and say their favorite cruising grounds are Desolation Sound and Walsh Cove at the north end of West Redonda Island, a quiet, protected anchorage with steep bluffs. They’ll now be able to eat their own cooking, in a sense, by taking advantage of…

Browsing: Charter