Charter

Yanmar Invests in GetMyBoat Rental Business

By Peter Janssen on February 28, 2022 Charter, Cruising Life

Yanmar just announced that has bought a majority stake in GetMyBoat, which it says is the world’s largest boat rental marketplace. All told, Yanmar America, a subsidiary of Yanmar Holdings Co., Ltd, invested $21 million in GetMyBoat. The money will be used to expand GetMyBoat and accelerate its international growth as travel markets reopen after the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic. Yanmar, with headquarters in Osaka, Japan, has been working with GetMyBoat since an initial investment in 2018. Despite the pandemic, Yanmar says GetMyBoat has exceeded a 10 times growth in revenue since 2019. Launched in San Francisco in 2013,…

Australia Opens Border to Vaccinated Travelers

By Peter Janssen on February 23, 2022 Charter, Destinations

Australia opened its borders to fully vaccinated travelers earlier this week, meaning you now can charter a boat and head for the Great Barrier Reef, the Whitsundays or Ningaloo Reef, some of the most beautiful cruising and diving destinations in the world. Or, you can stay in Sydney, charter a day boat to tour the harbor, enjoy the city’s culture, and head for Bondi beach. (I’ve done that – before flying to Perth, across the continent – and it’s fun.) For the past two years, “Fortress Australia” had some of the most strict border controls to combat the spread of…

Le Boat Starts Owners’ Program in Canada

By Peter Janssen on February 16, 2022 Charter

Now you can own a luxury Le Boat canal cruiser in Canada, as well as in Europe. Le Boat already has the largest fleet of self-driving river and canal boats for charter in Europe and Canada. It recently expanded its Boat Ownership Program to American and Canadian clients who want to have their own vessel to cruise on the historic Rideau Canal in Canada, or on any of Le Boat’s eight destinations in Europe, including the Canal du Midi in France, the Thames in England, and Venice in Italy. “Expanding into North America gives the dream of boat ownership to…

La Datcha, Explorer Yacht, in Antarctica

By Peter Janssen on January 23, 2022 Charter

At more than 252 feet, the explorer yacht La Datcha, pictured above recently in Antarctica, is a bit larger than the boats we usually cover. But I think it’s interesting in terms of seeing what’s possible in the charter and expedition yacht areas today. La Datcha was built in the Damen yard in The Netherlands and launched in 2020 as the company’s SeaExplorer flagship, designed by Azure Yacht for cruising the world’s most remote destinations. The hull is steel and the superstructure is aluminum, and it’s built to be IMO Polar Code compliant. It also can run 40 days without…

Tour Lefkada Island in Greece on a RIB Charter

By Peter Janssen on January 10, 2022 Charter

Here’s a different kind of charter in a different kind of place. Infinity RIB Cruises offers charters on its RIBs in the gorgeous waters around Lefkada Island on the Ionian Sea off the west coast of Greece. The RIBs can take you to some of the most beautiful beaches in the Med, with dazzling white sand and dramatic cliffs, or you can enjoy picnics and water sports on the turquoise waters surrounding the island. Infinity will be more than happy to customize your RIB cruise, all offered with an experienced captain, so you can enjoy your time on board, on…

MarineMax 545 Cat Ready for BVI Charter

By Peter Janssen on December 7, 2021 Charter

Here’s some good news. MarineMax Vacations just announced that they still have some charter time available before the end of the year on their flagship 545 power catamaran in the British Virgin Islands. There are few places that are more appealing at any time of the year for a charter than the BVI, but a holiday there, among some of the best cruising grounds in the world, would be a holiday to remember. Starting a new year there wouldn’t be too shabby either. The MarineMax Vacations fleet is at Nanny Cay on the south side of Tortola. On the 545,…

Phuket Opens Again for Cruising, Charters

By Peter Janssen on November 17, 2021 Charter, Destinations

Phuket, the largest island in Thailand and one of the world’s most exotic cruising and charter destinations, is open again. And the Moorings charter base there also is open, with sail and power charters available. With a heavy reliance on tourism, Thailand’s economy took a big hit during the worst of the pandemic, and the country was off-limits to a lot of foreign travelers. There are still protocols (see the Thai embassy link below), but the Thai government adopted a separate plan called the Phuket Sandbox that has allowed vaccinated international travelers to visit the island. It’s easy to get…

Sunreef Launches Luxury 60 Power Cat Charter

By Peter Janssen on November 9, 2021 Charter, Cruising Life

Sunreef now has its luxurious power cat Otoctone 60 for charter, joining the larger Sunreef Otoctone 80 in a successful charter fleet. The new 60 is a charter version of the Sunreef 60 that was recognized as the Best Power Driven Catamaran at the World Yacht Trophies last year in Cannes. Built in the historic shipyard in Gdansk, Poland, the Sunreef 60 power cat has an ultramodern design, lots of space on all three levels (due to its 35-foot-plus beam, representing more than half the cat’s length), and a seaworthy hull that delivers a comfortable ride in all kinds of…

Actor Matthew Rhys Restores 1939 Wheeler

By Peter Janssen on October 6, 2021 Charter, Cruising Life

One night four years ago, Matthew Rhys, the actor, was at home in New York, drinking a whisky and scrolling through eBay, killing time, when he saw an ad for a wooden 38-foot, 1939 Wheeler Playmate. It wasn’t in very good shape, and it was in California, but it was the same model as Ernest Hemingway’s Pilar, and Rhys was a Hemingway fan. It also was one of the four documented Wheeler Playmates in the world. And both Rhys and his partner, Keri Russell (his KGB wife in The Americans), liked chartering wooden boats. They had just celebrated her 40th…

Moorings Adding New 464 PC to BVI Fleet

By Peter Janssen on October 6, 2021 Charter

The Moorings just announced that it’s adding the new 464 Powercat to its charter fleet in the British Virgin Islands. The 464 is The Moorings’ second in its new generation of Leopard power catamarans from Robertson & Caine, after the 53. The 464 is designed to be a home-away-from home for people who are chartering in the BVI; it’s also available for a charter ownership, with significant advantages, for anyone interested in buying it. The new cat has more interior space than in previous version, plus redesigned cabins and furnishings, zoned air conditioning and separate engine rooms for its twin…

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