What to Look For When Sailboat Chartering

1.     Size of boat.  Many people think bigger is better:  not necessarily.  A long classic boat, Herreschoff-type, isundeniably gorgeous but tiny inside.  Anold Morgan Outislander is cavernous inside and rather tired outside.  Determine how much room you want – a bunk perperson, a double bunk (remember this is a boat that is likely to roll even atanchor), do you want (need?) a separate head/shower?, how much stowage do yourequire (calculate diving equipment if you bring it)?, and then the commonspaces such as the main salon and galley. Some of your calculations should be determined by where you charter:  in colder climes, you may want more space forstowage.  If you are planning to be tiedup to a dock most of the evenings, then a larger boat can be argued for.  Finally, as with my Herreschoff/Morgan example,the overall length (LOA) is not a determinant of interior space.

2.     Kind of boat.  Building on the first point, you should havein mind the kind of boat you want:  areal classic that reeks of yesteryear, when sailors dressed properly and womenknew their places (and crews spent much of their time putting on yet anothercoat of varnish on the brightwork).  Atthe other extreme are the production boats like Hunters (thankfully few areavailable for charter) or Beneteaus and Jeanneaus.   These can be nicely finished and are, intheir first years, very acceptable for chartering – lots of room, good sailingabilities, huge cockpits, nicely finished (before it begins to peel), and functional.  There are many in between these two extremes,but not from the large chartering agencies which understandably have to havevery recent production boats all of the same kind with the same equipment inorder to keep them in service.

3.     Other charter parties.  It is absolutely essential to determine inadvance, on larger yachts, if other charter parties other than yourselves maybe onboard at the same time.  This canprevent some most unfortunate misunderstandings.

4.     Captain and crew.  This is critical as, no matter the size ofthe boat, there will be constant and often intense interaction with the captainand crew, if any.  I would like to thinkthat the most responsible – to both charter parties and the boat – captains areowners/captains for they have made a major investment in both financially and professionallyto make their charter enterprise work. The other end of this spectrum is the “pick-up captain” who rents hisservices to large agencies, who has nothing at stake:  s/he is probably doing this gig until s/hecan find a permanent position on a mega- or vintage yacht.  S/he needs to make ends meet and meet ownersof the vintage yachts when in harbor. Beyond that, it is difficult, even impossible, to determine  in advance if you have the right “chemistry”with the captain/crew, other than through the testimonials of previouscharterers, which are, of course, more available for owner/captains than  for the captain-on-a-gig.

5.     Victuals and libations.  One of the wonderful things about travelingis experiencing new, unexpected tastes and you should welcome this opportunityonboard a charter yacht.  Having saidthat, you should definitely volunteer -- if the captain/crew do not inquirewell in advance (and they should!) -- your preferences and distastes: garlic?Spiciness? Carbs? Meats or, for many, pork? Seafood?  Breakfastpreferences?  Teas?  Cocktails? Wines – dry rosés?  Dry reds withor without tannin?

6.     Sailing the yacht.  With a crewed charter, you will not have todo anything while on board – provisioning, cooking, washing up, anchoring, orsailing.  But you may look forward toparticipating fully, or just a little bit. Please  do all a favor and letyour wishes be known before signing up to a charter, as some captains can bevery arrogant (insecure?) and not let anyone else take the helm, for example,or stack the pack, or tend the BBQ.  Ifyou want to fully participate, then your choices can be severely reduced.

Thomas Harris isowner/captain/chef of L’Esprit Libre II,a Tayana Fantasia, on its way around-the-world. www.lespritlibre.org.   He is a graduate of Johns Hopkins and IMD (Lausanne).