I’m still trying to get additional information about the sinking of the charter yacht Lady Candida this past weekend off the coast of Corsica. I’m a bit limited in my time and research abilities because I’m not at my home office; instead, I am in Phoenix, Arizona, finishing the initial meetings for a project I’m doing with the group International Cruise Victims–and, I must say, I have heard two days’ worth of truly horrifying stories about cruise ship vacations gone unbelievably wrong.

I’m flying home early tomorrow morning and will get back to tracking the Lady Candida event for you then, but I have to say that no matter what details come from that single, scary charter yacht situation, they cannot possibly compare with what is going on aboard cruise ships these days.

The word scary is just the start of what I am learning about patterns of crime, corruption, and cover-ups. These stories are not isolated incidents, like the Lady Candida fire, which initial reports indicate was accidental. Onboard the cruise ships, by contrast, there is instead a staggering number of serious crimes that are going undocumented, unprosecuted, and unreported onboard every single day, all the world over.

If you haven’t checked out this victims’ group website, you should go there right now and read some of their stories for yourself. Believe me, if you have ever considered getting on a cruise ship instead of a charter yacht, these stories will change your mind. Forever.

It’s Christmas in July! Now is the time to secure your winter charters in the Caribbean or the Bahamas.

The summer season has been very busy for crewed yacht charters. As I mentioned earlier, my expertise in the yacht vacation industry is the organization of crewed charters for power or sailing yachts 80’/ 24m or larger.

My last two weeks have been filled with disappointment because there are very, very few (none!)   yachts available for last minute European charters.  Some of my best repeat charter guests (Mr. R are you reading this?!!)  have had to modify their travel plans to land only vacations because there is no available inventory.

So my message today is if you are thinking or chartering a yacht for the winter holidays, please get started now.   There is still some time… but do not relax!   The relaxing will come…. once we have the yacht secured.                 

There is news this morning coming out of Europe, where it appears the 97-foot motoryacht Lady Candida caught fire and sank during a charter with 12 guests–including four children–off the coast of Corsica. All the guests, as well as the crew, escaped the fire and are apparently safe onshore.

Initial reports do not reveal the cause of the fire, which investigators are apparently still trying to determine. The yacht was built in 1973 by Benetti, an Italian shipyard, and has been available for charter for quite some time. She underwent an extensive refit during the past three years to upgrade her systems and guest areas. Her most recently published base rate is $51,000 per week plus expenses.

This is the first time in recent memory that I’ve heard of any emergency of this severity befalling a private yacht during a charter. I’m contacting the yacht’s management company in an attempt to get additional information before posting any more comments about the sinking here.