I had the pleasure of spending a few hours yesterday with the owners of the 124-foot motoryacht Perle Bleue, which, as I wrote here last week, is being completed this summer in Holland and will be available for charter this winter in the Caribbean as part of the Fraser Yachts Worldwide fleet.

The owners are a lovely couple who have owned several yachts before, and what struck me in talking with them is that–in the face of a worldwide trend of having the biggest yacht you can afford–they chose to downsize from their previous motoryacht, which was a 147-footer. As it turns out, they simply felt they could have “as much boat” in a smaller package, with the benefit of paying less for dockage and expenses to keep the yacht running.

On the other hand, they decided to take what they’ve learned about yacht design and comfort from larger yachts and pack Perle Bleue with a lot of features you don’t usually find on yachts her size. From special touches for serious seaworthiness to interior design options that make the boat feel much bigger than she is both inside and out, Perle Bleue appears destined to be the kind of yacht that industry insiders call “a lot of boat for the charter rate.”

I expect that this yacht, as far as charter is concerned, will fall into the category of “sometimes, smaller is better.” It’s a fact to keep in mind the next time you’re working with a less-than-reputable charter broker who tries to get you to book the biggest boat you can afford. In some cases, the smaller yacht will actually be the better vacation option, thanks to smart decisions made by her owners.

Perle Bleue is expected to be ready for charter in time for the Christmas holiday season. Contact any reputable charter broker for information.

The golf club where my husband is the head PGA professional had its annual member-guest invitational tournament this past weekend. One of the events is a dinner-dance where I get a chance to chat with the club’s members over cocktails.

Typically, it takes about a half-hour for someone to ask me about yacht charter, but this year, one of the guests cornered me inside of 30 seconds. He’d mentioned to my husband earlier in the weekend that he’d had a less-than-ideal charter experience, and my husband had told him I was the woman to help him book better next time.

As it turns out, this man had taken his wife and young children on a skippered bareboat in Belize–a place that looked and sounded exotic in the brochures, but that, as they soon learned, is not exactly a mecca of infrastructure for yachting. The wife hated cruising offshore (she had islands in her mind) and the kids got bored because some of the under way passages were more than four hours long.

“I loved it, but the family didn’t,” the man lamented. “I guess charter isn’t for us.”

“Actually,” I told him, “it’s just that a skippered bareboat in Belize isn’t for you.”

As it turns out, this man had booked his vacation directly through a bareboat company, without the help of a reputable charter broker. That was the flaw, I told him, knowing that any decent broker would’ve listened to his family’s ideas and sent them directly to the British Virgin Islands.

There, for the same price, this family could’ve had a proper crewed yacht that cruised short distances in between islands, never going offshore at all. It’s for this reason that the Virgins are the classic destination for first-time charter clients in general.

I’m afraid my advice on the matter came too late for this particular family; the wife had sworn off yacht charter forever based on that first experience. It just goes to show you that working with a good broker to ensure a proper vacation is paramount, especially your first time giving charter a try.

I received an e-mail last night from International Yacht Collection about a yacht that just joined its fleet: the 126-foot motoryacht Dorothy Ann. She looks like a lovely yacht, to be sure, but what caught my attention in the announcement was her location: Croatia.

Croatia has been up-and-coming as a crewed charter yacht destination for the past few years now. I have yet to get over there myself for a firsthand look, but every captain I know who has visited says the coastline is downright gorgeous. It apparently has the natural, undeveloped beauty of places like Turkey, but is much closer to Western Europe and, thus, easier to get to for many charter clients.

Also worth noting is that the charter season in Croatia lasts well into September and even early October–which means you still have time to book for this year if you’re interested in cruising a bit off the beaten course.

Dorothy Ann and her crew are ready to show you all that Croatia has to offer. The yacht takes eight guests at a weekly base rate of $85,000. Contact any reputable charter broker for more information.