Captain, 61-foot sailing yacht Sudiki

Date interviewed: December 2009

You and your wife, Chris, who is Sudiki’s chef, recently had quite an encounter with nature.
It was August 29, just a few months ago, and we were anchored off Frigate Island in the Grenadines. Chris was on deck that morning, and she kept hearing this sound. She looked all around, and the water was flat calm. That’s when she saw the blowhole.
    She came down and got me, and I got into the dinghy to go see what was wrong. I found a whale jammed head-first into the rocks at the shore. It probably had come in to feed and was following the contour of the island, and accidentally got stuck. This was maybe 100 yards from our boat.
    We called Grenadines Dive for a stronger boat, and I went back to Sudiki to get some serious, heavy rope that we could attach to that boat to pull the whale free. Other people came and we put them at the whale’s head to push her and angle her as she tried to swim forward. It was incredible when she broke loose. We were all so relieved.

That’s some story! Is it your most memorable from the 15 years that you have been offering charters?
It’s certainly one of the most unique things that has ever happened to us. We had a whale alongside us while we were cruising recently, and we see some incredible things like that from time to time, but this was definitely different.

This is your second sailing yacht by the name of Sudiki. What happened to the first?
We had a Gulfstar 50 called Sudiki that survived Hurricane Ivan in 2004, but that swung into three feet of mud because some other boater cut our anchor line during the storm. The tow boat that tried to pull our boat free made a mistake, and it tore Sudiki in half. I’d lived on that boat for 17 years. It was heartbreaking.
    We bought the current Sudiki, a Gulfstar 61, and continued on. The first year or two, she needed a lot of work, since she’s a 1982 build. We’re now getting her condition close to where we want it to be. She’s fun to sail, that’s for sure.

How much charter do you do?
We aim for 15 to 20 weeks per year, which is what we used to do on the old boat. We used to do a lot of honeymoon charters, and we really like that. The new boat takes four guests, and actually could have taken six guests, but we don’t like to crowd people. We combined the two forward cabins into one, and guests seem to really like that.

What else makes Sudiki special for charter in her size and price range?
We’re located year-round in the Grenadines, where not a lot of other charter boats go. And we love to actually sail, instead of just motoring around. That, for sure, makes us different.

Sudiki is part of the Nicholson Yachts charter fleet. Her weekly base rate is $6,500 for two guests and $8,500 for four guests, which includes food, ship’s bar, and some other expenses. Any reputable charter broker can tell you more or help you book a week onboard.