Sharon Bahmer is an expert at booking charters in the Americas, from Alaska to Brazil. She's also a member of FYBA and CYBA. E-mail Sharon
Nicole Caulfield is licensed, bonded, and a longtime member of FYBA and AYCA. She brings a unique perspective as a broker, having worked aboard yachts for nearly 10 years. Email Nicole
Trina Howes has 10 years of experience in the charter industry finding great pleasure in creating the best yachting vacations possible. E-mail Trina
Beverly Parsons has been chartering since 1969. She is a licensed, bonded broker and a founding member of the professional groups AYCA and CYBA International. Contact Beverly.
Shannon Webster is a longtime AYCA member. She books yachts worldwide from 80 to 400 feet long. Email Shannon
| Two if by Sea |
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First Impression: Two if By SeaDate toured: November 2008 Steuart and Fran Rattle are quite a couple. They have been onboard the 45-foot sailing catamaran Two if by Sea since 2000, when the boat was just three months old, and they had spent eight years offering charters in the British Virgin Islands by the time I met them in November 2008. I happened to show up on their aft deck just as they were beginning to promote the cruise of their dreams—to Panama and, later, the South Pacific—a trip that will include the opportunity for charter guests to join them far from their usual cruising waters.“Our plan is to be in Panama beginning in July 2009, stay there for a year, and then do some cruising in the South Pacific before starting to offer charters again in Tonga around July of 2011,” Fran told me. “But it’s all flexible. We’re getting a lot of enthusiasm for charters in Panama because the brokers know us and trust us with their clients in a faraway place, so we may end up staying in Panama for two years instead of one.” All the better, I say. There aren’t a whole lot of crewed sailing catamarans offering charters in Panama, and to have such a well-respected boat there with such a well-seasoned crew can only be good for charter clients. Plus, I just plain love the way the Rattles run Two if by Sea. Their dedication to eco-friendly cruising really impressed me during my tour. For starters, they have six solar panels atop the boat that generate 75 percent of the total power they use onboard. When the sun is shining, the panels produce 60 amps. “When fuel was as high as $7 a gallon, it was a huge savings,” Fran told me. “It’s also really quiet compared to running a generator.”  The Rattles also make a point of offering zero bottled water to guests. That’s right: You get none. Instead, you get a custom-made bottle with your name on it at the beginning of your charter, and you can refill it as often as you like from the watermaker that feeds into a special filtration system. “Our guests still get as much refreshing, chilled water as they want,” Steuart told me, “but we same as many as 200 plastic water bottles a week from the landfill. So far, our guests have loved it. Most people want to be environmentally friendly.”People also want to have fun on charter, and Two if by Sea offers plenty of that, as well. Both Fran and Steuart are dive instructors—which should bode well for the scuba grounds off of Panama’s coast—and they have a 120-inch outdoor screen for movie nights on charter. That’s a good combination of active and relaxing fun, if you ask me. Two if by Sea takes six guests in three cabins, each with a queen-size bed. It’s an ideal yacht for three couples who want to split the weekly rate of $14,000, which is about $2,300 per person and typically includes food and ship’s bar. CharterPortBVI is the yacht’s management company, and any reputable charter broker can help you book time aboard in Panama before the yacht moves to the South Pacific.—Kim Kavin |