First Impression: Ranger

Date toured: December 2009

Crew members scurried about the deck of the 136-foot Ranger, tossing off lines and readying sails as we inched our way out of the slip at Falmouth Harbour in Antigua. I walked with bare feet up the teak decking until I reached Anneli James, who works in the charter marketing department of the yacht’s management company, Northrop & Johnson.
    I paused, put my arm around her shoulder, and thanked her for having invited me to the afternoon’s sail. “We are about to do something,” I told her, “that few people ever get to do in their lifetime.”
    Ranger is a J-Class yacht, a rating that designates sailing yachts first built between 1930 and 1937, including those that raced in the America’s Cup. Only 10 of them were built, and only three of those survived after World War II. The rest of the J-Class yachts were scrapped for their steel, to be used in the war effort. Of the three J-Class yachts that survive today, only two are available for charter: Shamrock V and Endeavour. The original Ranger, sadly, was lost to history.
    Enter the owner of the Ranger that I sailed aboard that December 2009 afternoon in Antigua. In late 2003, he launched a replica of the famous J-Class yacht from a Danish shipyard, offering all the spectacular lines and sophisticated looks of her namesake, but built with modern construction standards and amenities. I was aboard in 3- to 5-foot seas, and we averaged 12 to 13 knots of speed in about 18 knots of wind. The sails perched off the 180-foot-tall mast over my head, cradling the offshore breezes as if welcoming them to a homecoming. Charter guests who took the wheel—some of them highly experienced sailors aboard a J-Class boat for the first time—literally screamed with excitement.
    What is even more interesting about Ranger, from a charter perspective, is that the same owner also has a 150-foot Trinity motoryacht called Vita, which he makes available for charter in tandem with his J-Class racer. He uses Ranger for fun afternoons of sailing, then returns to the more spacious motoryacht Vita for leisurely dinners and relaxation at night. Charter guests can do the same—an opportunity that is unique within the worldwide crewed yacht marketplace, and that I personally found to be fantastic when I sailed aboard Ranger following a three-course luncheon prepared by chef Kin Hong aboard Vita. (See the video at the bottom of this article.)
    "The owner wants charter guests to enjoy these yachts the same way that he does," Ann Avery, a Northrop & Johnson sales broker, told me. "These crews are accustomed to running in tandem. For anyone seeking that type of charter, it's a great package."
    Vita's lowest weekly base rate in the Caribbean as of this writing is $170,000 for 10 to 12 guests, while Ranger's lowest weekly base rate is $90,000 for eight to 10 guests. If you book a tandem charter with both yachts, the total weekly base rate is $210,000—a $50,000 price break overall for a possible total of 22 guests.
    Any reputable charter broker can help you book a week onboard either or both yachts. During my visit, brokers Ann Landry and June Montagne from Northrop & Johnson were present, as were broker Pila Pexton of Bartram & Brakenhoff and broker Gina Robertson of Yachtstore. They thus have firsthand experience with both captains, whom they had time to interview while inspecting the yachts between the Vita luncheon and the Ranger sail.—Kim Kavin

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