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CharterWave gives you several ways to find a reputable charter broker. One option is to read our editorial in-depth interviews with brokers worldwide. Another is to check out our comprehensive list below. The following brokers are also CharterWave sponsors. Brokers can't become sponsors unless they are members of key professional groups. We encourage you to support the following reputable brokers:
| Selecting and booking a large sailing or motor yacht vacation requires an intimate knowledge of the yacht and cruising ground, and the experience to avoid common pitfalls. When we send you a selection of yachts based on your criteria, we've taken the time to learn your preferences and matched them to the yachts we recommend. Our brokers will give you professional, unbiased advice as we are truly independent and are not tied to any one yacht or operator. View some of the magnificent yachts available or ask us to suggest some suitable boats for your vacation. |
| June Montagne and Ann Landry are our brokers of choice at this company's office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They focus on crewed yachts, power and sail, in all size ranges and have close to 30 years' experience as charter brokers between them. Northrop and Johnson also manages a fleet of sailing and motoryachts in multiple price ranges, including some of the most impressive yachts available for charter anywhere in the world. You can learn more at the Northrop and Johnson website. |
| This is the retail charter-booking division of Crew Unlimited, a company that helps charter yacht owners find crew. Company owner Ami Ira prides herself on matching charter clients with not just the best yacht, but also the best crew for their needs. You can learn more at www.crewunlimited.com. |
| Charter Experience specializes in worldwide luxury charters aboard motoryachts and sailing yachts. The company has offices in London, Spain, and New Zealand. Its charter brokers include Gertrud Annevelink, who has a long history of working both for major charter management firms and on behalf of America's Cup yachts. Learn more at the Charter Experience website. |
| Former yacht crew member Reia Stannard is the yacht charter director here, as well as a full member of CYBA International. Broker Trina Howes, who is based in New York City, has sailed all over the world and brings her personal travel knowledge to every charter she books. Learn more at the CharterWorld.com website. |
| This is a company founded and run by an Internet guru who also happens to be an avid sailor. The broker I know is Sharon Bahmer, who became a full member of CYBA International in the summer of 2007. She is based in Fort Lauderdale, though the company also has staff in France and London. Its Web site, as you might imagine from the company's name, is www.boatbookings.com. |
| Longtime broker Karen Kelly runs this booking agency in Rhode Island, which manages one of the largest fleets of crewed sailing yachts in the world. Learn more through the Nicholson Yachts website. |
| Licensed yacht Capt. Rebecca Riley owns this charter-booking agency, which specializes in motor and sailing yachts worldwide from $20,000 to $1 million per week. Her experience and professionalism have earned her membership in the American Yacht Charter Association, CYBA International, Certified Professional Yacht Brokers, and the American Society of Travel Agents. Learn what's new with Rebecca by reading her sponsored blog here on CharterWave, or visit the Paradise Yacht Charters website. |
| This is the retail charter division of Newport Yacht Management in Rhode Island. The person I know best is Tom Rowe, who has extensive knowledge of yachts and has personally cruised the entire Eastern Seaboard, as well as in Bermuda, the Caribbean, the Greek Isles, and the Great Lakes. Learn more by checking out the company's blog on its CharterWave sponsored page or by viewing their Web site at www.nymyachts.com. |
| This Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based company is the home of Nicole Caulfield, who worked onboard crewed megayachts for nearly 10 years before becoming a retail charter broker and yacht manager. She is licensed and bonded, and is a longtime member of the professional organizations AYCA and FYBA. Learn more at the Robert J. Cury & Associates website, or contact Nicole directly through this e-mail form. |
| Kathleen Mullen is the longtime broker who heads up this agency, which is based in Road Town in the British Virgin Islands. The company's brokers book crewed charter yachts, as well as superyacht charters through the Regency Mega Yachts division. Check out the company's sponsored page here on CharterWave. It includes a blog written by the company's in-house experts. Learn more at RegencyMegaYachts.com. |
| For many years Ed Hamilton & Co. has been the top independent agency for Caribbean charters, but we arrange charters worldwide. Our brokers have interviewed crews, toured yachts, and sailed in cruising grounds from Tonga to Turkey. The reputation we enjoy comes from the experience of our staff and their dedication to carefully handling every request. This is why Ed Hamilton & Co. has been chosen by Conde Nast Traveler as their recommended broker for the Caribbean for the seventh year in a row. You can read about the history and the unique approach of our company, visit our website at www.ed-hamilton.com or read some of the company's recent blog posts here on CharterWave. |
| Infinity Yacht Charters is run by broker Michael Sawyer, a former U.S. Coast Guard-licensed charter yacht captain who is based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He books charters worldwide and is particularly well-informed about destinations such as Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, California, and western Mexico. His current clients include Fortune 500 companies and CEOs, and he serves on the Board of Directors of the professional organization CYBA International. Learn more at the Infinity Yacht Charters website. |
| Liz Howard ran a successful crew-placement agency before joining the San Diego office of Fraser Yachts Worldwide as a retail charter broker in 2002. She regularly travels the world to inspect charter yachts, and she frequently books charters for high-profile clients who require discretion. You can learn more about Liz in our editorial interview, or e-mail her directly. |
| Heather Krebs is the broker I know at this Pennsylvania-based company, which books crewed yacht charters all over the world. Heather is a member of CYBA International as well as the Florida Yacht Brokers Association, and she has a blog on her CharterWave sponsored page. Learn more at www.abiego.com. |
| President Janet Bloomfield of International Yacht Charter Group regularly books retail charters herself, alongside brokers Sue Flammia, Kathy McErlean, and Patty Wilson. Learn more about Janet in our editorial interview, or contact International Yacht Charter Group directly through the company's website. |
| Ed Hamilton has worked in every part of the charter industry for nearly 40 years and heads one of the largest, most respected charter brokerages. You can learn more about him and how Ed Hamilton & Co. started, visit his company's website at www.ed-hamilton.com, or read some of his recent blog posts here on CharterWave. He is a longtime AYCA and CYBA member. |
| Seascape Yacht Charters is based in Greece, offering charters there as well as throughout the Mediterranean. The company manages its own fleet of charter yachts in addition to helping with retail bookings aboard everything from motorsailers to luxury megayachts. "Small things make a big difference" is the Seascape motto. You can learn more by going directly to the Seascape website. |
| Brokers Missy Johnston and Carolyn Titus have been instrumental in helping the charter industry to evolve during the past few decades. Based in Newport, Rhode Island, they book crewed yachts worldwide, including luxury racing charters. You can learn more about them in our broker interviews section; by reading their blog on their sponsored page; or by visiting their own Web site. |
| Shannon draws on her previous experience of working onboard yachts, as well as everything she learns from her husband, Capt. Dan Webster, in his work as a crewed megayacht captain. She is based in Flagler Beach, Florida, and you can learn more about her in our CharterWave interview or by checking out her Web site at www.ShannonWebster.com. You also can read her blog on her CharterWave sponsored page. |
| Interpac Yachts is owned by Beverly Parsons, a licensed, bonded broker who has been chartering since 1969. She is based in San Diego, California, has lived in the Pacific Northwest and Mexico, and is a founding member of CYBA International and the American Yacht Charter Association--two of the premier professional associations for charter brokers worldwide. Beverly books charters on yachts of all kinds worldwide, and she is especially knowledgeable about chartering in Turkey and Mexico. Learn more at the Interpac Yachts website. |
Other Reputable Charter Brokers
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Rosemary Pavlatou is a British ex-pat and a naturalized Greek national, and her bilingual expertise helps to close the gap between Western travelers' expectations and the developing Eastern Mediterranean marketplace. |
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Leslie Adams is a highly professional charter expert who can help you with bookings onboard crewed yachts. She's based in one of the company's two Fort Lauderdale offices. |
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Nicole Haboush runs this Miami Beach-based company, which manages a handful of smaller crewed motoryachts. Haboush offers bookings onboard her own fleet, as well as with any other crewed yachts managed by other companies worldwide. |
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Angela is based in Salem, Massachusetts, and has been booking charters for nearly two decades. She regularly attends boat shows worldwide to inspect yachts and crew personally. |
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Aris is based in Piraeus, Greece, just outside of Athens, and markets himself as the man to know when it comes to chartering luxury yachts in that emerging charter ground. He's very personable and also is fluent in English. |
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Pila Pexton manages this company's small fleet of charter sailing and motoryachts while booking charters onboard the hundreds of other crewed yachts worldwide. Pexton works out of the company's offices in Newport, Rhode Island. |
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BCR is based in Antibes, France, and includes brokers who speak English, French, and multiple other languages. The company manages charter yachts in addition to booking them. |
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Laurence Provost owns this company outside of Paris, where she books charter vacations and manages charter yachts worldwide. She is fluent in both English and French, and she is impressive in her industry knowledge. |
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Based in Antibes, France, Sylvie Romano is the charter broker who is a fully accredited member of the Mediterranean Yacht Brokers Association at this company. |
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Based in London, this company is a worldwide powerhouse. Big-money crewed charters are all you'll find here, and you should ask for Solenn de Braux or John Cichanowicz in New York, Neil Hornsby in London, Tom Collins in Fort Lauderdale, and Gaye Joyeux-Bourgeois in Monaco (she's fluent in French and English). |
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CNI is one of the worldwide powerhouses in yachting. Its website has an excellent searchable database of luxury crewed charter yachts, as well as information about itineraries and a basic guide to chartering. In America, ask for charter brokers Suzette McLaughlin, Barbara Dawson, and Diana Mares, all in the Palm Beach office, and Agnes Howard, who is based in the Fort Lauderdale office. Overseas, work with Anne Sterringa in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, or Tina Montzka and Sussie Kidd in Antibes. |
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Boston-based Carol Kent is a longtime broker who serves on the board of directors of CYBA International, one of the key professional groups for charter brokers worldwide. |
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This company announced its entry into the charter industry in early 2008. One of its principals is Kent Chamberlain, previously of Chamberlain Yachts and a member of CYBA International. |
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CYBA International member Dennis Dori, a.k.a. "Captain Denny," is the owner of this company. He started out as a charter yacht owner and captain in the Chicago area before becoming a full-time broker offering charters worldwide. |
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This is a different company from the similarly named CharterWorld.com. It's run by a charming couple named Brook and Lynn Felsenthal who book charters from their home country of Australia and know the cruising grounds of Southeast Asia quite well, thanks to the sailing vacations they take themselves. |
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Verna Ruan, an active member and officer of CYBA International, founded this St. Thomas-based charter booking agency in 1982 after she decided she could make a better living booking yachts than working onboard them as crew. |
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This is a worldwide powerhouse company that deals primarily in top-dollar sailing and motoryachts. English-speaking charter broker Chris Craven is based in Monaco, and he's a pleasure to talk with. |
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Elaine is based in Roswell, Georgia. She takes great pride in offering personalized service, chatting as long or as little as you'd like about whatever kinds of yacht vacations interest you. |
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Fraser is a powerhouse company with worldwide offices. Good U.S.-based brokers include Diane Fraser and Liz Howard in California; and Jan Henry, Debra Blackburn and Robin O'Brien in Fort Lauderdale. Overseas, ask for Allan Jouning in New Zealand and Jason Whiting in Monaco. |
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This is an agency whose principal, Gordon Stonehouse, has been in the business for years. He's based in Palm Beach, Florida. |
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Tina Hinckley is the independent charter broker at this company, which works in cooperation with the boatbuilder Hinckley Yachts—formerly owned and run by Tina's husband, Bob. She's based in Southwest Harbor, Maine, and can help you book everything from Hinckley sailing yachts to top-dollar megayachts. |
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This Fort Lauderdale-based company is a worldwide powerhouse that manages charter yachts in addition to booking them. Look to work with brokers Steve Elario, Kim Vickery and Katie Macpherson Wray in Fort Lauderdale, or with broker Mark Elliott—who spends a good part of the year living on St. Maarten and knows the Caribbean well. |
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Mark Daniher, president of this South Carolina-based company, is regularly spotted working at the industry-only Virgin Islands charter yacht shows. |
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Jody is based in Newport, Rhode Island, and can help you book whatever kind of crewed charter you want—though she is particularly knowledgeable about canal barges in Europe. |
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These two companies are run by Deb and Wayne Adao, who came to the charter industry in 1994 after careers in the information technology and medical sales industries. Jolly Mon Sailing handles charters onboard boats up to 80 feet long, while JMS Yacht Charters handles megayacht bookings. |
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Louise Dailey started this agency in Darien, Connecticut, in 1982 before moving her home and work to Osprey, Florida. She continues to be active with CYBA International. Her business partner, Chick Trayford, opened an office in Delaware in 2005 after many years in Newtown, Connecticut. |
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This company's president, Rupert Connor, is a British ex-pat living in Florida. He takes a hands-on approach, and you might find yourself talking to him instead of an underling should you book a top-dollar crewed yacht. |
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Kevin and Carol Jonas run this New Hampshire-based charter company. He's a member of CYBA International who handles the charter yacht bookings, while she is a travel agent who can coordinate clients' airfare, land tours, resort stays, and more. About 90 percent of their bookings are in the Virgin Islands, and they do a few bookings each year in the Mediterranean. |
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Nick and Jenny Trotter are the husband-and-wife team who run this Irvington, Virginia-based agency. They can help you with bareboat as well as crewed yacht bookings, and they have unique experience in planning tandem and corporate charter events. |
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The broker we know best at this Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based agency is Crom Littlejohn, who specializes in crewed yacht charters. He's a member of the American Yacht Brokers Association and, as of summer 2007, was a board member in the Florida Yacht Brokers Association. |
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Connecticut-based broker Olive Cappiali is the broker from this company whom we regularly see working at industry-only charter boat shows. |
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Nancy Button-Latinette is the broker who owns and operates this Fort Lauderdale-based agency. She books charters of all kinds with a special emphasis on event charters. |
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Broker Natasha Smekalina founded this New York City-based agency after several years of booking charters for one of the world's best-known yachting companies. She is fluent in both English and Russian, and our editor has personally seen her helping clients diligently with Blackberry in hand at all hours. |
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This is the Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based company of former charter yacht captain and longtime charter broker DJ Parker, who worked with a major management company for nearly two decades before going out on her own in the summer of 2006. Her company now manages charter yachts in addition to booking them. |
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Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, this is the charter booking agency of longtime broker Julie Nicholson. |
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This company is based in English Harbour, Antigua, and offers charter bookings as well as yacht crew services. Directors Sarah Sebastian and Afsaneh Franklin also play a major role in putting on the annual, industry-only charter yacht show in Antigua. |
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This company became a worldwide powerhouse after acquiring the yachting company Cavendish White in 2008. The broker we continue to know best is Tim Clark, who is based in the United Kingdom and travels the world regularly to inspect yachts and meet crew. We also are fans of Italian-born Lisa Cavicchioli in the Switzerland office, where she books charters following several years of managing yachts. |
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Penelope Kellie has been in business since 1990, specializing in luxury cruises and corporate charters. Based in England, she specializes in Latin America (including the Galapagos Islands, where she has chartered since the 1980s) and is well-known to charter yacht captains along the Turkish coast. |
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There are two charter brokers at this company, which is based in Antibes, France. Their names are Georgette Bouradjdi and Fiona Maureso. We know Fiona the best, and she's never steered us wrong. |
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This is the independent, retail-booking agency owned by Capt. Ray "Rags" Weldon. He has traveled more than 200,000 miles onboard yachts, has been in the yachting business for more than 40 years, and is a longtime active member of multiple professional organizations. |
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Luciane Reinbrecht is the broker and charter yacht manager we know at this company, which is based in the new-to-charter market of Brazil. Luciane used to work on charter yachts in the South Pacific, and she now books charters worldwide. |
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The name of this charter booking agency is a combination of Rich and Leigh Ford, a Fort Lauderdale-based, husband-and-wife team originally from South Africa. Before becoming brokers, they served as yacht crew. |
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Based in Italy, this company manages yachts for charter as well as books retail charter vacations. Rigo has been in business for more than 25 years. |
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We've known and loved Rikki for years, and this new company was formed when she merged her independent business with Newport, Rhode Island-based Churchill Yacht Partners. |
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Bob Laska has more than 25 years' experience in the business and is currently based in Florida. |
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Based in New Zealand, this independent booking agency is run by a delighful woman named Jeni Tidmarsh. She has several decades' experience in the charter industry, and she knows Australia, the South Pacific, and of course her home country better than many other brokers worldwide. |
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This company has earned memberships in CYBA International, the Better Business Bureau, and the British Virgin Islands Charter Yacht Society. We haven't met their brokers yet, but we trust those professional organizations. |
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This is the retail charter agency of longtime broker Sandy Carney, who opened her own shop in 2006 after many years of working for leading charter companies in Newport, Rhode Island. |
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This Fort Lauderdale-based agency opened its charter division in 2004. Longtime broker Steve Elario joined the company in late 2009 after a decades-long career as a charter captain and retail charter broker. |
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This company is the home of Jacqui Lockhart, who manages a handful of luxury motoryachts along with the well-known Mirabella sailing yachts—the 131-foot Mirabella, the 137-foot Mirabella III, and the 247-foot Mirabella V (the largest single-masted sailboat in the world). She also can help you with bookings onboard other crewed yachts. |
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Ann E. McHorney is the broker we know at this St. Maarten-based charter agency. She has longtime ties to the charter industry, including being married to a well-respected charter yacht captain. |
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Longtime broker and former crewed yacht Capt. Ted Rowe is the immediate past president of CYBA International. (He's not related to Tom Rowe of Newport Yacht Management.) |
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This is the agency of husband-and-wife team Tom and Sandy Taylor (the self-described Dynamic Duo), who opened their own shop in 2008 after many years working for a large, international charter company. |
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Marian Walker handles charter at this company, which has offices in Florida and Alabama. The company manages charter yachts in addition to booking them. |
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The terrific brokers at this Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based company include Leann Morris Pliske and Barbara Stork. Company President Jennifer Saia also handles crewed yacht bookings for some repeat clients. |
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Based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, this company's charter division includes longtime yacht manager and broker Bonnie Mims.The company manages charter yachts in addition to booking them. |
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This Miami-based company specializes in Florida and Caribbean charters. It is a member of the Florida Yacht Brokers Association as well as the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. |
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This is the independent booking agency of longtime broker Cindy Brown, who has worked both on her own and as part of major international firms. She established Ultra Marine Yacht Charters in 1997. She is based in New York City and books crewed motor and sailing yachts worldwide. |
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This company specializes in bareboats and crewed yachts up to 100 feet long. There are specialist brokers who can help you with everything from sailing catamarans in the Virgin Islands to megayachts in the Mediterranean. |
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Our editors have known managers Alex Braden and Catherine Ambrogi for nearly a decade. Both continue to set excellent standards. The company, which was acquired by shipping agency BRS Group in 2008, has four charter brokers: Michael Lane, Sarah Piggin, Nicholas Benazeth, and William Malloy. We met Malloy in late 2007, and he seems knowledgeable, as does Piggin, who regularly attends international boat shows. |
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Gina Robertson, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is the broker we know and trust at this agency. She regularly attends international boat shows and visits yachts on her own, as well, all over the world. |
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Sherry Yates is the only reputable charter broker we know in the U.S. state of Colorado. She is a longtime and active member of the professional group CYBA International. |
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YCO Yacht is a company that manages charter yachts in addition to handling retail charter bookings. Offices are in Monte Carlo, Antibes, and London, with a staff whose combined resumes include more than 100 years of service in the yachting industry. |
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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
Liz Howard joined Fraser Yachts as a charter broker in 2002 after more than 15 years in the maritime industry. E-mail Liz.
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
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.
Trina Howes has 10 years of experience in the charter industry finding great pleasure in creating the best yachting vacations possible. E-mail Trina
Ed Hamilton has worked in every part of the charter industry over the last 37 years and heads one of the largest, most respected charter brokerages.
Michael Sawyer of Infinity Yacht Charters has unique access to charter yachts and crew from Alaska to Mexico. Contact Michael.
Shannon Webster is a longtime AYCA member. She books yachts worldwide from 80 to 400 feet long. Email Shannon
