CharterWave eNews

Motoryacht Northern Song Runs Aground in Alaska

Alaska Public media out of Anchorage reported in mid-September that the 84-foot charter yacht Northern Song ran aground with seven guests and four crew onboard.

According to the report, the yacht was anchored off Baranof Island in Deep Cove and dragged its anchor during low tide. The yacht ran soft aground. No injuries were reported, but all guests were asked to put on survival suits and go ashore by way of the yacht’s tender.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, it sent an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Sitka to collect the guests from shore. The USCG then flew the guests to Sitka while the crew re-floated the yacht.

The photograph at right is from the USCG website, of the guests after they arrived at Air Station Sitka. There is some grainy video on the USCG website that was shot from the helicopter as it circled the run-aground yacht.

Crew from the Coast Guard Cutter Naushon boarded Northern Song and performed a safety inspection, according to the USCG. The team noted nothing of concern following the incident. As of this writing, Northern Song was under way with no damage reported. She appears to have been aground for less than six hours, according to multiple news reports.

“The vessel master did everything right in his response to this emergency,” Scott Giard, lead command center controller at Sector Juneau, stated in a USCG press release. “He had the required survival equipment on board for all his passengers and was able to get them to safety in a timely manner. He made the Coast Guard aware of his situation very fast, enabling us to render assistance quickly.”

Northern Song is an expedition-style motoryacht that was built in 1997 and most recently refit in 2008. The recent refit work included engineroom maintenance, installation of new mechanical and communications equipment, and new bottom paint. She is advertised for charter with accommodations for nine guests in four cabins.

Sailing Yacht Clear Eyes Preparing for 19-Month Circumnavigation

Ocean Independence has a new yacht in its charter fleet with some pretty interesting plans.

Clear Eyes is a 141-foot Pax Navi sailing yacht that was built in 2010. The owner plans to base her in the Caribbean this winter and then take her on a 19-month journey westward around the globe.

Charter opportunities are expected to be available during 2012 in Panama, the Galapagos Islands, Tonga, Fiji, and beyond.

Clear Eyes accommodates 10 guests in five cabins, and has eight crew onboard. Two of the cabins are separated by a sliding panel that can be used to turn them into a single, large suite. So when you combine that with the owner's stateroom, there are potentially two large cabins onboard.

The lowest weekly base rate to charter Clear Eyes is €65,000. Any reputable charter broker can tell you more or help you book a week onboard.

Camper and Nicholsons Launches Updated Website

Camper and Nicholsons International, which manages the world's largest fleet of luxury charter yachts, went live in late September with a fresh new website.

The updated charter section now opens with a short, dynamic video that highlights a number of boats in the Camper fleet. You can still search for charter yachts by size or name, as well as by rate and number of guests. Many of the yacht detail pages now include links to downloadable PDF brochures, as well.

New to the charter section are some informative articles such as “How to Charter,” “Corporate Charter,” and “Choosing Your Charter Yacht.” Also worth noting is the new “Special Offers” page. Camper and Nicholsons previously posted specials on its website, but not in such a dedicated and easy-to-find way. Right now, the page is showing specials that are available through the end of this month.

How to Be a Good Charter Yacht Guest

Charter yachts can have a funny effect on people. The lack of society’s prying eyes, when combined with a quest to achieve ultimate relaxation, sets some folks so free of inhibitions that they resemble feral cats, or wild boars. Crew say that maybe one in twenty guests fit this description, but boy, is that one guy a doozy. We’ve heard stories about everything from bathtubs used as toilets to bath towels used as toilet paper. And don’t even get us started on the places where stewardesses say they discover used prophylactics.

What most guests don’t know is that such stories will follow them like a dark shadow. Yes, you feel shrouded in privacy aboard a charter yacht, but there is always someone watching—usually the poor crew member who gets stuck cleaning up after you. His story finds the ear of the captain, who tells the yacht’s owner, who talks with his friends and his broker, and your broker, too. Inside of a week, you’re a pariah across the industry.

If you’re a jerk, there’s no advice to help you avoid this scenario. But if you’re like the majority of charter guests—good people just trying to have fun—then the tips in our newly posted “How to Be a Good Yacht Charter Guest” article will help you avoid unfortunate incidents, and mitigate the damage should an accident occur.

Best of the CharterWave Daily Editor’s Blog

There is interesting news today from IGY Marinas that could affect the ability of charter yachts to create interesting itineraries in China. IGY is the company that manages some of the world's premier marina destinations. If you've chartered in the Virgin Islands, then you probably visited Yacht Haven Grande in St. Thomas (that's it in the photograph at right). If you've chartered in Sint Maarten, then you may be familiar with Isle de Sol. Now, IGY is turning its attention toward China… Read more …

Best of the CharterWave Sponsored Blogs

Yacht Charter Silolona: Onboard Cuisine a Culinary Delight. From the Northrop and Johnson Worldwide Yacht Charters sponsored blog on CharterWave. On a recent cruise on board the 164-foot charter yacht Silolona, here at Northrop and Johnson Yacht Charters, we were treated to a constant array of outstanding meals, one right after the other.  The on board cuisine is international with a great Asian flair and varies from sticky black rice with coconut milk to homemade fresh flaky croissants to crispy pan fried duck breast and scallops… Read more …

Motoryacht of the Month: Four Aces

CharterWave editor Kim Kavin spent a week aboard the 183-foot Benetti motoryacht Four Aces, cruising from the South of France to the island of Corsica.

“One day is spent enjoying water sports in the Bay of Girolata, zipping on 70-mph Yamaha Wave Runners past a centuries-old fishing village,” she reports. “Another day is spent standing atop the 900-year-old citadel walls of Calvi after a leisurely nap courtesy of the two-level master suite’s blackout shades. The next day is spent exploring behind the imposing cliffs of Bonifacio from the 33-foot Intrepid tender that Four Aces tows.

“A charter aboard Four Aces in Corsica is the perfect combination of natural beauty and manmade comfort. We cruised far from the South of France mainland, substituting flip-flops for stiletto heels and replacing thumping discotheques with cobblestone streets. And yet, we had everything that a five-star hotel guest in St. Tropez would enjoy, not to mention zero-speed stabilizers, a sprawling sundeck with pool-size Jacuzzi, and a drop-down swim platform that turns the lazarette into water-toy paradise.”

Learn more about Kim’s experience in our newly posted feature about the motoryacht Four Aces.

Sailing Yacht of the Month: Intuition

The 78-foot sailing yacht Intuition is literally a one-of-a-kind, a custom design built at the Conrad shipyard in Poland, which is a shipyard rarely represented in the world’s luxury charter fleet. Intuition launched in Poland in 2008 and still has her original owners. They allowed one charter, in 2010, and then decided to begin offering her for charter in earnest for the summer 2011 season.

Intuition spends her summers in the Corsica and Sardinia area, with charters also available on the Italian coast and in the South of France. The owners were considering moving her to the Caribbean for the winter 2011-12 season at a lowest weekly base rate of €24,000.

Learn more in our newly posted First Impression review of the sailing yacht Intuition.

Captain of the Month: Paul Baines

Captain Paul Baines is from Cornwall, England, and first went to sea in 1970. He spent the next 16 years working on big oil tankers. Then he became a captain on cruise ferries, where he drove the big ships three times a day. He was doing another job like that in 2005 when a friend told Baines that he was getting ready to leave his job as captain aboard the 149-foot Oceanfast motoryacht Perfect Persuasion. He offered Baines his job, and Baines came aboard in 2006.

He’s still there today, having earned a strong reputation for excellent charter service—as well as having practically rebuilt the 1997 build from the inside out.

Learn more in our exclusive interview with Capt. Paul Baines.

Chef of the Month: Casey Glover

Casey Glover is from New South Wales, Australia, and studied hospitality because he wanted to go into restaurant management or become a chef. After school, he moved to Tasmania and worked for an Italian chef who really inspired him. Six years later, he went to Melbourne and worked in a contemporary restaurant. Some friends talked him into going to Antibes, France, and following them into the yacht charter industry.

He scored the job of chef aboard the 120-foot Palmer Johnson motoryacht Natalia, where he’s now been for four full seasons.

Learn more in our exclusive interview with chef Casey Glover.

Broker of the Month: Craig Cohen

Craig Cohen had a sales job in Washington, D.C., when he met a stewardess from the yachting industry and decided to follow her. He resigned from his job, sold his car, and proceeded to land job after job aboard some of the world’s most renowned charter megayachts. His resume includes work onboard the 204-foot Feadship Cakewalk, the 188-foot Abeking and Rasmussen Excellence III, and the 190-foot Abeking and Rasmussen Lady Sheridan.

This past January, he decided to move to New York to raise a family with his wife. Burgess Yachts, which manages Lady Sheridan for charter, gave him a start as a charter broker in their Manhattan office.

“I think my experience of working on the yachts, dealing with the clients and the captains, knowing everybody’s expectations—all of that makes me a good charter broker,” Cohen says.

Learn more in our exclusive interview with charter yacht broker Craig Cohen.

Fleet and Management Company News

Antigua Charter Yacht Show has launched a new website in advance of the 50th annual event, which is scheduled December 4-10. As of this writing, 107 yachts are already registered to be on display…

Athens Yachts welcomes the 80-foot Ferretti motoryacht Kentavros II to the charter fleet in Greece. She takes eight guests at a lowest weekly base rate of €31,500…

Blue Latitude Yachting has four charter yachts with availability in the Caribbean during the Thanksgiving holiday at the end of November. See the CharterWave Daily Editor’s Blog for full details…

Burgess Yachts welcomes charter yacht manager Sonia Palfrey to the management division in Monaco. Previously, Palfrey spent nine years in charter management with Camper and Nicholsons International. Burgess now has more than 80 yachts in its charter division, an increase of 60 percent in the past three years… New to the fleet is the 240-foot Hanseatic Marine motoryacht Silver Zwei. See the CharterWave Daily Editor’s Blog for full details… Also new to the fleet is the 141-foot CRN motoryacht Emotion, previously known for charter as Emerald Star. She will be available in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia this winter at a lowest weekly base rate of €126,000…

Camper and Nicholsons International has promoted D.J. Kiernan to head of worldwide charter marketing. He previously was head of U.S. charter marketing. Kiernan will work half the year in Monaco, and half the year in Fort Lauderdale…

CharterPortBVI fleet yacht Pacific Wave is offering a $1,500 discount on all charters booked before October 31. The 72-foot sailing yacht will be available in the British Virgin Islands from mid-October through June…

Churchill Yacht Partners welcomes the 142-foot Palmer Johnson motoryacht Lady J to the charter fleet. Previously known as Pure Bliss, Lady J has a new owner and will be available for charter this winter. She takes 12 guests in five cabins, has a crew led by longtime Capt. Sandra Yawn, and has a weekly base rate of $120,000… Also new to the charter fleet is the 67-foot Discovery sailing yacht More Magic. She is a Ron Holland design that will be available this winter in the Caribbean at a lowest weekly base rate of $22,500 for six guests…

CSO Yachts welcomes the 98-foot Couach motoryacht Fanfaron V to the charter fleet… The 130-foot motoryacht Lady Belmour is based in Cannes and available for static charters with as many as 80 guests when moored in the harbor. The single-day event charter base rate is €16,000…

Edmiston and Company tells us that seven charter yachts are still available for Thanksgiving bookings. They are the 235-foot Feadship motoryacht Utopia, the 207-foot Feadship motoryacht Lady Britt, the 180-foot Perini Navi sailing yacht Rosehearty, the 164-foot Heesen motoryacht Inception, the 164-foot Codecasa motoryacht Mariu, the 151-foot Leopard motoryacht Pure One, and the 120-foot Benetti motoryacht Andiamo…

Fraser Yachts Worldwide says the 246-foot sailing yacht Phocea is offering 15-percent off the regular weekly base rate of €160,000 for any charters of at least one week during the late-summer season… The 207-foot Royal Denship motoryacht Force Blue has lowered her weekly base rate from €235,000 to €200,000 for the entire month of October… The 163-foot Picchiotti motoryacht Exuma is available through the end of October in Fiji and French Polynesia, then in Fiji, Tonga, or New Zealand through Christmas... The 143-foot Sterling motoryacht Antinea is offering a 15-percent discount for one-week charters and a 20-percent discount for two-week charters through the end of October. The regular weekly base rate is €125,000… The 131-foot CRN motoryacht Sarita Si is giving a 15-percent discount for any one-week charters, or nine days for the price of seven, for the remainder of the summer season. The regular weekly base rate is €70,000… Congratulations to Capt. Paul Bickley of the 173-foot Benetti motoryacht Latitude on being named the fleet’s Charter Captain of the Year for 2011…

Hill Robinson welcomes two yachts to the charter fleet. The 154-foot sailing yacht Germania Nova is a replica of the 1908 schooner Germania, while the 141-foot Sarissa is the largest carbon sailing yacht ever delivered by the Vitters shipyard…

Infinity Yacht Charters is promoting a new charter yacht in Alaska, the 115-foot trawler-style motoryacht Surfbird. She takes six to 10 guests at lowest weekly base rates from $35,000 to $55,000…

Luxury Charter Group says the 121-foot Dubois sailing yacht Bliss has availability this winter in the Caribbean. She takes six to 10 guests thanks to a flexible accommodations plan. The lowest weekly base rate is $98,000…

Neptune Group Yachting tells us the 75-foot Hatteras motoryacht Sheer Bliss still has Christmas availability in Florida and the Bahamas. She takes six guests at a lowest weekly base rate of $18,000, or a holiday base rate of $20,000…

Nicholson Yachts welcomes the 67-foot Discovery sailing yacht Tilly Mint to the charter fleet. She is a Ron Holland design that accommodates six guests in three cabins. She will be available this winter in the Caribbean… The 104-foot Trehard sailing yacht Oceans Seven Squared is offering a reduced weekly base rate of €42,000 (down from €50,000) for the rest of the season in Croatia…

Northrop and Johnson says the 120-foot Crescent motoryacht Impetuous is waiving delivery fees for a Christmas or New Year’s charter in the Bahamas with a round-trip itinerary from Nassau… The 154-foot Admiral motoryacht Ohana is available in the Bahamas during the Thanksgiving holiday… The 164-foot Feadship motoryacht Inevitable is offering eight nights for the price of seven during the Thanksgiving holiday in the Caribbean. She takes 10 guests at a lowest weekly base rate of $190,000… The 123-foot Palmer Johnson sailing yacht Axia is in the shipyard until March 2012 and then will return to the charter market in the Bahamas and Caribbean… New to the fleet is the 131-foot Feadship motoryacht Seagull of Cayman, built in 1980 and refit in 2006…

Ocean Independence has eight charter yachts with late-season availability in Spain’s Balearic Isles… New to the charter fleet is the 141-foot Pax Navi sailing yacht Clear Eyes. She will be available in the Caribbean this winter before starting a 19-month itinerary around the world. The weekly base rate this winter will be $95,000 for 10 guests in five cabins… The 135-foot Codecasa motoryacht Ouranos Too has lowered her weekly base rate to €84,000 for 12 guests throughout October in Greece…

OceanStyle says the 120-foot Palmer Johnson motoryacht Vanquish will be available this winter in Australia and Caledonia. Charter dates will begin in March at a lowest weekly base rate of €101,500… The company has a new yacht management department in Monaco…

Primo Yacht says the 129-foot Lloyd’s motoryacht Ineke IV has post-season charter availability in the South of France. She takes 10 guests with seven crew at a lowest weekly base rate of €84,000…

Regency Yacht Vacations says the 47-foot sailing catamaran Dreaming On has just become open once again for a Christmas charter in the British Virgin Islands. The charter must end no later than December 30… The 47-foot sailing catamaran Tachyon has availability in the British Virgin Islands from mid-December through mid-January. She takes two to four guests at weekly base rates ranging from $10,300 to $11,800… Sailing catamarans still available for Christmas charters are Dreaming On, Tachyon, and Aldebaran in the British Virgin Islands, and Double Exposure in South Florida… The company is “going green” by offering PDF and CD books for attendees of the upcoming boat show in the British Virgin Islands… The 48-foot sailing catamaran Surprise is offering weeklong charter itineraries in the Florida Keys, Everglades, Dry Tortugas, and Bahamas…

Sunreef Yachts Charter tells us the 58-foot Sunreef sailing catamaran In the Wind has availability for eight guests this winter in the Caribbean. The inclusive weekly rate is $24,000 with three crew…

Sunsail has added 115 yachts to its worldwide charter fleet for 2012. The new 44-foot catamaran and 41-foot sailing yacht will be on display at the Annapolis Boat Show in Maryland from October 6-10…

YCO Yacht welcomes the 183-foot Perini Navi sailing yacht Panthalassa to the charter fleet... New to the YCO team in Monaco is charter yacht manager Tom Debuse, who previously spent a number of years with Camper and Nicholsons International…

New First Impression Charter Yacht Reviews Published on CharterWave

Intuition, 78-foot Conrad sailing yacht

Natalia, 120-foot Palmer Johnson motoryacht

Perfect Persuasion, 149-foot Oceanfast motoryacht

Red Head, 65-foot Florida Bay Coaster motoryacht

New Yacht Charter Destination Features Published on CharterWave

183-foot Benetti motoryacht Four Aces on charter in Corsica

Motoryachts Captivator and Trilogy on charter in the Great Lakes

New Charter Yacht Crew Interviews Published on CharterWave

Paul Baines, captain, motoryacht Perfect Persuasion

Casey Glover, chef, motoryacht Natalia

New Yacht Charter Broker Interview Published on CharterWave

Craig Cohen, Burgess Yachts

New “10 Best” Lists Published on CharterWave

10 Best Charter Yachts with 2011 Christmas and New Year’s Availability

10 Best Charter Yachts for Honeymooners

10 Best Charter Yachts with Great Kid Cabins

10 Best Charter Yacht Chefs