CharterWave eNews
February 2008

Yachts vs. Cruise Ships: The Environmental Impact
Climate change is perhaps the most serious issue facing people everywhere, and nobody wants their cruising vacation to have a negative effect on the environment.
     In this month’s exclusive CharterWave Special Report, we take a look at the environmental impact of a typical cruise ship vacation versus a typical yacht charter vacation—with statistics that show quite clearly just how much better a charter vacation is for environmentally conscious travelers.
    Our Special Report includes statistics and comparisons regarding sewage, gray water discharge, and carbon dioxide emissions. All of these things affect our world’s waters and the air that we breathe, and according to our research, vacationers do significantly greater damage to oceans and the atmosphere when they choose a cruise ship vacation instead a private charter yacht.
     Also worth noting is that our Special Report highlights several charter companies that are leading the charge to make chartering the environmentally conscious choice. That’s a nice thing to see happening, and we are pleased to be able to tell you about some of their efforts.

Welcome New Sponsor: V.I. Sailing
We are thrilled to welcome Florida-based V.I. Sailing as one of CharterWave’s newest sponsors. The company is a reputable choice for charters of all kinds, and its Internet-savvy president chose to become our first sponsor to have video as well as a blog on his company's CharterWave page.
     V.I. Sailing President Tom DeMartine is not just a member of the professional organization CYBA International, but has also served as its Ethics Committee chairman for several years. His company is home to brokers who are experts in different kinds of charter. Melody Delgado handles bareboats, Gail Hartman consistently books more crewed yachts in the Virgin Islands than any other broker, and Tim Nelson books charters on megayachts 100 feet and larger.
     I encourage you to check out V.I. Sailing’s new sponsored page here on CharterWave, or to learn more about the company by clicking over to www.VISailing.com. 
     You also might be interested in seeing what V.I. Sailing has to offer on our Deals & Promotions page, since it’s the first company to take advantage of that sponsorship opportunity here on CharterWave.


Welcome New Sponsor: Broker Gail Hartman
Our second new sponsor this month is charter broker Gail Hartman of V.I. Sailing, who has her own sponsored page with blog in addition to her company’s new sponsored page.
    Gail books crewed yacht charters all over the world, but she has particular expertise in the Virgin Islands, where she consistently books more crewed yacht charters than any other broker. She has worked in the charter industry for close to 20 years, and her personal cruising experience includes not just the Virgin Islands, but also the Bahamas, Florida, and the Caribbean.
    She has already started blogging on her sponsored page about information that might be of use to you as a charter client. Check out what she has to say by clicking here.

Welcome New Sponsor: Fine Yachts
Our third new sponsor to join CharterWave this month is Fine Yachts, the retail charter division of Rhode Island-based Newport Yacht Management.
     Tom Rowe and Patty Martin are the charter brokers at this company, which they have spent two decades building into both a charter and yacht management firm. They have each cruised extensively in many parts of the world. Tom also has travel industry experience, while Patty used to work onboard yachts.
     They plan to start blogging on their sponsored page this month. You can learn more about Fine Yachts there, or click over to www.fineyachts.com.

We’re Scouting for You in Miami
CharterWave editor Kim Kavin, just back from a trip to Panama to evaluate an expedition yacht offering charters in the Las Perlas Islands, is hitting the road again this month, bound for the Miami International Boat Show in Florida.
     Several new charter yachts are expected to be on display, and as always, Kim will do her best to get onboard and then share what she finds. Look for updates on her daily Editor’s Blog.

New Vidcast: Two Minutes on St. Barth’s
We have a new destination vidcast for you on CharterWave this month: Two minutes on the posh Caribbean island of St. Barth’s.
     St. Barth’s is one of the hottest spots for yacht charter this time of year, and especially during New Year’s Eve, as well. Our video tour shows you the main quay in Gustavia Harbor where yachts jockey for prime position, as well as some of the island’s beaches and high-end shops.
     Give us two minutes, and we’ll give you St. Barth’s. Click here to check out our new two-minute vidcast.

CharterWave 2008 Media Kit is Now Online
The new media kit for CharterWave sponsors is now online. Our rates for some sponsored pages have increased slightly over 2007, primarily because our audience of charter readers continues to grow. As of this writing, we're on target to average 50,000 a year--with that audience growing a little more each day.
    According to the feedback we get from reputable charter brokers featured on CharterWave, our  readers are booking at least one crewed yacht charter a month, and most of them have never booked before.  We’re thrilled to be introducing new people to the charter industry on such a regular basis.
     An important note about our 2008 media kit: It includes a new statement that pertains to the type of sponsors we will accept. CharterWave will only accept advertising from brokers and companies that are members of professional organizations including MYBA, FYBA, AYCA and CYBA International. While we continually receive requests from start-up and Web-based companies to advertise on CharterWave, Editor Kim Kavin has decided that she wants to drive readers only to those brokers and companies that are considered the most reputable in the world.
     To see our new media kit and learn how to become a CharterWave sponsor, click here.

Best of the Editor’s Daily Blog
eYachtCharter.com–Part II. Okay, folks, welcome to the first bit of nastiness I’ve had hurled at me via the Internet for trying to make sure you understand the ins and outs of the yacht charter industry... Read more…

Best of the Sponsored Blogs
Short charters. From the Regency Yacht Vacations blog: Can’t break away for a week? Or perhaps your group is not certain that they will enjoy time on a yacht? The answer is to charter for less than a week & give it a try. Most yachts will accept trips from three to six nights easily — some will even agree to just an overnight if it fits with their schedule... Read more...


Crewed Motoryacht of the Month:
Lady Sheridan
It’s not too often that our editors are wowed by a motoryacht launch, but this new 190-footer from Abeking & Rasmussen in Germany is easily one of the most impressive yachts to enter the charter industry during the past year.  She left our editor literally speechless.
     If you’re looking for a brand-new, top-dollar charter yacht that will turn heads from Miami to Monaco, check out our exclusive First Impression review of Lady Sheridan.

Crewed Sailing Yacht of the Month: Jess Sea
At 87 feet long, Jess Sea is a sailing yacht that caught our eye for a couple of reasons. One is her outstanding seven feet of interior head room. Another is the fact that she has all twin-size beds onboard—making her a great yacht for friends to charter if they don’t want to share a bed.
    Check out our exclusive First Impression review, which includes some additional and important information about the crew onboard Jess Sea.

Captain of the Month: Jack Mckay
It speaks volumes about Capt. Jack Mckay that all but one charter he did onboard the 115-foot motoryacht Harmony last year was for a repeat client—and that the one new charter client had to book a year and a half in advance.
     That’s the kind of hard-earned reputation that we like to celebrate here on CharterWave, and it’s why Mckay is our Captain of the Month for February. Read our exclusive interview, done in Sint Maarten just last month.

Chef of the Month: Emma Rye
We were thrilled to get this exclusive interview with chef Emma Rye of the 168-foot motoryacht Lazy Z less than 24 hours after she took home top honors in the Antigua charter show chef’s competition.
     We were all the more impressed with her win when we found out she’d only joined the crew aboard Lazy Z about three weeks earlier—having come from working onboard some of the biggest, most exclusive private yachts in the world.

Charter Broker of the Month: Pila Pexton
After some 25 years working in the charter industry—including serving as yacht crew and circumnavigating the globe—Pila Pexton knows a thing or two about helping clients book the best possible charters.
     Her role at Bartram & Brakenhoff in Newport, Rhode Island, is part retail broker, part charter fleet manager, as she explains in our exclusive interview.

Fleet and Management Company News
Absolute Yachting in Greece says the 103-foot motorsailer Akana is available for a weeklong charter from Santorini to Turkey with no delivery fees at the end of February…

Athens Yachts in Greece tells CharterWave the 109-foot motoryacht Astir is undergoing a refit that will be completed in time for spring and summer charters. The refit yacht will be available at a newly reduced weekly base rate of 74,500 euros (previously 87,500 euros)…

BCR Yachts has added the 118-foot motoryacht Sunliner X to its charter fleet. The yacht appears to be based year-round in the South of France at a lowest weekly base rate of 42,000 euros for eight guests… BCR has several sailing yachts with availability this winter in the Caribbean. They include the 82-foot Aqua Equinox V, the 78-foot Rusalka, the 72-foot Concerto, and the 75-foot Holo Kai… The 75-foot sailing yacht Sunday Morning is available for charters this month in the Maldives. She heads to the Red Sea to offer charters in March and April…

Blue Latitude Yachting says the 67-foot sailing catamaran Levante is available for charters in Southeast Asia at a weekly base rate of 22,000 euros. The yacht’s winter base is Phuket, Thailand, and her summer base will be in Bali…

Camper & Nicholsons International is officially welcoming the 177-foot motoryacht Maraya into its fleet. The yacht’s first charter is expected to be in March, followed by a season in the Mediterranean. CNI is also welcoming the 164-foot motoryacht Braveheart back to its fleet following an extensive refit. New to the CNI fleet in the Caribbean is the 142-foot Marinteknik Griff, a 1994 build that was refit in 2007. CNI also tells us that a few of its motoryachts will be offering charters in unusual locations this summer: the 112-foot Symphony II will be in the Aruba-Bonaire-Curacao region, the 85-foot Anne Viking will be the Norwegian fjords, and the 130-foot Parvati will be in Croatia…

Chamberlain Conboy International announced its entry into the charter industry in late January as a new yacht-services company with a retail charter booking division. One of the founding partners is Kent Chamberlain, a member of the Florida Yacht Brokers Association who previously owned the company Chamberlain Yachts …

Churchill Yacht Partners has the 108-foot Burger motoryacht Chanticleer available for charters through April in the Virgin Islands. Her weekly base rate is $35,000 for eight guests… The company also has two motoryachts available in the Bahamas, the 114-foot Camille and the 88-foot Lady Victoria… And the 154-foot sailing yacht Andromeda la Dea is offering seven nights for the price of six on a weeklong charter from Martinique or St. Lucia to the Grenadines at the end of February…

Fraser Yachts Worldwide reports that the classic, 151-foot sailing yacht Lulworth is upgrading at least one deck winch to eke even better performance out of the new sails that were put on for racing regattas last year…

International Yacht Collection has added two Trinity motoryachts to its charter fleet. The 161-foot Zoom, Zoom, Zoom takes ten guests at a weekly base rate of $245,000, while the 145-foot Relentless takes 10 guests at a weekly base rate of $140,000...

Merrill-Stevens Yachts tells us the 147-foot Izar motoryacht Tuscan Sun is booking up fast for the summer charter season. She has only a few weeks of availability left from May through September, with charters booked primarily in the South of France… The 130-foot Westport motoryacht Arioso still has some available weeks this winter in the Caribbean, and early this spring in the Bahamas. She takes 10 guests with seven crew at a weekly base rate of $85,000…

Moran Yacht & Ship welcomes the 180-foot Oceanfast motoryacht True Blue into its fleet… The motoryacht Never Enough just finished an extension that makes her total length 140 feet (previously 130) and is heading to Greece and Turkey to offer charters this summer… The 223-foot Lurssen motoryacht Kismet is reportedly already fully booked for the entire upcoming summer season…

Nicholson Yachts says the 88-foot sailing yacht Demoiselles is fresh from a four-month, $650,000 refit and ready to offer charters in the Seychelles islands… The 80-foot sailing yacht Matelot is going to be available in Croatia this summer… The 75-foot sailing yacht Amneris, having just completed a million-dollar refit in Fort Lauderdale, will begin offering charters in March at a weekly base rate of $16,900 for six guests… The 82-foot sailing yacht Fortuna is offering a 10-percent discount on charters through the end of March (regular, inclusive rates run from $22,400 for four guests to $29,000 for ten guests)…

Northrop & Johnson welcomes two new yachts to its fleet: the 87-foot sailing yacht Jess Sea (this month’s CharterWave featured sailing yacht) and the 115-foot motoryacht Watercolours… Northrop & Johnson also has the 115-foot motoryacht Kapalua cruising north from the Grenadines to the Leeward Islands this month, with charter availability along the way…

Northrop & Johnson Worldwide Yacht Charters tells us that Carolyn Titus, formerly a broker with NautorUSA and a friend of CharterWave, has joined the N&J team in Newport…

Ocean Partners International has two sailing yachts available for charter in Turkey this summer and fall, each taking ten guests: the 111-foot Ecce Navigo at a weekly base rate of 35,000 euros and the 124-foot White Wings at a weekly base rate of 42,000 euros…

Sunsail Sailing Vacations is opening two Italian new bases for bareboat and skippered charters onboard yachts up to 50 feet long. One will be in Tropea, on the southwest mainland, and the other will be in Palermo, on Sicily’s northwest coast…

The Shipyard Group says the 118-foot motoryacht Wanderlust is spending some time in Harbour Island, Bahamas, so if you’re interested in chartering there, you can do so without having to pay the typical delivery fees.

New First Impressions Posted on CharterWave This Month:
Balaju, 146-foot motoryacht
Drumbeat, 174-foot sailing yacht
Harmony, 115-foot motoryacht
Jess Sea, 87-foot sailing yacht
Jet Stream, 45-foot sailing catamaran
Lady Sheridan, 189-foot motoryacht
Lazy Z, 168-foot motoryacht
Paladin, 120-foot motoryacht
Sea Quell, 108-foot sailing yacht

New Crew Interviews Posted on CharterWave This Month:
Capt. Jack Mckay, motoryacht Harmony
Chef Emma Rye, motoryacht Lazy Z

New Broker Interview Posted on CharterWave This Month:
Pila Pexton, Bartram & Brakenhoff

New Special Report Posted on CharterWave This Month:
Charter Yachts vs. Cruise Ships: The Environmental Impact

New Vidcast Posted on CharterWave This Month:
Two minutes on the Caribbean island of St. Barth’s

Support the Reputable Charter Brokers Who Support CharterWave:

Gail Hartman

Agnes Howard

Support the Reputable Charter Companies that Support CharterWave:

BoatBookings.com

International Yacht Charter Group

Regency Yacht Vacations

V.I. Sailing

Fine Yachts