DECEMBER 2010

 Dear Charterer,

Wishing all of you a safe and Merry Xmas and a happy & healthy 2011. Can't believe where 2010 went!

After 'Sail Melbourne' which has become a great spectator event and part of the ISAF World Cup, we leave for Langkawi to spend Xmas and the following 2 weeks at the Optimist World Championships before a charter to Thailand's Butang Islands just over the Malaysian border.

December/January offer perhaps the best weather in Asia and given how good the weather is also at home, this is possibly why Asia is not as popular as the winter getaways of the Pacific and Mediterranean.

I always find the diversity of Asia amazing and exotic, especially remote areas such as the Butangs and Malaysia's Tioman Islands.

As our business and boating holiday's appeal continue to grow we thank you for your ongoing support and hope we can get you onboard and relaxed in 2011.

DREAM YACHT CHARTER

Dream Yacht Charter have recently taken over the operation and management of Vernicos Yachts who are one of Greece's largest bareboat operators and the sales agents for Beneteau. Dream are now operating in 20 countries, with a fleet of over 300 yachts and bring an international expertise and market to this business.

Earlier this year Dream also purchased Queensland Yacht Charters as well as an operator in New Caledonia. The Dream business is a mix of bareboat and fully crewed catamarans which are available to
be booked by the cabin, in a variety of locations.

Vernicos will continue to trade under the Vernicos brand for sometime. Who knows maybe Greek businesses are a bargain at the moment.

This latest acquisition puts Dream in the world's number two position in terms of number of yachts, but possibly number one as the largest choice of charter bases and countries offered.


FEATURE YACHT - LAGOON 450

Recently I spent a couple of days crawling over and inside many monohulls and catamarans. Having the range lined up on a quay gives the best impressions of size and space. One of our very reliable operators in Split had a range of Lagoon's side-by-side including the Lagoon 400, 420, 440 and the new 450.

The Lagoon 440 was the first to be released and is a perennial favourite with our clients with the unique flybridge and large hull windows giving the island bed cabins a waterside apartment feel.  Interestingly the 420 was released after the 440 and sat 4-6 inches higher out of the water. The next released was the 400 again 2ft smaller but again 4-6 inches more freeboard.

As with monohulls the designers are creating more volume within a length parameter - not that I think the Lagoon's are a pretty boat, but practical, spacious and comfortable for sure.

The new Lagoon 450 is a replacement for the 440 (with 400 sold since 2007) it has kept the popular flybridge and is also available as a motor cruiser.

Lagoon also have a 500 and new 620 which are also flybridge driven, surprisingly we can
offer the 50' Lagoon 500 now as a bareboat in the Mediterranean.

More details at http://www.cata-lagoon.com

FACEBOOK

While sailing in Croatia and meeting up with a number of charterers I was surprised to find that many use Facebook (for uploading pictures for family & friends at home).

I am not a current Facebook user (at the moment) but I am alone in this in our office.

Amber, Katherine and Jason have set up Charter World's Facebook page - They say that we need friends to 'like' us so we can start releasing relevant information - I hope we have some friends out there!

So please join up and we will update you on breaking news and specials in the world of yacht charter.

Our link is: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Charter-World-Yachting-Holidays/129348490457426


CHARTERERS IN FOCUS

Tony Telfer and crew experienced their first bareboat charter last year in the Whitsundays. Obviously they enjoyed the trip and have rebooked the exact yacht (Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 45) in Turkey next year.

Sailing in the Whitsundays is not exactly a baptism of fire, but with strong currents, a large tide and coral it is certainly challenging, especially in average weather conditions. By contrast, sailing in the Mediterranean offers significantly less hazards - no tides or current and a topography that usually ensures deep water making it difficult
to run aground.

Obviously if you live in Europe, the Mediterranean is your first time charter area and there is no reason why this should not be the case for Australians - over the years most of our clients have experienced bareboating closer to home at first, however this is changing with some far flung areas the first on the list.

Another regular charterer Rob Sceales, who has chartered in the Mediterranean a number of times, is now looking for something different and we have been looking at options in Sweden, Norway and France's Brittany Coast. These are new areas for us, but I have always enjoyed researching good cruising grounds, and appreciate
the trailblazing of our more adventurous clients.

In Norway skiing, sailing & sauna are even offered as a package deal, and it looks like you can pretty much ski straight on to the marina!

CHRISTMAS PRESENT IDEAS

Why not get a copy of your next charter destinations' cruising guide.

Most are a great read, and offer practical tips on all the cruising destinations.

Place your order now for Christmas - call or email us.

Greek Waters Pilot $85
Turkish Waters Pilots $85
Adriatic Pilot $75
Italian Waters Pilot $90
Corsica & North Sardinia $75
Whitsundays (100 magic miles) $80
New Caledonia Cruising Guide $70
Windward Island Sailors Guide $65
Leeward Islands Cruising guide $70
British Virgin Islands Cruising Guide $65
Guide to the Kingdom of Tonga $80

CROATIA (OUR STORY)

We really only decided to go to Croatia about three weeks before we stepped aboard. Having sailed in most of the Mediterranean charter regions, it is interesting that the choices were so wide, and most I rate on an equal footing. We had set aside two weeks for a charter and the charter flights were the same cost from our base in London, with daily schedules to Dalaman, Rhodes, Kos, Levkas, Split, Dubrovnik and Olbia to name a few.

The Balearic Islands of Mallorca held some appeal as the only major charter area I have not sailed, but in the end we swung back to our current most popular cruising destination - Croatia. I had always previously sailed south of Split towards Dubrovnik, this time I wanted to explore areas to the north of Split including the Kornati Islands.

We arranged to board in Sibenik which is located at the entrance to the Krka Estuary. I wanted to revisit and show Lynn & the kids the old favourites such as Brac, Hvar and Korcula but also explore some new anchorages. The perfect pick up port was Sibenik with a modern marina about a 50 minute transfer north of Split airport.

We arrived on an early morning charter flight from London with clear skies and a great view of the Croatian coastline and picking up a hire car went straight to Trogir for breakfast on the stunning waterfront.

Trogir is a UNESCO protected village built on a small island. Being 10 minutes from the airport, we have usually recommended it to our clients as the best overnight stay prior to boarding. We had breakfast at our favourite pension The Vila Sikaa who were pleased to see us having looked after our clients for almost 20 years -
"Australians are delightful people - no trouble at all" said the long term owners, The Runtic Family.

The narrow streets, churches and medieval houses were the oldest structures Jack and Holly have ever seen, and are truly amazing. Driving north via the stunning village of Primosten we arrived at the modern Mandalina Marina in Sibenik. About a kilometre away we found a large Woolworths-style supermarket with an extensive range. Jack and Holly found it hilarious that the products looked the same but not an English word to be found on any labels.

Not surprisingly there was a bit of guess work but we emerged with 2 large trolleys and a bill about half what I would expect to pay here. We stowed it all aboard, had a boat briefing and decided to stay in the marina overnight - the early flight catching up with us.

A beautiful day of 25 degrees (but little wind) saw us motoring on Day One down south to the island of Solta. A good client of ours had, after chartering for a few years, bought a holiday house in one of the bays and we decided to go and have a look.

At about nine miles by two Solta is one of the smallest inhabited islands but has a handful of very attractive anchorages. It is often overlooked as it is almost too close to Split and does not have the name of a Hvar or Brac. We stopped at the eastern end in the pretty village of Stomorska. 

Later Lynn & I went for a stroll and ended up in an olive oil shop purchasing some local product as well as having an in-depth discussion on the difference between virgin and extra virgin olive oil. A hand full of restaurants lined the small quay, but in the end we got the kids to bring back some takeaway pizza which we enjoyed with the boat next door - Slovakians who like Australia outperformed in the most recent world cup, Bresciano, Kewell and Schwarzer in the conversation.

Day Two was another beautiful day but again light winds. We poked our nose into Milna before heading out west to the township of Vis on the island of Vis. Wanting a quiet night, we chose to anchor in the western side of the bay and took the dinghy on a tour of this large and busy port.  (Click here to read more...)

Good chartering!
Brook Felsenthal
and the Charter World Team