Cat Charter

[snowyegret222]

I'm not sure where to post this. I now live in New York (Upstate) and my significant other has never sailed. I had to sell my 1963 Columbia Defender (completely refurbished and wonderful) in order to come to New York to be with my old high school sweetheart. Now, we want to take a week vacation in the Caribbean somewhere and he's talking about taking a cruise. Like a cruise ship cruise and that just makes me sort of ill to think about being stuck on a huge ship with a couple of thousand other people etc. I'm from the Pacific Northwest and until I moved to New York, had never considered or researched sailing the Caribbean (there was always the Pacific to sail). I'm wondering if there are private Cat owners in the Caribbean who will take couples on a cruise for a week or so. I've looked into the chartering a private yacht (not for us since he doesn't know how to sail and I want my next boat to be a Cat and don't know anything about sailing them) so that's out of the question. Sailing on a Cat with several other couples is an option but my goodness the commercial companies who offer this want 2 arms, all your legs and your first born. We are just regular people. We don't need fancy drinks with umbrellas, filet mignon or lobster every night and all night parties. I just want to introduce my guy to Cat sailing, be warm (want to sail in Feb or Mar 2014) and relax with some nice people. We are both pretty introverted (we do fine with small groups). Maybe snorkel some, see some pretty islands (without thousands of people on them) and teach my guy and me a little about sailing a Cat. If I'm in the wrong forum, I apologize. Any comments? Suggestions?

[ShaktisBoy]

Yes PM me

[HappyMdRSailor]

TONS AND TONS of either a private... or skippered instead of bareboat opps... do a search... AND... shatikisboy will be a valuable resource....

[Rubikoop]

Many, many options that are only limited by your budget. March and April are very busy so availability may be partially limited. Another option is to charter the smallest cat you can find and hire a skipper. When speaking charter lingo there are three basic choices from least to most expensive-
1) Bareboat, you are the only ones on it and are doing everything. It doesn't sound like you are qualified or ready for that yet.
2) Capt only, you are handling most of the food and provisioning. The capt is getting the boat from point to point and dealing with things directly related to the boat itself. If you island hop and have customs fees, run out of water or want a mooring all those type fees are on you as they come up. Typically the boat is refueled at the end of the trip and you pay for that as well. This is really a bareboat with a skipper taking all the pressure off.
3) Crewed charter, typically all inclusive once you step on. Somebody is feeding you and providing fancy blender drinks from sun up until you go to sleep. This is a boat with hired servants.

There is a lot of current information on traveltalkonline dot com.

Enjoy your trip.

[davecalvert]

We offer charters on our Belize 43 cat in the central and south Bahamas. Trips are tailored and we are offering some good prices. Email me if interested.

[scarlet]

I just wanted to subscribe to this tread... I've been looking into doing this in the spring.. and looking at some of the charger companies.. (i.e. Sunsailing, etc... ) is really shocking to see how much this costs... (especially for a cat.. )

[Rubikoop]

You've got a few things against you. Spring is high season typically demanding the highest prices of the year. The place you checked is one of the most expensive places to charter from. They have by far the biggest fleet and very new boats. You are now looking into a trip which means you didn't take advantage of the discounts that most companies offered in the fall for this upcoming season.
If I can provide a few ideas. Look at prices per cabin as a way to compare. Yes, newer boats will cost the most. What is your pain threshold (budget) per cabin? Start looking at other companies that offer older boats. You will see substantial prices reductions. You could try and work with a charter broker. Sometimes they can find some deals out there. Airfare in the spring should be considered as well. It is frequently the highest then too. Maybe a mono is the best solution. Only you can make that decision.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by scarlet

I just wanted to subscribe to this tread... I've been looking into doing this in the spring.. and looking at some of the charger companies.. (i.e. Sunsailing, etc... ) is really shocking to see how much this costs... (especially for a cat.. )

You are shopping for a cat right? You will certainly be shocked when you own one...a charter is a drop in the bucket.

[ShaktisBoy]

Check yor PMs

[NSfooter]

I agree with Belizesailor - cats are very expensive to own & if the charter rates put you off, then it might be better to re-think and go for a monohull. Most of the charter companies will provide a skipper and/or cook on any of their boats, so you don't need any qualifications. Typically they will cost you $120-150 per day each, plus tips. Our boat is with Horizon & I know they offer this option.

Good luck.

Fountaine Pajot Helia 44 Charter