The New Issue Is Out!!!

The Winter Issue of CharterSavvy is now available, bigger and better than ever!  This issue includes an 11-page feature about bareboating in Tahiti, illustrated with a mouth-watering array of photography that will soon be showing in your dreams.  For those of a certain age, be sure to read the sidebar on Captain Adam Troy and the Adventures In Paradise TV series.  There's a 10-page feature on an Abacos bareboat adventure and another ten-pager on bareboating in Croatia.  And everyone will enjoy the Dives, Sail-Ins and Swim-ups feature on the best waterfront pubs in the British Virgin Islands.  Not that we drink, mind you, but it's all about the ambiance.  Right.

Our Cargo feature is sunglasses, and a fine collection of shades they are, too, while the Sea Trial is the new Leopard 44 cat.

Our columns and departments bring you weather tips for the BVIs and a look at first- and second-tier charter companies, Dr. Tom deals with seasickness, while The Bareboat Contessa has some double-duty food tips as well as three yummy drink recipes.  

It's a great issue, so take a look by clicking on the cover above, or on our website.  Don't forget that you can also read all our back issues in the archives section.

Late Can Be Great!

Most of us plan our bareboat charters far in advance but, if you’ve got a little flexibility, there are some great deals to be had and LateSail is where you go.  Like the airline consolidators that bargain with the airlines to offer unsold seats, LateSail offers inexpensive, last minute, deeply discounted bareboat charters worldwide.

One that caught our eye (well, full disclosure, they sent us a note) is a Lagoon 380 sailing catamaran in the Abacos.  This is a four-stateroom, two-head, two-shower boat, and fun to sail.

It would normally charter for $5,526 a week (7 days), but LateSail is offering it from today through April 14 for just $3,395, which is a 30% savings.  Divide that between four couples and you've got a great vacation for about $850 per couple.  

Or how about a Leopard 44 in Belize during the same period.  Normally $8,222, you pay just $5,755.  A Leopard 44 in Tortola is available until April 21, discounted from $10,726 to $7,507. 

If your duffel bag is packed by the door, and the boss doesn’t mind a “won’t be in for a week” call, this is for you.

Info at www.latesail.com

Super Sunsail Caribbean Deals!

Sunsail has a great deal going for summer Caribbean charters, but the clock is ticking: if you book by February 29, you get 15% off on charters of 5-13 days or 25% off on charters of 14 days or more.  This special is for charters between June and September of 2012 at seven of their Caribbean bases: BVIs, St. Martin, St. Vincent, Antigua, Abacos, Belize and Grenada. 

And here’s an added zinger: if you’re a previous Sunsailor, you get another 5% off.

Choose from 15 different monohulls ranging from the Sunsail Oceanis 323 (2 cabins) up to the Sunsail 473 (4 cabins).  You can check out the details (new bookings only, 5-day minimum, U.S. and Canadian residents only, doesn’t include flights) and availability by clicking here or going to www.sunsail.com .

The CharterSavvy crew likes the islands in the summertime.  In the BVIs, for example, you don’t have the crowds of snowbirds escaping winter slush, and you don’t have to worry about the Christmas winds that can blow 30+ for days.  By June, the tradewinds have clocked around to the southeast at 10-15 knots.  The temperature is in the high 80s (that’s what generators, air conditioning and pina coladas are for!) and the water temp is also in the 80s, so it’s hard to tell which one you’re in (until you take a breath underwater!).