Tips to Yacht Charter

Posted on January 5, 2012 by admin

Yacht charterYacht charter is the process of renting or chartering a boat or a yacht for holidaying in the sea. Renting a sailboat is not a luxurious indulgence anymore. Even a person from middle-income group can afford to hire a sailboat for a vacation. The feeling of sailing in the deep sea is a wonderful experience and makes for perfect vacation. Add to that the privacy a sailboat can offer.

Typically, there are two types of boats that you can hire: bareboat and crewed boat. Until few years ago, yacht charter was considered an expensive vacation deal and there were not many takes. However, the trend is changing and people are willing to spend a little more for an innovative experience. The other type of sailboat that you can hire is a crewed one, wherein there are crew members on the boat with a captain and chef. The number of crew members would depend on the size of boat you choose. For instance, a 30-foot boat may simply require two to three crew members whereas a 300-foot yacht would require at least 30 crew members. If you haven’t yet hired a yacht then think about it for your next vacation. However, do read our article to learn about some hiring tips.

Tips For Yacht Charter

Destination – It is important to decide the destination since a company may offer competitive rates but may not be close to your desired destination. As such, you will attract other overhead expenses of hiring the boat. Shortlist some holiday destinations and keep your options open before finalizing a destination.

Get quotations – Shortlist a few companies and ask them for quotations. Once you get quotes from different companies, look through the services and facilities offered by the company. Sometimes, the yacht charter companies will include too much of fancy stuff that you can do without.

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Why Your Next Vacation Should Be a Cruise Vacation

Posted on December 28, 2011 by admin

Cruise VacationTo those of you who have already caught the cruise bug, congratulations! Cruises have it all – fun, food, excitement, food, romance, food… and did I mention the food?

When you start looking around, be sure to sign up to get automatic notifications about cruise deals from several cruise lines, and perhaps even some notable travel sites such as CruisesOnly, and Travelzoo. Cruises very often do not fill up, and you can get some great deals if you are willing to wait for last-minute pricing. Most of today’s cruise ships are so large, you can hardly even feel the boat rocking. If you think you are prone to motion sickness, do yourself a favor and take a gulf tour. For example, the cruises to the Western Caribbean are much smoother than the Eastern because the boat is in the calmer Caribbean waters, not the Atlantic. Have fun! Cruise lines are spending more and more money these days to make sure there is plenty to do on board so that nobody gets bored! There are multiple on-board restaurants, including Johnny Rockets and Starbucks. There are several theaters, an ice skating rink, casino, more than 5 pools, 8 whirlpools, a gym, ping-pong tables, bingo, shopping, movies…

The meals are worth discussing also. Expect three course meals ranging from lobster to filet mignon, with options for the kids. If you decide you want something a little more casual, most ships also have buffet-style cafeterias which serve everything from chicken nuggets to hamburgers and hot dogs. Expect to eat well on a cruise. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and cruise ships understand that, with a wide variety of eggs, meats, breads, and fruit to get your day started right. Call room service- they’ll bring whatever you’d like to the room at no charge! Finally, there are the ports of call. Some take advantage of an empty boat to schedule a relaxing massage. Why not consider a cruise for your next vacation? Bon Voyage!

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Three Sail Care Tips to Save You Money

Posted on December 21, 2011 by admin

Sail careLearn to sail like a pro with these cost saving sail care tips. If you want to learn how to sail like a pro, then you need to know the best way to keep your sailboat sails in great shape.
Tools you need:
Pencil
Ribbon (bright colored)
Check the Seams and Pockets
Your sailmaker lays one panel on top of another to span the width of the sail from luff to leech. Look all along these seams from luff to leech for any areas of broken sailmaking thread. Continue along each seam from the foot (bottom) of the sail to the head (top) of the sail. Go to the leech (trailing edge) of the mainsail and check each batten pocket. Circle any areas along the batten pocket that show broken thread or chafed spots.
Mainsail Seams and Hardware
Check the luff (leading edge) of each sail next. Chafe (worn spots) can cause weakness. This weakness affects your luff hardware. This rope, called a “boltrope” strengthens the cloth. The boltrope feeds into the slots inside the mast and boom to hold the sail in place. Next, the sailmaker installs a brass grommet (ring) into each hole. Then mast attachment hardware, called slugs or slides are attached to each grommet. The sail slugs are fed into the slot one at a time. Sail slides are used to attach a mainsail to mast and boom that have external tracks that run along the outside of the mast and boom. If a luff slug or slide breaks while sailing, this can cause the sail to rip across a seam.
Genoa and Jib Sail Wear
Furling Genoas often have a stainless wire inside the luff sleeve that runs from the tack to the head. This wire feeds the sail into the metal extrusion of your furling gear. Learn to sail with more confidence when you know the best way to inspect your costly sailboat sails. You will be able to sail all season long worry free with more speed, power, and performance than ever before–wherever in the world you choose to sail!

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How to Plan a Vacation and Stay on Budget

Posted on December 12, 2011 by admin

Travel PlanningEveryone experiences times in their lives when they must exercise fiscal restraint or adhere to a tighter than normal budget. It often turns out that a great deal was no deal at all. What follows is a guideline for the process of planning and calculating the costs of your vacation.
Transportation:
If so does that mean you will fly there and rent a car? Will the airfare be $1,000 and the car rental $500? Don’t forget to include health and cancellation insurance, especially if you are traveling with children or seniors, as well as the cost of having your own home checked every 48 hours while you are away.Perhaps your getaway is within a few hours drive of home.
Accommodation:
Camping, hostel, hotel, resort, bed and breakfast, cottage or chalet rental. Prices can vary from less than $20/night for backcountry camping to hundreds of dollars per night for anything but a hostel or camping. Know what you can afford.
Activities of Choice:
Don’t forget theatre tickets, boat cruises and admission fees for things like museums, amusement parks and sporting events. What about green fees or boat rentals? Perhaps you will be renting sports equipment. If you are staying at a resort, activities like horseback riding, water sports, tennis, etc. are often extra.
Food:
If this is a guided trip then you will likely be advised what meals you are responsible for on your own and possibly given an estimate of what to budget for those meals. An alternative would be to pack your own food in a cooler. If you will be at a resort or a B&B what will lunches, dinners and snacks cost?
Total:
Most people do a rough estimate and forget to calculate things like taxes, tips, insurance, incidentals or shopping. Holidays just about always cost a bit more than you expect but you can plan for that expense. Stuff, memories, bills, pictures? Plan for it.
To conclude the process, ask yourself these questions:
1.    Where and why do you want to go?
2.    What do you want to do?
3.    What do you want to bring home? Stuff, memories, bills, pictures? Plan for it.
4.    Can you afford it right now or do you need to postpone the trip to save more money?
These few simple steps can make the difference between a great vacation and one that causes more stress than it relieved.

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The Best Time to Cruise Alaska

Posted on December 4, 2011 by admin

Cruise AlaskaThe current in vogue destination within the cruising market is the unspoilt wilderness of Alaska. The rise of Alaska cruises over the last few years has been remarkable but considering the world has become a smaller place this really is not surprising. Many people who cruise are repeat customers and the more glamorous destinations of the Caribbean and the Mediterranean are normally their first cruises due to the destinations invariably being closer to home and less cost restrictive. Once these destinations have become exhausted the average cruiser is looking to cruise but to more exotic places and this where Alaska cruises have become the place to cruise to.
Alaska is an unspoilt wilderness and has so many choices and awe inspiring experiences it certainly has something for everyone. There are 3 different types of Alaska Cruise. The second most popular is out of Vancouver. This port use to be the most popular but due to increasing port taxes and the Americans wanting less forms to fill out the cruise lines have moved their ships. The last option involves starting of finishing in Vancouver but the cruise will end in Seward. The airlift to the relevant places is also a lot cheaper so appeals too many. The other big advantage of going in May and early June is it is Whale Season. Going in the peak months of July and August also has its advantages. Firstly the weather is normally considerably warmer and you have less chance of the rain spoiling your holiday. During the summer months if you go the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, the chances are you can watch these animals scooping salmon from the inlets and tributaries. However cruising in July and August is considerably more expensive than the other months. Lastly another popular time to cruise is September. Whatever your preference cruising Alaska is a must do for anyone, don’t be put off by reports of it being cold or wet.

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