{"id":48954,"date":"2022-08-15T15:29:15","date_gmt":"2022-08-15T19:29:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/?p=48954"},"modified":"2023-05-06T18:19:40","modified_gmt":"2023-05-06T22:19:40","slug":"ready-to-charter-a-catamaran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/charter\/ready-to-charter-a-catamaran\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You Ready to Charter a Cat?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Dry <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Charter guests aboard a Fountaine Pajot Astr\u00e9a 42 enjoy the water off the Dry Tortugas, 70 miles west of Key West Florida.<\/span>\n Courtesy Green Brett<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n\n

The sun had just come up, and the stovetop espresso maker was already in action. Even though it was early\u2014and we were on vacation\u2014everyone was eager to get underway to the Dry Tortugas, an island group 70 miles west of Key West<\/a>, Florida. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

William was in the cockpit sorting out the snorkeling gear, while my husband, Green, was plotting the day\u2019s route. Giulia and I were getting some breakfast sandwiches on the table. And the four teenagers aboard? Still sleeping, of course. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our ride for the week was a Fountaine Pajot Astr\u00e9a 42 catamaran<\/a> chartered from the Dream Yacht Charter base in Key West, and it was perfect. It had four staterooms and en suite heads, dining tables inside and out, and enough room for eight of us to stretch out and socialize. The week \u00adincluded fishing, snorkeling, sunbathing, plenty of sailing, great food, sundowners and laughs. The best part? Everyone (\u00adincluding the teenagers) is ready to do it again\u2014truly the mark of a good vacation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"sailing <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Teens take a turn on watch.<\/span>\n Courtesy Jen Brett<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

According to a recent survey of the bareboat industry, catamarans now make up 45\u00a0\u00adpercent of the worldwide charter<\/a> fleet\u2014a new high\u2014and for good reason. With enough space and accommodations for large families or groups of friends, cats make excellent sailing vacation platforms.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get ready<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Are you qualified to charter a catamaran? For many people, the path to a bareboat charter is through courses such as those offered by US Sailing<\/a> and the American Sailing Association<\/a>. Some schools \u00adoffer courses specific to cruising multihulls.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Already an experienced \u00adsailor? In many cases, \u00adparticularly at bases in the Caribbean and North America, formal certifications aren\u2019t necessary, but a sailing r\u00e9sum\u00e9 showing some experience sailing boats of similar size is important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn most cases, experience aboard a similarly sized monohull would be acceptable,\u201d says Carol Hansen, head of marketing for Dream Yacht Charter. \u201cBut we review sailing r\u00e9sum\u00e9s on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the boat and destination of choice.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most charter companies also have professional captains available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get Set<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Time for the fun part: selecting your charter company, destination and boat. Try to focus on your priorities. If you are only looking to charter a specific catamaran model, that will limit your choice of companies and destinations. On the other hand, if you\u2019re set on a destination, you will have your choice of operators in that area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bound by a tight budget? Consider low-season dates, a destination closer to home, or chartering an older boat. If you are traveling with another family, like we did\u2014a definite perk of choosing a cat\u2014splitting the costs makes for an affordable vacation for everyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For first-timers, Hansen \u00adrecommends the British Virgin Islands and the US Virgin Islands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBoth offer deep water, steady wind, and readily \u00adavailable mooring balls at the popular anchorages,\u201d she says. \u201cI would consider the Abacos or Antigua as the next step up because they are slightly more challenging destinations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go!<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Florida <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n A catamaran offers plenty of space to spread out and soak up a Florida Keys sunset.<\/span>\n Courtesy Jen Brett<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Things to consider include all travel logistics (flights, ferries), a provisioning plan (do it \u00adyourself or order groceries ahead of time), itinerary options, and any toys you want to bring or reserve from the charter company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insider tip: If you\u2019re traveling with teens, consider renting kayaks or stand-up paddleboards to give them some fun and freedom. Trust me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When packing your bags, go lightly\u2014fortunately, swimwear and T-shirts don\u2019t take up much room. And don\u2019t forget your camera. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information about the ins and outs of planning a charter vacation, including packing tips, building an itinerary and how to provision like a pro, visit \u00adcruisingworld.com\/charter<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Catamarans now make up almost half of the worldwide charter fleet, and for good reason.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":48955,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Jen Brett","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"161","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"With enough space and accommodations for large families or groups of friends, catamarans make excellent sailing vacation platforms.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"","arc_website_url":"","custom_permalink":"","arc_subtype":"","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":false,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":true,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":"","ad_settings_ads_on_this_page":true,"ad_settings_automatic_ad_injection_into_the_content":true,"ad_targeting":"","sponsored_url":"","social_share":true},"categories":[161],"tags":[211,253,169,71,1919],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48954"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}