Bareboat Charter

The tiny nation of Belize took a giant step today in the global effort to safeguard the oceans by banning all forms of trawling in the country's waters.

For years, Belize, a popular Caribbean yacht charter destination, ignored international calls to ban the destructive fishing gear.  But when the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recently threatened to strip the Belize Barrier Reef of its World Heritage Site status, the government took notice. 

Facing UNESCO sanctions, Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s administration  negotiated the buy-out of the country's commercial shrimp trawlers and initiated a ban on all future trawling.

Shrimp trawls are notorious for the amount of bycatch they haul in. Thousands of sea turtles, marine mammals, and untargeted fish are caught in shrimp trawlers around the world every year. Meanwhile, bottom trawlers’ weighted nets effectively raze the ocean floor with every pass, destroying sensitive corals and anything else in their way.

Particularly at risk is the Belize Barrier Reef, which is part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, the second largest coral reef system in the world after Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The reef is a destination for sailors, divers, and snorkelers around the world.  

Both bareboat and crewed catamaran charters have increased significantly in recent years along the coast of Belize.  While the appeal of a Virgin Islands yacht charter is still strong, seasoned sailors and vacationers seeking less-crowded anchorages have discovered the unspoiled charm of the Belize Barrier Reef.  

With this ban, which goes into effect December 31st, Belize becomes one of the first countries in the world to institute a complete and permanent ban on trawling in all its waters.

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To book your own yacht charter odyssey along the Belize Barrier Reef, contact a charter specialist at SailAway.

Winfrey, 56, hit the famous harbor's glittering waters on board the bareboat charter yacht "Eagle Rock" with Crowe, a Sydney local, tailed by a flotilla of some 20 other yachts.

 

Wearing a white cap given to her by Crowe and emblazoned with the logo of his South Sydney Rabbitohs rugby league team, Oprah beamed as she sat at the stern of the bareboat yacht, talking sport with the "Gladiator" star.

"I'm having the time of my life," Winfrey said.

The harbor featured heavily on the megastar's weekend itinerary, with a glittering waterfront reception Saturday night, complete with fireworks, followed by a Sunday morning climb of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and a visit to Bondi Beach.

Oprah's whirlwind tour of Australia will be broadcast as a four episode "Ultimate Australian Adventure" in January 2011.

To rent a private yacht in Sydney, Australia, contact a charter specialist at SailAway.

While crewed sail boat charters and bareboat charter vacations normally last 5 to 7 nights, not everyone has the time for a multi-night term luxury yacht charter. In this economy, saving up for a special bareboat charter or luxury yacht charter holiday might mean postponing until 2010.
 
Now for the good news - sail boat charters can be as short as one day and are the perfect compliment to a land-based Caribbean island vacation.
 
Let's take a look at a single-day luxury yacht charter escape in the British Virgin Islands (also known as, the BVI):
 
There are four major inhabited islands in the BVI, as well as dozens of (nearly 60) smaller islands, cays, and rocks scattered throughout the archipelago. Of course, the fun way to see these sights is by boat on a luxury sailing charter.
 
You can rent a small Caribbean yacht charter sailboat or a fast powerboat for the day in Road Town, Nanny Cay, West End, or several other locations. Some experience driving a powerboat or basic chart-reading skills are important to ensure you have a pleasurable day.
 
A great trip could start from Road Town, Tortola and head south across the Sir Francis Drake Channel to Peter Island. You can tie up to the dock in Sprat Bay or anchor off the beach in Deadman's Bay and swim ashore (remember to wear your water socks). Visitors are welcome in the public areas, the boutique, and the beach grill. 
 


From Peter Island, it's a short boat ride to Norman Island. This is author Robert Louis Stevenson's legendary Treasure Island, and the source of countless tales of pirates and buried chests of gold. Today, the island is uninhabited except for a small restaurant on the beach in the Bight. Anchored in the bay is the old ship, William Thornton, affectionately known by bareboat charter lovers and the locals as the "Willy T," a trading vessel converted to a bar and restaurant. It's a great stop for a little "pirate" ambiance. Be warned - on holiday weekends, the Willy T is not appropriate for kids as it takes on a bawdy "adults only" atmosphere.
 
Just outside the bay are the Caves. These are more like grottoes and are a true snorkeler's delight. You can tie up your boat to one of the National Park moorings and swim in. Don't be surprised if a school of tropical fish swim alongside you, looking for a handout. The locals ask that you resist the temptation to feed the little critters, however. Human food is not healthy for the fish and may do them great harm in the long run.
 
After snorkeling at the Caves, it is a short boat ride to The Indians. These rock outcroppings are the size of houses and full of nesting seabirds in the summer. The waters around the rocks are teeming with fish of every shape and color. One local describes a swim here as a magical experience: "Floating among the fish, corals and sea fans will make you feel like Peter Pan flying through an enchanted forest."
 
If the sun is still high in the sky, and you still feel fresh for more adventure, zip over to Salt Island. You can tie up to the dock and walk around the abandoned houses to the salt pond where workers harvest and sell sea salt. If you still have any get-up-and-go in your tank, hop back on your boat and cruise around the corner to the wreck of the HMS Rhone, the BVI's first underwater park. Snorkel over the wreck and try to imagine what it looked like before it sank in 1867!
 
By now, you realize you are on "island time." There's little reason to hurry back to Tortola, unless you have an early dinner reservation at your hotel or resort. Assuming you are in the island groove, we suggest a cruise east to Cooper Island. Accessible only by boat, this island has a few rental homes and a tiny resort that's looks like a vacation postcard from the water - palm trees and long, white sand beach. By now, you must be hungry from a morning/afternoon of exploring. Drop in a local restaurant for a late lunch. With a full belly and a big smile, it's just a short sail or cruise back to Tortola.
 
There are many other itineraries for a day trip by boat. Your hotel concierge can recommend the best local boat rental operators and give you some ideas as to where to go and what to see there. You can go fast on a powerboat or slower on a sailboat - the choice is yours. Either way, a day boat trip around the British Virgin Islands will be the highlight of your land-based island holiday! 
 
For more information, call the yacht charter specialists at 1-800-YACHTCHARTER, email them at info@1800yachtcharter.com, or visit the website at 1800yachtcharter.com

The Top 10 North American Shark-Attack Beaches! 

Yikes, did that get your attention?  Perhaps you are planning a mega yacht charter or a luxury sailing charter, and you're now wondering if "Jaws"  is out there in the deep blue, waiting to take a bite out of your vacation.

Well, if you're planning a Florida yacht charter or even a Bahama yacht charter, you have little to worry about.  Shark attacks of people swimming from their luxury yacht charter vessels are a extremely rare - actually an unheard of occurrence!  

Before we all became green-friendly eco-conscious travelers, boaters, (from crews on Caribbean yacht charter vacations to bareboat enthusiasts to cruise ships), used to throw garbage overboard. Now, the real danger is to those land lubbers putting a toe in the water at the beach.



In case you have friends who aren't lucky enough to own a superyacht, or they prefer luxury sailing charter vacations, you might warn them about these beaches:

1.  New Smyrna Beach, Fla.

Due to its thousands of annual beachgoers, as well as its toothy inhabitants at hunt offshore, New Smyrna is the shark attack capital of the world. That's according to the International Shark Attack File, which cites 210 attacks in the beach's home county of Volusia, Florida. But miles of white sand and consistent surf breaks continue to draw vacationers and locals alike into New Smyrna's waters.

2.  North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii

No. 2 on the International Shark Attack File for unprovoked attacks is Oahu, where tiger sharks, Galapagos sharks, and sandbar sharks congregate in high numbers, especially near beaches on the island's north shore. This doesn't stop surfers, who flock to Velzyland Beach, the Leftovers Break, and dozens of additional wave-beaten beaches where sharks search and swim.

3.  Long Beach Island, New Jersey

Source material for "Jaws," a 1974 novel by Peter Benchley - and later a movie by Steven Spielberg - came from incidents at this New Jersey beach in 1916. In an unprecedented 11 days, five major shark attacks took place along the Jersey Shore, four of which were fatal. Reports cited blood turning the water red and sharks following victims toward the beach. Today, sharks are rare, but the legend lives on in the surf and swells of these tepid Atlantic waters.

4.  West End, Grand Bahamas Island

Though it didn't happen at a beach, the death of an Austrian lawyer who was diving with sharks in February 2008 off the Bahamas has sharpened attention n these tropical waters, which Patrick Douglas, owner of Shark Diver, an ocean guiding outfit in San Francisco, said are "among the shark-iest places on the planet." He has seen 14-foot-long tiger sharks offshore from beaches were thousands of tourists swim and sun each year.

5.  Stinson Beach, California

In the shadow of Marin County's Mt. Tamalpais, Stinson Beach is a spot where great white sharks swim into the shallows. Patrick Douglas said he has sighted them at Stinson - which is a neighboring stretch of sand east from Bolinas Beach (No. 3 on the list) - in less than 20 feet of water. "They're coming to feed on seals, though it's not uncommon for surfers to see them," he said.

6.  Beaches of Brevard County, Florida

In the past 100 years, there have been 90 reported shark confrontations on beaches in this county on Florida's east coast. Visitors head east from Orlando to the ocean to dip their toes in the tepid waters at Cocoa Beach, Jetty Park, and Klondike Beach, a 24-mile-long wilderness beach accessible only by foot in Canaveral National Seashore preserve.

7.  Horry County (Myrtle Beach), South Carolina

South Carolina has seen more than 50 total shark attacks over the past century, according to the International Shark Attack File. Of those, 16 attacks are recorded off the beaches of Horry County, where the town of Myrtle Beach is famous as a tourist destination. The good news: The International Shark Attack File cites no fatal shark attacks in South Carolina since 1852.

8.  Solana Beach, California

A freak great white attack in 2008 at Solana Beach in San Diego County, California, killed a 66-year-old swimmer. He was on a morning swim, training with a group when the attack occurred. Solana Beach, home to a population of seals, is at the periphery of the corridor where great sharks commonly roam.

9.  Galveston, Texas

The International Shark Attack File cites one fatality and 12 attacks since 1911 at the beaches of Galveston, Texas, which is a city on an island on the Gulf Coast. It is by no means an attack hot spot, but swimmers are justified in their concern as to what's roaming offshore.

10.  Zihuatanejo, Mexico

Over the course of a month last spring, the beaches near Zihuatanejo, a city on the Pacific Coast north of Acapulco, saw three shark attacks and two fatalities. A shark hunt ensued, with local fisherman baiting lines and patrolling waters where surfers regularly bob.