Conference unifix::sailing

>>>    What are the general requirements for chartering a sailboat for
>>>    cruising? 
    
Money. 

Though I've never been a charterer, my impression from talking to people 
who have chartered is that most charter companies require very little
competence or experience before chartering you a boat. A friend of mine
who had owned a 26' sloop for a year or two was allowed to sail off into
the sunset on a chartered 43' sloop with no checkout sail. But then that 
was in the Virgin Islands where the sailing is reportedly easy. Rather more 
experience and competence might be expected if the charter was in a more 
challenging sailing area (ie, Maine). 

    The requirements vary tremendously with the charter agency and boat
    owner. In general, charter agencies (where the owner is kept at
    arm's length from the charterer) are more lenient than owners who
    are chartering on their own.
    
    In New England, most owners and agencies will ask for a resume and
    references, and expect to see evidence that you can handle a boat
    on your own. Generally acceptable minimum is previously owning your
    own boat, going to one of the sailing schools, or a lot of past
    charter experience. If most of your experience is on a family boat
    when you were young or as crew for a friend, that will usually be
    acceptable as well.
    
    Charter companies don't usually worry much if you're changing boat
    sizes, even if the change is dramatic (say from a Sea Sprite (23')
    to a Bermuda 40 the year you win the lottery). They're apt to be
    more demanding if your experience is in day sailers or dinghy racing,
    since a large part of managing a charter boat (inevitably a cruiser)
    is maneuvering under power, getting in and out of marinas and harbors,
    anchoring, etc. These are the times when you're most apt to blunder
    in an unfamiliar boat, and some evidence of ability to perform these
    maneuvers should be forthcoming.
    
    My wife and I have chartered over a dozen boats in the last ten
    years, and it has usually been a rewarding experience. Most of our
    charters have been in Maine, with a couple on the Cape. A few
    observations and other comments follow:
    
    1. If you can satisfy the owner, it is usually better to chareter
    directly from the owner rather than an agency. It will be a little
    cheaper, and you'll get a genuinely expert introduction to the boat.
    Many owners will insist that you take a brief sail with them, and
    this will provide a good opportunity to get pointers to a boat's
    peculiarities. It's good to have reasonable confidence in your skills;
    it can be intimidating to take over a boat which has just been expertly
    handled for you and try to duplicate the performance. The only down
    side chartering directly from an owner is that it can be
    nerve-wracking. These boats are often the absolutely pride and darling
    of the owning family, and you may be hard put to keep the boat as
    clean and gorgeous as you received it. We once chartered a Cape
    Dory 28 that looked as though it was kept in a baggie. Everything
    was polished and unscratched; they had even sown up a set of canvas
    storage bags for the companionway slides. We got on it with two
    children, and during one week spilled cocoa and soup in the cockpit,
    lost some of the sliverware, and damn near lost their lovely sailing
    dinghy. We did our best to restore the gleam when we returned the
    boat, but we still kind of slinked away when we were done.
    
    2. Descriptions of boats, particularly when provided by agencies,
    may not be very close to reality. Agencies often get boats whose
    owners have lost interest in sailing and are just trying to squeeze
    some money out. We've had several poorly maintained boats which
    had us continually making emergency repairs, putting into boatyards,
    and sailing with our hearts in mouth (worn halyards or cat's claws
    in the wire, horribly tuned rig, blown out sails, etc). There is
    much you can do when you show up to pick up the boat and its in
    poor shape with a completely different inventory than the one in
    the charter listing; the agency has your deposit and where else
    are you going to go? Whenever this has happened to us (one particularly
    bad example) we just cross the agency off our list and make the
    best of it.
    
    3. We feel it's smart to be very conservative when you have a charter
    boat. In general we stick to the book, not burdening the boat with
    excess sail, sticking to buoyed passages while everybody with local
    knowledge takes short cuts between the ledges, and making a couple
    passes at the gas dock while we figure out how the boat really does
    handle under power. Despite the baggie story above, we try to bring
    boats back cleaner and in better shape than we started, and often
    do minor repairs. We figure it it can't hurt to treat these boats  
    as well as possible. We had one owner check us out on his boat,
    then ask us not to set out for 1/2 hour or so, to give him a chance
    to leave the area. He said he just couldn't bear to watch the boat
    leave with someone else in charge. Maybe he was just trying to
    manipulate us into being extra careful, but it sure works...
    
    4. Although there are clear negatives (such as never being an expert
    on the boat you have), there are some real advantages to chartering.
    If you are considering buying a boat and want a good chance to evaluate
    it, charter one for a week first. You can also pick up a lot of
    good ideas on arrangement and interior details, which is real nice
    for those of us crazy enough to be building a boat. An sometimes
    you will get into a boat that's just simply a rare treat. We once
    chartered an older Hinckley Pilot which had been in the same family
    for 25 years or so, and which they were considering chartering for
    the first time. The boat was in wonderful shape, well equipped,
    and all those years of loving ownership had given a spirit and
    character which was a real treat to experience.
    
    So try it, but always consider it a responsible adventure.
    
    Ross Faneuf
    

    Where are you chartering and what size boat are you interested in?
    Charter fleets may have different attituded than the individual
    chartering their personal boat.  First hand experience indicates 
    that the charter companies all have a stern upfront policy but 
    are actually not all that concerned in practice with your previous 
    experience as long as you have some.  At least this is the way it 
    seems in the Virgin Islands where Alan pointed out the ease of sailing 
    and navigation is a factor.  We chartered a Jeanneau 41' for two weeks
    last year and my sailing resume was not at all impressive being 
    relatively new to the sport (3 years + or -).  Since we made the 
    arrangements in the Spring, it did not include any planned sailing for 
    the upcoming summer.  Consequently they signed us up for a skipper for 
    at least one day which we squawked about. As it turned out it was a
    good summer for sailing for myself and since my wife was a little
    leary of a week alone handling a 41' sailboat she insisted we take a 
    charter prep course.  Upon arrival at the charter dock we spoke with 
    the port captain who basically said "If you're comfortable then
    there's no need for a skipper".  What sort of made me wonder was the 
    relative experiences of several of the other charterers was far less 
    than ours in comparison.  At least two of the parties had no real 
    anchoring experience on a large boat and several others had most of 
    their experience with small daysailers.  This made me feel better
    about my own experience but it did not replace the need for being 
    conservative with boat handling.  We have made our reservations for 
    this year with CYC on a Hylas 44 and have had our resumes approved 
    for bareboating no questions asked.  It sounds as if you have more 
    than adequate experience for chartering if you have your own cruising 
    boat.  Yacht Chartering magazine has some good points on what they 
    look for when checking people out.  
                           
    Brian