Those who like cruising on more than one hull – and this is also true for those who are still fond of monohulls - often take quite some time to take the step and decide to charter a multihull. Why? In the collective imagination, chartering a sailboat is expensive. Indeed, treating the family to a week’s charter in the Bahamas, in the high season (March/April), including air tickets, is not within reach of everyone’s pocket. But by opting for a closer destination, off season, a bigger boat so it can be filled with two families, or again by paying attention to certain charter companies’ special offers, there is a way to find a charter which corresponds to your budget. And even to find last-minute charter weeks at slashed prices, thanks to the internet, where numerous offers are to be found.
A developing market
The boat charter market has for a long time been dominated by the big players, such as Sunsail/ The Moorings, Dream Yacht Charter, Kiriacoulis, etc. The strength of these professionals: the setting up of physical bases, with sometimes more than 30 boats per site. Sites run by professionals – reception, maintenance, skippers. Their second advantage: a charter/management offer for the owners and therefore new boats, or ones in very good condition, for the charter customers. Other more local structures have also succeeded in making a place for themselves in the sun - family companies (often), on a human scale, where service is the keyword and each customer feels a little as if they are 'at home'!
And then gradually certain agencies have been created to offer traditional charter customers all the offers together on the same platform. At first, a catalogue, then today on the internet. Certain of these agencies, created over 20 years ago, today reference more than 18,000 boats in over 80 countries!
Finally, as the market has nowadays become mature and above all financially very attractive, a few start-ups have been created to take advantage of the golden opportunity. Experts in referencing, they have succeeded in working their way to the top of the internet search results. Click on ‘catamaran charter’ on Google, and you will discover some names that were completely unknown just a few months/years ago, among charter companies established for decades. These organizations don’t charter boats, are not necessarily familiar with the destinations, but put professionals (the charter companies) or private individuals (boat owners) in touch with charter customers. These new-style agencies find all the best offers, thanks to ultra-efficient web sites, connected to all the players in the market. We find here once again the principle of the platforms specializing in the hotel trade, or voyages, such as Booking and Opodo. The fact remains that these young people who have entered the boat charter world now gather together tens of thousands of boats. But if you want to obtain good information about your future boat and/or the cruising area, it’s best to pass via an established charter company or an agency which knows its profession well…
With or without a skipper?
This is of course the first question to ask yourself…if your sailing knowledge is insufficient, you will be obliged to entrust the operation of the boat to a competent sailor. You can find one among your acquaintances and include him or her in your crew. Or more easily – ask your charter company for the services of a skipper. The skipper provided will be familiar with the multihull you have chartered and the cruising area, and will be able to put together one or several weeks’ successful cruising even if the weather is not accommodating. A professional skipper isn’t a sailing instructor, but some of them will be delighted to share their knowledge; don’t hesitate to get involved in the maneuvers and the organization of your cruises. The cost of a qualified skipper aboard your boat: 100 to 200 euros per day.
It’s now that a particularly sensitive subject must be tackled…that of the numerous charters offered by private individuals, directly or otherwise, and which are provided with the owner on board – who is not always a professional, far from it. Problem: in the framework of a charter, it’s illegal – in the case of a serious accident, things can take a nasty turn – and in addition, it’s unfair competition with the pros, who hold a skipper’s qualification. On the other hand, the law allows trips at sea aboard a multihull skippered by its owner, in the framework of an accompaniment. In concrete terms, the skipper of a catamaran decides to discover Sardinia for a week, leaving from Naples; he or she can offer you the possibility of accompanying them, in return for a participation in the kitty. Meaning the food, diesel and port expenses. A daily budget per person, generally not exceeding 50 euros. This is therefore not a skippered charter, but a share, like a journey in a car. Any offer of this kind which asks for an appreciably greater sum is, on the other hand, a disguised charter – and is therefore illegal, we repeat.
Where to charter your multihull?
Most of the major charter companies favor the regions of the world where the weather conditions are mild (at least during a few months of the year), which offer interesting cruising, and where the safety conditions and geo-political stability are satisfactory. The Mediterranean (Cote d’Azur, Balearics, Croatia, Greece) and tropical (West Indies, Bahamas, Thailand, Seychelles, French Polynesia) areas are therefore highly valued, if the sector has well-sheltered anchorages. The cost of a week’s charter must of course include the voyage from your home; four tickets for Papeete can easily triple your budget… Don’t neglect either the costs of taxis, meals and fuel, which can in certain countries, be incredibly high… But with the increase in the number of charter companies – even with just one or two boats – it is easy to find multihulls for charter everywhere in the world: from the Channel Islands to the Golfe du Morbihan, via Scandinavia or the east coast of America…
High or low season?
No mystery. Although a week’s charter in a multihull can cost two or three times as much in high season, it’s because the conditions are statistically optimal. Warmth, sun and wind guaranteed, or almost. Opting for the off-season inevitably means risking weather which is cooler or even cold, rainy or worse, stormy. An example: the charter bases in Croatia are open from March through November. At the beginning of the season in Dubrovnik, the average min/max temperatures are 9/15°C, as opposed to 20/33°C in July and 12/18°C in November. The sun? 6 hours per day in March, 11 in July, 10 in August and just 4 in November. Rainy days? 12, 4, 5 and 11 respectively. Not to mention the very short days in November. And water at 14.5°C in March as against 25.6°C in July. On the other hand, the high season (in particular in the Mediterranean) can also be synonymous with saturated anchorages. This is sometimes true in Corsica, Sardinia and in the Balearics… You must then know how to find the right spot, or use the skills of a local skipper (see above) to find the deserted anchorages…
The compromise is therefore perhaps to opt for…mid-season. The moment when the conditions are good, but outside the traditional school vacation times. By studying the various possibilities and the weather statistics which suit you, you will be surprised to discover that, in certain areas of the world, the busy periods don't necessarily correspond with what you would imagine... Firstly, because the seasons are reversed according to the hemisphere. Then because not all countries have the same school holiday timing.
Charter from a pro, or a private individual?
Quite logically, chartering from a professional is often more expensive than if you go to a private individual. The former’s costs are obviously not the same. But a professional is in a position to offer you real guarantees. Another example. You have chartered in the British Virgin Islands. Your mainsail rips at 4 pm, off Beef Island, just as the trade wind finally started to make your sailing exciting. So there you are, under jib and engine, a few dozen miles from your charter company’s base. A simple telephone call – a local phone is sometimes entrusted to the crew! - and the Sunsail team embarks a replacement sail. Two hours later, two lads arrive in a semi-rigid inflatable or a van, at the waiting anchorage you have arranged. The new sail is bent on, and it’s not quite nightfall. A situation experienced by your humble servant. This is the superiority of a charter company which has a base. Not forgetting that they sometimes offer a private beach, a swimming pool, even hotel rooms close by in case of sailing being impossible – tropical storm, very big seas, etc. In the case of a charter from a private individual, any minor damage - engine un-primed, broken halyard, etc. – can spoil your week’s charter. A risk to be taken into account. On the other hand, advantage to the private individuals when it comes to the diversity of the offer. It’s these people who can offer you little exciting-to-sail trimarans or atypical catamarans. Although more and more charter companies are also standing out from the others by offering atypical boats. You will find them in the Multihulls World advertisements!
A week aboard a multihull…at all prices
Here again, it’s in front of your keyboard that the best offers will appear. A 35% reduction for a departure to be pounced on at the end of this summer aboard a Nautitech 435 – with skipper – at 2,925 euros instead of 4,000 for a week in the south of Corsica. The Seychelles? A Lipari 41 awaits you, for 2,800 euros. But for this one, you have to leave in two days’ time! These two offers were seen on the internet as we put this edition to bed. Be careful however to take into account the additional charges. The Lipari offer, for example, advertises a 15 euro per person additional bedding charge, and 100 euros for fitting a safety net. Services which are generally included at the big charter companies – the beds are made and you have two towels per person. But on the contrary, other services, such as transport from an airport to the charter base, can prove to be wildly over-charged…find out about the usual prices of these services before going through the charter company. The prices of the big charter companies, exactly? You can find a week in Croatia at the beginning of April for 1,690 euros aboard a Lagoon 380 and 2,590 euros for a Sunsail 444 at the beginning of November. The same catamaran and the same price for a week in Thailand in November. 4,580 euros for a Bali 4.5 in Greece at the beginning of May. 9,250 euros for a Sunsail 484, leaving from Vancouver at the beginning of October. Two more elitist examples to finish: 12,320 euros for a week in the BVIs at the beginning of December aboard a Saba 50, and 13,420 euros for a Lagoon 52 in the Seychelles, in March. In short, there is something for all tastes, climates and…budgets. Remember however that the brokers margin is 15%; it won’t necessarily be hard to obtain a 10% discount by dealing directly with the charter company – in any case, outside of the high season.
The more there are of us, the cheaper it is!
The big advantage multihulls – in any case cruising cats - have compared to monohulls is that a lot of people living aboard doesn’t present a problem, for a week. In a 40-foot catamaran, share the four cabins between four couples or two couples and four children – it works! As a result, it becomes attractive to calculate the price per berth, per cabin or cabins, depending on the sharing of the charter costs. From this point of view, leaving without a skipper is finally a double advantage: you don’t pay for the additional service, and you save a berth, or even a cabin. If we take the examples quoted above, and you succeed in ‘filling’ the boat, the Nautitech 435 with a skipper offers 6 berths, giving 487.50 euros per berth. 7 berths in the Lipari in the Seychelles, giving 400 euros per person. The Lagoon 380 can accommodate 8 people, giving 211 euros per berth for a week. And that’s even cheaper than in a hotel, is it not? The Sunsail 444s have 10 berths, giving 259 euros per person. Aboard the Bali 4.5, up to 10 berths: 458 euros per head. Reckon on 771 euros per crew member for the Sunsail 484 in Vancouver and its 12 berths, 880 euros for the Saba, which can accommodate 14 people, and finally 959 euros for the Lagoon 52 (14 people). The fact remains that occupying all the cabins is ok, but monopolizing the saloon can become complicated!
See you in the Seychelles next month?
