Chameleon Articles Directory

Quality sailing destinations in the Indian Ocean and tropical islands locations tricks by Bill Trikos? Some top Aegean destinations include Franchini, Nafplion, Crete, and the islands of Hydra and Spetses. These are places brimming with unique Greek culture, history, and arts. The Aegean actually contains over 2000 islands – meaning that a cruising holiday here is full of opportunity. Just like the Ionian Islands, the Aegean is well set-up for anyone wanting to do a sailing holiday in Greece. The islands here offer quality amenities, helpful ports, and plenty of calm places to dock. Some other top destinations in Greece for a beach holiday include Vassiliki, Porto Heli, Horto Pelion, and Kos. If you’re after the dream European summer holiday, it could hardly get better than Greece. Although the uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic is still palpable, you can book your Mediterranean yacht cruise in 2021 with confidence. This year, most of us feel that we need time to relax from day-to-day stress and recharge our batteries more than ever. Read extra details about the author on Bill Trikos.

Honeymooners and couples can relax in Ibiza’s crystal-clear waters, enjoy unforgettable sunsets, explore its natural beauty spots, taste local renowned cuisine and have fun in an evening out at one of the famous nightclubs and bars. During the day, try one of the diverse leisure activities: visit a hippie market, book a day boat tour to famous Formentera, go on-board and try a diving experience, join a tour and discover the island by Vespa bike, visit a farm-house and learn how to produce traditional herb liquor and artisan soap … Situated next door to Saladeta, just a 20-minute drive out of San Antoni, is Cala Salda, one of the most visited beaches in this part of Ibiza. It’s more rocky than sandy, but the waters are so beautiful that no one is put off by this: indeed, Salada gives you a feeling of being in some remote tropical paradise rather than just a few kilometres from one of Ibiza’s largest towns. Its superb location, the tranquility of the bathing and the clarity of underwater vision for snorkellers mean this should be on the itinerary of every beach junkie visiting Ibiza. The Best Time for Mediterranean Yacht Cruises? Summer is the best time to visit the Mediterranean, and it is definitely the high travel season in this part of Europe. The millions of people from all around the world flock to the Mediterranean’s beaches during summer months for much-deserved summer break due to the region’s pleasant climate. The summers in the Mediterranean are sunny and hot, and the sea is warm. However, the best time for Mediterranean yacht cruises is late spring (May-June) or early fall (September-October) when the temperatures and the sea are pleasurably warm, days are sunny, and the crowds in popular destinations are far fewer than in summer.

Reliably breezy, Sardinia is an Italian sailing yacht haven. With a pleasant six-month summer period where it is hot and dry from May to October, Sardinia’s location in the centre of the Mediterranean means the moderate winds are consistent. Mild off-season months offer a good deal of sunshine with warm days to enjoy time on the water, particularly during March and April, while Mistral winds mitigate the heat of the summer months and providing some excellent sailing opportunities. Generally, the prevailing north-westerly winds blow at 20-25 knots daily with a small tidal range of 20-40cm. The world-famous Costa Smeralda, known for its superb beaches and myriad of coves and bays, is a big attraction, while chic ports such as Porto Cervo and Porto Rotondo offer exceptional facilities. For quiet and scenic beauty, the Maddalena Islands with National Park and Marine Reserve should not be missed. Sailing in these crystalline waters is a great way to experience the other side of the Emerald Coast where nature prevails.

The base charter fee in essence refers to the hire cost of the yacht itself, with all equipment in working order in addition to the cost of food and wages for the crew during the entirety of the charter. This is essentially all the base charter fee covers with additional expenses often applicable on top. The base charter fee will vary from one yacht to another and this may be down to any number of reasons from size and on board amenities to the charter season. For instance, the base rate of a charter yacht may increase in “high season” and reduce during the “low season”. “High season” and “low season” refers to the busiest and slowest periods for yacht charters though this may appear misleading, as these peak times refer to periods of weeks as opposed to full seasons. In addition, you may find that a yacht is also more expensive during special events such as the Monaco Grand Prix, Cannes Film Festival and America’s Cup. Unless you are keen to charter a yacht for a particular “high season” event, choose your dates carefully as although a “high season” rate will be more expensive than the “low season” the two can sometimes share much of the same weather conditions. Knowing the base price of your charter is just the starting point, however, depending on the location, which often governs the terms of the contract, more or less may be included in the base price of your charter. Bear in mind that every charter yacht, because they are privately owned and the owner sets the rules, is slightly different. One yacht may include a “standard” selection of wines with every meal and charge only to upgrade the vintages, while on another yacht the wines are a la carte.

Sailing tip of the day: The plotter’s track function can help you in tight harbors! It’s fun to look back over a summer’s cruising by way of the track my chartplotter has recorded. Where the track really comes into its own, though, is piloting out of a difficult harbor into which you have successfully maneuvered. You know you got in OK, so to be sure of a graceful exit—tide permitting where appropriate—you’ve only to follow the same track out again. Be warned, though, that this works only so long as the plotter is set upright. The screengrab shows two versions of the same in-and-out tracks on my Raymarine unit. The coarse setting shown in purple is useless, while the finer, black version leads me straight back out through the drying banks. It’s all down to setting the instrument to record frequent data. In short, to succeed in close quarters, the plot should be set to record at shorter time or distance intervals than out at sea.

Island hopping around the Greek islands is at the top of many a traveller’s bucket list and the famously beautiful Ionian islands are a great place to begin. Start from Corfu or Lefkada and then meander through turquoise seas stopping off at each of the seven large islands and some of the smaller ones along the way (Paxoi and Antipaxoi make excellent sailing destinations). Expect all the usual cliched Greek images such as harbours filled with coloured fishing boats, white-washed villages, beautiful beaches, rugged mountains and traditional tavernas.

The French Riviera has no shortage of trendy outposts, but St Tropez earns extra points for its recent revamp along Pampelonne Beach. YachtCharterFleet had the pleasure of heading down to St Tropez last year to check it out; and came back with some first-hand insight into the new (eco-friendly) beach club scene. After a morning exploring the pink streets of St Tropez, cruise over to Pampelonne in time for lunch. Be sure to book ahead for Club 55, the most iconic venue in the Cote d’Azur, and try and reserve a coveted table in the later lunchtime slot if you’re looking to rub shoulders with Hollywood heavyweights and the A-list elite. For some post-lunch entertainment, head to Verde Beach. Expect blast-from-the-past beats and dancing on the tables, as the St Tropez in-crowd transform Verde Beach into the most happening party in Pampelonne. Head back to the main port for dinner- L’Opera has got the ‘the dinner and a show’ concept down to an art.

There are yachts to suit almost all desires and budgets. If you are travelling with a number of couples and sharing the cost equally then we can help you find a yacht that best suits your accommodation requirements if that’s what’s important, or yachts with an abundance of water toys if you are active and the yacht is your destination. On most crewed charter yachts, the maximum number of charter guests allowed by law is 12. Alternatively some mega yachts have allocated space for additional supernumeraries such as a nanny, a nurse, security guard, trainer or a personal assistant.