Looking for cruising yacht to charter over Xmas for 4-6 pers

[Guest]

We are planning on a Xmas cruise (approx. one week) to sail leisurely around BOI. Whilst looking at professional charterers there might be some boat owners around wanting to rent out their cruising boat to an experienced sailing couple (with round about 2000 combined sailing hours)? Let us know.

[khayyam 77]

if you don't find a private owner, we were very happy chartering from these guys:

 

http://www.greatescape.co.nz/

[smithy09 50]

I'll second that for great escapes. Much cheaper than most of the rest with older, but well maintained yachts. The biggest they have is a Raven 31. We chartered a Noelex 30, and had no issues at all. Nice people to boot!

[John B 106]

Funny story for Friday... The last time I saw those guys they were telling me about chartering a boat out to some people .. a couple of days later they got a call to take some more anchors out because they ( the charterers) had 'used them all up'.

They went out with 2 or 3( I forget) but instead of hauling em up each anchorage, they just untied them and let them go.

[Guest]

We just sent another pile of anchors up to the Pac Islands for the very same reason. It does make you wonder about some peoples thinking.

[wheels 543]

It also makes you wonder about the type of people hiring your pride and joy and taking it out of a Marina and out into the wild blue yonder.

[w44vi 17]

they just untied them and let them go.

that reminds me of when we were in the sound 3 or 4 years ago, we were lazing about in the last of sun liserning to the vhf when we heard a charter calling up the base asking if they could tie up at the marine as they could not get the anchor to hold at ships cove, the base responded, we will meet you at the berth you left from, how far away are you, there reply was we can only go at 3 kts so maybe a few hours, there was a long pause before the base asked if they had pulled up the anchor, they hadn't, it transpired that they had over 100 metres of warp out!

[wheels 543]

I understood that overseas, you had to have a minimum amount of experience before you could charter. So I assume we do not have that requirement here in NZ?? I am surprised insurance companies would allow a complete novice to be able to hire a strange boat and go out into an area they are unfamiliar with.

I will never forget the charter boat that left QC sound, went out for a day sail and somehow entered back into the Pelorous sound, anchored in a Bay that they had thought was the same bay they had been in the previous night. So not only were they in the Wrong Bay, they were int he Wrong Sound. Unbelievable.

[w44vi 17]

some friends charted a new boat in Croatia after the first day they had a list of 15 faults, the charter company sent a repair man out and fixed most of the faults, next night they had a new list, in the end they had to come into port to fix a leak from the keel bolts the fridge/freezer wasn't working water and diesel tanks where leaking and the motor had to be hand started and run from a jerry can.

they were chatting to the charter company and found out the boat had been on 3 charters previously and this was this was the first time it had come back with out assistance, one of the charters had actually sunk it

[smithy09 50]

I understood that overseas, you had to have a minimum amount of experience before you could charter. So I assume we do not have that requirement here in NZ?? I am surprised insurance companies would allow a complete novice to be able to hire a strange boat and go out into an area they are unfamiliar with.

I will never forget the charter boat that left QC sound, went out for a day sail and somehow entered back into the Pelorous sound, anchored in a Bay that they had thought was the same bay they had been in the previous night. So not only were they in the Wrong Bay, they were int he Wrong Sound. Unbelievable.

True Wheels, but there are "degrees" of enforcement. The Flotilla company I worked for in Corfu used to print its own sailing liscences. Also, some of the skippers that came down from Germany proudly brandishing their "Fuhrersheine" (Liscence) were worse than some that had never skippered before..

That story about the anchors is pretty unbelievable...