DO YOU LIKE: Kayaking, Snorkeling, Swimming, Sailing, Exploring, Hiking, Fishing, Cruising, Lobstering, Sunset Watching, Star Gazing, Making new friends?
THE BASICS:
Fully equipped, and Captained 38? Luxury Catamaran has cabins available for a 14 day passage from West Palm Beach to Georgetown Exuma, Bahamas via Nassau. Expense is $100 per day per person. People interested in Sailing in and around Georgetown can cruise at this same rate beginning Mid Jan through April. If you don?t have time to read the whole story below just email me your contact info telling us something about yourself, boating experience / goals, and BE SURE TO INCLUDE A PHONE NUMBER since WIFI on board is intermittent at best. Minimum commitment is 5 days of cruising. If you want more details please read on.
THE STORY:
After a very successful and rewarding experience sailing on a beautiful 38? Luxury Sailing Catamaran last spring, I promised the Captain I would help her find like-minded sailing enthusiasts and aspiring cruisers like myself to share in similar experiences. That?s the only reason this ad is being placed. Before I elaborate I want people to know up front that this is NOT a sailboat delivery opportunity nor is this is not an ad for a sailboat charter. A shared expense cruise is simply a safe and economical way to experience cruising without having offshore or extensive sailing experience. If you ARE looking for catamaran charters you can visit http://www.sailacat.com and if you are more interested in a delivery job try ?Google? searching for ?crew wanted? or just email me and I will point you in the right direction. Having gotten that out of the way, let me tell you a little about the shared expense cruises open to ANY open-minded individual regardless of your prior sailing experience. In short this is a real opportunity to learn to sail, navigate, and experience the cruising life either making a passage or living on yacht for a few days up to several weeks at a time with other people for around $100 a day, a tiny fraction of the normal sailboat charter cost
ABOUT:
Funny how this started, however if you are serious about cruising the Bahamas, or maybe even a passage you should find this interesting. As you might suspect, the sailboat charter business can by quite lucrative charging 5K-10K to take a small group sailing for a week, it may even sound like the dream job yet there is certainly another side of the story. Hard work, high overhead, 24-hour shifts, breakdowns, expensive repairs, and endless formalities has potential to leave someone a little less than satisfied at the end of the day. It was discovered quite simply and accidentally during the normal routine and leisurely process of moving Serenity, a 38? luxury cruising charter Catamaran back and forth from her winter home in the Bahamas to her summer home in NY via the Atlantic Ocean and ICW. It turns out that while advertising shared expense cruises looking for just a few crewmembers here on Craig?s List for help at the helm and to learn a few things about cruising, an OVERWHELMI NG number of people responded with ENORMOUS enthusiasm. But that?s only half of the story. Who could have guessed that a group of likeminded shared-expense cruisers, a beautiful yacht, and nowhere to go in a hurry was a recipe for what is a truly amazing experience! That?s it in a nutshell, and should at least partially explain why a fully equipped charter boat and Captain would branch off into shared expense cruising. So its no surprise that crew ads for Bahamas passages resulted in full email boxes, and adventurous souls were popping up from all over the country (sometimes world), yeah I know, go figure!? Yet this helped to manifest the Captain?s vision of a new type of cruising, (not nearly as lucrative as charter) but more laid back and even more rewarding. I know, it sounds sappy, but in truth, sharing an experience like passage making or living on a sailboat even if only for a week or so, showing someone new ?the ropes?, and then basking in the glow of their new found enthusiasm makes it all worthwhile. The shared expense cruise concept is truly something unique and so simple really. Everyone pitches in his or her fair share and off you go.
THE DETAILS:
As much as I enjoy reading and responding to emails from a potential cruiser I can get inundated with general questions so I will do my best to give you enough basics so you will have an idea of weather or not this is for you. Sailacat / Serenity is currently in Stuart FL after weather delayed the FL to Nassau leg a few weeks back (if you answered our ad for that passage I strongly encourage you to respond again for this trip as we have more space now). There is at least one, maybe two cabins open to couples or individuals with some boating experience to make the trip from FL, across the Gulf stream to Nassau, then island hop through the Exumas to Georgetown. This entire trip should take 10 to 20 days with possible opportunities to disembark along the way. We would like to depart Florida around the first week of January, it is about 2 days to Nassau, and then another 10 days of island hopping to Georgetown at a very leisurely pace, weather permitting. We feel that a fair monetary share towards the vessel for cruising once in the Bahamas is around $100 a day per person, there are no other significant expenses, usually no night watches after Nassau, or crucial responsibilities of the cruisers. Depending on the number of people on board that?s about a quarter of the charter rate and probably half of what a decent resort might run you. Food and drinks onboard, transportation to and from the vessel naturally is up to you and can be very cheap or pricey depending on you. Check sites like Travelocity, Yahoo and Expedia for airfare from your town to ?GGT? (Georgetown Bahamas) from most cities you can book a round trip for around $350 if you look hard enough and play with different travel dates. -OR- If you thrifty and adventurous, or if you have more time than money, book a flight for about $150 less to NAS (Nassau) it?s about a one day $50 ferry ride to Georgetown, and you could save another $15 by catching the slightly slower Bahamas paced ?mail-boat? to Georgetown. I suppose there are other options I haven?t considered but those are easy and practical. You can get more details about island transportation from http://www.Bahamas.com. Once on board in Georgetown and settled into a cabin there are a world of ways to explore or just plain relax. Personally I enjoy napping on the trampoline and day dreaming a few feet above the clear blue water. Most people want a bit of a mix of everything from kayaking (there are two tandem kayaks on board), sailing around the harbor or hiking on the islands, a beach bar for happy hour, maybe even a day on an deserted island to get rid of those pesky tan lines or for quality alone time ;-). Even hanging out under the Bimini with the Captain and Cruisers is a wonderful way to slow down and waist the day. If you are into air-conditioning, world-class shopping malls, casinos, mega clubs, and poolside bar service, CRUISING THIS WAY MAY NOT BE FOR YOU. If you can find your own drink, pitch in with clean up after breakfast, make your own bed, agree with 70-75f degree average weather and water temperature, then send me an email. BE SURE to tell me how many of you there are (groups, singles, and couples are all ok), something about yourselves and your sailing / boating experience or goals, when you would like to cruise and for how long, and as much contact info as possible. You should also check airfare, have a passport, or know how long it takes to get one before you inquire. You can find out a little more about the vessel on http://www.sailacat.com. Please do NOT inquire about shared expense cruising, or anything other than charters through that website as satellite phones and offshore email is quite a big expense and that?s what we are all trying to avoid now isn?t it :-) . I tried to keep it short but I couldn?t! Ok, now it?s up to you?
P.S. You MUST respond with a TELEPHONE NUMBER . If you don t include a way to reach you by phone then you may not get a response. WIFI aboard is intermittent at best.
- Location: FL to Bahamas
- It s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
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