Free Charts For Bareboaters!

NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is using your tax dollars for a worthwhile purpose: free charts!!

If you've priced a paper chart recently and the paramedics were able to get your heart re-started, then you understand the problem.  As electronic charts and chartplotters on charter boats proliferate, it's become a lot more expensive to buy paper charts of your cruising area.  Most well-equipped charter boats are equipped with chart books or charts even if they have chart plotters, which is just good seamanship.

But what if you want to plan your charter before leaving home?  Investing in charts or chart books that you may use only once seems pointless.  NOAA now provides the answer.

The NOAA charts that cover more than 95,000 miles of U.S. coastline are now available in the Office of Coast Survey BookletCharts.  These are free printable charts in 1000 downloadable booklets. Just go to www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov, pick the ones you want, and drop them into your computer or laptop.

I don't think I'd want to do any serious navigation with a chart made from taped-together pieces of typing paper from my home printer but, for cruise planning and backup, these can't be beat!

The Spring CharterSavvy Is Here!!!

The Spring Issue of CharterSavvy is now online, bigger and better than ever!  Just click on the cover image on the left to read this issue.

This issue includes a huge section on Bareboating Close To Home, with details on the Pacific Northwest, the Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay, the Northeast, San Francisco, and Florida.  Where to go, what to see, and lists of charter companies in the areas.

There’s also a big feature on bareboat barge cruising on the French Canal du Midi in the warm south that will delight your senses with great photos.

Our Cargo feature is hats, and there are sizes and styles for every bareboat charter.  The Charter Trial is the Hunter 45DS.

And don’t forget our MoneySavvy, HealthSavvy and Bareboat Contessa (yum!) departments, too.

New Virgin Islands Cruising Guide

Brand-new and completely redesigned as well as updated, the 2013-2014 Cruising Guide to the Virgin Islands is still the “bible” for bareboat charters in these islands.

They’ve been produced since 1982 as an indispensable companion for sailors and visitors, not to mention mid-winter reading for bareboaters prepping for the warm waters.

This edition includes a newly designed 17x27-inch color planning chart with aerial photos of the more popular anchorages and, like the book, it covers all the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. 

Available from Cruising Guide Publications for $32.95 on their website, which also has a wealth of cruise-planning information.  www.cruisingguides.com or (727) 733-5322.

Cosmos Opens New Greek Base

Cosmos Yachting has announced the opening of a new charter base in Volos, the Greek port in Thessaly about halfway between Athens and Thessaloniki, making it the perfect starting point for charterers who wish to explore the Sporades Islands.

The fleet will include a number of new sailing yachts such as a pair of Bavaria 36 Cruisers, a Bavaria 40 Cruiser, a Bavaria 50 cruiser, and two Oceanis (37 and 40). 

For information, contact Cosmos Yachting, www.cosmosyachting.com or email info@cosmosyachting.com.

New Trawler To SWFYC In Florida

New to the fleet at Southwest Florida Yacht Charters is this sweet Mainship 34 trawler, Quarter Moon.  She’ll be based at their North Ft Myers charter base, which opens the southwest Florida Gulf coast, including the scenic Pine Island-Captiva-Sanibel area to exploration. 

Barb Hansen of SWFYC says “Quarter Moon is the perfect cruiser for two to four people”, and says she is shippy and well-equipped.  The Mainship features a master stateroom forward with large berth plus a salon convertible that also sleeps two.  Headroom is a remarkable 6’4”, the galley has all the amenities, and she has everything from twin color TVs to air conditioning and a dinghy with outboard. 

Power is a single Yanmar 315hp diesel and, to simplify handling, she has a SidePower bow thruster. Electronics are Raymarine, including GPS, chartplotter and autopilot. 

Rates for Quarter Moon are $3165 a week in the summer and $3957 in the winter.  And, as SWFYC celebrates their 30^th anniversary, winter charters of three days or more get an extra day, while similar charters in summer get two free days of cruising.

Contact SWFYC at (800) 262-7939, .