What is a yacht charter?
Who is going to operate the charter yacht? Where can I sail? What if we get into a storm/ get seasick / the boat sinks, etc…
There are a lot of funny myths and misconceptions related to the yacht charter, which is actually not surprising: having a lot in common with renting a car or real estate, still a yacht charter has its peculiarities.
There are quite a lot of kinds of charter, which can be explained by the diversity of yachts themselves. One can charter a sailing yacht, a motor yacht, a big one, a small one, with a crew or without it, a monohull or a catamaran, for a day, for a week or for a month… And each case has its nuances.
Talking about a low-budget charter, the most affordable option is chartering a sailing yacht under 20 meters. They make up the majority of the world charter fleet and are available for bareboat charter if the person who hires it has a license (a certificate) to operate a vessel (we will talk about how to get this license in a separate article). This kind of charter is called Bareboat charter, as you rent only the yacht itself.
If you don’t have a license to operate a boat, the charter company can provide their skipper. Depending on the charter country this service may cost you 120-200 euro per day. And in this case don’t forget to reserve a cabin for the skipper when you plan the number of people on board, unless there is a separate crew cabin. The skipper will be in charge of the boat operation (one person is enough for a boat of this size), while the holiday-makers can relax. If they wish, they can help the skipper and learn to operate the boat or handle the sails. As a rule, skippers are happy to explain this kind of things. Besides, this is an excellent way to start practising in order to get your own certificate later.
Small motor yachts are also available for bareboat charter, but their maximum length is a little smaller. Normally one can find an 8-14 m motor or a power boat for bareboat charter. Everything that is bigger is usually chartered only with a skipper, and his services are already included into the total charter costs. This is called a Skippered charter, that is chartering a yacht together with a captain (a skipper).
The arrangements for chartering a small sailing or a motor boat are almost the same. You cook food yourself (or eat out in restaurants if you are reluctant to cook) and keep the boat tidy. Even if you charter a boat with a skipper, he is responsible for operating the boat only and is not obliged to cook food or make your beds. While you are responsible for providing him with meals on board or paying his bills when you eat out.
Larger yachts, usually over 25 m (both motor and sailing, although there are more motor yachts of this size on the charter market) are chartered together with a whole crew, whose work is part of the charter costs. This is called Crewed charter, i.e. renting a yacht together with a crew. Firstly, one person is not enough to handle a large yacht. Secondly, the crew provides the service on board and you don’t have to deal with it yourself. The simplest case is a crew of a captain and a cook, who cooks and serves the meals.
The larger the yacht, the bigger the crew and the higher the level of service you get, and this is called Luxury charter. In addition to sailors and engineers there are hostesses, a chef and so on up to diving instructors and massage therapists. The crew members are often multifunctional and are licensed to teach the guests water sports or can provide massage or cosmetology services. Today SPA and wellness centers are becoming commonplace on large superyachts. Chartering a superyacht is quite costly, however little can compare to this kind of luxury holiday in terms of level of service and experience.
