Here at ASA, we’re always thinking of all the various avenues folks can access the sport of sailing that we enjoy so much. We keep an eye on youth and collegiate sailing, the racing scene, world and local cruising and of course chartering. The latter, we find, is something many sailors aspire to and for good reason. It’s really fun, fulfilling and most often utterly fascinating. All that said; we understand that chartering is a big step and can be expensive and maybe a mite intimidating. It can involve foreign waters on an unfamiliar boat, maybe language barriers, and a good amount of responsibility insuring everyone stays safe while you’re leading the voyage.
With that in mind, we recently we stumbled upon something called “The Yacht Week” and were intrigued. Their mission statement says:
“The Yacht Week is seven days of sailing to hidden splendours most landlubbers couldn’t get to, experiencing exclusive events and, the best part, being completely surrounded by an equal balance of adventure-seeking guys and girls from around the world.”
In certain ways it appears to be a one-off adventure vacation for the young and single, which is cool in itself, but from our perspective it’s also a low pressure introduction to sailing, cruising and chartering… and that we appreciate. In their outline of services, TYW explains:
“Most people who join The Yacht Week have never been on a yacht before. We provide skippers who will teach you as much as you want to know about sailing and help navigate your yacht throughout the week.”
This is where, in our minds, it becomes less of a spring break party vacation and more of an opportunity to experience the joy of sailing, although they do have a minimum “girls on a boat” ratio. It’s not cheap, but not insanely expensive either. For example, they fill a 40-foot catamaran with no less than eight people – two to a stateroom and will sleep people in the salon as well. Like other charter companies they offer trips in Greece, Croatia, Italy, BVI, Turkey and other sought after exotic destinations.
So, how does this differ from ordinary chartering? Well, there is definitely some matchmaking going on. A large part of the intrigue for would be passengers is a (mostly) guaranteed 50-50 mixture of men and women who don’t completely know one another. Okay, yes, it’s a single’s scene, but one that uses sailing to find love! And that’s okay with us…providing you take a 101 class when you’re done!
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