In a 14 February 2010 article in the New York Times about chartering with large groups, Boatbookings.com was featured both for its Gulets and experience with large group charters. You can see the Article here: Is This How Cleopatra Felt? and you can read about Gulet Chartering in our Gulet Charter Guide. Please feel free to contact us if you are interested in arranging a group charter in Turkey (or just about anywhere, for that matter!)
Update from the Miami Boat Show – Odessa, Carpe Diem, Cuba
Boatbookings was at the Miami Boat Show yesterday in chilly weather, and saw plenty of excellent charter yachts. We also attended a captivating presentation about Cuba and their plans for building the yacht charter industry in the waters that Hemmingway loved so much.
Top yachts from the Miami Boat Show: We had a tour of ODESSA with the project manager at Christensen, and we think she is one amazing yacht! She is a brand new (2009) 160’/49m luxury motor yacht, with 6 beautiful cabins. The fit and finish is superb, and the decoration is contemporary, minimalist, using the finest woods (mainly walnut), silks and leathers. She is the talk of the show, and you can get complete details by contacting us for more information.
We also were impressed by the superb interior of the Trinity Yacht CARPE DIEM (150’/45.7m 5 cabin semi-displacement motor yacht) – with its white carpets accented with dark brown wood accents and trim. Everything about the yacht works together perfectly, and delivers a feeling of class and relaxation. Contact us for complete details.
For a complete update on news and hot yachts from the Miami Yacht Show, feel free to contact our Ft Laudersdale office at +1 954 584 0026.
Cuba! Ernest Hemmingway fell in love with Cuba – for its beautiful waters, sport fishing and carefree lifestyle. There are movements afoot to rebuild Cuba as a major holiday and yachting destination, beginning with the construction of several marinas that will soon be able to better accommodate yachts of all sizes, including mega and super yachts. Cuba offers superb beaches, excellent deep sea fishing, amazing marine life, interesting history and architecture and the famous Cuban food and libations.
America’s Cup Postponed again
For the second time, the first race of the America’s Cup was delayed-this time for too much wind! They’ll try again on Friday, Feb. 12.
More on iPads and Kindles for Yachting and Yacht Charters
I had a very interesting email exchange with Kim Kavin, editor of Charterwave and one of the most technically savvy people I know in the charter business. She’s a Kindle lover and didn’t really agree that the iPad would be that revolutionary for yacht charters. For reading a book on on a yacht, the Kindle, as a single purpose tool, has no peer – especially given that it has an LCD screen that is easy to read outdoors, while backlit screens common to computers and presumably the iPad may be more difficult to read in direct sunlight. She also felt that an iPhone, which has a smaller footprint but plenty of uses, can be used for games, videos, etc.
Everyone will need to make their own decisions about what electronic devices they choose to bring on their charters. If you want a great tool to read books, a Kindle may be for you. If you want a multipurpose tool that is not too large, bring your iPhone, and if you want a bigger screen that will be excellent for charts, games, videos, pictures and yachting apps, an iPad may be perfect, especially if someone makes a waterproof case!
iPad for Yacht Charters? We say “yes”!
The raging debate in tech land today is whether the iPad has enough features or is revolutionary enough to truly change the world. Looked at from the perspective of yachting, my feeling is a very strong yes. Its big, beautiful screen, ease of use (no mouse or keyboard to flop around the boat) and ability to process graphics so quickly will make it a fantastic tool to bring along on any charter or yachting holiday.
We see it with multiple uses: reading charts and mixing basic chart data with images, videos and user information about the ports and cruising areas, keeping track of your expenses and other trip records, researching your itinerary, entertaining the kids at night on their personal movie viewers, checking weather, tides and wind forecasts, and showing everyone your gorgeous pictures as you progress through your charter. I did this on my last charter with my MacBook Pro, but was constantly worried that I’d ruin it. Not so with an iPad – there aren’t really any moving parts.
Added to the above, there will be amazing apps written for sailors and yachting that we haven’t even thought about but that will become indispensable as soon as we try them. That’s the nature of technology, and why the iPhone is the number one phone in the world right now. We’ll certainly be following these events with interest, and may even release an app or two of our own 🙂
As a disclaimer, I worked for Apple Computer for 10 years (back when it had a colored logo with stripes), so I’ve had a serious dose of Steve Job’s reality distortion field.