First teams arrive in India in Volvo Ocean Race

Three days ahead of schedule, Sweden’s Ericsson 4 team stormed ahead of the pack to reach Cochin in India yesterday morning and win the second leg of the race.  The yacht, skippered by Brazillian Olympic gold medallist Torben Grael, reached the port an estimated 12 hours ahead of the nearest contester Spain’s Telefonica Blue. Having already won the first leg which saw the race go from Alicante in Spain to Cape Town, Ericsson 4 now leads the points table with 26 points and are very happy with their 14 day journey from Cape Town to India.  This leg has been particularly tough being in a region not used before for the Volvo Ocean Race and amid fears and worries of pirate attacks heightened by the recent high profile hijackings in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa.

The next legs of the race will see the eight teams heading towards Singapore, Qingdao in China and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil before ending their 37,000 nautical mile (68,000km) journey in St. Petersburg around June 2009.

[For more information about the Volvo Ocean Race]

Some information courtesy of The Age online

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Thailand Charter Situation

As all of you have no doubt noticed, Thailand, one of our favorite charter destinations, has some political problems at the moment!

Previous problems have largely been confined to small areas around government buildings in Bangkok. Our Asia Regional Manager was actually in Bangkok during the military coup 20 months ago, and life was totally normal for 99% of the city.

This time, however, some protesters have occupied and shut down Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. This is making it awkward for tourists to get in and out of Thailand.  Here is our most up-to-date information on effect on the Thai charter regions:

Phuket

We spoke to several of the major charter operators in Phuket over the last few days. They confirm that there are no problems on the ground in Phuket, life is going on normally, charters are running and the sun is starting to shine!

Airlines are re-routing their flights to Singapore, and regional airlines are adding extra flights from Singapore to Phuket to handle the extra demand.

Koh Chang

This is the biggest travel problem area, since virtually all international clients for Koh Chang will come in through the main international airport. However, for people who still want to get to Koh Chang, it is possible. Bangkok Airways operates flights between Phuket and Utapao, just south of Pattaya. From there, a minibus transfer can take you south to Koh Chang.

Koh Samui

Phuket is the gateway again. Bangkok Airways operates flights between Phuket and Koh Samui. Charter yachts are based in Koh Samui May to September each year.

The good news for travelers is that all these issues means that demand will be down, and there will some fabulous charter offers becoming available over coming months. In fact, there are already special offers emerging from Phuket.  See our Phuket Specials or contact our Asian Office if you would like further information at: +65 9173 4520 or email Singapore.

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The Top Yachts from the Caribbean Boat Shows

King's RansomThe Stateside Boatbookings team have been cruising the boat shows of the Caribbean (still ongoing!) and at the recent British Virgin Island (BVI) and St. Thomas Shows they have formulated a list of their top picks for the coming season.  Here is what they had to say:

From the BVI Show, the top yachts were Aldebaran and King’s Ransom.

    “King’s Ransom is another great catamaran based in the BVIs. It is a brand new Matrix design, very spacious, and is definately one of the higher end crewed cats we have to offer for the BVI. Crew were lovely and the boat has all new amenties, with lovely warm soft furnishings.”

    “I also like Aldebaran, a Lagoon 57. She has great crew, a husband and wife team from South Africa. He is a dive master and she is now a qualified yoga instructor so if the guests onboard would like a private yoga class she can accommodate them! Diving facilities are onboard. Aldebaran won best multihull yacht in the BVI boat show.”

From the St. Thomas Show, the yachts of choice were 5 Star and Viaggo.

    “We both loved the yacht 5 Star. It is a great Beneteau 50 and newer to charter. She is a 2 pax boat only, so a perfect fit for a honeymoon charter, or a romantic getaway for a couple.”

    “Viaggo is motor yacht and is also brand spanking new, she really is a great boat. She is extremely spacious for her size.  A Horizon 74 design from Virgin traders, this is their first crewed yacht, so still working on the details, but watch this space and she should be on our site soon”

So, it’s all set to be another exciting season in the Caribbean with more news coming this way from the other Caribbean shows!

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The 2008 Caribbean Regatta schedule

st maarten boat viewThe West Indies Events and the St. Maarten-St. Martin Classic Yacht Regatta Foundation have finalized the schedule for regattas in the Caribbean just in time for you to organize your trip there and wrap it up as a wonderful Christmas gift, Valentine’s gift or as an Easter egg replacement. For those of you who have been before the format of the St. Maarten – St. Martin regatta is changing slightly to be more accomodating, by moving from Simpson Bay to the Great Bay yachts will no longer have to enter the lagoon and pay the high fees to do so.  The Marina at Great Bay is also going to be expanded to include a 30 slip mega yacht marina and a large shopping complex and free berthing is available to Classic and Vintage yachts, Schooners and ‘Spirit of Tradition’ yachts in Bobby’s Marina.
Caribbean Regatta schedule 2009

West Indies Events is also in the process of establishing classic regattas in Curacao and Cuba. So if you’re fanatical about regattas or fancy going along to see what it’s like, why not do it in the gloriously warm and beautiful surroundings of the Caribbean.

Some information courtesy of caribbeanracing.com

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Unprecedented High Season Availability in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, Pacific

If you are still thinking about a charter in one of the renowned winter holiday spots such as the Caribbean or Indian Ocean, you have a unique opportunity to still find a fantastic yacht even at this late date. Normally, everything would have been booked two months ago. But as we all know, this is not a normal year! So we’re happy to say that we have yachts of all types available in amazing areas such as the British Virgin Islands, St Barth’s, St Martin, the Bahamas, Phuket/Andaman Sea, Maldives, Mauritius – all places you dream about in those cold winter months!

If you’ve procrastinated, but really would rather be on a yacht during the holidays, we highly recommend that you contact boatbookings.com to find the right yacht for you – “last minute” can mean “can you believe we did it?” You can see yacht charter specials here.

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