MIPIM, the Cannes-based Real Estate show running the 13th to 16th of March, has always been a great Yacht Show. Super Yachts and Classic Yachts make great meeting rooms and entertainment venues. But did you know that perhaps the best place to stay during the show is on a yacht? Virtually all of the hotels and apartments in Cannes have been sold out for months. But there are still lots of boats available in the Pierre Canto port that you can stay on and will drive you right to the Palais des Festivals when you need it. Some of the boats available are listed here.
Barge and Canal Charters
It sounds a bit, we’ll, old fashioned, but more and more people are finding that a Charter on a Canal Barge can make for a wonderful, relaxing and stress-free holiday. Barges have evolved into comfortable, even luxurious charter boats, and you’re always close to lots of activities such as bike riding, exploring quaint towns, and sightseeing. Boatbookings.com has sourced lots of great barges for charter – read more about it here.
Blue Cruises and Turkish Gulets
More and more people are discovering that one of the best sailing holidays is on a Gulet in the Turkish Aegean Sea. Gulets are modified wooden Turkish Fishing boats, now made luxurious for those wanting a relaxing, cultural sailing holiday.
These holidays are called Blue Cruises, and depart from Aegean Ports such as Bodrum, Marmaris and Gocek. You get to experience Greek and 
Roman Ruins, quiet anchorages, beautiful scenery, swimming, snorkeling, and the great hospitality of the Turks, all on a gorgeous and comfortable sailing yacht. There are many beautiful Gulets that you can reserve with excellent crews and superb Turkish cuisine. For the full story, check out the full Gulets page on Boatbookings.com here.
The Best of the Best Charter Boats!
Boatbookings.com has announced it’s list of “Preferred Charter Yachts” worldwide. Check them out at Boatbookings.com Preferred. Congratulations to all the winners!
Also – amazingly there are still beautiful mega yachts available for Christmas and New Years Eve charter in the Caribbean. Check them out here!
Milanto Logs, continued
5 December
WE ARE HALF WAY!! Early morning the attachment of the spinnaker gave way with a loud bang this is a fairly difficult repair but by sundown we had all joined in to do a sewing job. The repair looks horrible but we hope will see us through. Without the spinnaker it is unlikely we can achieve the necessary 200 miles per day to ensure a good place in the race. Despite this set back we ironically still achieved 200 miles the last 24 hours ( that is 8.5 knots average). Alex and Igor sent off a message in a bottle this afternoon. This overnight we had the most perfect clear skies and a bright almost full moon to brighten the sea. Again no other boats were heard on VHF or seen this day. We arew quite amazed that we are so isolated when we are at sea going in the same dirction and similar speed to 250 othe yachts and we have not seen any merchant shipping either for 5 days now. 6 December Whales, lots of them have been escorting us today for about for hours. We believe them to be Minke Whales. The repaired spinnaker is ready to go up now but the wind is a little too strong so it will remain down until we cannot sustain eight knots on our main sails. Rubbish disposal is a problem for us as we do have to be environmentally friendly. We take care that only biodegradable rubbish goes into the sea. So, all plastics, especially have been crushed and stored. We now are dicussing the arrival time for St Lucia as with just 1200 miles to go there is optimism on the night of 12 December. We are planning a sweepstake on the most accurately estimated arrival time