Twice now, in my long crewed charter yacht brokerage history a yacht and crew canceled at the last minute leaving my clients high and dry a week before their charter vacation.  The charter industry always rises to support such a moment.

Yesterday I received the most dreaded call before a crewed charter vacation booking, “The yacht and crew scheduled to host your guests has decided to not charter anymore this year.”   This is a very rare moment, because the charter industry is one of the most professional and proud group of business people you will ever meet.  However, apparently this crew and yacht were not a part of this esteemed group.  Their yacht management company – Tachyon Yachting  owned by Jacque and Eric Stahl were at the top of their game by keeping me posted on every detail that was unfolding to see if a quick solution could be arranged.

The clearing house for this yacht did not have any immediate suggestions for a substitute yacht and crew. So, I started contacting my best friends who are owner/operators of their charter yachts.  I started with Chris and Julie  from Yacht Felicia - a beautiful catamaran based out of Tortola.  Julie told me her best friends had a classic motor yacht that might be free – Yacht Flame  owned and crewed by Wayne and Barbara.  I also contacted Randy and Shelly  from Yacht ThreeMoons  to see what there status was for a surprise charter next week.  They just had a cancelation because of guests who were ill and needed to postpone their charter vacation one week.  So, even though my guests’ first choice was a catamaran for their British Virgin Islands sailing vacation at least I had found two possible alternatives because of the support of this amazing community of professionals.

The next call came from the clearing house, letting me know that they may have a substitute luxury catamaran – Yacht Ma Ha  crewed by Justin and Lauren, a brand new Lagoon 570, the latest greatest catamaran in the Caribbean fleet.  If Yacht Ma Ha agreed to the charter for the same price as my guests paid for the cat that bailed on them, this would be a once in a life time opportunity to spend a week on one of the newest yachts in the Caribbean fleet.

Well, I got the call late yesterday that the clearing house had been given the OK by Yacht Ma Ha to take on my grounded guests.  This is another example of the charter industry taking care of their own,  no matter what the issue may be.  I am so proud to know the owners/crews  of these floating luxury resorts that ply the waters of the Caribbean providing the most unforgettable vacation  experience you will ever have.  Contact me if you would like more information about arranging a crewed charter yacht vacation.  Until next time…fair winds!