Experience Peaceful, Private Sailing for Yourself

There are cruises and there are cruises.

One kind of cruise puts you on a ship with hundreds of cabins, lots of strangers and elaborate spreads of food. The other kind of cruise puts you on a vessel with only two or three cabins and you have to bring your own groceries.

Luxury Yacht Vacationers

For many vacationers, that choice is a no-brainer. In these uncertain times, when family and close friends are clearly most important to our lives, many vacationers are choosing the vessel with only a few cabins. Operating the yacht is not a problem. For those who don't know how to manage a yacht, the chartered yacht even comes with a skipper. They go where they want to go but, unlike ports of call on the cruise packages, these stopovers have U.S. ZIP codes.

Chartering has always had a solid base of enthusiasts. Sometimes they are boaters who leave their own vessels in a marina or boat yard back home so they can explore new water frontiers. Sometimes they are planning to purchase a boat, but want to try out the cruising lifestyle before investing a quarter of a million dollars, maybe more. Today, in an era of fear-provoking headlines, chartering has earned a new halo.

"Since 9/11 customers are telling us they wanted to take a cruise but decided against a big boat cruise. They decided, instead, to charter a yacht where they could get away from the crowds and get close to nature and even closer to their family and good friends," said Barb Hansen of Southwest Florida Yachts, the premier yacht chartering company on Florida's west coast.

Luxury Yacht Vacation

Hansen said a charter boat is more than a way to cruise. She sees it as a getaway from the things that idisrupt relationships like pagers, phones, and TV. "Our charter boats don't have video arcades and you can't bury your head in a daily newspaper. It's not a rule, but we advise people to leave their laptop computers and electronic games behind," said Hansen.

Hansen and her husband Vic founded SWFY in 1984 and have built a solid clientele of returning customers who take advantage of their personal service, fleets of motoryachts and sailboats and the opportunity to experience the best cruising water in the U.S.

That would be the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), the placid channel just inside the Gulf of Mexico that runs north and south past a picture show of barrier islands, colorful tropical vegetation and wildlife on display. This is the channel that takes you past the sheltered barrier island paradise of Sanibel, Captiva, Pine Island, Cayo Costa, Gasparilla, Useppa Islands and a hundred others, some just spits of sand and mangroves.

Charter customers discover that paradise doesn't cost as much as they thought. For example, at Southwest Florida Yachts, a 36-foot Grand Banks trawler may be chartered for five days around $3,000, including the captain. For four people, that works out to only about $150 a day plus fuel, meals and marina fees, if any.

Luxury Yacht Views

For many, the deck view in any direction is worth it. Look down into the water and you may see a dolphin surfing your bow wake or even a manatee waving goodbye with a swirl of its huge tail. Look up, late on a clear night, and be uplifted by the canopy of very bright stars and planets.

This is bird country indeed, with 278 species of resident and migratory birds including roseate spoonbills, herons, ibis, storks, hawks and kites, kingfishers, even parrots. You may see a magnificent frigatebird soaring high on warm air currents, an osprey on a plunging dive and brown pelicans cruising the edge of a drop-off in search of bait.

There is history here, too. Gasparilla Island was named for Jose Gaspar, the Spanish pirate and one of the area's early settlers. Gaspar and his band strategically stationed themselves just off the channel where they could easily approach passing ships and relieve them of their cargoes. Useppa Island takes its name from Gaspar's significant other, Joseffa. This island, accessible only by boat and formerly open only to members, recently opened an elegant bed-and-breakfast, The Collier Inn, with 11 individually-themed suites.

The pass between Cayo Costa and Gasparilla Islands is the famous Boca Grande Pass and if it seems a little busy, note that this is mecca for saltwater anglers who fish the pass in the spring and summer for 100- to150-pound tarpon, the silver king.

Charter Your Own Luxury Yacht - Cayo Costa

With no development (unless you count the rustic camping cabins,) Cayo Costa is particularly inviting to "get away from it all" boaters. Always a tropical paradise, the island is also now state park and offers excellent rustic camping, shelling, beachcombing, nature observation and sunsets. The southern tip of the island is just right for anchoring up for the day.

Hungry for restaurant food? Pull in to Cabbage Key and enjoy the plate that inspired Jimmy Buffett's, "Cheeseburger in Paradise." On Captiva Island, 'Tween Waters Inn has rooms, dining, shopping, entertainment, tennis, pool, guides and boat rentals.

Just north of Cabbage Key is Charlotte Harbor, home to famous Burnt Store Marina. This is a good place to check on the weather and local navigational issues. Southwest Florida Yachts keeps its fleet of charter sailing vessels at Burnt Store Marina.

"Balmy" describes the weather in southwest Florida, balmy with just the right amount of cooling breeze to encourage power cruising in the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Except in rare cases, you'll be well below the freeze line. By the way, the water of the Gulf of Mexico has been described as a natural air conditioner because air temperatures are tempered by the temperature of the water, warmer in winter and cooler in summer. Resist the urge to call friends to ask them what the weather is like back home.

(Source: Southwest Florida Yachts)