Chartering News
NEWS and NOTES on SAILING-VACATION OPPORTUNITIES
WAYPOINTS ADDS DESTINATIONS
Waypoints, a group of independently owned and operated charter bases in the Atlantic Cruising Yachts network, has added more locales.
Destinations now include Annapolis, Maryland; Newport, Rhode Island; Miami, Fort Lauderdale, St. Petersburg and Key West, Florida; the Bahamas; Belize; British Virgin Islands; and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Through its local partners, Waypoints offers charterers an independent boutique experience. Yachts available for charter at each Waypoints location are new privately owned Jeanneau monohulls and Fountaine Pajot multihulls. Waypoints also offers charter management. For details, contact the company (atlantic-cruising.com/charter).
TAKE PILATES ON CHARTER
Align Holistic Fitness, a fitness lifestyle outfit (alignholisticfitness.com/pages/on-a-boat), has collaborated with Ultimate Indonesian Yachts (ultimate-indonesian-yachts .com) to offer Pilates fitness retreats during crewed charters aboard replicas of traditional cargo trading vessels in the islands of Indonesia. Seven-day wellness itineraries are offered. Included are daily Pilates classes on deck and on beaches.
Indonesia can be cruised year-round, with different regions subject to individual microclimates. The west of Indonesia (Bali, Java, Lombok and Komodo National Park) is generally best visited between May and September. The east (Papua, Raja Ampat and the Moluccas) is best visited between November and March. Guest accommodations range from two aboard small phinisis to 16 on adventure-sailing phinisis.
Charters include room and board and nonalcoholic beverages; fitness itinerary; crew, including captain and dive guide; water-sports equipment; airport transfers; harbor and park fees; and fuel costs. Ultimate Indonesian Yachts offers more than 27 boats from its fleet. For details, contact the company (info@justbactive.com).
GO SAILING APP DOUBLES USERS
Go Sailing, a free socialnetworking app that connects people interested in sharing the experience of sailing, reached 20,000 users by spring 2018. Created by the American Sailing Association for skippers needing crew and sailors wanting to sail, the app was released nationally for both IOS and Android in January 2017. To mark the milestone, Go Sailing has made several updates to the app in Version 4.0. For details, download the app (gosailingapp.com).
WAYPOINT: NIKKI BEACH COSTA SMERALDA
Global luxury hospitality brand Nikki Beach has opened on the bay of Cala Petra Ruja, Sardinia, Italy. The resort, which includes a restaurant, bar, private beach and panoramic sea views, is the second Nikki Beach location in Italy. The club also features an extensive entertainment calendar, including art, fashion, music and dining events. It is accessed via private yacht or tender. Nikki Beach’s first location in Italy, Nikki Beach Versilia, debuted in 2016. Founded 20 years ago, Nikki Beach Global is an international luxury hospitality company with 14 beach clubs around the world. For details, contact the company (nikkibeach.com).
BOOK CHARTERS ONLINE
Hopayacht.com is an online booking platform launched by Global Yacht Rentals for small- and medium-size charter vacations aboard gulets, motoryachts and catamarans. The company’s mission is to offer affordable boutique sailing experiences that are also a form of sustainable tourism. Find out more about the company’s offerings through its travel blog (hopayacht.com/blog).