Charter

BLIMEY! Alex and me scallywags decided t’ charter various yachts, ye hear? Charterin’ be much like rentin’ a vessel, as one rents them horseless carriages!

We be aimin’ t’ gather experiences t’ sharpen our sailin’ skills, but, by Davy Jones’ locker, what’s more critical be findin’ out what type o’ ship we an’ Charly can call our home on th’ high seas fer extended voyages. Consider this: 80% o’ th’ time, long-voyagers be anchored or docked in th’ marina.

Choosin’ a yacht be a complex affair, me hearties! Th’ critical factors t’ be weighin’ include: single hull or multi-hull, th’ length o’ th’ vessel in feet, th’ waters she be designed t’ conquer, th’ availability on th’ second-hand market, and, arrr, most importantly: th’ price!

But those be just th’ broad strokes, mateys! There be more: buildin’ materials, quality, resale value, maintenance doubloons, onboard gear, spare parts fetchin’, insurability, an’ her history, says I!

Once ye spot a possible contender, ye appoint a savvy pro t’ conduct a ship inspection, for hidden flaws in her can be costly or impossible t’ mend. Many insurances demand such an assessment, I tells ye!

Typically, there’s a vast gulf ’twixt th’ ship ye desire and th’ ship ye can afford, same be true fer us, on me honour as a pirate! Therefore, compromises must be made. A possible compromise we be considerin’ be buyin’ what they call a production boat. These craft be designed fer th’ charter seas o’ th’ Mediterranean an’ be mass-produced, unlike th’ high-priced quality yachts that come from fine workshops. As we plan t’ sail th’ Mediterranean waters fer th’ first few years, this suits us well, an’ these production vessels be as plentiful as doubloons after a plunder: Post-Corona, there be a mighty surplus o’ these boats, now they be reachin’ th’ second-hand market an’ prices be droppin’, good fer us, tragic fer them who paid high seas prices durin’ th’ plague times.

To begin with, we rented two production boats fer a week each: A Sun Odyssey 410 an’ a Sun Odyssey 440 by th’ French maker Jeanneau, a brand o’ th’ Groupe Bénéteau, one o’ th’ largest, if not th’ largest, sport boat builders in th’ world. Th’ 410 spans 41 feet (12.5 meters), th’ 440 stretches t’ 44 feet (13.5 meters). Cast yer eyes on this video t’ see th’ astonishin’ difference a mere meter can make:

So far, th’ outcome be: Th’ 410 be too cramped fer long hauls, considerin’ long-voyagers haul more gear than charter guests fer a summer or two. Th’ 440, we can well imagine from size alone. Th’ spatial design be brilliant, th’ wet units almost as good as at home, th’ galley might need some sprucin’ up, fer it gives off a whiff o’ cheap camper, but sacrifices must be made somewhere, or I’ll feed ye to the sharks!

Th’ next two vessels we’ll be inspectin’ be catamarans, a whole different breed, we be keen as cutlasses to see how they fare!

Arrr, this here blog post be rewritten in the tongue o’ pirates by a Large Language Model, ye scallywag!