Saturday, December 01, 2007

YACHT CHARTER NEWSLETTER : December 2007

  • HOLIDAY DISCOUNT - Book last minute charter NOW
S/Y ASHLANA available for holidays - 10% discount with ship's bar included! Last minute cancellation! This stunning Little Harbor 53 accommodates 4 guests. More info...

  • New lower rates: CLAUDIA IV 70-foot Swan
New Rates on the beautiful Swan 70, Claudia IV ! Re-priced (lowered) and changed from Euros to US dollars, Claudia IV's rates are now $20/000/wk for 2 guests, $21,000/wk for 4 and $22,000/wk for 6 guests. This rate is all-inclusive with the normal exceptions of special requests, taxes, dockage and communications. Note: Standard ship's bar is INCLUDED. More info...

  • MELINKA - S&S Swan 80
S/Y MELINKA - S & S Designed Swan 80 - Accommodates up to six guests in three cabins. We had lunch aboard Melinka at the Antigua Charter Yacht Show this month and it was wonderful! Excellent yacht and crew. More info...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Sheila & Bob
Paradise Connections Yacht Charters
European Luxury Hotel Barges, too!
http://www.paradiseconnections.com
Click for contact info

Thursday, November 01, 2007

YACHT CHARTER NEWSLETTER : November 2007

A VISIT TO DRUMBEAT THIS MORNING

We were in our dinghy this morning and saw Kirk washing down the deck of Drumbeat so we stopped by for a quick visit. Drumeat is a great charter yacht for divers, friends, and families! More info...

PROMENADE RE-OPENS WEEK IN JUNE 2008

Promenade, our favorite 65-foot trimaran, has had a cancellation for the week of June 12-19, 2008 and thus is now available for YOUR charter. More info...

WELCOME CHARTER YACHT CONUNDRUM

Conundrum is a newly-refitted, 62-foot Little Harbor sloop. It is a beautiful yacht and the Captain is our friend Karen's son! More info...

Christmas & New Years 2007 UPDATE Charter Yacht Sailing Vacations

We updated a list of yachts who are still available for Christmas and/or New Years.
Click for more info...

VIRGIN ISLANDS CHARTER YACHT SHOWS

Hi! Sorry for the lack of posts as we have been attending the two charter yacht shows in the Virgin Islands this week and we haven't had much spare time or decent internet access until we hooked up with Beans, Bytes & Websites hotspot (hurray!).

We just successfully signed up and now have good wifi on the boat so WATCH OUT!

CRYSTAL CLEAR : PRE-CHRISTMAS DISCOUNTS

$500 off all new bookings for charters taking place before Christmas week.
No holiday surcharge for Christmas week, December 20-27, 2007 More info...

CHRISTMAS SEASON DAYSAIL HOLIDAY CRUISES IN NEW YORK

'Tis the season to enjoy a private, exceptional cruise aboard the m/y Eastern Star. Book your holiday party event now. More info...

FRENCH HOTEL BARGE CLAIR DE LUNE - CABIN AVAILABLE

The French Hotel Barge Clair de Lune has one cabin available on their Canal du Midi cruise taking place from Carcassonne to Beziers, May 31 - June 6, 2008. More info...

NOVEMBER IS VIRGIN ISLANDS CHARTER YACHT SHOW MONTH

The Virgin Islands is the venue for TWO charter yacht shows in November. The first is at Village Cay in Roadtown, Tortola, British Virgin Islands beginning this Sunday. The St. Thomas, USVI show will be at the new Yacht Haven Grande Marina in Charlotte Amalie.

We will be sailing up there tomorrow to see some new boats and visit old friends.... and do a bit of shopping :)

All the best!
Sheila & Bob
Paradise Connections Yacht Charters
European Luxury Hotel Barges, too!
http://www.paradiseconnections.com
Click for contact info

Friday, October 26, 2007

YACHT CHARTER NEWSLETTER : October 2007

CHARTER THE MALDIVES

The charter motor yacht FORCE BLUE is available in the Maldives for charters between February 10 and March 20, 2008. More info...

FRIDAY BOAT CAT BLOGGING

Friday cat blogging is a very popular blog activity, so we plan to feature Boat cats on our blogs. Here's our first...


NEW FRENCH BARGE ADDED

We have just included a new French canal hotel barge to our web site, Bonne Humeur.
CLICK HERE for more info.


LE PREMIER, FRENCH HOTEL BARGE

Le Premier has an opening on their cabin week. CLICK HERE for more...


BOOKS

Interested in the French Canals? Here are some books you may find interesting... CLICK HERE.


CANNES FESTIVALS 2008

Please, if you want a yacht for the Cannes Film Festival, the Monaco Grand Prix, or other Cannes events, contact us ASAP.

We have updated our Cannes pages with dates of various events for 2007 and 2008 : CLICK HERE

See our blog post : CLICK HERE


DISCOUNTED "SAIL WEEKS" - 10% OFF

Book before October 31st, 2007 and receive 10% off a full-week's charter on the catamarans Encore, Bliss, Moon Shadow, Wild Thing, Yes Dear, Secret Oasis, Seas The Moment, and Toucan Play for the following weeks:
  • November 8-15, & 16-23, 2007
  • January 17-24, 2008
  • June 4-11, 2008
CLICK HERE for more info...


WHAT DID YOU DO ON YOUR SUMMER VACATION?


We asked several of our favorite charter yachts this question and here are their replies, so far:


STILL LOOKING FOR A CHRISTMAS VACATION?

Look here.

There are still quite a few megayachts available as well. These will book up quickly so please, if you want to hang out in St. Barths on one of these big guys, contact Paradise Connections as soon as possible.


DISCOUNTS & SPECIAL OFFERS

PROMENADE, the 65-foot trimaran, wants to fill in her remaining weeks for the 2007-8 season so she is offering special rates for new bookings, including discounts for kids! More details HERE.

Chris & Julie of BLU MOON, a 51-foot Beneteau, have TWO special offers to announce. MORE HERE.

The 142-foot Trinity motoryacht CHEVY TOY is offering a $10,000 discount off their normal rate of $140,000/wk plus all expenses for charters occurring between now and January 1, 2008 (excluding holidays). CHECK THIS OUT.


2008 BARGING HOLIDAYS IN EUROPE

EUROPEAN HOTEL BARGES already have quite a few bookings for next season. Don't delay! Contact Paradise Connections to book your next canal barging vacation. View barge brochures HERE.


ISLAND SKIPPER AVAILABILITY

Warning: This is Rob & Michele's LAST charter season with ISLAND SKIPPER, a 52-foot Iwin ketch that offers diving. They are still available for a New Year's charter. Here is their current availability as of October 18, 2007:

  • Open: December 30, 2007 - January 26, 2008

That's it! Just a couple of open weeks left. Island Skipper (BROCHURE) is one of our most popular charter yachts and we will really miss them.


PROMENADE's CABIN CRUISE: still openings

There are three cabins available for PROMENADE's 6-Night Cabin Cruise, March 30 through April 5, 2008. The price per cabin, double occupancy is $3,900 (i.e. only $1800 each). Promenade is a fun boat that offers a wide range of activities, plus they have two dive instructors! This is a great way for a couple to charter such a large boat.

Here's MORE INFO for the cabin charter. And, you may find THIS interesting, too.

CONTACT PARADISE CONNECTIONS FOR MORE!

Some of you may wonder why we do not put our email address directly on our posts. Well, there are a couple of reasons:

  • SPAM. We get about 300 spam emails per day. We do not use a spam filter because we do not want to miss any of your important emails. For example, what if we have a client asking about the Rolex Sailing Races? There are so many spams with "rolex" in the subject line that we are sure these would be filtered out.
  • CURRENT INFORMATION. By directing you to our http:www.paradiseconnections.com/contact.html page, we are able to give you are current contact information. We work off of our sailboat and if we need to change our email address or other contact info, you are assured to find it there. Also, this way we only have to modify a couple of files, rather than update a hundred or more pages and all of these posts :)

So, contact Paradise Connections HERE, to book your next yacht or barge charter.

All the best,
Sheila & Bob

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Tuesday, July 31, 2007

YACHT CHARTER NEWSLETTER : AUGUST 2007

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HELLO FROM ANGUILLA !!!


Hello from Road Bay, Anguilla. Hope you are having an excellent summer!

Bob & I had a very pleasant sail from Marigot Bay, St. Martin to Road Bay, Anguilla on Saturday afternoon (July 28th). So It Goes, our CAL 34, is such a wonderful boat to sail. We planned to stay only a couple of days in Anguilla, but....
  • We have wifi on the boat again HURRAY! In Marigot, St. Martin we were going ashore for internet access. Should be able to catch up on website & blog updates now.
  • Also, the French zouk band Kassav will be giving a free beach concert next Monday, August 6, 2007 so we must stay for that!
We will then sail back to St. Maarten to pick up our mail, do laundry, some shopping, see a movie (The Bourne Ultimatum should be out), etc. We then plan to head south to Bequia in the Grenadines. We are really looking forward to the voyage and being in a new spot. We have reports that there is good wifi in Bequia so WATCH OUT!

So, here we are on the lovely island of Anguilla. It is very quiet even though there are many upscale resorts. We will probably venture up to The Valley and check the shopping situation out. There is a small convenience store here, but not much in the way of merchandise as it is off season (I was hoping to find some ham for sandwiches). I did find a nice wrap skirt at IRIE LIFE on the beach for US$10 (50% off) and the lady was really nice and let me use her phone for a local call. Check them out if you come to Anguilla! Also, the place next door had some really tempting ribs on the BBQ! mmmmmmm

Google Earth shows Anguilla very well. I want to find out how to post photos on their maps as it would be very helpful for fellow cruisers.

Let us know what you are up to. CLICK HERE for our current CONTACT INFO.

All the best!
Sheila & Bob
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TACHYON SIGHTING IN ST. MARTIN



Last week, as we were dinghying by Polypat Boatyard near the Marigot bridge on the French side of St. Martin, we saw Tachyon waiting to be craned out for the summer.

This was a wonderful opportunity for us to meet Eric & Jac, owner/operators of Tachyon. They both have impressive sailing resumés and Jac is also a PADI Dive Master. Be sure to check out the crew profile in their electronic brochure. Eric & Jac have just finished their first season of chartering and they really enjoyed it. They are an energetic crew who are looking forward to their next season. We already have one booking for Tachyon and would love to add a few more to their calendar.

Tachyon is a 47-foot, air conditioned catamaran that accommodates up to 6 guests in 3 cabins, each with Queen berths and ensuite head/shower. Up to 5 dives/week are included in their rates for certified divers (bring your own gear or rent, guests pay for air fills). Other "toys" include: 2 two-person kayaks, wakeboard, tube, snorkel equipment, etc.

Tachyon is already booked for New Years, but they are available through December 27th.

TACHYON's Brochure: CLICK HERE

Contact Paradise Connections for more info: CLICK HERE

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ISLAND SKIPPER : Book now while you still can!


Island Skipper, one of our most popular charter yachts and good friends of ours, only has a couple of weeks open for next season. We've already booked Rob & Michele's first & last weeks of their short season and we'd like to fill in the middle bit!

Currently, Island Skipper is available for New Years as they are open from December 30, 2007 through January 26, 2008.

Island Skipper is an air conditioned, 52-foot Irwin ketch which accommodates up to 6 guests in 3 cabins, each with ensuite head/shower. The master cabin aft is quite spacious and has a Queen berth. The forward guest cabin is a large V-berth, while the other guest cabin has two single bunks (upper/lowers) which provides flexible accomodations for friends and families.

Rob is a PADI Dive Master and offers 5 dives/week to certified divers for $125.

View ISLAND SKIPPER's two electronic brochures: CLICK HERE & HERE

Book Island Skipper today, contact Paradise Connections: CLICK HERE

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HANALEI BAY - Another wonderful evening with Franz & Diane


In mid-July, Hanalei Bay stopped in Marigot, St. Martin (FWI) on their way south to Trinidad and invited us aboard for cocktails and dinner.

We always enjoy time spent with Hanalei Bay. Franz & Diane are a delightful & interesting couple.

Hanalei Bay is a spacious and beautiful 72-foot, custom sailing vessel. The yacht is fully air conditioned and accommodates up to 6 guests in 3 cabins, each with ensuite heads.

Hanalei Bay is an excellent value for such a large, high-quality yacht. Hanalei Bay has an impressive list of amenities: kayaks, knee board, Jr. waterskis, tube, banana blaster!, snorkel gear, floats... or just chill out on the boat: good sound system with a wide variety of music, double hammock, karaoke with 2 mics, guitar, keyboard, bongos, and we just love their "patio" on the aft deck behind the roomy cockpit... so much space.

Here are a few comments:
  • My 11 year old daughter, after leaving the yacht, said that Franz & Diane made her feel like we were all a big family. She said "I feel like we are the only ones they treat this way". For an 11 year old to take note of that, really says something. THANKS PARADISE CONNECTIONS & HANALEI BAY FOR A FABULOUS VACATION IN THE BVI!!
  • It is barely 48 hours since we disembarked from Hanalei Bay and we are ready to turn around and come back! ... While your depth of culinary and sailing experience was evident, it was your fun company and your genuine desire to 'please' us that made for a wonderful experience.
  • We were charmed from the moment we arrived on board. We shall return. We warmly recommend a cruise on Hanalei Bay to anyone who thinks they might like a holiday with a difference, who has sailed or might like to sail, who wants to explore inaccessible beaches and tiny islands, and who wishes to be made welcome by congenial hosts who are skilled in making guests feel happy.
  • The charter was way better than we ever imagined!!! Everyone had fun. My husband really enjoyed our little 30-60 minute snorkelling time TOGETHER everyday.
  • Todd and I had an amazing time on our vacation!!!! Words cannot really due justice to our experience. Franz and Diane were so much fun! We all really clicked, and had just a great time. Franz is responsible for my pants being too tight this week!!
You are in luck! Hanalei Bay is still available for the 2007/8 Holiday Season!

View HANALEI BAY's electronic brochure: CLICK HERE

Contact Paradise Connections for more info: CLICK HERE

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SUMMER CHARTERS / SAILING VACATIONS

Looking for a quick getaway this summer? How about a Caribbean sailing vacation? There are some excellent yachts chartering throughout the summer.

VIRGIN ISLANDS:

DOWN ISLAND (South of Virgin Islands):

Or you may want to consider Alaska/Pacific Northwest, New England/Maine, the Med... Just let us know where! How about a hotel barge cruising the European canals?

Contact Paradise Connections for more info: CLICK HERE

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HOLIDAY CHARTERS - Christmas and New Years

As we are in the middle of summer, you might not want to be thinking about winter holidays but don't leave it too much longer! Most of the larger yachts are already booked and we always suggest that people plan a year ahead of time to give them the most choice.

But ...

there are still a few goodies out there!


Contact Paradise Connections to book your holiday yacht charter: CLICK HERE

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PROMENADE offering a cabin cruise in 2008

The 65-foot trimaran PROMENADE has just opened up a 6-night, cabin cruise week for March 30 to April 5, 2008 .

This is an all-inclusive, 6-night charter for $4100/cabin (double occupancy, not each person). Prices include all gourmet meals, ships bar, and water sports.

SCUBA diving:
  • Certified divers $125/week. Bring your own gear OR $125 BC and reg rental per person
  • Resort divers. $75 pp per dive to a maximun of $400 pp, includes gear
  • Open water referral $225 pp plus gear rental (This includes your diving for the week)
While you will be sharing your sailing vacation with other people, Promenade will do their best to accommodate interests, activities, meals, etc. to their guests on board, rather than a fixed itinerary and menu like a theme park ride.

Promenade is air conditioned and has 5 guests cabins; three cabins have Queen berths, while the other two can be configured either as Kings or as two Twins. Promenade has a 14-foot dinghy with 50HP motor, waterskis, kneeboard, tube, several kayaks, 5-person banana, snorkeling gear, fishing equipment, projection TV/VCR/DVD in the salon, a portable DVD player, Game Boy, Play Station 2, dedicated guest computer for email access, compressor to fill scuba tanks, and much more. Promenade has a Dive Instructor aboard so anyone can dive... give it a try!

To view Promenade's electronic brochure, CLICK HERE.

Contact Paradise Connections : CLICK HERE

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THIS & THAT...


* HOTEL BARGES (French canals, Ireland, Scotland, England, Holland, Italy...)

There are still a few open weeks for this season for European hotel barges. Book now for next year as their calendars fill in quickly! You can view some of the barges we represent on:
http://www.paradiseconnections.com/moreyachts.html (top right column) and visit our barging blog : http://allaboutcanalbargecharters.blogspot.com/

* SPRING BREAK & EASTER VACATION

Just another quick warning that the charter yachts book up quickly for these weeks... Start now!

* TURTLE PICTURE !!!

Here's a super photo that Rich from the trimaran Promenade took recently. Thanks for letting us share this picture, Rich!



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CONTACT PARADISE CONNECTIONS

Feel free to contact us at anytime to inquire about your next sailing vacation or drop us a line just to let us know what you are up to... we think of you as friends and not just clients!

All the best!
Bob & Sheila
Paradise Connections Yacht Charters
http://www.paradiseconnections.com

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Friday, March 30, 2007

YACHT CHARTER NEWSLETTER : APRIL 2007

Posted March 30, 2007 so not to be confused by an "April Fools" :)

Our apologies for not keeping this monthly newsletter up to date, but please consult our Yacht Charter blogs for frequently updated information:

Yacht charter blog: http://allaboutyachtcharters.blogspot.com

European canal charter blog: http://allaboutcanalbargecharters.blogspot.com/

or contact us, as there is too much happening to put in the blogs... CLICK HERE

NEWS FOR APRIL 2007

Discounts / Special offers:

- STORM PETREL has a special offer of a $500 discount for yacht charters occuring during the period of April 17-30, 2007.
Read more... CLICK HERE

- THREE MOONS would like to offer you a 5% discount for all new charters taking place from February 1 through June 30, 2007.
Read more... CLICK HERE

Cancellations : Prime weeks now open!

- Due to a cancellation, one of our most popular charter yachts, the 52-foot Irwin ketch, ISLAND SKIPPER is now available in the Virgin Islands for the prime week of April 29 - May 5, 2007 (Sunday to Saturday).
Read more... CLICK HERE

- Due to a cancellation, s/v LONE FOX is now available for charter for the 2007 Antigua Classics Regatta. Race dates are April 19-24, 2007
Read more... CLICK HERE
http://allaboutyachtcharters.blogspot.com/2007/03/charter-lone-fox-for-2007-antigua.html

Special Events:

- WORLD CRICKET CUP
Yachts still available to view the cricket matches in April!
Contact us... CLICK HERE

- BLUE MOON & HOT TUNES - TOBAGO JAZZ FEST, April 27-29, 2007
Kick back and get down at one of the biggest jump-ups in the Caribbean, the third annual Jazz Fest in Tobago!
Read more... CLICK HERE

- PALMA 2007 SUPER YACHT CUP
KALIKOBASS II is available for charter to race in the Super Yacht Cup to be held in Palma, Mallorca (Balearic Islands) on June 16-19, 2007.
Read more... CLICK HERE

- TRANS-ATLANTIC OCEAN CROSSING SAILING VACATION
Live your dream of sailing across the ocean on a 29-day Atlantic crossing on the Stad Amsterdam, a 250-foot Clipper ship launched in 2000. It is also possible to do shorter legs...
Read more... CLICK HERE

Charter Locations:

We have several yachts available this summer in Alaska & the Pacific Northwest,
CLICK HERE to read about Sea Angel.

We also have yachts in the Caribbean, New England / Maine, Mexico, the South Pacific, the Mediterranean... Pop us a line or give us a call!
CLICK HERE to contact Paradise Connections Yacht Charters.

Christmas / New Years Charters & 2008 Season:

Please be aware that NOW is the time to book your sailing vacation for the holidays. Yachts' calendars are quickly filling up for the holidays, especially the larger yachts.

Also, we have had many bookings for the 2008 season... it's not too early to make inquiries, especially for school vacations.
Contact us: CLICK HERE


What we are up to:

We are currently in St. Maarten (Dutch side) on our sailboat. If your call goes to voice mail, please leave us a message with your phone number (twice) and email address and we'll get back to you ASAP. We apologize for this inconvenience but quite often our Globalstar satellite phone service is not as good as what you see in the movies :) Be sure to pop us an email as well, if possible.

Last weekend we actually took some time off and went sailing! We went up to Anguilla for 4 days to attend the Jimmy Buffett concert last Saturday, March 24, 2007. We last saw Jimmy back in Seattle, Washington just before we left the States in 1980. He still gives a great concert! The location of the event at Bankie Banx Dune Preserve (http://www.bankiebanx.net/) in Anguilla was a great setting for this concert. Weather also cooperated. Good show, guys!

HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON!

All the best!
Sheila & Bob
Paradise Connections Yacht Charters
http://www.paradiseconections.com

Thursday, January 04, 2007

YACHT CHARTER NEWSLETTER : JANUARY 2007

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DRUMBEAT OFFERS SPECIAL DISCOUNT FOR JAN/FEB 2007 YACHT CHARTERS


Sail smoothly into the new year aboard DRUMBEAT. This excellent yacht is offering you a sailing vacation in the Virgin Islands at special discount of 5% off their normal rate for full-week yacht charters taking place during the months of January and February 2007.

Vince is a PADI Dive Instructor and Drumbeat includes five dives/week FREE for both certified and non-certified divers.

We've had many happy charters aboard Drumbeat and hope that you will be able to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.

Join Vince, Linda, and Kirk aboard this 65/72-foot Irwin ketch for an enjoyable winter break with your family or friends. Drumbeat is fully air conditioned and accommodates up to 8 guests in 4 cabins with double berths, each with ensuite heads.

DISCOUNTED RATES for January & February 2007 charters:
  • For up to 4 guests: $11,400
  • 5 Guests: $12,350
  • 6 Guests: $13,300
  • 7 Guests: $14,250
  • 8 Guests: $15,200
View DRUMBEAT's Electronic Brochure : CLICK HERE

Contact PARADISE CONNECTIONS Yacht Charters: CLICK HERE

*****

CATAMARAN QUICKSILVER IS HEADING NORTH TO CHARTER IN THE BAHAMAS

The catamaran Quicksilver, is relocating in March 2007 to charter in the Bahamas.

Quicksilver is a 40-foot Dean catamaran that accommodates up to 6 guests in 3 double cabins, each with ensuite heads.

All-inclusive, crewed, weekly rate (current as of January 4, 2007):

WINTER (through April 30, 2007)
  • 2 guests : $6,000
  • 3 guests : $6,900
  • 4 guests : $7,800
  • 5 guests : $8,500
  • 6 guests : $9,200
SUMMER (May 1 to Mid-December 2007)
  • 2 guests : $5,400
  • 3 guests : $6,200
  • 4 guests : $7,000
  • 5 guests : $7,650
  • 6 guests : $8,300
Quicksilver's rates will include the 4% Bahamas tax.

View QUICKSILVER's electronic brochure : CLICK HERE

Contact PARADISE CONNECTIONS Yacht Charters : CLICK HERE

*****

Best Wishes for the New Year,
Sheila & Bob
Paradise Connections Yacht Charters

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