The 133-foot Broward Kashmir, currently listed with Denison Yachting, just saw a $250,000 price improvement. The new asking price for the superyacht is $4.5 million. Originally delivered as a 105-foot motor yacht in 1995, Kashmir underwent an extensive refit in 2008 that included increasing its length overall by 28 feet.

The 133-footer has accommodations for up to 13 guests in its six-stateroom layout, which includes a main-deck master and five additional guest suites belowdecks. With 12 successful charters in 2022, Kashmir has a lot of potential as a charter yacht for its future owners.

This Broward’s flybridge can double as an additional enclosed entertainment space because of its Plexiglas doors that can enclose the area around the whirlpool spa. Forward and to starboard, up to eight guests can enjoy alfresco dining at a C-shaped settee and table, which is directly across from a wet bar with three fixed stools.

Its flybridge also has tender and PWC stowage abaft the whirlpool spa, where its 2012 18-foot tender and two 2021 Yamaha WaveRunners are stowed–all three of which are included with the sale. When the water toys are deployed, the flybridge’s aft deck becomes a great sunbathing space.

The salon comfortably seats eight with a six-person sofa to port and two loose chairs positioned around a coffee table. Waist-to-ceiling windows, neutral colors, mahogany furnishings, and a 60-inch flat-screen TV combine to make a nice spot for casual conversation.

Forward of the salon is the formal dining space where an eight-person table awaits guests. The table can be expanded to fit up to 12.

The galley, located forward of the salon, is equipped with enough counter space for several chefs to prepare meals. It’s also equipped with: GE Monogram 27-inch built-in electric double ovens, a refrigerator and a microwave oven. A Fisher & Paykel dual-drawer dishwasher. A Viking professional range hood and cooktop. And a Sub-Zero refrigerator and freezer combo, a wine cooler and more refrigerator and freezer drawers.

Forward of the galley is the main-deck master stateroom, which is equipped with a forward-facing king berth, a flat-screen TV, a walk-in wardrobe and a his-and-hers en suite head with the space separated by a whirlpool spa.

The five guest staterooms belowdecks are all en suites too. Two king-berth staterooms are located aft. Forward and to port are two smaller staterooms where, thanks to Pullman berths, one sleeps three and the other sleeps two. The forepeak VIP has a queen-size berth.

Kashmir has a reported cruising speed of 12 knots and a 16-knot top-end speed thanks to the 3,200 hp provided by twin 1,600 hp Caterpillar C-32 Acert diesels, both of which received a top-end overhaul in January 2019 by Caterpillar. According to Denison, both engines have a transferable “CAT Platinum Plus” warranty with no deductible that’s valid through January 2024.

Kashmir‘s upper helm station is equipped with three Stidd chairs, and the pilothouse helm has a one-seat station with additional bench seating to port. Other notable features include: Naiad Zero Speed Stabilizers, an Intellian S100HD, an Intellian V100, two Icom M604 with Loudhailers, two Furuno Navnet VX2 25kw, Simrad AP 50, two 99 kW Onan generators (newly rebuilt with zero hours), a NAIAD Thruster Control Simon system and panel and two Miele Professional washers and two Miele Professional dryers.

Where is Kashmir located? The yacht is currently lying in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Take the next step: contact the listing agents, Gary Hardcastle (561.253.2457) and Brian Nobles (954.763.3971), Gary@DenisonYachting.com, Brian@DenisonYachting.com, denisonyachtsales.com

Quick Specifications:

• Length Overall: 133’
• Maximum Beam: 23’4”
• Draft: 7’ 6”
• Fuel Capacity: 9,033 Gal.

The post Broward Superyacht Gets Price Reduction appeared first on Yachting.

RJC Yachts says seven of the yachts in its charter fleet are accepting inquiries for New England bookings this summer.

The yachts are: the 163-foot Christensen Lady Elaine, the 157-foot Trinity Miss Christine, the 145-foot Christensen Relentless, the 124-foot Broward Camille, the 112-foot Delta Gale Winds, the 118-foot Intermarine XOXO and the 118-foot Broward True North.

Weekly base rates range from $60,000 to $225,000, depending on the yacht and the number of guests. Accommodations on the seven yachts range from eight to 12 guests each.

When does the New England charter season start? Some yachts are accepting bookings as early as June 1.

Take the next step: contact a charter broker at rjcyachts.com

The post Charter Options Abound in New England appeared first on Yachting.

Blazing the Trail

I was reminiscing recently with my old friend and former design client, Ken Denison, about the “golden age” of motoryacht construction. Not the big boom that bombed in the 1920s, but the surge of the last 20 years. The seeds for this boom were sewn in the 1980s and much of the banging and sawing was coming from Broward Marine’s yards in Michigan and Florida. Ken’s parents, Frank and Gertrude, created Broward and it was at the eye of a “perfect storm” when baby boomers, the economy, and technology collided. In the 1980s, Broward delivered more than 80 boats over 80 feet and when the yard’s ads suggested “It must be a Broward,” it likely was.

The Great Depression knocked the wind out of yachting, but enthusiasts held out for better times or downsized. World War II brought government contracts, and with the war’s end came a revitalized market for more modest coastal cruisers. American yacht builders Trumpy and Grebe continued to work in wood, while Burger shifted from wood to steel. The average size of motoryachts inched up. However, by the early 1960s, the typical flush-deck houseboat or cruiser-style yacht still measured about 60 feet.

In 1948, Frank Denison purchased Dooley’s Dry Dock on the New River in Ft. Lauderdale, while on honeymoon with his wife, Gertrude. He renamed the yard Broward Marine, a nod to its location in Broward County. Frank had grown up near the water in Michigan and at age 13 served as cabin boy on a 300-foot lake steamer. As a young man, he built a trucking business, but his dream was to build boats. Shortly after the purchase of Dooley’s, Frank bid on the construction of a dozen 146-foot and 172-foot minesweepers. “Mom and Dad drove to Washington to deliver the bid package personally,” said Ken. “Mom typed the final details in the back seat of the car and Dad raced up the stairs of the Navy Procurement office, just beating the deadline.”

Ft. Lauderdale locals referred to Broward’s first project as “Denison’s folly,” believing it was impossible to get such large vessels down the New River. Frank built the hulls at the Broward yard and floated them downriver to Port Everglades, where he added the superstructures and armaments. He launched a minesweeper every 90 days and soon Broward Marine became the largest private employer in Broward County. “Dad was a production genius,” said Ken. “Anybody that ever worked with him would tell you that he took little interest in a boat after it was launched—his passion was getting the boat in the water.”

Broward’s first yacht commission came in 1954. Built for $500,000, the 96-foot Alisa V was the largest motoryacht launched in the U.S. in decades, according to Time Magazine. “She had a powder-blue hull and a bright red bootstripe and trim—she was a shocker for the blue blazer set,” said Ken. Frank continued to focus on “large” yacht projects through the 1950s. “These boats were around 80 feet which, for the time, was akin to building a 60-meter boat today,” said Ken. Frank also built smaller sport fishing boats in the 1960s. “Dad didn’t care what sort of boats he was building as long as the yard was busy.” While Frank built the boats, his wife Gertrude launched Yacht Interiors—one of the first interior design firms to focus exclusively on yachts.

Market change was coming, driven by a favorable economy and a material new to yacht construction. The Reynolds family of Reynolds Metals Company commissioned Burger to build a boat with a metal alloy that it supplied. The first all-welded aluminum yacht built in the U.S. was launched in 1955. Ultimately, this change in medium would prove to be a significant waypoint in custom yacht construction that neither Grebe nor Trumpy would successfully navigate. The first aluminum Broward, the 74-foot Howlen, was built in the Ft. Lauderdale yard in 1975. Broward’s shift to aluminum had been expedited by Frank’s purchase of the nearby Argosy yard, which had built a number of aluminum yachts designed by Jack Hargrave. Frank also hired two key former employees of Chris-Craft’s aluminum Roamer division. Don Nash had been foreman of the Roamer hull department and Donald Stroenjaus, the plant superintendent. “Dad and the ‘Dons’ designed Broward’s Saugatuck, Michigan, plant on airline napkins while traveling from Michigan to Florida,” said Ken.

“Broward North was built in Mom and Dad’s backyard.” The first boat was started while the well for the Travelift was still being dug. “Dad’s neighbors thought he was nuts. Even if he managed to launch the boats, how would get them past the low bridge at the Calumet locks?” Frank hinged the masts and flooded the bilges of the boats to gain a precious few feet. Over the next 20 years, 80 boats averaging 100 feet would be built in “Frank’s backyard.” The largest, a 120-footer, rose eight feet above the lock’s bridgework. “Dad sent her on her way in a snowstorm with a crew armed with welding machines and Sawzalls,” said Ken. The lock keeper watched in amazement as the crew cut away the top of the pilothouse, lifted it up and lowered it atop the deckhouse. Once past the bridge, the pilothouse was welded back in place.

Ken’s older brother, Kit, ran the Ft. Lauderdale yard. “Kit did a great job, maybe too good a job,” suggests Ken. “Dad was one of a kind, but he was really a one-man show—Mom had held the family and the yard together.” After 12 years, differences with his father caused Kit to launch his own boat-building venture: Denison Marine. Ken was tapped to replace Kit and appointed vice president of new sales and construction in 1983. Ken had grown up in the yard and had worked in the lofting department, but he had not planned on running a boatyard. “Frankly, I was scared to death—it was a difficult situation,” admitted Ken. “Kit had a charismatic personality and the loyalty of the Ft. Lauderdale employees and customers.” Within six months, the bulk of the department heads, even the head of security, had left to join Kit at his new yard. “It didn’t seem to faze Dad—he told me to keep my head down and saw wood, ” said Ken. The advice paid off, and within six months Ken had sold two boats to customers in California. “I was lucky—they must have been the only two yachtsmen in the U.S. that didn’t know what had happened at Broward,” laughed Ken.

The market was heating up and Frank’s all-season (Florida) yard and his willingness to build on spec were paying off. “Dad would usually set up a new hull every 30 to 45 days,” said Ken. Broward North built a 95-footer in 30,000 hours while Broward South took 45,000 hours—it had the makings of a “civil war.” By this time, the Ft. Lauderdale yard was little more than a collection of leaky wooden sheds and an antiquated marine railway. Still, many felt the boats built in Ft. Lauderdale were superior in terms of outfitting and finish. Frank refused to waste time or money on what he considered unnecessary. Ken, on the other hand, recognized that a new, more demanding generation of yachtsmen was now driving the market. Frank dug in his heels while Ken attempted to upgrade the “Broward standard.”

Frank—or “Mr. D”—was a classic old school boatbuilder and not one to trifle with. He had thrown more than one know-it-all captain out of the yard, personally, and referred to engineers as “college boys” and yacht brokers as “buckets of steam.” “Dad could be charming when he wanted to sell a boat, but he was often blunt— signing deals was always a challenge,” said Ken. He remembers one meeting with a client and his lawyer as typical. Frank had been stewing quietly at the end of the conference table while the conversation about legal issues droned on. “Dad pushed his chair back, stood up and addressed our would-be client. This young fellow you brought along… your lawyer… he’s pretty smart, isn’t he? The client preened, figuring he had Dad on the ropes,” Ken explains. But Frank glared at him and snapped “if he’s so damn smart have him build your boat,” then left the room. “This was a big deal we had been working on for months…” Ken remembers. “We all sat there, dumbfounded.”

In addition to running interference, Ken invested in first-class advertising and owner rendezvous. “It had always bugged Dad that Henry Burger could check into Pier 66 during the season, walk the docks, and head north with a book full of orders,” said Ken. “Dad’s idea of marketing had always been to build the boats that Henry had no interest in…Henry had refused to build a three-stateroom 72-footer—Dad built a dozen of them.” Frank cringed at the thought of actually spending money on marketing. “On a bus packed with customers at the Nantucket rendezvous, Dad counted heads and said in a theater voice, Gertrude, why the hell is Ken throwing a party for people that have already bought a boat?”

Just as a perfect storm had filled Broward’s order book for a decade, another perfect storm would lead to the yard’s sale. Rejecting the calming hand of his wife and the youthful energy of his children, Frank built his last boat and sold the yard in 1999, having launched more than 220 Browards.

_

_

Fiberglass went on to compete with aluminum as the material of choice for series builders in the 80- to 125-foot market and aluminum and steel yachts would soar in size and numbers. And whether they welded aluminum, pushed pencils, or wrote the checks for the boats, many of the players that drove this boom in large yachts were graduates of “Broward-U.”

The post Blazing The Trail appeared first on Yachting.

ytgoct23coco525.jpg

I could see the trouble brewing quite clearly on the horizon. I just didn’t realize how serious it was going to get.

Our 31-foot Bertram-a tender to our charter yacht-was idling over a trench about 20 minutes off the coast of Marsh Harbour, in the Abacos. A pair of deep-drop lines were out about 600 feet apiece, and the one on our port side had a bite. I could all but taste the sweet, fresh grouper when the mood turned sour. A compressor had gone bust. The electric reels were dead. We cut the lines, hoped for better luck the next day, and headed back to our mothership, the 124- foot Broward Coco Loco. We had barely cruised five minutes when blackness began to erase the blue sky. The clouds kept gaining on us, en route to the dock at Abaco Beach Resort, and chilly raindrops hit Coco Loco’s teak deck about 30 seconds after my bare feet.

We would not see sunlight again until our charter had ended.

| | |

Nobody can predict the weather during a vacation. And while afternoon rain showers tend to be commonplace (and often a welcome relief) in the Bahamas, there’s nothing good to be said about back-to-back days of lightning, wind, and waves. Admittedly, I succumb faster to the darkness than most, perhaps because my years of chartering have taught me exactly what I’m missing when the sun fails to appear on cue. I tend to peer like a pouting child through rain-soaked windows, looking at an unused tender like that Bertram 31, my heart sinking faster than a sounding line.

It’s at times like these that my focus hones in on a charter yacht’s outfitting, crew training, and onshore support team. At $120,000 a week for 10 guests, a boat had better be able to deliver a good experience, even without a single ray of sunshine. The interior must have several comfortable spaces so guests can find privacy. There ought to be WiFi and entertainment systems available at all times. The stewardesses should be able to foster fun with onboard games and themes. The chef must be an absolute star, since meals become the main events of everyday life aboard. And, so often overlooked, the backup team onshore should have strong local connections. They might be needed to arrange last-minute airfares, hotel reservations, and ferries when weather affects not just the charter itself, but also any hope of getting back home.

Coco Loco, I am happy to tell you, came through on all counts during my rain-soaked time aboard. The yacht, the crew, and management company (Fraser Yachts Worldwide) helped to turn what might have been an unpleasant experience aboard a lesser charter yacht into a lovely Bahamas getaway.

The yacht, which splashed in 2008, was the last to launch from the Broward shipyard in Florida before it suspended construction activity. The owner is quick to call Coco Loco a custom yacht that just happened to be built at the Broward facility, as opposed to a production or even semi-custom yacht that rode out of the shed on a wave of red ink. Broward handled the naval architecture, with most of the interior and exterior design by Evan K. Marshall. Marty Lowe did the finishing design flourishes. “I brought in my own surveyors, paid the shipyard’s rent, and brought in ABS to check the boat,” the owner told me. “If Broward had wanted to cut corners, they couldn’t have. They were being watched.”

Previously, the owner had only sportfishing yachts-built by Bertram, Hatteras, Pacemaker, Buddy Davis, and Viking. He was using his Bertram 67 as what he calls a “floating hotel” when he realized that with the revenue from six to eight weeks of charter per year, a motoryacht in the 120- foot range would be only a slightly higher annual expense. He couldn’t give up his enthusiasm for angling altogether, though, which is why Coco Loco comes with the Bertram 31 Poco Loco as a tender.

| | |

“Coco means hard-headed in Spanish,” the owner told me. “After owning so many boats, calling this one Coco Loco makes sense. Poco Loco, well, I’m just a little bit crazy to own that one.”

He enjoys his time aboard Coco Loco but considers the boat a business, which is why he personally approves or declines all charter requests. People with reputations for partying hard are not welcome, and he prefers adult couples to families with small children. His goal is to keep Coco Loco in perfect condition, and from what I saw, the strategy is working. Nary a ding marred the high-gloss cherry woodwork, the mother-of-pearl details in the dining room and day-head were flawless, and the entrance foyer’s tile was without a single scratch.

The crew are under the command of Capt. Ashley Benns, who has years of charter experience in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and Indian Ocean. He makes no bones about having fired two interior crew who lacked “the strength to work at the level we wanted,” and he brought in chef Eric Melanson, whose resume includes working in galleys aboard the larger charter motoryachts Daybreak, Tooth Fairy, and NewVida.

All of that experience showed during my time aboard-which is saying something special, given the dismal weather that forced watersports, fishing, and cruising to come to an abrupt end. Melanson, in particular, helped to make every day a delight by varying the menu widely. One meal included Spanish gazpacho with grilled rack of lamb in a fig glaze. Another was Bahamian stone crabs with grilled lobster and mango risotto. Yet another was salad Niçoise with fresh grilled tuna steak.

Just when I thought he couldn’t surprise us any more with the stream of nonstop meals that came to the indoor dining area again and again and again, he began to incorporate entertainment into the mix.

“For lunch, I’m going to do a pizza competition,” Melanson told me one morning in the galley. “I’ll make the dough, and you guests can do the toppings. On rainy days like today, adults tend to really love it.”

Chief stewardess Bala Bacs, too, made a good impression under nearly constant scrutiny. Born in Hungary, she grew up in Australia and loves extreme outdoor sports as well as sportfishing-which made it all the more noteworthy to see how well she performed with guests and crew constantly trapped inside by weather. It has been her job to outfit Coco Loco with all that guests might need or want, including PlayStation 3, Guitar Hero, Nintendo Wii, karaoke, DVDs, iPod docking stations, DirecTV, classic games such as Risk, Monopoly, and backgammon, and theme costumes for the crew to produce everything from disco nights to fat-suit parties.

“The owner wants everybody to have a good time, and there really isn’t a budget,” she told me after our group enjoyed a marathon session of Jenga (a stacking game made all the easier by Coco Loco’s zero-speed stabilizers). “We have good imaginations, and [the owner] wants us to put together as much great stuff as we can. Although we are very professional, we live up to the name Coco Loco. We love to have fun, and the enthusiasm spreads to the guests.”

That’s not to say the crew don’t know how to get serious when necessary. I had been treated to a ride over to the Bahamas with the owner aboard his private jet, but he had to leave the boat for business a few days before I did, which put the other guests and me at the mercy of local prop planes and ferries during the extended storm. Benns worked tirelessly with the Ft. Lauderdale office of Fraser Yachts Worldwide to arrange everything that our group needed, including an overnight stay with gourmet meals at the Hope Town Harbour Lodge hotel in Hope Town, paid for by the yacht’s owner.

| | |

I’ve been caught in tight spots and bad weather on other charter boats before, and the treatment I experienced with Coco Loco and her owner was far better than any other in recent memory. For me, going aboard so many charter yachts as a journalist, the level of service turned what might have been a difficult assignment into an enjoyable one. For you, going aboard a yacht of this caliber for a much-anticipated annual charter, the level of service should ensure that you get your money’s worth of vacation no matter what-which, as I said earlier, is what I expect and what you should demand-from a charter yacht whose lowest weekly base rate is $120,000.

“There are boats this size that get $75,000 or $85,000 a week,” the owner told me. “We get $120,000 or $130,000. Why do we get more? Because we give more. My captain knows that I want this boat run like a five-star hotel, and that I expect our charter guests to receive the same treatment that I do. I take good care of my crew so that they will take good care of our guests. I can afford to keep Coco Loco in this condition without any charter income if necessary, and that’s how it should be.”

Indeed, rain or shine. There’s nothing at all crazy about that.

Coco Loco takes 10 guests at a lowest weekly base rate of $120,000. She is part of the charter fleet at Fraser Yachts Worldwide, which also handles her yacht-management needs. Fraser Yachts Worldwide, (954) 463-0600; _www.fraseryachts.com**__.**_

The post Broward 124: Coco Loco appeared first on Yachting.

A blue-green chameleon with dandelion yellow eyes plays mascot on the bridge of the 114-foot motoryacht Camille. On this day, its Beanie Baby body is practically molded to the top of the radar screen, like a lizard bellied up to a favorite hot rock. No matter where the doll is plopped, it looks good and comfortable, in whatever contortion it must assume. Perhaps that’s because it’s a chameleon. Or, maybe, it’s because the ability to adapt is a source of pride for every member of this yacht’s crew.

“Flexibility is our middle name,” said Capt. Mac McDonald, inflecting a bit of hometown North Carolina charm into every word. “We’ve had the good ol’ boys who want to come on board and sit up top and drink beer, and we’ve had very formal guests where we only speak when spoken to. Whatever they want, that’s what we do.”

A lot of charter captains make that promise, but few have a core team so capable of executing it. This crew of friends is so comfortable together, they actually whistle while they work. The captain and chef are recently engaged. The head stewardess has been with them for two years. The personal relationships make the crew members eager to help one another be their best.

“I’m chief bilge cleaner. I’m head bottle washer,” the captain said. A lean 6-foot-1, McDonald guides his crew gently, much as he guides his guests, following every suggestion with a broad smile. “I try to lead by example.”

His attitude toward charter stems from a lifetime of lessons. He learned the value of behind-the-scenes work while studying theater arts at Wake Forest. He learned the importance of strong leadership while serving as a U.S. tank battalion captain in Germany. He learned to love the sea while living aboard a 35-foot Dufour with his cat, Zorro. Eventually, he learned the value of money and decided he needed to make more. Unwilling to altogether abandon his wandering ways, he became head engineer on a 93-foot motoryacht where his future fiancee, Betsy Durst, was honing her talents as chef. They became a couple, he became captain and, after several years aboard the private yacht, the two went in search of a bit more variety.

They landed on a 95-foot Broward and worked charters for four seasons, with a crew of four. “We were killing ourselves to provide the level of service we wanted,” he said. The couple then spent one season in the Med aboard a 132-foot Diaship with eight crew-the size boat they wanted. When McDonald got a call in 1998 about the 114-foot Hatteras Camille, he and Betsy weren’t looking to downsize. “I figured I’d make some unrealistic demands and get on with it, but I met the owner and the next day, Betsy and I looked at the boat. It was a done deal.”

Camille definitely makes an impression. Her accommodations are belowdecks, accessed by intertwining spiral staircases. One leads to the master amidships, the other to three guest staterooms slightly aft. The master’s his-and-her bath is spacious, with the jacuzzi tub next to, instead of combined with, the shower. (An opaque glass divider pulls out to create two private spaces.) Each guest stateroom has an en suite head; the two with queen berths have jacuzzi tubs and showers, and the one with twin berths and a Pullman has a stand-up shower.

The warm maple finish in each stateroom continues throughout the 1996 yacht. In the saloon, light from 10 large windows makes the finish appear golden at dusk, in contrast to lighter-finish yachts that take on a yellowish tone around suppertime. Pieces in this space have the distinction of being elegant and comfortable, from the leather sitting chairs near the above-bar television to the eight dining chairs with extra padding in their seats and backrests. Up one flight is the flying bridge deck, a sun lover’s paradise with a wet bar and jacuzzi. Two Wave Runners and a kayak are stowed out of the way, on the after portion of the deck that shades the Eisenglass-protected, air-conditioned afterdeck.

As comfortable as this yacht’s spaces are, many guests will find themselves in the country kitchen-style galley, where a large island separates a table for eight from the prep area where Betsy spends most of each day. She’s happy to chat while she cooks, letting you taste a bit of homemade sauce or nibble on cookies and brownies. It’s like being in your childhood kitchen watching Mom make dinner, only with Betsy, the scraps are gourmet.

Her cooking style matches the crew’s flexibility. She prepares whatever each guest requests, down to extra spice on the plates of guests who prefer it. “I know everything I do isn’t perfect,” she said, “but if you give me a clue about what you like, I can really shine.”

Again, that’s a claim you’ll hear aboard many yachts, but few have a chef talented enough to execute. This native of Durham, North Carolina, has been passionate about cooking since before her days training at the Culinary Institute of America. When she talks about her creations, her hazel eyes gaze into the distance as her hands reach forward, every finger outstretched as if searching for the perfect ingredient.

“I’m neither Jewish nor Italian, but it’s somewhere in my heart,” she said. “I just want people to eat, eat, eat. And I really want them to make it to dessert. I love my desserts.”

One specialty is her chocolate Kahlua bread pudding, which you’ll find yourself using to sop up every drop of the Bailey’s vanilla bean sauce beneath it. Another is her Heath bar crunch ice cream pie with homemade chocolate sauce, caramel sauce and whipped cream. The ice cream is light, but not full of air; the sauces are thinned, but not stripped of flavor; and the whipped cream is delicate instead of sugary. Many chefs who try to “lighten” such desserts to balance the sweetness of the whole end up dampening each ingredient’s individual taste. Betsy’s version is more like a fine glass of wine, with complex tastes saturating the tongue in concert.

Betsy’s main dishes are just as varied. She makes sea bass with brandied-cream lobster sauce, hoisin-glazed Cornish hens, hand-rolled sushi and fine French cuisine. She complements a daily breakfast buffet of cereal, fruit and muffins with eggs Benedict and pina colada pancakes (she substitutes pina colada mix for milk and sears a pineapple into the pancake, creating a textured, tropical flavor). Recently, she’s become interested in Spanish tapas. She also created a zesty afternoon gazpacho served in a martini glass with three olives.

The captain helps guests mark their favorite meals by posting colorful, humorous menus in the saloon three times a day (“This morning, chef Betsy will gladly design for you a custom omelet. At no time will her hands leave her arms”). At trip’s end, McDonald compiles the menus into a keepsake album the crew presents with a photo album of the week’s activities, from snorkeling and diving off the swim platform to fishing off the 30-foot Scarab Camille tows.

“Nine times out of 10,” Betsy said, “they’re so pleased they cry.”

The albums are among several special touches this crew offers. They keep preference lists about each guest for repeat business. (One gentleman enjoyed olives stuffed with anchovies and capers, which the crew prepared by hand the first time he chartered. “And the next year, when he came back, they were waiting,” said stewardess Jennifer Morman.) McDonald creates a daily “newspaper” that includes a weather report and guests’ quotes from the previous day. Morman, while keeping each room spotless, turns the basic triangle fold of a toilet paper roll into a fanned piece of sculpture. The crew creates what they call entertainment opportunities, such as setting up a game of backgammon in case guests want to play but are hesitant to ask.

You won’t find such eager creativity and easy adaptability aboard most charter yachts. They’re character traits McDonald sought as he built his crew, hoping for the same result Betsy gets by stocking her galley well.

“If you start with the best ingredients,” she said, “you can’t go wrong.”

Contact: Northrop and Johnson Worldwide Yacht Charters, (800) 868-5913, (401) 848-5540; fax (401) 848-0120;njricharters@edgenet.net; www.nandj.com, or any charter broker. Camille charters at $37,500 per week for eight guests, plus expenses.

The post Novel Adaptation appeared first on Yachting.

About charter guests: There are those who care only about how many feet. They tend to congregate in tiki bars, wearing more weight in the chains around their necks than the average diver carries around his overly buoyant belly (see previous paragraph). They take pleasure in seeking out anything with breasts and saying, “My boat is the longest in the harbor.

Philistines.

They could never appreciate what makes diving aboard the 111-foot Broward Strait Jacket such an exceptional charter experience.

During the week I spent cruising around Sint Maarten and Anguilla courtesy of the boat’s owner, we dropped the hook next to charter boats pushing 200 feet LOA, and we never dove below 20 feet. Visibility was mediocre, until a storm churned sand into what underwater light remained. Not that it mattered; my mask kept fogging up, probably thanks to my head cold.

And yet, this week was the best diving trip I’ve ever done. As any experienced diver will tell you, the actual diving is only part of the package. Great dive trips are built by bookending each half-hour underwater with comfortable accommodations, fine food and unique entertainment. Exceptional dive trips, such as mine aboard Strait Jacket, combine all of the above with crew, gear and extras that cater to the crowd.

“The nice thing about this boat is that it’s an affordable luxury yacht with more amenities than you’d find on other boats, said first mate/dive master Drew Avirett. “It’s not just the diving. It’s the after-diving activities.

Relatively few luxury charter yachts offer diving. One reason is liability. Another is the demand diving makes on the crew. There’s gear to be prepped, loaded, unloaded, hosed down and put away. Still another reason is money. There aren’t a lot of people able (or willing) to serve as crew and dive master, and those with both skill sets demand bigger paychecks. And, any boat with a dive master must be outfitted with gear. That’s an avoidable expense for owners who tell clients to rendezvous with local dive operations.

I have spent time aboard a handful of charter yachts that offer diving, but in every case, scuba was secondary to the yacht’s general program. I often found myself fully geared up and squished into a RIB with a half-dozen other guests traveling to a site, only to return to the tender a half-hour later to face the unflattering challenge of “beaching myself back into it. Diving off the yachts themselves was awkward at best; most motoryachts with cockpits or afterdecks big enough to allow multiple divers to gear up at once devote the space to a fighting chair or dining table. Take it from me, maneuvering around a Murray Brothers chair in fins, weights and a tank is akin to waltzing through a Waterford crystal store in snow skis and a flowing velvet robe.

The beauty of Strait Jacket is that her design, outfitting and crew cater to guests who dive, while still offering plenty for spouses and friends who, on other vacations, would end up as “dive widows.

Our group spent a lot of time on Strait Jacket‘s flying bridge deck. It has a settee big enough for a crowd or an afternoon nap, a bar with comfy stools and a frozen drink machine (Bahama Mamas were available on demand) and three helm seats that let guests chat with the amiable Capt. Kevin Thompson while under way. The hardtop’s sunroof opens directly above the jacuzzi, which doubles as a sunpad.

Active guests who don’t dive can paddle around in one of Strait Jacket‘s two kayaks, called Yellow Jackets, rev up one of the two Yamaha wave runners, called Ski Jackets, or explore the area in the yacht’s 15-foot Novurania, Life Jacket. Our group enjoyed the kayaks, but we had no need for Life Jacket; we preferred tooling around in the 34-foot Intrepid, Sport Jacket, that this yacht tows as part of-not in addition to-her $40,000 base rate.

The Intrepid is a key part of Strait Jacket‘s diving program, which also stands out because of the bigger boat’s features and crew. The swim platform on the big boat is spacious enough for several divers to move around on, in full gear, and is just one step down from the cockpit, which is open. I geared up with six other divers, and we all had room to move freely. The swim platform has pop-up cleats, and there is a hot freshwater shower just inside the cockpit.

Avirett is a fantastic dive master, the kind you know you’ll have fun with because he knows what he’s doing. He is a PADI rescue diver, a PADI medic/first aid provider and a DAN oxygen provider-not to mention a darn nice guy. Even during our first dive, he handled all seven of us with grace and confidence. I’m a fairly experienced diver, and he let me do my thing. Another guest, who hadn’t dove in a few years, refused to let go of his hand even after we submerged. He showed her the same respect he did me, and by the end of that first dive, she asked if he had time to take her down again-that afternoon.

“You have to know you’re ready, know your equipment and know the fact that humans are unpredictable, he told me later. “God forbid an emergency does happen, we have all the (safety) equipment and we’re trained to use it.

But back to the Intrepid, which obliterated the “not-so tender experiences I’ve had on other yachts. It also served as our chariot when heading ashore for evening entertainment-a smooth, comfortable ride sure to be appreciated by women who’ve boarded RIBs in a skirt or sarong in the past. I recommend a trip to The Dune, Banky Banx’s place on Anguilla. He has an exceptional voice, Bob Dylan crossed with Bob Marley, and his often hilarious autobiographical songs, such as “Busted in Barbados, will compel you to buy his $20 CD. Unfortunately, it doesn’t capture the sound of his little black dog, Gypsy, which howled backup throughout the performance we saw.

We laughed about the evening over breakfast the next morning on Strait Jacket‘s afterdeck (she has no indoor dining table, only a country kitchen-style galley). Chef Jay Lawlor served us chocolate-filled croissants, fruit salad and eggs made to order, in keeping with his style of preparing simple, delicious meals.

“I don’t want people to feel like they need instructions to eat what’s on the plate, he said. “I don’t put a lot of stuff on the plate to make up for inadequate food.

By the time you read this, Strait Jacket will be positioned for her summer season in the Bahamas. The captain has worked on and off in those waters for 15 years, and his first mate is well versed in the area, as well.

“You’ve got some of the best diving in the world in the Bahamas, said Avirett, who crewed aboard other charter yachts there. “Everywhere we went, we hired local knowledge, so I learned from them.

Keep an eye out in the Bahamas this summer for smiling people shunning the T-shirt shops and tiki bars.

You might ask them how it feels to care only about how deep their experience has been.

Contact: The Sacks Group, (954) 764-7742; info@sacksyachts.com; www.sacksyachts.com, or any charter broker. Strait Jacket charters for $40,000 per week, plus expenses, for eight guests. Her rate decreases by $2,500 without the Intrepid in tow.

The post Scuba Spectacular appeared first on Yachting.

Under new ownership for the past few years and rechristened Broward Yachts, the company saw a lull but is once again busy building aluminum yachts. One recent launch, Sigrun, is a 120-foot raised pilothouse motoryacht that blends the old Broward and the new.

The yacht was built using time-tested construction methods in an updated Ft. Lauderdale yard once operated by Frank’s son, Kit. Transversely framed with four main longitudinal stringers, the hull is hard chined with shallow deadrise at the transom. Yard manager Richard Arnold has modernized the process and the equipment of construction to yield better productivity and preserve Broward’s reputation for sound yet moderately priced yachts.

At the same time, Broward’s new owner, Glenn Straub, and his management team have recognized the considerable competition from fiberglass production and semi-custom builders in Broward’s traditional size range, a challenge that didn’t exist 15 years ago. The builder now offers yachts considerably more customized and finely detailed than in years past. Sigrun, for example, had more than 100 changes made to suit her owner’s requirements.

Normally, she would be a five-stateroom yacht with the master suite on deck and four guest staterooms below. Instead, her forward guest stateroom was enlarged to include a desk and sitting area, and serves as an expansive split-level captain’s cabin and office. It is accessed by a stairway adjacent to the galley.

The other three belowdecks staterooms share a winding stair from the main foyer. There is a VIP forward, a queen to starboard and a twin to port. On the main deck, the master stateroom occupies the entire space forward of the raised pilothouse, but is tucked in to allow side decks forward of the saloon. The space below the pilothouse console houses two walk-in hanging lockers for the master suite.

The dining room and saloon fill the full-beam space abaft the pilothouse. Joinery detailing is superb, particularly at the overhead where large crown moldings hide air-conditioning outlets at the periphery of the rooms.

Abaft the dining room and saloon, the open afterdeck is larger than usual to accommodate Sigrun’s full complement for alfresco dining. An extended bridge deck shelters the space and adds considerably to the upper deck area available for tender stowage and guest relaxation. A fixed fiberglass hardtop covers the upper deck, which includes a well-equipped bar and food preparation area.

An unusual engineroom arrangement puts the main engine silencers and bottom exhausts forward of the engines. This leaves the after corners of the room open for easy access to the outboard side of the engines. Even with the gensets there, working space is more than adequate.

Contact: Broward Yachts, (954) 925-8118; fax (954) 927-4200.

The post Broward 120 appeared first on Yachting.

For a couple of centuries, Anguilla has stood out as a bastion of old West Indian grit. As late as 1967, when Britain, shedding colonies right and left, forced the 16-mile-long island into a union with St. Kitts and Nevis, the Anguillans mutinied. They kicked St. Kitts police out and sent 18 brave men from their 3-mile-wide home to the much larger neighboring island, which was armed with a defense force.

The act was a statement that Anguilla wanted to stay British, and after two years of confused negotiations, the Anguillans welcomed Her Majesty’s paratroopers ashore. The island was again content within the English embrace, and it remains so today, ready to welcome visitors to its dozens of hotels, resorts and award-winning restaurants.

As the long island, whose name means eel in Spanish, came into view, I leaned on the bulwark lining the mid-level afterdeck aboard the 156-foot Broward Inspiration and looked down on the swells rolling between St. Martin and Anguilla. White wave crests told me the wind was up, but the 1996 build powered smoothly on an even keel. Only the steady, muted beat of her twin 2,400 hp Detroit Diesels indicated our speed as chief stewardess Melanie Benton cheerfully handed me a cup of espresso and announced that lunch would soon be served, part of the four days we spent aboard courtesy of Inspiration‘s owner.

We anchored in Road Bay, toward the West End on Anguilla’s northern coast, sat down to sweet lobster and briny green-lip mussels fricassee, baby vegetables and a lemon-saffron beurre blanc, and discussed whether we wanted to leave the yacht at all. With an elegant décor, a first-class crew and a design great for privacy or group fun, Inspiration is so comfortable it’s hard to pull yourself away for shoreside exploration, no matter how interesting the island’s past.

After lingering over a bottle of Jacob’s Creek chardonnay and complimenting chef David Newman’s preparation and presentation, we climbed into Inspiration‘s fast, stable RIB, with first mate Steve Vizintin at the helm. Thoughtfully, Capt. Bob Corcoran had arranged for a minibus to meet us, and we promised to behave when our driver told us his last name-the same as the leader of the Anguillan rebellion.

Since none of the island’s resorts can match Inspiration‘s palatial comforts, we headed to the eastern end of the island to see whether Old Anguilla survives. Since the early 1800s, many Anguillans have earned a living from seafaring and boatbuilding. As recently as 1972, local shipwrights launched a 99-foot schooner. This tradition continues, though local racing boats are now no bigger than 28 feet.

The main road took us through the valley, a village with four banks for those with offshore needs, and the Wallblake Plantation House, which has been preserved since 1787 and recalls the early English colonists’ efforts to get rich. They would be defeated by poor, dry soil, but one of their crops, sea island cotton, would reach South Carolina and turn Southern planters into the wealthiest men in colonial America.

East of the valley stretch acres of low, prickly vegetation. After a sharp turn at Sandy Hill, a wild beach opens up-it was all ours, a bright blue sea rimmed by white rows of distant breakers.

These wild strands have always been Anguilla’s main attraction, and even now, despite resorts taking the beaches on the western end, many remain empty and free to roam. In Savannah Junks Hole, the sands run for miles. We watched a family splash happily in the shallow sea protected by fringing reefs.

Captains Bay has a small crescent of soft sand that squeaked like snow between my toes. Sinewy local men cast nets for silvery baitfish that were later sorted out by a boy. Island Harbor was filled with open fishing boats the day we visited, all preparing to deliver spiny lobster, the island’s specialty. Scilly Cay, a toy island off the beach, has an informal bar accessible by boat.

Another long stretch of sand in Shoal Bay is backed by the low-key hangouts of island connoisseurs and expats-people who have chucked it all and now say things such as, “Life’s a beach, then you dine.

The Caribbean Sea is too rough to allow the exploration of offshore reefs, but Corcoran knew we would find sheltered snorkeling at Prickly Pear Cays, mere dots of remote rocks surrounded by untouched corals. At Prickly Pear East, the reefs to windward are a swimmer’s paradise. At the back of the islet’s sandy edge, orange and yellow butterflies flit through thick bush, and dark pigeons and buff doves dodge the strong wind under coconut palms. On the rocky shore facing open waters, the swell whistles in subterranean caves.

Corcoran brought Inspiration to anchor in a little hook of sharp limestone, handling the megayacht as if she were a sportfishing machine. His experience having docked in countless super-tight spaces in the Mediterranean was evident at Prickly Pear Cays and throughout the trip, as were his years spent working in hotel management. Inspiration has the smoothest crew operations I have experienced. Each member wanted nothing more than to fulfill any unusual request, which was inconceivable, since they foresaw our needs before we could request anything.

One evening, showers chased us from our favorite table on Inspiration‘s afterdeck into her formal dining room, which is separate from her saloon. We felt obliged to dress up within her warm palette interior and background of burnished, custom-molded maple. The interior, designed by Marc-Michaels, was featured in Architectural Digest in December 1997, a rare distinction reserved for unique yachts. Wherever you happen to venture aboard, Inspiration exudes subdued refinement enhanced by sofas and chairs from Baker Furniture, delicate touches of kidskin and lambskin from Nancy Corzine, fabrics from Robert Allen and carpeting from Edward Fields. In the main deck saloon, the copper-rimmed fireplace, bookcases and baby grand piano create an exquisitely comfortable ambience.

We were immersed in it as we sat down at the inlaid cherry table and prepared to dine. Newman did not disappoint, serving spatchcock stuffed with baby carrots and leeks, in a red wine jus. The little fowl arrived crisp outside and juicy inside, cooked saignant.

After dinner, we wandered to the afterdeck, where bird voices carried from the cliffs over the calm waters. Loud slaps on the sea surface drew us to watch 5-foot silver-sided tarpon feed, their eyes flashing ruby red in the yacht’s floodlights.

Sipping old sherry, gentle piano notes drifting above the show of nature in the raw, we agreed there is no finer yacht to take to the wild side of the Caribbean.

Contact: The Sacks Group, (954) 764-7742; info@sacksyachts.com; www.sacksyachts.com, or any charter broker. Inspiration charters in the Caribbean for $110,000 per week, plus expenses, for 10 guests.

The post The Comfort of Elegance appeared first on Yachting.