Hi all,

Looking for recommendations on locations/yacht charter companies to do a 2-3 week bareboat yacht charter in September-October next year.

Probably in the Pacific, as I'm guessing it will be the cheapest/best option from SA.

Looking mainly at New Caledonia and Tahiti at the moment.

Want to be able to Kite, sup surf, fish, dive, sip on coconuts, etc.

I think we will have a group of 6-10.

Any recommendations on weather (wind!!!, sun and surf), yacht companies, tourist stuff, cost etc. would be hugely appreciated!

I have got some quotes from a few yacht places, but really just googling and guessing, need some recommendations!

I'm sure there are plenty of seabreezers out there who have done it before.

Cheers in advance!

Why go to Tahiti / New Cal? Have you considered the Whitsundays?

Not really, I do like the idea of doing it overseas. Also I've heard it's not particularly windy trades?
Pretty keen to get out to some fringing reef breaks as well...
How did you find the Whitsundays?

a friend who kites and surfs has been running charters all around french polynesia this year on a real nice cat, his facebook pics are off the hook, i try and ask him what the deal is...

Thanks mate, that would be great!

Do a search on Papua Nuginea kite cruises, some of the kids have never seen a white person before - they really go remote, and postcard islands & water colours that'll blow your mind ;)

Thanks savethewhales. Looking to do a bareboat (self skippered) charter though, from my google searches I couldn't see anything in PNG. And to be honest, I dunno if I'd want to anyway. Need some local knowledge in those parts to avoid the headhunters I reckon! haha

Check out a company called sunsail.
As for whitsundays mate . I live here and there is plenty of wind out amongst the islands and if you have the bare boat there are plenty of golden spots to be found

Thanks Matty. So is it windy there in Sep/Oct? Are there any Surf breaks on the reef and if so how sketchy are they?

Somewhere with skinny islands is what you're after. You always want to anchor somwehere with an offshore breeze but want to kite with onshore conditions. If I was going to kite in the whitsundays I reckon the only decent place, while on a yacht, would be to anchor behind tongue point (pig bay I think its called) and then kite on whitehaven beach or in the inlet on a decent tide. Be ready for the instant crowds to appear and dissappear throught the day though. was weird coming up into the cockpit of what was usually an abandoned anchorage to find thirty odd massive boats sheparding hordes of backpackers onto the beach. As for the rest of the islands, the current and wind eddies are no joke and wouldn't bother.

Thanks mate, have done some kite cursing here in SA and have had that exact problem with good anchorage versus good kite spots. I think with a good reef lagoons it should be sweet though. Not many of them in SA!

In all honesty mate unless you have your heart set on the yacht hire a car instead and do a road trip from mackay to cairns. The spots along the way are amazing. Better then anything you would find amongst the islands and you'll get to meet all the crews along the way

Heart is well and truly set on yacht hire haha, gonna hit some tropical pacific islands. Just need to decide where, and need some help!? Done plenty of roadtrips and looking for something different this time. New cal is looking at being about $130 pp per night for a group of 6-10. That's not too bad! just not sure if it is going to be windy enough in late sep, or if I should be looking somewhere else..

i really like your thinking. i really want to do a cheaper option. but same location, i just want to do my thing without a school and to just live cheap. i feel like the americans go to south america the russians go to egypt the euros and aussies go to asia but we should be going to the pacific islands instead because its hardest for rest of the world to get there. and that way we wont be kiteing in such overly done locations. just live on one the little undone islands. let me know when you decide on some so i can have a little look for there weather cost living etc

Hi Kozzie,
I was looking at touring around the Isle of pines in new cal. which is a suggested route by one of the charter companies. Looks sick for kiting. end game, id like to have my own yacht and do it for 12-24 mths. But I guess this is a bit of a taster, for 2-3 weeks, go check it out with a charter yacht. Known cost, not a huge time off work, don't have to buy a yacht! etc.

Surely someone has some bareboat charter company recommendations for Tahiti or New cal.?

bump?

Would the greek islands be an option? 30 knots every day in august.

my friend is on his way from French Polynesia via Aitutaki to new Cal right now, i'll try and find out if boat is staying in new cal for a charter or racing back to nz before cyclone season

Thanks guys. I figured Greece would be an expensive airfare and probably cooling Off in Sep/Oct. Also have been there, whereas haven't been to any of the Pacific islands

My uncle was yacht builder. He does bareboat yacht charter out of New Zealand. With the kiwis about to win the Americas cup back, it will fire up the industry again over there. They are away touring around the Fijian islands before joining a regatta back to NZ. There are lots of options for bare boat charter out of Auckland and bay of islands with numerous boats. You need to decide on a destination eg new cal, then contact the local yachties in the area. Last time I was in new Cal, there were nice boats looking for crew to head to either Oz or NZ. Depending on your experience maybe your better off joining a crew.

we will have a 50 foot cat that can sail all over the GBR with you :)

Dry Hire will be a problem I suspect.
Plenty of options out there if you are prepared to have an owner operated service.

I hired a 43 foot cat at the Whitsundays a few years agoWhile there are a couple of good spots I wouldn't consider it the ideal location to mix kiting and bare boat yacht charter, all the islands and tides are big and the shoreline is not very kiter friendly with not many sand covered beaches.

I have done bareboat charters with my wife and kids in both Whitsundays and Vietnam.

I agree with wdric on Whitsundays - a few sand quay spots looked like they could be really good flat water but were not the right wind tide combo when we were there.

Vietnam was sailing in the islands out from Na Tran. It was a great overall experience with interesting cruising and really friendly locals. Bareboat was a great way to get the family access to small fishing village cultural experiences. Unfortunately on the kiting front the options offered by being on the boat were not special. The islands are rocky and hilly and there were no ideal flat water lagoons or wave spots. So on the kiting front I think you could definitely do better elsewhere.

Keen to see if this thread confirms attractiveness of some of the Pacific islands listed. There has just got to be some great options out there somewhere.

Thanks for your input guys, yeah figured SE asia may be good and cheap if you know where to go, but wind is probably finicky. Want somewhere with good reliable trade winds.

Puppetonastring - what do you mean by dryhire will be a problem?
Plenty of bareboat companies out there, I cant see it being a problem at all. There are loads of places, I was just hoping to get a recommendation on a good company to go with. Rather than taking a stab on one.

Bump :) - comeon last ditch effort. Surely someone has some bareboat yacht charter company recommendations for the pacific?

Cheers in advance,
Sam

I just got back from Europe and spent a fair bit of time in Croatia kitesurfing. It wasn't a yacht charter or anything but the wind picks up around lunch time so it was SUP all morning, kite and windsurf all afternoon. I stayed on an island called Viganj and 'Water Donkey Kitesurfing and Windsurfing' are the ppl to see about hiring gear if you need to.

Thanks mate, but definitely looking for a bareboat charter in the Pacific.. anyone?
haha

Sunsail have fleets in Tonga and Tahiti. They are by far the worlds largest bareboat company.

Ok thanks Harlie, will check out sunsail