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Edmiston says the 120-foot Benetti Soho, previously known as African Queen, is back on the charter market.

The 2009 build, which was most recently updated this year, is in “excellent condition,” according to the brokerage firm.

Accommodations are for as many as 11 guests in five staterooms, including a main-deck master with a king-size berth, a walk-in closet and panoramic views. The rest of the guest staterooms are belowdecks, including one with a Pullman berth for a child.

Features for guest comfort include underway and at-anchor stabilizers.

Where will Soho charter this summer? In the West Mediterranean, between the South of France and Naples, Italy. The lowest weekly base rate is about $117,600.

How to book a week on board: contact a charter broker at edmiston.com

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Phil and Karen Barbalace had different ideas about boating.

For Phil, who first hit the water in the 1980s, the experience was often about pushing limits. “I’m kind of a rough-and-tumble person,” he says. “When I go sailing, I really go sailing. We bury the bow and stuff like that.”

For Karen, who grew up sailing around Annapolis, Maryland, on her father’s Aquarius 21, boating was more about relaxing. “I liked to go along and experience being on the water,” she says.

They married in 1986 and bought a Hunter 34, which they cruised around the Chesapeake Bay. They sometimes ventured a bit farther—say, up to New Jersey—but mostly, they stuck closer to home. Then, around 2006, Phil got into ocean sailing. He crewed on boats from the Chesapeake to the Virgin Islands and Bermuda, and was so enthused that he wanted to try similar runs with Karen.

There was just one problem: Karen had zero interest in more adventurous cruising.

Enter the idea of the Great Loop, which Phil learned existed from a magazine around 2010. The Great Loop is a series of connecting waterways that encircles half the United States. Cruisers can navigate from the East Coast’s Intracoastal Waterway north to the Erie Canal and across the Great Lakes, then down the Mississippi River and across the Gulf of Mexico to Florida, and then back to the East Coast.

Generally speaking, the loop is 5,250 to 6,000 miles, depending on the routes mariners choose. The starting point can be anywhere, the loop can be made in either direction, and there are options for offshoots into Canada and more. People have completed the Great Loop in everything from kayaks to 70-foot yachts—anything that can fit beneath the route’s lowest bridge, which has a clearance just shy of 20 feet on the Illinois River.

When Phil learned about the Great Loop, he and Karen had a 20-foot Sea Ray that they used for wakeboarding with their teenage sons. One of the boys went off to college in Florida, and Phil saw an opportunity.

Their son trailered the Sea Ray to Florida, and Phil and Karen cruised the boat up the East Coast, back to Virginia. “We got on this boat with duffel bags, a cooler and folding bicycles,” Karen says. “It had an open cockpit, you couldn’t sleep on it, but we brought it all the way from Miami to Norfolk.”

Along the route, which ended up being 1,095 miles, they stayed in bed-and-breakfasts. The boat did 26 knots, so they’d cruise for two or three hours, then hang out at a hotel pool before going out to dinner. With a weeklong break for bad weather in North Carolina, the trip took about a month.

“We had done a lot of little bits and pieces of the ICW, just little day trips,” Karen says, “but this was my first time really seeing this beautiful waterway, and I loved it. It was a lot of fun.”

And so, the Great Loop became part of their plans. They bought a Mainship 40 for its flybridge and the master stateroom’s walk-around berth, spent a year upgrading the electronics and getting comfortable aboard, and completed the loop in 91 days of cruising spread out over two years.

“We had perfect weather 89 days,” Phil says. “We had rain two days. It was unbelievable.”

And it was a totally different approach to the Great Loop than the one Steve and Mary Ellen Woiler took—showing just how varied the loop can be for different kinds of cruisers.

The Woilers live in Syracuse, New York, and have been sailing and racing on Lake Ontario for 40 years, mostly with their Niagara 31. In 2005, they bought a Tartan 34C with the idea of cruising down South. “You know how things get in the winter in the Northeast,” Mary Ellen says. “We wanted to be two-boat owners.”

It took them seven years to rebuild the Tartan, which they christened Seven Sundays. They spent about $80,000, and Steve did the work himself. In 2012, they launched, and in 2013, they started making their way south down the Hudson River to New York City. They’d cruise for a few months, leave the boat, catch an Uber back to their car, drive home for a spell, and then repeat.

“At that point, we weren’t doing the Great Loop,” Steve says. “We were just puttering. It didn’t matter how long it took us to get wherever we went; we wanted to check out every town and smell every one of the roses. We didn’t even know the loop existed. Our only plan was to putter down the East Coast, find a place to put the boat in Florida, and maybe go to the Bahamas.”

Somewhere around Fort Myers, Florida, they saw an ad for the Great Loop. They figured they were already halfway done, so they might as well go for it.

They joined America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association and started chatting with other loopers. They realized they’d probably passed tons of them without knowing what the burgees meant. (White means loop in progress, gold means loop completed, and platinum means loop completed more than once.) And Mary Ellen decided that if they were going to complete the loop in comfort, they’d need a bigger boat.

The Cabo Rico Northeast 400 suited their needs, both for finishing the loop and for later use as a winter getaway based in Florida. “This motorsailer has inside steering, outside steering, air conditioning, heat—it’s a cottage on the water that sails,” Steve says.

They bought it in early 2020, christened it Remedy and headed for the Great Lakes.

“We actually did the loop in two different boats,” Mary Ellen says. “We did the eastern part in the Tartan and the western part in the Cabo Rico.”

They learned that having to take a mast up and down along the route was doable but not easy. “The few sailors that do the Great Loop, they ship their masts from Chicago to Florida,” Steve says. “I took ours with us, and I built the structure that would hold it.”

Nine years later, they crossed their wake and completed the loop. Steve worked along the way at his careers in photography and insurance, and Mary Ellen took time off from her job as a nurse practitioner.

“We were on the boat for four to five months a year, every year,” Steve says.

Today, they’re retired and enjoying time with their grandchildren—as well as moving into powerboating.

Their new ride is a Grand Banks Eastbay 40, also named Remedy. They plan to use it for “mini loops” in places they missed on the Great Loop, including the Trent-Severn Waterway in Ontario and the Canadian part of the Great Lakes.

“You can do it any way you want,” Mary Ellen says. “It’s a wonderful way to see the world.”

The Bridge That Matters Most

It’s located on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, which is sometimes called the Chicago Drainage Canal. This bridge is the one that, more than any other, determines the maximum air draft of a boat doing the Great Loop (and thus, which boats can actually be used to complete the loop). The bridge has a clearance height just shy of 20 feet. It’s a fixed bridge, and there’s no other route boaters can take to complete the loop.

As You Like It

There really is no right or wrong way to complete the Great Loop. Some people save up time and money, and then do the whole shebang in less than a year, following the seasons in one direction or the other. Some people spend years or more than a decade going back and forth to their boats from home or working along the way. All that matters in the end is being able to say that you crossed your own wake somewhere on the route.

Tips From Experienced Loopers

The big piece of advice that both couples interviewed for this article offered is that you should do the loop in the boat and time frame that best suit your needs. Those needs, they learned, can change along the way. The boat you start out in might not be the one you finish in. The route you think you’ll take can switch because of weather, reasons back home, closures for construction or—heaven forbid it happens again—a pandemic. Their best advice is to go with the flow, whatever your flow happens to be.

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It’s been almost two decades since the phrase “quality time remaining” became our mantra. To us, QTR doesn’t mean we will live to be 100 years old; rather it reminds us how much time we have left to do the things we love to do. It’s our reminder to live each day as though it’s our last.

My husband, Bob, and I met through boating many years ago in San Diego. He was a former naval aviator, a longtime boater and a commercial airline captain at the time. I was working in the marine industry selling advertising into national boating publications, and sailing and racing as crew on other people’s boats.

One of the first things we did after we got married was join the San Diego Yacht Club and partner with friends in the ownership of Sunshine, a 1985 Brewer 42-foot pilothouse cutter. We loved that boat. Swinging on the hook was our favorite thing, and being on board was our happy place.

We sailed Sunshine along the Southern California coastline to Catalina Island, the Channel Islands and parts of Mexico, and did a lot of bareboat chartering. We chartered in the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Tahiti, Greece, Croatia and Sardinia, and we made three trips to the Pacific Northwest. Friends always joined us on these trips—which made the charter surprisingly inexpensive—and we all enjoyed our amazing adventures. Discovering a new place by boat has always been our favorite vacation.

Our first bareboat charter in the Pacific Northwest was in 2005 on a Grand Banks 36, where we joined the annual Mother Goose Cruise to Alaska, led by NW Explorations in Bellingham, Washington. Because we were both still working and had limited time, we went only as far north as Desolation Sound, the largest marine park in British Columbia. That was enough for us to fall in love with the area and to whet our appetite for what was to come. They say that you can cruise the waters of the Pacific Northwest your whole life and never see it all, and we believe it. The seed was planted, and we knew we wanted more.

We did two more bareboat charters in the region—one on a sailboat in 2013 and another on a Grand Banks 42 in 2016. By 2016, we were both retired, and it was on that cruise that we made the decision to sell our partnership in Sunshine and buy a powerboat for cruising. Although we are sailors at heart, we both agreed that a Grand Banks would be the perfect boat for us. Not only is it a lot less work than sailing for folks our age; it’s also more practical in the Pacific Northwest, where the wind is sporadic, at best. You can stay comfortable, warm and dry, all the while taking in the amazing views.

In December 2016, we fulfilled our dream and bought a 1990 Grand Banks 46 Classic in Seattle. We named it Grand QTR, and it has indeed been that. We have been having the time of our lives.

We found a slip in Sidney, British Columbia, a charming little town that has everything we need just 17 miles north of Victoria on Vancouver Island. From San Diego, we can take an early-morning flight up through Seattle, into Victoria, and be on board Grand QTR by lunchtime. It’s the ideal location, with easy access to both the Canadian Gulf Islands and the U.S. San Juan Islands. Beautiful views of Mount Baker are visible from Sidney. There are so many great harbors from which to choose, and all are so close by. Bob loves the challenge of navigating the waters and continually checking the tides, currents and weather, while I am always on “log watch” (and whale watch) when underway.

Our first two seasons on board were spent exploring our new backyard, with friends and family joining throughout the summer. By then we had two grandsons (we now have three), and we’ve found that there’s nothing more fun than sharing this incredible experience with family. We all love Grand QTR. Handrails and walk-around room outside the entire boat keep it safe for grandkids and grandparents alike, while the spacious main salon provides 360-degree views and plenty of room for entertaining.

During our first season, the highlight was a trip to Chatterbox Falls, where we cruised 50 miles up the gorgeous fjords of Jervis Inlet, through the Malibu Rapids at slack tide, and into Princess Louisa Inlet—a trip that had been on our bucket list. It is one of the most amazing places on Earth. There’s no cellphone service or Wi-Fi, only the pristine beauty of Mother Nature at her finest. It’s one of many places in these waters that can be accessed only by boat or seaplane. For us, just being there was a spiritual experience.

The highlight of our Pacific Northwest cruising seasons was our summer cruising in 2019, when we buddy-boated up the Inside Passage to Glacier Bay, Alaska, with our Sidney slip mates. They were on their 2014 Kadey-Krogen 44, Mana Kai. Traveling with them made for a safe and fantastic journey. It was the trip of a lifetime for us, traveling 3,200 nautical miles over five months. The cruising grounds are pristine, breathtaking and nothing short of spectacular. The farther north you go, the more beautiful it is and the more wildlife you encounter. Seeing orcas, humpbacks, porpoises, otters, eagles, ravens, herons and bears is always a thrill. The Misty Fjords, like Glacier Bay National Park, was another spiritual place we will never forget.

When COVID-19 prevented us from getting into Canada in 2020 and 2021, we had NW Explorations deliver our boat to Bellingham and spent both of those summers cruising Washington state. We rendezvoused with Mana Kai and Water Dog, another Kadey-Krogen couple (and their two dogs) we met during our 2019 cruise to Alaska. Cruising with them, we had two fantastic, COVID-safe, Dungeness-crab-filled summers. Stunning views of Mount Rainier are a highlight of cruising in south Puget Sound, and visiting with friends and family who live there makes it even better. The diversity of the island hiking, along with a few online yoga classes, helped keep us in shape while cruising. We’re looking forward to getting back to British Columbia. There’s lots more to explore.

As long as it’s still fun, and as long as we’re in good health, we hope to continue living this dream. Not only is Grand QTR our happy place, but it’s also become our safe place. And with no TV on board, it’s a real escape for us. Floating someplace beautiful with people you love—that is QTR.

Finding Community

We attended the annual Grand Banks Rendezvous in Roche Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington, in 2018 to kick off our second cruising season. We enjoyed the seminars, met like-minded cruisers, and reconnected with old friends from the boating industry, which made it feel like home. From there, we slowly cruised up the east coast toward Vancouver Island and into the majestic Broughton archipelago. Most of the marinas in the Broughtons have happy hours where cruisers bring food to share with fellow cruisers. It’s fun, and you meet a lot of interesting people that you see again down the road. It really adds to the QTR, as does the delicious seafood that’s plentiful at the get-togethers. Our cruising season is usually May through September, so for us, it is a four-to-five-month vacation every year.

Take the next step: grandqtr.com

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In the winter months of December through April, the high season of Caribbean bareboat chartering, the Sir Francis Drake Channel that courses through the cruising paradise known as the British Virgin Islands is surely one of the world’s busiest, most picturesque yachting destinations. Named after yet another pioneering British seafarer, the thoroughfare bisects the main island of Tortola, to the north, with a series of popular smaller isles (Norman, Peter, Salt, Cooper) to the south. In the busy weeks and months starting around Christmas, the channel is trafficked by an astounding number of chartered boats, ferries, inter-island traders and private cruising craft. It’s quite the scene to swallow.

I’d been to the BVI on multiple occasions over the years, always during busy season. These islands have been referred to as a “nautical theme park,” and with good reason; such is the wealth of fine trade-wind sailing; taut anchorages; great snorkeling; countless beach bars; and all the related waterfront attractions on which the reputation has been built. Still, I’d always wondered what these islands were like in the offseason, the summer months during hurricane season when activity crawls to a standstill.

Last August, while on a fingers-crossed journey to Tortola to shoot a series of videos for The Moorings (one of the BVI’s most popular charter outfits), I got my answer. What, exactly, is happening in the BVI in the summertime? A whole lot of not much.

It’s understandable. The last truly vicious storm to rake these islands—Hurricane Irma in 2017—was named a tropical storm on August 30 and spent the next couple of weeks wreaking major Caribbean havoc. It’s no wonder that many charter operators haul or stash much of their fleet in hurricane holes for the summer’s last weeks. But the summer months of 2022 were odd indeed; in fact, it was the first August in 25 years that the Atlantic basin did not generate a single named storm. One theory for this was that the dry Sahara air and dust that permeated the Eastern Atlantic for months tamped down the formation of tropical systems.

So, we proceeded cautiously with our video plans and, save for an occasional quick squall, were rewarded with fantastic weather. Which actually made the entire trip even stranger. Why were we the only ones enjoying it?

The Soggy Dollar Bar in Jost Van Dyke happened to be doing brisk bit business on the afternoon we visited, but not for long: The beach umbrellas were yanked by 5 p.m., and the bar closed down soon after. On Norman Island, another popular watering hole called Pirates Bight was completely closed, and nary an inebriated soul stumbled across the infamous deck of the nearby floating bar known as the Willy T. On the beach and grottoes known as The Baths on Virgin Gorda, the few people in attendance were locals. Everywhere, in every harbor, empty mooring balls bobbed in the waters as far as the eye could see.

That even included the Indians, a set of four rocky islets near Norman where every vacationing sailor worth his swim fins must enjoy a snorkel. Sometimes in the high season, boats jockey for hours to pick up a mooring. We nailed the closest one to the cliffs and had our choice of several more. It was fantastic. Yet eerie.

So too was our last day in the BVI, when we took a cat out on the Sir Francis Drake for one final sail and some drone shots. There, smack-dab in the middle of the whitecap-flecked waters, we were the sole vessel underway, our wake the only one in sight. As souvenirs of sailing trips go, I’ll take that one every time.

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Churchill Yacht Partners says the 85-foot Princess Kaos is open now for charter bookings in Florida, with availability also expected soon in the Bahamas.

Kaos is a 2019 build that accommodates eight guests in four staterooms. One has a king-size berth, one has a queen, and one has twins that can convert to a double.

The main deck has three separate seating areas for guests, including a lounge up forward at the bow. One deck above is the flybridge, with a dining space, a wet bar, a hot tub and a sun pad.

Kaos is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

What’s the lowest weekly base rate to charter Kaos? It’s $40,000.

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

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When it comes to making memories and celebrating good times, it’s tough to think of anyplace better than the Florida Keys. These islands are known for kicking back and relaxing all year round—and during the winter holidays, they take the fun to a Frosty-worthy level.

No, there’s no snow here; typical temperatures during December are in the mid- to high 70s. But that doesn’t stop merry-makers from Key Largo all the way down to Key West from getting their Santa on. The island attitude blends with the holiday spirit like a finely mixed cocktail of joy.

Arguably, the event that best epitomizes this spirit within the boating community is the annual Schooner Wharf Lighted Boat Parade on Key West. This will mark the 31st year of the event, on December 11, starting at the Historic Seaport and continuing past the Schooner Wharf Bar for judging.

All kinds of boats, from kayaks to schooners, typically participate, with a backdrop of island musicians belting out holiday tunes and other fan favorites. Never heard “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” played by a steel-drum band? Well, then, you’re in for a treat.

Boaters who participate in this parade often go for the gusto with their decorations. In recent years, boaters have decked out their decks with giant inflated characters, glistening mermaids and fish, fake forests full of twinkling white lights, “dolphins” pulling Santa’s toy-filled sleigh, and a Rudolph so big that it filled the entire bow of a U.S. Coast Guard boat. Real, full-size Christmas trees are sometimes set up in cockpits for paradegoers to peruse along the docks, and boaters, of course, lend their own musical signature to their displays, sometimes with competing speaker setups.

Yes, there are some other lighted boat parades in Florida, but Key West, as with so many things, always puts its own spin on the fun. As they say at Schooner Wharf, “We don’t need snow to make our holidays bright.”  

Hawks Cay

This resort destination on Duck Key, in the Middle Keys, has a marina and fuel dock for boats up to 110 feet length overall. Holiday packages are available this winter, when you can go ashore for a few nights and celebrate the most wonderful time of the year. Santa’s Workshop is open for making Christmas ornaments.   gingerbread houses are available for decorating. Mrs. Claus hosts story time with hot chocolate. Carolers will come by a villa or hotel room and spread some holiday cheer for guests who sign up in advance. Elf tuck-ins are available for the kids, with Santa’s elves stopping by to offer a bedtime story and gift.

The Big Meal

Want to get out of the galley on Christmas Day? You can do it in Key West, where numerous restaurants are taking reservations for the holiday.   

• Prime Steakhouse at Conch Harbor Marina pairs steaks with local favorites such as lobster and Key lime pie.   
• LaTeDa on Duval Street serves up freshly caught fish, crabcakes, caramelized duck and more.   
• Four Marlins on Simonton Street is decorated like a 1930s fishing lodge. It offers main courses of fish, ribs, lobster ravioli and risotto with jumbo shrimp.   
• Grand Cafe on Duval Street is known for its wine list, which is 35 pages long. Favorite dishes include seafood pasta and steak frites.

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Heading south for the winter is a longtime tradition in boating, especially on the U.S. East Coast. And today, more than ever, there are quite a few high-quality marinas available as stopping points along the way. Yachtsmen who want to make the transit a journey unto itself have all kinds of opportunities to rest and explore for a day, a week or even longer.

One popular stop for boaters who start their southbound journey in New England is the Channel Club Marina in Monmouth Beach, New Jersey. Suntex, which has marinas in 14 states, acquired Channel Club Marina this past September. Its floating-dock system is newer, having been installed in 2013, with power pedestals that include cable, water and electric hookups. “Channel Club Marina is an amazing location, offering a host of amenities in the very popular Jersey Shore area,” David Filler, investments partner at Suntex, said of the acquisition.

Continuing southbound, another popular stop for yachtsmen—particularly those with larger vessels—is Safe Harbor Charleston City, home of the Mega Dock that can handle yachts as big as 455 feet length overall. Safe Harbor has more than 130 locations, and this one gives boaters easy access to everything that Charleston, South Carolina, offers visitors. That includes so many breakfast, lunch and dinner restaurants that “great food” was the top reason Condé Nast voters named Charleston the best small city in America this year. Lovers of sweet tea and seafood, in particular, can rejoice to their belly’s content before heading back to the boat and continuing their itinerary.

From South Carolina, many boaters make Florida their next stop. With so many marinas, the Sunshine State has many transient options, depending on which part of the Florida coast boaters want to explore. Suntex properties include Bahia Mar in Fort Lauderdale, which many boaters are familiar with from the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. Bahia Mar has 250 slips for boats as large as 300 feet length overall. In the same region, Safe Harbor has two properties: Safe Harbor Old Port Cove in North Palm Beach, and Safe Harbor Rybovich in West Palm Beach. The Old Port Cove location can take boats up to 200 feet length overall, while the Rybovich location can welcome 390-foot superyachts.

What’s really fun at all these locations is being in the heart of the South Florida yachting scene—the yachting capital of the United States. Visitors are likely to see well-known yachts every day and can find just about anything needed for provisioning and repairs.

From Florida, many snowbirds are tempted to just keep going—and why not? Continuing south opens up an entire world of additional options, including the Bahamas, Virgin Islands and greater Caribbean.

For boaters looking to make a shorter hop at first, there’s Safe Harbor Puerto Del Rey in Puerto Rico. This marina’s location has been part of the Safe Harbor portfolio since September 2021, and it’s sizable, spanning 140 acres with more than 1,200 wet slips. According to Safe Harbor, that makes Puerto Del Rey the largest marina in the whole Caribbean.

It’s also about 45 minutes from the international airport at San Juan, which means it can be a good place to leave the boat and visit from time to time throughout the winter months—before the summer season arrives and it’s time to cruise northbound for all new adventures.

Channel Club marina: Transients Welcome

This Suntex property on the Shrewsbury River in New Jersey, in a prime spot about midway between New York City and Atlantic City, makes a point of welcoming transient boaters coming from both directions. There are two restaurants on-site, along with a fuel dock for gas and diesel, a Travelift, a pump-out and a service center, so boaters have everything they might need in one location. Transients also can use the private restroom and showers, pool, shuttle to the beach and free Wi-Fi. 

Safe Harbor Charleston City: Home of the Mega Dock

Some of the largest yachts in the world make it a point to stop at this marina’s Mega Dock when heading south for the winter. The marina has all the amenities that transient boaters might need, including being an Amazon Locker location. It’s a program that lets Amazon customers select any Locker location as their delivery address and retrieve their orders there. For yacht owners and crew heading south but unsure of their arrival dates along the way, it’s an especially convenient service.

Safe Harbor Rybovich: A Well-known Name

Rybovich is a name whose history in the boating world dates back to 1910, when the family started building boats in Palm Beach County, Florida. Safe Harbor Marinas acquired the Rybovich marinas and service yards in 2021, with the deal including properties in West Palm Beach and Riviera Beach. Amenities for boaters include a fuel dock, a pump-out, restrooms, showers, a restaurant, a ship’s store, a clubhouse, a business center, a courtesy shuttle, free Wi-Fi, a fitness center and more.

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Beneath a blistering summer sun, a bevy of boats approaches Hadley Harbor in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Among the fleet is Relentless, a Sabre 48 Fly Bridge, with owner Capt. David Horne at the helm. After the boat is anchored, he joins his wife, Susan, and friends aboard for his go-to on-the-water meal: Reuben sandwiches with an IPA of choice. Horne then reaches for his guitar and plays a few Jimmy Buffett-inspired tunes before cranking up the onboard sound system.

Hadley Harbor is among the most popular spots in Buzzards Bay, a topic Horne writes about on his My Buzzards Bay blog. His cruising adventures often end up there and have gone as far away as Bar Harbor, Maine, but he now has his sights set on a more distant horizon—which is why he’s awaiting delivery of a Maritimo M60 in April.

“We’ve been doing this for six years, so anything that’s viable within 200 miles, we’ve already checked out,” Horne says, ticking off his bucket-list destinations to visit next. “You could probably put Nova Scotia in that category. My father’s family is from Nova Scotia, and they go back seven generations of either being a sea captain or building ships.”

The transition to an M60 will add about 12 feet length overall, compared with his current boat, and almost 2 feet to the beam. The 1,200-gallon fuel capacity will be more than double what he has now, and the enclosed-flybridge helm station will allow for a different kind of cruising.

Those qualities are why many boaters step up to an M60, according to Dave Northrop, director of Maritimo Americas. “We’re finding more and more experienced cruisers are discovering what our Maritimo owners have known all along: that a yacht designed for efficient cruising and performance adds to the excitement,” he says.

Horne started boating as a child. He can remember being 7 years old aboard a 12-foot, 5 hp dory with his grandfather, a plumber, out on Buzzards Bay. They made landfall about 5 nautical miles away before returning home to Horne’s angry parents.

Today, Horne is a grandfather himself. His daughter and son-in-law have two children, who, he expects, will sleep in the twin-berth stateroom aboard the M60. The boat will also have a full-beam master for him and Susan, and a forepeak VIP for his adult children. His daughter, in particular, never wanted her kids to sleep in the crew space.

“I’m not even sure she’s that crazy about the idea of going cruising,” Horne says. “But my grandkids are, and my son-in-law is too. So, of course, my wife loves having the family around. We’ll make it work for my daughter.”

The couple plans to entertain on the M60’s main deck. The cockpit has a table and settee, a wet bar, movable furniture and seating that flanks the salon entrance. Inside, the salon has two sofas plus a table.

There’s a sun pad on the foredeck and more guest space on the M60’s flybridge. The helm is to starboard, with nearby guest seating. Through the sliding doors, outside, is yet more seating with a table.

“The big thing is it opens up that whole downstairs area as a big salon,” Horne says of the flybridge. “I did a quick measurement, and I think it probably has three times the interior space as the 48.”

Horne can’t wait to take delivery, point the bow north and go.

“When I was 6 years old, I cut lawns, and I used money to subscribe to Yachting magazine,” he says. “I would just sit there and flip through the pages and dream.”

Now, the dream is becoming a reality.

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Traveling to somewhere new is an exciting adventure. Most will travel by car or by airplane. What about venturing somewhere new by superyacht? The experience of chartering a superyacht combines luxury and service with privacy and escape. These on-the-water mega-homes can take you to places like Antarctica, the Mediterranean, the Bahamas and more. Here are seven superyachts for your next great escape.

Palmer Johnson ‘Pioneer’ in the Caribbean

For long-distance cruising, the 151-foot Palmer Johnson Pioneer is up to the task. Built in 1996, Pioneer is an expedition yacht with an 8,000-nautical-mile range at 10 knots. It has traveled to North and South America, including Alaska. In 2015, Pioneer underwent a refit that included new teak decks, new interiors and zero-speed stabilizers. Its hull and superstructure are aluminum.

The yacht accommodates up to 10 guests in five en suite staterooms. Amenities include a yoga-and-workout space and a gym belowdecks. Water toys are included: jet tenders, multiple personal watercraft, scuba gear and kayaks.

Christensen ‘Lady Elaine’ in Florida, the Bahamas

Previously known as Casino Royale, the 163-foot Christensen Lady Elaine has rebranded and is ready for new appointments. The 2008 build can host 12 guests in six en suite staterooms, and there is also space for nine crew. Features and toys include a 37-foot Intrepid, a 15-foot Nautica RIB, four personal watercraft, three Seabobs, two paddleboards, two kayaks, snorkeling gear, fishing equipment and tow toys.

Oceanco ‘Tranquility’ in Antarctica

With a 5,000-nautical-mile range, the Oceanco Tranquility is another expedition yacht worthy of a seafaring adventure. This superyacht is certified to Lloyd’s Ice Class E, with navigational equipment that includes “sonars for detecting uncharted rocks and ice growlers,” according to charter-fleet host Camper & Nicholsons International. Guests will find a fitness center, “experiential showers,” a massage-and-treatment room, a hair-and-beauty salon, a hammam steam room and a Finnish sauna aboard Tranquility.

At 300 feet length overall, Tranquility can host more than other chartered superyachts: 18 in nine staterooms or up to 22 with two convertible cabins. Two VIP staterooms are on the main deck and have private balconies.

Tranquility can be booked in Antarctica from December 2023 to February 2024 via Camper & Nicholsons International.

Amels ‘Grace’ in the Bahamas

The 2009-built Amels Grace most recently underwent a refit in 2021. It accommodates 12 guests in six staterooms, including a main-deck master and double-berth guest stateroom, and charters with 14 crew. The 170-footer has amenities like a sundeck hot tub and barbecue, zero-speed stabilizers and a variety of water toys.

Cantiere Delle Marche ‘Nuri’ in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean

The Cantiere Delle Marche Nuri is a new addition to the Y.CO charter fleet, and it’s ready for bookings in the Caribbean this winter and the Mediterranean this summer. At 133 feet length overall, the 2021 build can host 10 to 12 guests in five staterooms, and it charters with seven crew. Amenities include a main-deck alfresco dining area, sunbathing space and oversized windows for wide-open views.

Amels ‘Amigos’ in the Caribbean, the Bahamas

The Amels Amigos is a 2017 build that accommodates 12 guests in six staterooms, with 13 crew aboard. It includes a full-beam master with a private terrace and a main-deck VIP stateroom that has a fold-down balcony. Amenities include a 13-foot-long counter-current pool, shaded alfresco dining, an outdoor cinema and a beach club with a steam room.

Heesen ‘Knight’ in Costa Rica

Returning from private use by its owner, the Heesen Yachts Knight is ready for charter bookings in Costa Rica. The 2011 build has dining space on all three levels of this tri-deck superyacht. Further amenities include a 42-foot Hydra-Sports custom tender for anglers. Accommodations can host 10 guests in five staterooms, including a main-deck master with a private office and a king-sized berth; belowdecks, there are two queen-berth VIPs and two twin-berth guest staterooms.

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Fraser Yachts recently welcomed the 135-foot Studio F.A. Porsche Royal Falcon One power catamaran to its charter fleet. It’s an unusual design in the marketplace: a power catamaran designed by Studio F.A. Porsche.

Royal Falcon One is a 2019 build that accommodates 10 guests in staterooms that include a main-deck master and a bridge-deck VIP. Onboard amenities include three bars and a sundeck hot tub.

Cruising speed on the all-aluminum build is 10 knots, with a top-end speed of 22 knots, according to Fraser.

Inquiries are now being accepted for charters year-round in the Mediterranean. The yacht is available for events such as MIPIM, the Monaco Grand Prix and the Cannes Film Festival.

What’s the lowest weekly base rate to charter Royal Falcon One? It’s about $211,000.

How to book a week on board: contact a charter broker at fraseryachts.com

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