Sunseeker Charters Offers Options Worldwide
A 2004 charter experience still stands out for charter veteran Kim Kavin.
July 20, 2011
I’ve been writing about luxury charter yachts for more than a decade. I’ve been aboard somewhere in the vicinity of a thousand charter yachts, and I’ve cruised in something like thirty-five different countries, regions, and islands. So if a charter yacht experience stands out in my mind, it’s strong enough to crowd out the clutter of its competition. (And that includes the forty or so charter yachts I’ve seen at boat shows in the past eight weeks alone.)
The newest High Energy is a Sunseeker 88.
It is thus noteworthy that I still have vivid—and wonderful—memories of the Sunseeker Charters experience that I enjoyed out of Southampton, England, back in 2004, which is the year that the company was founded. I cruised onboard High Energy, a Sunseeker Predator 68 that was, at the time, the company’s flagship.
Today, the company has grown into a good-sized fleet that includes the newest High Energy, a Sunseeker 88, as well as models that are even larger. But available charter vacations are still much like the great one I experienced years ago: tailor-made to suit everything from golfers to foodies to spa aficionados.
“The majority of what we do is normal charters, but we can make it anything they want,” Stefan Wertans, co-owner of Sunseeker charters, told me back in 2004. “What we want to do is try to have personal packages.”
The Sunseeker 90 Buzz is available in Turkey.
The same is still true today, albeit with lots more destinations and a wider variety of Sunseeker motoryachts than when the company first opened its doors. Wertans and his partner, David Ward, are still running the show, and their standards have gone nowhere but up. Just this summer alone, Sunseeker Charters is offering five noteworthy styles of Sunseekers for charter in five completely different locations, at variable price points that will suit many luxury travel budgets.
First is the Sunseeker 90 Yacht Buzz, which is available in Turkey as well as in Greece’s Dodecanese Islands. At a weekly base rate of €45,000, Buzz is one of the most contemporary yachts available for charter in the region, where the bulk of the charter fleet is traditionally composed of gulet motorsailers.
True Blue's homeport is Marbella, Spain.
Also available this summer is the Sunseeker Manhattan 60 True Blue. Her home port is Marbella, Spain, which is an unusual location for crewed luxury charter yachts. She is offered for charter in both Spanish waters and in Morocco, a destination that I rarely see advertised by charter yachts of any size. And in addition to week-long charters, True Blue is open to daily bookings at a base rate of £4,000 per day.
Next from the Sunseeker Charters fleet this summer is a Sunseeker Predator 84 that is based in Ibiza, in Spain’s Balearic Isles. This is a more common charter location than the Marbella area, but it is also a region where authorities have been cracking down in recent years on yachts that are marketed for charter illegally. Special licenses are required to charter legally in the Balearics, and I am confident that Sunseeker Charters is a reputable company whose paperwork is organized and available for review before booking the yacht at a weekly base rate of €53,000.
The Sunseeker Manhattan 70 is based in Malta.
Sunseeker Charters is also promoting the Sunseeker Manhattan 70 Jupju this summer. She is based in Malta, with charter availability in the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia. While many charter yachts advertise availability in these locations, their owners also charge delivery fees to move the yachts there from the most popular home ports in the South of France. Since Jupju is already in the region, charter clients need only consider the weekly base rate of €31,500.
No Compromise, a Predator 82, charters out of Miami.
Last but not least this summer is availability aboard the Sunseeker Predator 82 No Compromise. She is based in Miami with charter availability in both South Florida and the Bahamas. What’s nice about her is that, as a Sunseeker, she can move at high speed across the Gulf Stream, arriving quickly and comfortably in westernmost Bahamian destinations such as Cat Cay and Bimini. Her weekly base rate is $35,000, noteworthy given the great value that the weak dollar represents right now compared with the euro in European charter locales.
It’s great to see Sunseeker Charters continuing to expand its luxury yacht charter options worldwide. It’s always hard to tell whether a new company is going to make it or not, but Sunseeker Charters has indeed persevered, not only surviving the global recession but winning praise as recently as 2010, when members of the Quintessentially luxury lifestyle group in 52 countries voted it “Best Yacht Charter” of the year.
It all started with High Energy. How fitting that description turned out to be.
For more information, visit the Sunseeker Charters website.
Kim Kavin is an award-winning writer, editor and photographer who specializes in marine travel. She is the author of six books including Dream Cruises: The Insider’s Guide to Private Yacht Vacations, and is editor of the online yacht vacation magazine www.CharterWave.com.
