Charter Chatter

Whitsunday Rent A Yacht are offering Pre Christmas sale packages on skipper yourself boating holidays for Boatpoint readers. Save up to 25 percent on ten nights, 20 percent on seven nights and 15 percent on five nights for new bookings up until 24 December. Visit the WRAY team on stand 32 at the Sandringham Boat Show in Melbourne on 14-15 November.

In 1974 Sunsail Yacht Charters invented the flotilla sailing holiday, which is when you sail your own boat under the watchful guidance of a Lead Crew, including a qualified skipper, a hostess and an engineer, along with about ten other boats. Destinations include Turkey where the ruins of ancient civilisations mix with vibrant nightlife, cosmopolitan shopping and modern marinas. Towns untouched by tourism and beautiful bays still only accessible by boat are part of the Turkish experience.

Sydney is preparing for another busy cruise ship season with the arrival of the Rhapsody of the Seas on 17 October, the first of more than 100 ship scheduled to visit over the next six months. The 2008-09 cruise season saw a record 120 cruise ship visit Sydney.

Victorians John and Sandy Lindholm and their three children recently sailed their chartered yacht to victory in the Mariner Boating Holidays' 2009 Croatia Yacht Rally, finishing equal first with a crew from Tasmania. The Lindholm's won their trip to the Croatia Yacht Rally in a raffle conducted during the 2009 Variety Splash - the annual Port Phillip-based boat rally that raises funds for Victoria's special needs and disadvantaged children. Check out the
Variety Splash website for more info.

The National Marine Safety Committee has released for public comment a draft standard to replace the USL Code's Section 18 'Hire and Drive' vessels. The draft standard covers a wide range of operations from unpowered off-the-beach craft, through to houseboats, PWCs (jet skis) and bareboat yachts. National data shows that most incidents involving these craft are the result of driver error, so the emphasis is on safety management and the provision of an adequate briefing, especially for inexperienced and unlicensed hirers. See have your say at www.nmsc.gov.au.

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises' MS Europa was ranked as the only fivestars-plus ship and named the top cruise ship in the world for the tenth consecutive year by the Berlitz Cruise Guide. 270 vessels are reviewed in the book.

In 2012, Tropical North Queensland will experience one of the world's great astronomical events - a total solar eclipse. On the morning of Wednesday 14 November 2012, the earth will be plunged into darkness as the moon passes in front of the sun. With the possibility of coastal cloud cover affecting visibility, it is believed the best place to view the eclipse will be on the Tablelands and out on the Great Barrier Reef.

Aurora Expeditions offers two new adventure cruises to remote communities on the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea on board the luxury ship Oceanic Discoverer in 2010. Village life along the Sepik remains virtually unchanged since European explorers made first contact in the 1800s. The local Sepik people are among the greatest primitive artists on Earth, and the skills of its craftsmen are legendary.

Book a Fiji Island family adventure cruise with Captain Cook Cruises and receive a separate children's bunk cabin at no additional charge when booking for two or more children aged 3-15 years who are accompanied by adults. Book now and also save up to 25 percent off the brochure price for cruises until March 31st, 2010.

Ipipiri, a 46 metre catamaran, was recently launched in New Zealand's Bay of Islands where it will operate two day one night cruises. Each cruise will include full commentary on the history, environment, and some of the Bay of Islands most spectacular landmarks. From Kupe, the very first voyager and Maori to discover New Zealand over 1,000 years ago, to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, Northland brings together the unique culture and history of the original Maori and European settlers of New Zealand.

Photograph: Whitsunday Rent A Yacht's Beneteau Lagoon 420