I like to think of chartering (and sailing, for that matter) as a metaphor for life. You get what you put into it. Taking it too seriously will let you down. And, the basic equation below is helpful to keep in mind:
reality / expectations = happiness
(Caveat: expecting nothing is not the point - it's that simply keeping expectations realistic goes a long way ;-)
In addition, I find that what makes chartering enjoyable is that you "get all kinds" of people. Some will make you laugh. Others will make you cry. You'll probably get frustrated at others (as I did below).
To keep a long story short, my wife and I were wrapping up a 2-week charter and feeling that strong sense of, "is it over already"? We pulled into a beautiful little bay for the last night and despite it being densely filled, found a nice spot that had good holding and wasn't a nuisance to other boats anchored before us.
In order for us to accomplish this, we arrived early (before 2pm). After our first spot proved to be dead coral under the anchor (good reason to dive on the anchor, BTW), we moved. In the new spot, we made sure not to encroach upon others. All in all, a good job anchoring in a tight area. Time for a swim, cocktails, and a celebratory dinner ashore!
But, wouldn't you know it, a 40' bareboat rolls in around 5:30pm. After trying (unsuccessfully) to anchor 5 times in other locations (yes - 5 times), where do they anchor? Right on top of us. I watched closely (from the boat and - later - the dinghy) and after determing they were swinging within their length of us (in no wind), told them "no good - you guys need to find another spot".
They said "no - it's all fine - we're experienced charterers - we'll swing clear." But, knowing that the holding was a combination of sand patches, eelgrass, and dead coral (and considering they didn't set the anchor properly nor did they dive on it in 14 feet of water), I was nervous and didn't sleep well that night. Before the sun went down, I took the dinghy over and said in very clear (by reasonable) terms that if anything happpened in the night, they were responsible and would have to pull up anchor. They scoffed at it and one guy - I believe the skipper - said some things I don't want to repeat here.
Take a look... here's a pic of their anchor spot from our cockpit.
So, the point? It takes all kinds. And, I can certainly be one of them. These folks were not only irresponsible, they were rude and indignant. I can deal with that. But, my question is, what would you do? How far would you go, on the last night of a slendid trip, to protect yourself and the boat you're responsible for? Share you comments below.
Tags: sailing, yacht charter, bareboat charter, anchoring