Nicholson Yacht Charters Celebrates 60th Anniversary

Published: February 10, 2009 / LuxuryTravelMagazine.com

The company that began 60 years ago by renting out the family schooner to well-heeled vacationers in Antigua now represents more than 1,000 luxury crewed yachts worldwide. Sailing yachts and power yachts -- all staffed by highly professional crews

Only one company has been organizing yachting vacations for A-list clients for 60 years – longer than anyone in the business.

From "Hornblower" author C. S. Forester and comedian Victor Borge to Vice President Hubert Humphrey in the early days to actor Liam Neeson and television's Ted Koppel today – they've all sailed with "The First Family of Charter Yachting," Nicholson Yacht Charters. The late William F. Buckley (editor, author, TV host, raconteur) chartered from Nicholson no fewer than 27 times! When asked his advice for first-time charterers, his response: "Talk to Julie!"

"The reason for our success is that we offer personal – really personal -- service," claims Julie Nicholson, the company's current president. "I've just been figuring out the date of a full moon for a romantic-minded client, then scheduling the vacation so that the moon starts as a crescent then gets larger and larger every night of the cruise."

Hands-On Inspections
The Nicholson team gets to know all the yachts first hand. "We know not only the qualifications of the crews," notes Julie Nicholson, "we also know their personal interests and personalities, we know their favorite books, how many brothers and sisters they have, what traits they most admire in a human being. It's the same with our clients – we try to determine if they're the kind of people who want action, want to feel the wind fill the sails all day, or do they just want to sit around in the cockpit with skippers who can discuss Kierkegaard. Once that's taken care of, we can match exactly the right boat and crew with our clients."

The Nicholson staff gathers this first-hand knowledge by traveling constantly to boat shows -- in the Caribbean, the U.S. and the Mediterranean --where they size up each yacht, check the toilets, test the mattresses and sample the cuisine. "Hard work!" says Nicholson. "But it gives us an edge over people who just turn to their computers for information."

There are some 2,000 charter yachts around the world and Julie Nicholson and her team reckon they have personally checked out more than half of them, although they tend to focus on the 1,000 that have proved over the years to be the most dependable and the best maintained.

Yachts recommended by Nicholson range from the moderately priced to sky's the limit, from "two-pax" (yachts for just two passengers, usually crewed by the owner and his wife) to mini-cruise ships with private gyms, on-board offices and helicopter pads. "We have something for everyone," says Nicholson, "honeymooners, wedding parties, seminars or people like us celebrating their 60th birthdays."

And what better way to celebrate family holidays than cruising aboard a fully crewed yacht? No one gets bored because each day brings a different island. Guests can revel in the exhilarating joys of sailing. They can snorkel and kayak right from the stern of "their" yacht. They can dine on deck, beneath the stars. Best of all, they can sit back and enjoy the pampering of professional crews who take care of all the sailing, all the formalities, all the trips ashore, even to organizing shore excursions and recommending favorite beach bars for guests who want to dance barefoot in the sand or directing them to a locals' taverna on Mykonos...

To the question: who are the most dependable people to organize a dream cruise? Answer: the people who pioneered charters, the company with 60 years of experience in charter yachting: Nicholson Yacht Charters.

Check them out at www.yachtvacations.com, or call 800/662-6066 and ask for Sylvia Weston or 207/374-2288 for Julie Nicholson.

Founded in Nelson's Dockyard in Antigua in1949, Nicholson Yacht Charters created charter yachting as we know it today. As "The First Family of Charter Yachting" they have enhanced their years of experience by constantly checking out the charter fleets and charter crews around the world. They now represent more than 1,000 pre-selected yachts in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, New England and other popular cruising seas around the world. The yachts are selected from only the best and safest vessels run by the most qualified and congenial crews. Nicholson's enthusiastic, knowledgeable and absolutely dedicated staff with (more than a century of experience between them) has earned an enviable reputation for matching the right client with the right yacht and the right crew.