funsailmalta.com

• How to Plan a Sailing Holiday

A sailing holiday offers the romance of discovering new and charming destinations at a laid-back pace. Plan your trip beforehand so you can enjoy your sailing in the best possible season.

Step 1:
Research the different sailing destinations around the world. With so many interesting places, you can have a hard time narrowing down your choices.

Step 2:
Decide what kind of sailing holiday you want. Depending on the level of solitude or socializing you’d like, you can go on your own, with your family or as part of a group. Generally, you can have more freedom regarding the itinerary on your own or with your family than as part of a group.

Step 3:
Charter your vessel according to your sailing competence. Bareboat yacht charter, which means without a hired crew and skipper, requires an international certificate of competence, skipper qualifications and sailing experience. Rules are less stringent for a flotilla, where several sailing boats join up under an experienced skipper. Complete novices can hire a crewed yacht and learn sailing hands-on.

Step 4:
Call up FUNSAILMALTA and be informed of what they are offering before you make your selection.

Step 5:
Have a valid passport or other official identification documents. Ensure you have onboard original ship documents and any or all competence certificates and licenses that you have. Produce them whenever officially required.

Step 6:
Visit your doctor for a patch or medication to counter seasickness, if you suffer from that affliction.

Step 7:
FUNSAILMALTA can book any travel arrangements you may need to reach your starting port and have hotel reservations for staying overnight if necessary.

• How to Charter a Sailboat

Are you planning to charter a sailboat for your next vacation? Here's a guide to help you make the right chartering decisions.

Step 1:
Decide what time of year you want to charter a sailboat. Rates are lower in cooler months than during the hot summer. Next, figure out how many people will be aboard.

Step 2:
Decide on how many days you want to charter the boat on your vacation. FUNSAILMALTA offers day-sailers that can be chartered on a daily basis. Bareboat and crewed charters typically have a minimum of 2 or 5 days, and rates per day drop as the term lengthens.

Step 3:
Figure out whether you and your party want a bareboat, with no crew or provisions, or if you want a crewed charter with a skipper and with meals included. Determine whether you or somebody else in your charter group has the qualifications for being the "captain" of the boat. If nobody in your group is experienced, you will have to stick to a day-sailer, or pay a licensed skipper’s daily fee.

Step 4:
FUNSAILMALTA will explain what all the terms of the charter are, including charter deposit, security deposit, cancellation terms, hours for boarding and return, and taxes. Before you make the reservation, try to get a deposit from everybody in your group, so they can’t cancel and leave you responsible for the entire deposit.

Step 5:
Make your reservation after confirming the dates with your party and FUNSAILMALTA. Make the required deposit, and there you have it, your holiday is booked. Happy sailing.