The top ten bareboat charter destinations in the U.S.

June 23, 10:57 AMSF Boating ExaminerLaird Durham

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          This is the U.S., not the Caribbean

Boating in the San Francisco Bay area is the best in the world. Some might argue that the Dalmation Coast is the best, or the Greek Islands, or the Caribbean, perhaps the South Pacific. Some might even nominate Antarctica. There are times when fighting the foggy wind and chop past The Gate seems as cold and wet as Antarctica. Ah, but then a moment later you reach the banana belts of South Beach or Sausalito, and off comes the foul weather gear.

Microclimates are just one of the pleasures of boating in the Bay system. The variety of the waters, from the Pacific Coast to the Delta is another. We may not have the spectacular beauty and scale of Hawaii, the warm waters and white sands of the Caribbean, or the historic interest of the Mediterranean, but all in all we have scale, beauty, beaches, and historic interest a-plenty. And the best weather in the world. The fishing is not bad, either.

But there are times when the travel bug bites, and there is no better way to scratch the itch of that bite than to charter a bareboat. If you have chartered at all, you probably have chartered in the Caribbean, and perhaps the Med or the South Pacific. But how about the good old USA? Home waters are not the first that come to mind when you think of a bareboat charter, so here are ten suggestions, not in any order, of US bareboat destinations you might want to consider. Each will be the subject of future Examiner articles that will give you more information about the locations and the details of chartering there.

     • Hawaii
     • The San Juan Islands
     • Charlotte Harbor, Florida
     • Door County, Wisconsin
     • Chesapeake Bay
     • Penobscot Bay, Maine
     • Culebra/Vieques, Puerto Rico
     • Biscayne Bay, Florida
     • Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island

And, for number ten, right here at home. There are times when chartering for a weekend or a week from a Bay Area outfitter or club can be a nice change of pace or an attractive alternative to owning and maintaining your own boat.