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Subject: 2011 Looking Up!
(Posted on Jan 2, 2011 at 02:02AM ) Tags:

Tags: new year 2011 bareboat charters Sailing School JIB SET 2011 looking up

Signs of life in the boat market give us a clear indication that 2011 is looking up. A number of exciting things on the horizon point to improvement and lots more fun on the water ahead.

One of our leading indicators is seeing Mr. Cooper back building boats. Brian Kell of Grand Yachts said recently that the best way to find the bottom of the market is to watch Forbes Cooper. More than any other indicator, his sense of timing in the past 40 years or so has been absolutely uncanny.

We're also seeing a number of people back enrolling in courses and the 2011 lineup is the best ever - with new programs, exciting twists on old ones and a general overhaul on programming and a quest for our new TOP FUN instructor ranking.

We're just off the water from the JIB SET polar bear cruise and the old bear has had his one trip out of the crow's nest for the year.

Beyond that, for sailors, the looking up has another connotation - look up and watch the sails. A great tip to get you sliding along a little quicker this year.

All the best for the new year from the whole crew at Cooper Boating.

ps - we've taken those few holidays off and the office is open again January 2 - December 24, 2011

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Subject: JUST ADDED - one sailboat and one powerboat
(Posted on Dec 18, 2010 at 07:35PM ) Tags:

Tags: bareboat charters power boat charters sailboat charter Sidney Powell River

We have just added two boats to the fleet. Arcturus will be a brand new 2011 Bavaria 32 that will be delivered in April and is destined for the Powell River fleet. She is the first of the new generation Bavaria Yachts to head into a charter program anywhere in North America. Bruce Farr is known for designing boats with excellent sailing characteristics and Arcturus is certain to benefit from this new design style. The massive fold down transom platform is impressive (and our dock crew is glad they don't have to glue foam to the underside of the stern seats - which perpetually fell overboard on the older Bavarias)

The other addition is Cachet, a Carver 430 with a spectacular layout. This well equipped boat is undergoing a host of updates this winter so she will be fresh for the 2011 season. Check out Cachet and reserve today out of our Sidney location!

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Subject: Carribbean 2011 - Courses and Flotilla
(Posted on Nov 26, 2010 at 11:06PM ) Tags:

Tags: bareboat charters sailing instruction flotilla British Virgin Islands Marla Hedman

The winter hit us early and promises to be long and cold here on BC's West Coast so we are heading to the other coast ...... and a lot further south!
The British Virgin Islands have long been a favouite cruising destination of all the Cooper Boating sailors and we are planning on being there from the middle of March to the middleof April 2011, coming home just in time for the Annual Easter Flotilla from Vancouver to the Northern Gulf Islands: YOU get to show off your tan!

Stage One - INTRODUCTION TO CATAMARAN SAILING
Boarding Sunday night, March 13th Soper's Hole,Tortola - BVI
Double cabins on 44 to 50 foot boats - get CYA AND/OR IYT certification
Returning to Soper's Hole, Tortola before Noon on the 20th of March.

Stage Two - FLOTILLA SAILING
Boarding Sunday night, March 20th in Tortola at Roadtown or Soper's Hole.
Join as a skipper with your own crew on your favorite size sailboat or catamaran. 7 Day bareboat yacht charters priced per size of boat: call for quotes.
Join as a CREW member on a boat with a CYA/IYT instructor to guide you through your first bareboat chartering experience. (14 days available)

Returning before Noon on 27th of March, Roadtown or Soper's Hole.

Stage Three - MORE FLOTILLA SAILING
Boarding Sunday night, March 27th in Tortola at Roadtown or Soper's Hole.
Join as a skipper with your own crew on your favorite size sailboat or catamaran. 7 Day bareboat yacht charters priced per size of boat: call for quotes.
Join as a CREW member on a boat with a CYA/IYT instructor to guide you through your first bareboat chartering experience.

Returning before Noon on April 03,Roadtown or Soper's Hole.

Stage Four - CRUISE AND LEARN 'TROPICAL FLAVOUR'
Boarding Sunday night April 03 in Roadtown, Tortola - BVI
This 7 day program leads to a Canadian Yachting Association's Basic Cruising Standard and Coast Guard Operator's License.(PCOC)

CONTACT MARLA TODAY FOR PRICING. Check out her 7 day ITINERARY. To book a charter outside of these dates, check here. Also stay tuned or get in touch with Marla about the Croatia flotilla coming in September 2011.

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Subject: Bareboat key elements from Cooper Boating
(Posted on Oct 31, 2010 at 11:49PM ) Tags:

Tags: bareboat bareboat charters bareboat charters granville island bareboat charters bc bareboat charters vancouver

Following up on the meaning behind the bareboat concept of our earlier post, it seems appropriate to look at how we at Cooper work as agents to take care of our bareboat guests.

The legal side does create certain obligations and a competent charter agent can help with all of those.   Cooper's two guiding principles surround COMFORT and INSURABILITY.

Comfort aboard comes not only from the boat itself and its fit, finish and equipment, but the comfort of the skipper and crew operating the boat their experience and familiarity with the vessel type. Perhaps it has been several years since you last skippered a vessel. In this case, the prudent skipper often reaches out for some assistance to refresh their skills - either via a formal lesson before hand or by taking someone at the beginning of a bareboat charter holiday to help break free of the boating cobwebs and ensure that the skipper is comfortable handling the vessel and the navigator is up to back up to speed on coastal pilotage.

Familiarity with a vessel type leading to comfort aboard does depend on whether or not this is a boat you've operated before (or a near sistership).   Changing vessel types - especially large changes like different prop configurations or North American vs. European manufacturers - can lead to an increased challenge for a skipper. We've seen the greatest frequency of changes when people make large changes to the type or size of vessel they are using.

Some of the same factors that drive comfort also affect insurability of a skipper.   As mentioned in the post about the word 'bareboat', the insurance on the vessel is transferring to the charter client for the duration of the trip as if they were an owner.   Insurance depends on the risk factor and that includes experience, most specifically recent experience on the size and vessel type.   A long track record of boating experience without an accident is a great step to being insurable, as is formal training - especially hands-on training to a national or international standard.

Ironically, when renting a vessel, it is not essential to have a Pleasure Craft Operator Card (PCOC) - providing one walks through a rental boat checklist and signs this off as the charter commences.   The fact is, the PCOC seems to be addressing specific accident situations and is especially focused on vessels smaller than those in our charter fleet - the standard of training and competence required to be insured on a charter vessel is far greater than the level offered by a PCOC alone.

If there is an accident in one's past, it does not preclude insurability - one accident can be a vital learning experience - but it should be fully disclosed so that future risks are properly covered. Indeed, we use past experience from debriefing accident situations to alert future people to the inherent risks of operating a boat on our coast.   Come to think of it, everything provided to back up one's experience as provided on a boating resume should be completely factual as it becomes an integral part of the charter arrangements.   The insurance company isn't out there checking everything up front necessarily, but if the boating resume is found to contain fictional content when following up a claim, it would certainly jeopardize the insurance coverage in place.

While some of this sounds heavy and does carry with it real obligations, we have been working with folks wanting to have fun on the water for over a quarter of a century now and can make most of this fall to the routine.   So, if we're suggesting something to help you bolster your resume it merely stems from our guiding concept that we want to you be properly insured and comfortable on the boat of your choice.   Let's get going with your spectacular experience!

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