Before you sell up and sail away from the UK, ask yourself: is the liveaboard life for you? Try it on a bareboat charter somewhere exotic to find out
Bareboat charter – touching the dream
Mediterranean
Within easy range, plenty of chartering opportunities and a range of conditions to suit all, from the strong winds of Aegean to light winds of the Adriatic, the drama of Bonifacio to the glitz of the Côte d’Azur. With plenty of beaches, tavernas, restaurants and supermarkets, you’ll want for nothing.
Baltic
Enjoy long days and white nights alongside, for instance here on the island of Lilla Korno, near Gothernburg in Sweden
Vast, stunning archipelagos off Stockholm, Gothenburg, Turku and Denmark, Denmark’s inland sea Limfjord for sheltered sailing, lagoons to explore in former East Germany. A short season, May-Sept, but very long days. Light, variable winds, not especially exciting, but thousands of islands to explore.
Atlantic Islands
Enjoy adventurous, hairy-chested sailing in the Atlantic staging posts of the Azores, Cape Verdes, Madeira or Canaries. Experience a boost of two wind forces between the islands and some amazing history and rare, protected sealife. Anchorages are few, avoid sailing into the prevailing northeasterlies and keep clear of rocky lee shores.
Caribbean
Reaching through warm trade winds off Sandy Island, Anguilla
Idyllic anchorages, abundant history and swept by trades to give amazing short passages to wonderful places. Very popular so not great if you want some peace, and crime can be an issue off the beaten track. Bars, restaurants and shops everywhere.
East Coast USA
Explore rivers, bays and inlets along the 3,000-mile Intracoastal Waterway, from Florida’s Keys to Maine, or head north, past historic ports like Annapolis and Baltimore to the millionaire playgrounds of Newport, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket south of Cape Cod. Excellent facilities.
West Coast USA
Anchored with a line ashore off Teakerne Arm in Desolation Sound, British Columbia
From Los Angeles explore the Channel Islands, including Catalina, or sail around the iconic San Francisco Bay. Find real Wilderness in the San Juan Islands or Desolation Sound, near Vancouver Island, then head north up the Inside Passage to Juneau, Alaska.
Polynesia
This isolated paradise in the South Seas offers some of the most sensational anchorages imaginable set against impossibly beautiful backdrops. Explore Tahiti and the Society Islands, the mountainous French Polynesian islands of the Marquesas and the low-lying islands of the Tuamotus. Quite spectacular.
Australia and New Zealand
Explore shoal waters and sheltered anchorages around Moturua Island in New Zealand’s Bay of Islands
The most distant destination possible but one that offers everything any sailor could want, from the rough and tough sailing around Tasmania, Bass Strait and New South Wales, to the gentle breezes, reefs and beaches of Queensland, or the shelter of New Zealand’s Bay of Islands and Whangarei.
Far East
Explore Dr No’s lair in the Andaman Sea’s Similan Islands. South of Phuket are the islands of Koh Phi Phi, the dream location for the film The Beach. Or head further south to the Malaysian Islands of Langkawi and Penang. Charter from November to May, it’s cooler and the sailing conditions are better.