The Moorings Yacht Charters: Amazing Trips Around The World

Exploring some of the world’s most beautiful islands? Check.

Sailing some of the world’s most beautiful waters? Naturally.

Commissions for agents? You bet.

The Moorings Yacht Charters put on a great lunch presentation at a downtown Toronto restaurant on Tuesday, explaining their wide variety of sailing and power boat options around the world.

Ian Pedersen, marketing manager for the Americas, said the company will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year.

The Moorings started off in the British Virgin Islands in 1969 with six ships. They now have 400 ships in all corners of the globe, some 300 of them in the BVI, an area so beautiful Pedersen said it’s “like God built these islands to go sailing in.”

Pedersen said The Moorings operates in the BVI, St. Lucia, The Bahamas, Antigua, Italy, Greece, Croatia, Tahiti, Thailand and other countries. Sicily also has been added, as have the Exumas.

The company offers a variety of commissions for agents, depending on the package and how frequently they book. Commissions can range from five to 15 per cent, Pedersen said.

The Moorings has a wide variety of programs on offer, everything from self-guided tours on traditional sailboats to power catamarans that are skippered or fully staffed with a skipper and a top-end chef, as well as en-suite bathrooms.

Booking times are flexible, and The Moorings also allows customers to book a single cabin instead of the entire boat. They’ll even do your grocery shopping for you before you climb on board and sail into your first sunset.

“If you have a skipper they’ll do the work and you can do your job, which is drinking and swimming and enjoying your vacation.”

Because ships are small, you’ll usually dock in the best part of a city or an island, Pedersen said. And all your food and drinks are included.

Pedersen said a trip might cost $30,000 for a week, but it’s affordable if you divide it among three or five couples.

Canada was formerly part of the U.S. marketing program but Pedersen said the company has put a new focus on the Canadian market the past couple years.

“Four years ago we tried to go direct and bypass travel agents, but we quickly turned that on its head,” he said. “We offer commissions to agents and we try to make it easy for them. We can handle taxis, flights and everything else.”

The company’s flagship British Virgin Islands base in Road Town, Tortola officially reopened on Dec. 9, 2018 – just three months after Hurricane Irma hit the BVI. St. Martin closely followed, reopening in their new Marigot location in February of this year.