Bareboat Charter - Why not the Black Sea?

by Rene Beekman/Sail-World Cruising on 9 Aug 2008 As Eastern Europe becomes richer and better serviced, and the classic cruising coasts become ever more crowded and expensive, it will be the more adventurous sailor who takes the opportunity to sail a new destination - The Black Sea - and the locals are enthusiastic!

Over the past several years on the western coast of the famous sea, Bulgaria’s affluent set have rediscovered the pleasures of yachting. Companies selling yachts have mushroomed in the past two or three years, and new marinas are either at the planning stages or well under way. Others, like the Marina Dinevi in Sveti Vlas, are already in full operation.

“I think that there will be great changes in the next two to three years,” Yordan Dinev, one of the owners of the Dinevi Group told The Sofia Echo. “This will be a truly luxurious destination and I can see this already happening,” Dinev said.

“The average yacht-tourist spends 31 times more than an average tourist,” Vida Angelova, charter manager at Venid-yacht told The Sofia Echo. Venid-yacht, part of the Dinevi Group, has added charter yachts to its service package this year.

And with four sail-yachts, four motor-yachts and two motorboats, most of which are brand-new, plus its nostalgic wooden motorsailor Patriot, the company is making clear it means business.

According to Angelova, what is really new about what the company offers is bare-boat charter.

“What we also offer are tailor-made excursions, adapted to the wishes and desires of the client,” Angelova said. Trips could range from a one day trip with a sail-yacht to Balchik or Sozopol, with time for a dive in different bays along the coast, or a three-day trip northwards to the Romanian port of Constanta or in the other direction to Istanbul, to a week-long trip to the Greek islands. Other options include romantic dinners or breakfast onboard, or even docking the boat at a quay with direct entrance to a restaurant.

Financially, chartering a yacht is an attractive option, considering that bare-boat charter prices for a 40-feet sail-yacht, for example, range from 3700 to 5900 euro a week, depending on the time of season.

“We are expecting to see current owners of yachts starting to give out their boats for charter in the coming year,” Angelova told The Sofia Echo.

“Our current guests are mostly apartment owners in the holiday complexes here in Sveti Vlas,” Angelova said. “But we also have guests arrive from abroad.”