Yachts Offer a Reasonably Priced Tour Option : Chartered sail or motor craft provide an exciting way to see the Caribbean and Mediterranean.

Chartered yachts with crews are a growing option for travelers, especially those who don’t know how to sail their own boats or who aren’t interested in being skippers on the high seas. The expanded interest has led to more packages being offered that include yacht charters combined with land stays.

Some key distinctions can be made among yachts. For starters, some are more luxuriously outfitted than others. Yachts can range in size from 30,000 to 100,000 pounds, from 40 to 300 feet in length, and carry from two passengers to two dozen or more. The size of the crews can vary, with the basic crew being only a captain and a cook/mate. A bare-boat charter, on the other hand, is one for which there is no crew and the passengers sail the boat.

Yachts can also be either sail or motor yachts, though the former have auxiliary motors as well. Motor yachts tend to have more space than sail yachts. Both kinds of yachts can offer a variety of nautical amenities/equipment, such as scuba, snorkeling, fishing, jet skiing, water-skiing, windsurfing and fishing, in addition to color TVs and VCRs.

“This is the best-kept secret in vacations,” claims Arnold Sperling, managing director of Travel Right Tours in Morristown, N.J., a company that specializes in custom designing yacht packages in the Caribbean.

Travel Right works in conjunction with the Virgin Islands Charteryacht League, an association offering nearly 200 professionally crewed charter yachts. The company’s packages vary from four to 14 days, with the price including--if the consumer desires--air fare and accommodations. The average weekly price ranges from $1,500 to $3,000 per person, including the crewed yacht and all food, beverages and beer/wine; hotel accommodations, when applicable; round-trip air transportation and airport transfers and taxes. Meals and ground transportation while the traveler is ashore aren’t covered.

One example is an eight-day, seven-night “Sail the Virgins” package, currently priced at $1,656 from Los Angeles. The package includes one night at a St. Thomas hotel plus six nights aboard the yacht.

Most yacht charters last three nights, though some companies impose a six-night minimum. Rentals are generally for 24 hours, from noon to noon. Most boat charters are on a “term charter” basis, which means the chartering group operates the entire vessel and has latitude in devising the itinerary.

“We define the area they want to sail in and any special interests in activities as well as food,” Sperling said. “Some passengers are more into water sports and activities than others. We try to pair travelers up with the right crew. They live in close proximity aboard the boats. Some crew members have special skills, such as being scuba instructors.”

As for determining the cost of yacht charters, prices may go down if there are fewer passengers than the capacity of the yacht, due to the need for less food, drink and other supplies.

Then again, more passengers could also bring the cost per passenger down, depending on the yacht chosen. “We don’t mix groups in a term charter, and so the number of people in the group can work to diminish the cost overall,” said Sperling.

However, the numbers game can be tricky. Say, for example, the price of a weekly charter for a six-passenger yacht is $7,500. This would amount to about $180 per day per passenger. If a group of four passengers chartered the same yacht, the price might go down to $5,600. But this would also create a per diem of about $200 for each of the four passengers.

“Many travelers are surprised to find that there are large price variations in the cost of chartering a yacht with a crew,” said Richard Heath, head of Beverly Hills-based Richard Heath & Associates/Yacht Charter Specialists, which arranges yacht charters worldwide. “They can range from extremely expensive to a price roughly equivalent to a land holiday of the same length and style.”

Heath said that business at his company is up about 25% this year over 1991, especially in the Mediterranean region. He added that about 40% of his clients are first-time yacht charterers.

“People are looking for new options, and find out that they don’t have to be a tycoon or a sailor to charter a yacht,” he said. “And they appreciate being able to design their own voyages. Chartering a yacht means being able to explore an area in greater depth. These tend to be more localized trips, like the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean or the French Riviera in the Mediterranean.”

In most parts of the world, travelers have to pay expenses beyond the charter price. These include fuel, port-dockage fees, food and liquor. In some parts of the Caribbean, such as the Virgin Islands, the rate usually includes fuel and food for both sail and motor yachts.

“Sailing yachts are less expensive to charter than the motor yachts, which require fuel,” Heath said. “Sailing yachts in the Caribbean tend to be all-inclusive, but not in the Mediterranean. Motor yachts are generally not inclusive, and you have extra expenses that could come to 15%-30% of the charter price, depending on where passengers want to go.”

Sailing yachts in the Caribbean start at about $1,200 per week per person; for a motor yacht, the price is about $2,000. In the Mediterranean, figure on starting rates for a week’s charter to be about $1,500 for a sail yacht, $3,000 for a motor yacht.

Generally, there are two or three crew members for eight passengers or fewer. Frequently, the crew might consist of a husband and wife. Motor yachts tends to have more crew.

“We’re matchmakers in a sense,” said Jody Lexow of Darien, Conn., who represents more than 650 crewed yachts worldwide. “We try to find the right sort of boat for each group of charterers.”

Yacht owners may have age restrictions regarding very young children, although many allow travelers to bring infants aboard. Children beyond infancy should know how to swim.

For more information on yacht charters, contact travel agents or Richard Heath & Associates/Yacht Charter Specialists at (310) 275-1194, Jody Lexow Yacht Charters at (800) 662-2628, and Travel Right Tours at (800) 432-1386.