Nanaimo Yacht Charter - About Us

Our group of 5 adults chartered Water Dragon, a magnificient Lagoon 42, from Nanaimo Yacht Charters. The boat was in pristine condition, very clean, and spacious. All charts and equipment required for our proposed sail plan were already aboard when we arrived, and the galley was super well-equipped with a range of cookware, mixing bowls, and bakeware. The team at Nanaimo Yacht Charters were very helpful and attentive, both before and after the sail. They counselled us on the boat and preparations, and promptly attended to a small leak in one of the hatches when it was noticed just before our departure. It was clear that they genuinely cared that we had a great experience. If we had needed them during our outing, we felt they would have been there for us. We easily recommend Nanaimo Yacht Charters and will charter here again.

1 week charter May 2023 aboard Audrey Rose with Instructor Andy for our IYT Bareboat skipper course and ICC. Andy is a calm instructor capable of simplifying complex materials and adapting instruction to different learning styles within a group. He helped us get the best out of Audrey Rose and moved the needle on our comfort zone in stronger winds. He is a wealth of knowledge on all things sailing and I would highly recommend his services. Audrey Rose is well laid out for people who really want to understand sail performance in a cruising vessel. Nanaimo Yacht Charters was a pleasure to deal with. They even sent their mechanic out to fix a small problem we had en route. We will charter here again.

We, a crew of 6 people from Germany, wanted to see and sail the sea area between Vancouver and Vancouver Island with its Strait of Georgia, Chatterbox Falls, Sunshine Coast and Desolation Sound. To charter a boat for our purposes, we made the right choice with Nanaimo Yacht Charters. The boat was a Jeanneau 419, which was ideal for the trip and 6 people. It should be said about Nanaimo Yacht Charters that communication by e-mail and telephone worked perfectly before the trip. When we reached the port, we found an excellently prepared and equipped boat. The handover went smoothly and competently. Even with the somewhat complicated processing of entry via ArriveCan, by means of which 2 of us were chosen to have to prove a negative Covid test after entry, we were supported. Returning the boat after the trip went just as smoothly as anything else we have experienced with Nanaimo Yacht Charters. Friendly staff from Nanaimo Yacht Charters helped us dock the boat at the port and were immediately ready to return and hand over the boat. We would also like to say a big thank you to Nanaimo Yacht Charters and if we ever visit the sailing area again, we would charter our boat here again.

Just finished a seven day sail through the Gulf Islands. Nanaimo Yacht Charters was very professional and responsive to all our needs.

The NYCSS staff were an absolute pleasure to deal with. They were responsive to our many questions and ultimately to our specifc charter needs. I will definately seek their services again for a future charter!

We chartered "Sun Dance" - a 32 foot Bayliner 3288 for one week in August 2022. From the initial inquiry; to the detailed orientation videos that I was able to watch on youtube; to the onboarding; and then to the actual cruise itself - the entire experience was top-notch. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable and the boat was very well maintained - I did not have a single deficiency to note at the end of the trip. We were able to cruise the southern Gulf Islands and have an amazing trip! Many thanks to everyone at NYCSS and we will most certainly see you again.

Absolutely fantastic organization to charter from. They we so helpful and attentive it made the experience far more comfortable than I would have expected. We chartered the Kinami, a 38' trawler and it was perfectly outfitted and prepared. They had details and manuals for everything and that made the boat so easy to enjoy. I've owned boats, chartered boats and been around boats most of my life and Nanaimo Yacht Charters may been the single best experience to date. We did Desolation Sound and it was simply stunning. Loved the team, loved the boat. Highly recommend.

An excellent charter company committed to giving us a good experience. Many thanks to the whole crew at Nanaimo yacht charters. Even before arrival, Emily and Claire took extremely good care of us; patiently and promptly answering our many questions whether by phone or email. Upon arrival we felt very welcome and the boat was in excellent shape and ready to go. Isaac provided a thorough briefing on the vessel after we had a little time to go through the boat. During the cruise, when we had a couple of technical questions Trevor always answered the phone and went through the issue quickly. Overall we felt very well taken care of. Oh… and I forgot the courtesy car, which was a lifesaver in terms of provisioning and also allowed us to have a great dinner in Nanaimo on our last night. The whole experience and area we covered was remarkable, this has to rank as one of the most beautiful cruising grounds in the world and we highly recommend Nanaimo Yacht Charters as the base from which to start.

I’d like to update a review I posted in 2020 (see original review below). Since my last review I have come full circle with the professional services offered by NYCSS by purchasing a vessel and placing it in the charter fleet. The care that the charter vessels receive is the proof NYCSS is a professionally run operation attending to the highest level of detail. The vessels are meticulously monitored, inspected, and maintained. Having received extensive sailing lessons on multiple vessels in the fleet and subsequently chartering fleet vessels on my own I was supremely confident the sailboat I purchased and placed in the charter fleet would be well looked after and well enjoyed by the high caliber of charter guests NYCSS attracts. NYCSS is truly a community to enhance every possible level of nautical interest a person could have. Beginners with no experience are welcomed to this close community through friendly, patient, encouraging, and knowledgeable instruction. The instruction in local cruising areas gives students knowledge, confidence, and credential to charter from either NYCSS’s extensive fleet or any charter business around the world. Then, if you’re like me and ignore the age-old truism about the two best days of a boat owner’s life, you purchase a boat of your own and place it in NYCSS’s charter fleet knowing it will be maintained by professional staff and ready for you to step aboard when you periodically visit to enjoy the world class cruising areas of British Columbia’s west coast. Let’s not ignore the world class marina facilities at NYCSS’s operation base, Stones Marina. Restaurants, pubs, marine store/chandlery with easy access to ferry and airport. It seems slightly ironic to cruise the west coast in search of diamond level marinas and ports when your home base at NYCSS is arguably the best. If I sound bias toward NYCSS I come by it naturally and happily. They welcomed me into their warm community in 2015 where I have enjoyed the life enhancing pursuit of skill and knowledge ever since. If you are new and have the slightest interest in boating, call Shari and Ian. If you are a veteran with a quality vessel, consider placing it in charter. You will never look after your vessel as well as Shari, Ian, and their extensive team will do it for you. Review from 2020: Over the past 5 years I’ve attended the sailing school twice and chartered boats three times. Each experience with NYC has been professional, organized, and enjoyable. Beth and Ian are wonderful to work with. They are warm, knowledgable, courteous, and encouraging. I particularly enjoyed living on a sailboat and receiving instruction for a week while attending the intermediate cruising course. Living on a boat for a week develops a strong appreciation for the maintenance that a boat requires. I greatly admire how NYC services and maintains their fleet. The systems and equipment of each vessel in the expansive fleet is continuously monitored and attended to. The sailing courses helped familiarize me with the Gulf Islands and made me comfortable eventually chartering for myself. NYC offers wonderful itinerary planning for boaters not familiar with Gulf Island, Sunshine Coast, and Desolation Sound areas. My recent charter into Princess Louisa Inlet on the Sunshine Coast will be a life’s highlight. I look forward to many years enjoying and exploring western Canada’s costal waters with Nanaimo Yacht Charters.

Great access to many sweet anchorages, islands, marine parks.