Does anyone know where I can rent a sailboat in the Ft. Lauderdale/Pompano Beach area? My daughter and her boyfriend will be joining us for Christmas in a condo in Pompano. He is an experienced sailor and I'd like to arrange to rent a sailboat as a Christmas treat. My web searching has proven quite unsuccesful.

Try the following url For BoatUs. They screen their charter companies and I would not hesitate to use any of them.

http://www.boatus.com/charterdir/

The big marina there is called Bahia Mar. Maybe you can call them and they'll direct you to the right place. (Ft. Lauderdale is really, really a "go fast" town. Good luck.)

I agree with Chuck. BoatUS is a great organization and any charter boats they list will be top notch. Definitely go through them instead of calling the Marina as Jan suggested. You never know who or what you are going to get by calling a Marina.

Thanks for your responses. It's always so useful to post on this site and get information from people who know the local scene. I'll report back on my experience. Hope it's good.

You might call one of the yacht clubs listed on this site: http://www.naval.com/sw/yc.htm

Although yacht clubs vary widely, sailors are generally more than willing to share their knowledge and usually know local charter companies. Unless the boyfriend is very experienced, sailing in a new area may be quite different from what he is used to.

By calling the local yacht clubs you are probably going to get a receptionist or an answering service and not talk to a real sailor. Chuck and Bob gave the best advice, go with BoatUs. I am a member and I personally know they give great service. I am also a member of a yacht club--and know first hand that most members don't like to talk to non-members especially tourists looking to charter.

Julie-Hopefully your daughter's boyfriend has taken an accredited safe boating course offered by either the Cost Guard Auxiliary or the Power Squadron. The majority of boating accidents occur because of alcohol and operator inexperienced. I would be very hesitant to go out or let my daughter go on a boat with a person who did not complete a safe boating course, especially in the ocean. And, many charter boats require a course because of insurance reasons. The ocean is a very dangerous place with changing tides, currents etc. and someone without a lot of hours sailing under his belt can quickly get into trouble.

Thanks again to all for your useful (albeit sometimes conflicting) advice.

The Bahia Mar marina, is where I rented from, sailed to the bahamas. check them out.

Julie, what ever you do DO NOT go to a Yacht Club to rent a boat. Now, you may be a member of a Yacht Club in your town and may have reciprocity with them, but I hardly doubt they members rent out their boats. Boaters are a breed of their own. I would check with the Coast Guard, they will have answers for you.

That was a great post, Gerald. Insightful, information-packed and respectful as well.

Good lord people, relax...

Ditto what Maria said, yacht clubs do not charter boats. Yacht clubs are like country clubs, private and exclusive...

As to the post about calling the Coast Guard, please don't. The Coast Guard is VERY busy and with funding cuts they are understaffed and overworked. They will not recommend a charter company, a towing service yes, but not a charter company.

Speaking of towing service, Julie, if you decide to go with BoatUs, they have towing insurance. A must if you have a breakdown or something. Towing is very expensive, depending on the boat length it can run a couple hundred dollars and up. BoatUS also has marinas they work with who will give you a disount on fuel, etc. Whatever you decide make sure you read the fine print and ask about insurance and towing in case something goes wrong.

I have to agree with the above poster, however in order to use Boat US, you must pay. We are memebers because we have our boat insurance with them. I really don't think joining boat US is worth only a rental on a sailboat.

I have to agree with the Coast Guard. They have been so busy protecting boarders since 9-11.

We are powerboaters (don't hold this against us, JK) and we find when we get to a city in Florida, we check out all of the local marina's to see if they rent boats. We live in the north east where we envy anyone who can be on the water at Christmas. It is a treat. Have fun.

Gerald, fyi, I am a member of a yacht club and have been a boat owner for many years. While other yacht clubs may not be able or willing to help out, I'm sure a call to ours would give the caller valuable information regarding sailing in our area. We also maintain a web site, as do many clubs, and while it may take a little while, that is also a way to get info. Gerald, you are probably right about yacht clubs in the Lauderdale area. They are probably too exclusive and less helpful.

DO CALL THE BAHIA MAR, THEY DO RENT BOATS, I KNOW, I'VE DONE IT. DESPITE WHAT THE PERSON WHO SUGGESTS YOU CALL THE COAST GUARD INSTEAD SAYS. (I have a better idea, Call martha stewart, she'll show you how to make your own sailboat from the hull of a butternut squash with linen sails). Seriously though, don't call the coast guard, they'll probably be really annoyed with anyone stupid enough to call them and ask for a boat rental, not to mention they have better things to do.

Carol-BoatUS has relaxed their rules regarding non-members. Non-Members can use their charter service, but they pay a higher fee. Non-Members can also use their stores. However, to get a discount at select Marinas on fuel etc. and towing insurance, you need to be a member. BoatUs lost a lot of business to West Marine and is trying to be more competitive.

As to calling the Coast Guard-I got a chuckle out of that one! Some people really have a misconception of what the Coast Guard does. In addition to search and rescue, the Coast Guard is in charge of securing our domestic waterways from both terrorist and drug runners. With the current War on Terror and all their other duties, the last thing the Coast Guard wants is some tourist calling them looking for a charter boat to rent.