Thank you for choosing “12 Knots”

“A mega thank you for your excellent service!”

A search on the internet produced the 12 Knots operation. With apparent quality staff and experience along with the best price on a bareboat monohull influenced me to book a boat with them. We were not disappointed. Correspondence was timely, courteous and efficient. The few questions we had were quickly and accurately answered. Contracts and forms were simple and reasonable. Unlike some other US based chartering companies. Upon arrival in San Juan, the arranged logistics when smoothly. Transport, provisioning and checking into the boat went wellAll needed was furnished. The Dufour we had reserved had been damaged the week before so we were provided a newer Beneteau 42. The boat was in excellent condition, sailed well and was adequately equipped. The journey, centered on cruising around the two big out islands, proved a good sailing adventure. Easterly winds held a steady 15-20 knots. We sailed mostly with full reefed main and storm jibbed head sail. We found several remote anchorages for quiet, sunset happy hours providing private swimming and beach exercising during the day. We thoroughly enjoyed a more crowed but friendly anchorage and night out at the new Dingy Dock Bar at Dewey on Culebra. It was another memorable and great sailing journey. We are already thinking about a return. A mega thank you to 12 Knots for excellent service and support making this happen….

“My wife and I loved our Exumas cruise in the Lagoon 62”

The boat had some maintenance issues such as as the starboard motor was broken for already for three weeks and all cabin on the starboard had cold water the entirely trip. Since the weather was warm and we are used to take cold shower at home, it was not a big deal for us. When we returned to the marina after 7 days, another Lagoon 62 boat was there to substitute our boat. We got the best cabin on the boat, starboard aft with lower high bed, that was easy for us to get access. The cook lady was excellent, we had delicious meals with desert at the lunch and dinner every day She was prepared to make gluten free meals for my wife. The captain, Alex Mint, was born in the same city than me in Brazil, beyond speaking Portuguese, he also speaks English and French. He was an experience sailor, great personality and easy going. Even with my handicap to only use one arm and having some balance problem, I was able to get in the flybridge, getting in our cabin and on the water without any problem. It was the first time for us in a sail boat, and we simply loved a catamaran, a stable and roomy boat.

“Yacht was perfect”

Yacht was perfect - plenty of space and nooks to hang out in. Having sailed on a monohull before, the personal bathroom for each cabin on the catamaran was much appreciated. A/C in cabins was very nice. Plenty of hot water for showers. Our captain was Damien and he was very safety conscious and knowledgeable. His heavy French accent was sometimes tough, but if we didn’t understand, we’d ask him to repeat the explanation and he obliged. Our chef was Ina, and she was amazing —— treating us to a wide variety of wonderful dishes  throughout our voyage. We would sail with this crew again in a heartbeat! There was WiFi on the boat and our baseball team was in the MLB playoffs, so we enjoyed catching an evening game on the front of the boat, looking at the stars at the same time. We also tried paddle boarding for the first time!!!

“We had a great time in Greece”

We had a great time in Greece, the first three days we had constant 20-25knots of wind, so we were able to do a lot of sailing. The boat was also in good condition and everything in working order…the boat did however look a bit older than a 2018 model. For our needs the 38ft was perfect, but I generally prefer a larger boat for 6 people 46-50ft. The base manager and people at check-in were very friendly and helpful. The harbor in Athens is huge! There are hundreds of sailing boats available for rent. The check out and check in at the base were pretty hectic due to the all the people preparing to leave/arriving. The hundreds of sailing boats also mostly follow the same route so there were generally also a lot of other sailing boats in the secluded bays where we anchored at night. But all in all a great experience in Greece.

“Week onboard this lovely Lagoon 62 / BVI”

We spent a week onboard this lovely 62' sailing catamaran with 5 other couples (total 12 guests) The captain and chef were both French and at times it was difficult to understand what they were saying, but not a big deal. The captain (Damian) would at times offer options about where to go or what we might want to do if the weather conditions were iffy, very obliging. The chef (Michael) prepared breakfast, lunch and dinner each day. The meals were pretty well balanced and reasonably healthy, with dessert served at lunch and dinner. One thing most of the guests weren't real happy about was having the A/C shut off at 10-11pm until 7am. That was because the generator was right under one of the forward cabins and too noisy for them to sleep well. Opening the cabins hatch(s) was a little better unless it started raining while you were sleeping! There was always plenty of bottled water, sodas and everyone brought beer, wine and other booze which we all shared. The other guests were funny, personable, compassionate and generous, as were Damian and Michael. There was plenty of time to enjoy the SUP's, paddle boards, floats and snorkel. You could enjoy a good book in the many different shaded areas onboard, lay in the sun on one of the comfortable places available on the upper deck or ask Damian to take you ashore in the dingy. All in all it was a great experience, but for us 1 week was just the right amount of time for such an adventure. To fully enjoy something like this it helps to be in reasonably good physical and mental condition. Just saying! WARNING-Travel light because depending on how you get to the actual boat you'll probably have to carry all your junk from the various ferries, taxis, buses etc? Ron

“It was truly a unique experience / Jne 2019 / BVI / Lagoon 620”

It was truly a unique experience. Despite a mishap that kept Ron out of the water due to fear of infection (he cut his leg pretty good while we were waiting for the ferry to scrub island) it was still enjoyable. The boat was great. Certainly the correct size for 12 people. We thoroughly enjoyed Damian (captain) and Michael (excellent Chef). They were both extremely capable and friendly. At times, they could be a little difficult to understand, but it did not take away from the trip. Yes, there English is certainly better than my French! The cabin was as expected and comfortable enough. It took a little getting use to the idea that your toilet paper had to go in the trash can, but after fishing it out with the toilet brush for a couple of days I finally got the hang of it. We were very lucky in so far as that we knew 2 other couples and that the other couples that we did not know ,with the exception of ½ of one couple, was a pleasure to be around. We had only one irate women on the last day who became demanding and rather obnoxious at which point we all stood behind Damian in the manner in which he dealt with her. He was very professional. He was forced to take this women to the nearest island with a ferry because she insisted on getting off the boat and making her way to St Thomas. This was all because she wasn’t ready to leave the baths at Virgin Gorda when the captain said we were heading back. As we learn from life’s experiences, there is one in every crowd. Anyway, I would do it again in another part of the world and would and have recommended to others. The only thing that would have made it a more enjoyable would have been if the AC could have been left on at night. Although Damien did leave the air on for our first night while still in port our friends were in the room with the generator under there bed so we do understand why that was not possible. I am very grateful that we were given the room in the back as requested. My only regret is that I did not find out about this type of traveling when I was younger! Sincerely, Karen E Garves

“Our sailing vacation was awesome / Lagoon 62 / May 2019 / BVI”

The captain (Damien) and chief (Michael) went out of their way to make the week special for everyone aboard. What we noticed about Damien was his concern about everyone’s safety during the week. We felt very secure with his expertise in handling the boat. He gave a daily briefing at breakfast and would look for ways to avoid bad weather while finding interesting places to see or snorkel. Although still recovering from recent hurricanes, the islands visited had their charms. Damien was very accommodating, shuttling via dingy everyone (who wanted) ashore spending time with us to make sure we were comfortable walking around the islands. The biggest surprise was how good our meals were. The variety of dishes by chief Michael was outstanding. For most meals, he would explain in both English and French what he had prepared. It was a nice touch. Thank you Grigory for helping us with this trip.

“The trip was very good and the catering exceeded expectations”

The crew were very good and the catering exceeded my expectations. Our captain Hugo did more than expected to ensure we had a good time. The boat was OK considering its age but the cabins were hot at night. After first few nights I slept in the cockpit. We weren't able to sail a lot because of the prevailing winds but that was expected and not a complaint. I would highly recommended this trip.

“Spanish Virgin Islands are stunning / March 2019 / Puerto Rico / Dufour 412”

The experience was beautiful and the Spanish Virgin Islands are stunning! Even though we started off with a few setbacks (had to switch boats because of technical issues), the marina made good and was very accommodating....they did the very best they could and, in the end, we were happy with the boat. The staff was very nice. Next year we want to sail Greece....let me know when we can go and get a good deal on a 50' monohull that can accommodate six people comfortably, each with a proper stateroom and head. Thanks, Flori

“It couldn't have been better”

We had a really great time. It couldn't have been better!! Boat, crew, location were all awesome. Thanks so much. Alicia