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There may have been a time when you did not know what the term "yachting" meant. In fact, the very definition of what makes a yacht different from other boats often escapes many people. For the yacht owner, there is probably no more frustrating experience than to be discussing this part of your life at a social gathering only to have someone respond "I know what you mean, I love my fishing boat." The two could not be more different and the better people understand that the fewer strange looks you will get when you tell your associates that one of your passions is "yachting".
Two things that are most often true of yachts is that they are mostly large boats and that they are primarily used for recreation. But despite some predefined notions of how yacht owners approach their passions, there is a lot of variety to how yachts are used recreationally. For one thing, yachting is split between those who enjoy yachting for the luxury of cruising the high seas in maximum comfort and those who love yachts for racing. Both approaches to yachting have strong populations and lots of support industry to feed the growing enthusiasm for yachting amongst the yachting population.
Even within the luxury yachting set, there are distinctions in types of yachts and in how people go about enjoying this very diverse hobby. One big difference is between motorized yachting and sailing. There is a beauty to sailing that is undeniable. But sailing also is also more demanding and it has a lot of equipment and specialized skills that are called to carry it off. But it is an addictive side of yachting that you can grow into. Many who love sailing yachts will start out sailing with a crew who are skilled at handling the rigs and then allow those talented sailors to teach the skill to the yacht owner.
Another distinction of yachts is the level of involvement you might bring to actually operating the boat on open waters. A full crew yacht is one in which everything is done for you. This is the ultimate of luxury because not only do you have no concerns for the actual act of taking the yacht from here to there on the waters, you are pampered with every need and desire by a crew dedicated to your comfort and happiness. But if you want to get closer to the experience of running the boat yourself, you can go with a skipper only who can manage much of the details of the yachting but leave the "crew work" to you. And then for the ultimate in taking on the seaman to elements you can take out a "bareboat" yacht which means you do all the work.
You can see there is a lot of variety in the experience you can have on a yacht and still call it a yachting excursion. But in all of these cases, the yacht is devoted to one thing, to giving you fun and pleasure and excitement. Whether it’s the thrill of a yacht race or you alone in your yacht exploring the coast of Africa and having the adventure of a lifetime, you are fulfilling a dream. And to most of us, that is what it means to own a yacht or even to charter one and feel like you own it. You are giving yourself the chance to realize a dream and have that singular experience of fun, happiness or relaxation on a luxurious yacht in a luxurious setting. What could be better than that?
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