Mary Crowley was honored to be chosen for the 11th year as a Conde Nast Top Travel Specialists.
For the past 13 years, Consumer News Director Wendy Perrin, Condé Nast, has been handpicking those private travel designers worldwide who represent the best combination of expertise, access, and value. All have been road-tested by Condé Nast Traveler readers. Read More
The last weeks have been wonderful as we have received reports from ongoing charters in many of our favorite areas. Within a few weeks we’ve had expeditions and great vacations happening on yachts in Alaska, the Galapagos Archipelago, French Polynesia, Fiji and Vanuatu, the Maldives, Maine and Nova Scotia, and the Mediterranean.
Sometimes the World of Ocean Voyages seems small when we realize the amazing network of great captains and beautiful yachts that we offer for once-in-a-lifetime vacations. Other times the world of Ocean Voyages seems huge when one realizes that to really explore many of our favorite destinations- though a week can give one a great experience- a month or more would be required and still one could discover new places to explore!
It always feels like I am returning home to visit favorite friends and relatives when I have the pleasure of doing yacht inspections in Athens and Poros. The Greek hospitality is full of life and fun. The Greek charter yacht show begins at 10 in the morning and runs until 7. The evenings are filled with great cocktails, Greek cuisine specialties, and lively conversation. The music and dancing starts later!
There are so many great areas to explore that some clients take two and three weeks trips to Greece for several years in a row, concentrating one year on exploring the Ionian Islands, including wonderful Corfu and another year on exploring the Dodecanese, including Samos and Rhodes. Of course, the Cyclades are very popular as well as the Argo-Saronic Islands. Being in Greece always makes me want to spend time exploring the over 1,200 islands in the beautiful blue Aegean. Browse Greece Yachts ».
Mary Crowley returned to Genoa for the annual yacht charter show beginning April 30. The selection of luxury motor yachts and sailing vessels highlighted many of the best yachts available in the Mediterranean. Whether one is interested in exploring the Italian Riviera such as La Spezia, Santa Margherita, Ligure, Porto Fino, or San Remo; the islands of Corsica and Sardinia and the French Riviera; or destinations such as Croatia, Greece, or Turkey- the yachts found in Genoa go to all of the major ports and islands of the Mediterranean.
It is hard to choose between all of the beautiful yachts attending but some of our favorites are the 63.4m Polar Star, with her wonderful Captain Maxx Ainsworth, the 73.2m Laurel (Captain David Clarke), and the 44m Four Wishes (New Zealand Captain Aaron Clark). One of the best parties was aboard the 51.4m Lazy Z. Captains Brad Kitcher and James Knowles know how to offer guests great explorations of prime charter areas combined with ultimate water sports. The mostly Australian crew include experts in water skiing, surfing, kite-surfing, SCUBA diving, and kayaking! They all love teaching others how to thoroughly enjoy playing in the ocean.
The Galapagos Archipelago continues to offer unique and extraordinary experiences on each visit. Traveling with me this year in Galapagos was Nathaniel Corum of Architecture for Humanity, and Virginia Wagner from London. Ocean Voyages Institute and Architecture for Humanity are collaborating with the New Era Galapagos Foundation on San Cristobol Island to build a community youth environmental education center.
We had the opportunity to do site inspections on San Cristobol with teacher William Puga. We also had discussions with the Charles Darwin Foundation about collaboration on a youth center in Santa Cruz and attended a workshop on the island of Floriana sponsored by the Princess Foundation. It seems extremely important to have youth in the Galapagos have opportunities to take leadership roles in the stewardship of their home.
During our voyage I particularly enjoyed the amazing underwater world. Observations included hammerhead sharks, dolphins {including an albino dolphin), myriad sea turtles, marine iguanas, playful seals, and an incredible array of marine life.
–Mary Crowley
December 2011: Mary Crowley was honored to be chosen for the 10th year as one of Conde Nast’s Top Travel Specialists.
It is our pleasure and distinct honor to receive this acknowledgment and would like to express our sincere thanks to Conde Nast and their readers as well as all of our wonderful past and present clients for making this possible.
It is our mission to provide our clients with the best possible service and vessel based options for travel throughout the world. We are proud to have served so many of you and look forward to continuing our tradition of the past 30 years working to fulfill your dreams.
Mary Crowley attended the Antigua Charter Yacht Show between Dec. 4 through 12. There were 114 motor yachts and sailing vessels there. Mary was able to see many captain friends and check on the yachts we regularly work with, as well as inspect a range of new world-class yachts now available in the charter market.
Please feel free to contact us for updates on yachts you may wish to charter in the Caribbean. Many of these yachts also return to the Mediterranean for summer cruises or voyage out into our favorite areas of the Pacific.
Mary Crowley recently visited Southern California and Hawaii and will be going on her annual yacht inspection trip to the Caribbean in early December. Inspections scheduled through the first half of 2012 include Egypt, Spain, Galapagos Islands, Italy, Greece, and Turkey. Mary is looking forward to visiting her good friend and long-time associate Captain Alain Desmott who is running an excellent 103 ft motor yacht offering wonderful SCUBA and snorkeling experiences. The travels done by Mary and the rest of the Ocean Voyages staff allow us to offer personalized and knowledgeable recommendations to assist you in worldwide voyage planning on the best yacht for you.
Follow the steps of Captain Cook and explore Tahiti, the Marquesas, and the Tuamotus. Our ship, the Aranui III, will visit fascinating and remote areas of French Polynesia. Captain Cook went to Tahiti five hundred years ago to observe the transit of Venus. The two weeks exploring the magical islands of the Tuamotus and the Marquesas proceeds the transit of Venus which will be occuring in Tahiti.
Dr. Raymond Ashley, world-renowned maritime historian and director of the Maritime Museum of San Diego, has designed an unique series of lectures that will allow those on board not only to learn about modern day French Polynesia but will also give everyone a sense of the explorers that have proceeded us.
Dates: May 17 – June 1, 2012. Full program description and photos will be available within the week.
Ocean Voyages was featured in Brazil’s Outside Go magazine (in Portugese) for its trips to Cape Horn. Download a pdf of the article. An excerpt:
Costuma-se dizer que o Everest esta para o alpinista assim como o Cabo Horn esta para o velejador. Dobrar a ultima esquina da America do Sui e um sonho para qualquer esportista da vela. E por isso que esse roteiro fo1 batizado de “A Ultima Aventura”.
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No captain can do very wrong if he places his ship alongside that of the enemy.
-Horatio Nelson
