crowded airportI arrived home from the 2010 MYBA Charter Show in Genoa, Italy, around midnight last night, nearly 12 hours after I was supposed to be tucked safely into bed in the greater New York City area. The volcano in Iceland was the cause of my delays, about five hours of which took place in the increasingly crowded Frankfurt, Germany, airport, and another two hours or so that I endured while strapped into a coach airline seat on the tarmac before a nearly nine-hour flight around the blackened skies above Iceland.



And I was among the lucky ones returning to the States after the Genoa show. My Blackberry was alight yesterday with updates from charter brokers stranded while trying to board transatlantic flights from Italy to the United Kingdom. Some, like me, made it to their U.S. destinations after brutally long days of stressful travel. Others awoke in Europe once again this morning, their flights having been outright canceled because of the volcanic ash cloud.


The day served as a stark reminder about just how disruptive to the charter industry the Iceland volcano has the potential to be this summer. Whether you are a U.S. resident trying to charter in the Mediterranean, or an E.U. resident booking a yacht in New England, Florida, or the Bahamas, your odds of "missing the boat" increase with every blast of blackness the volcano spews. Transatlantic flights are among the first to be affected, and there is no reason to believe that will change as the summer wears on.


In my blog post last month about the Iceland volcano, and again in the current edition of CharterWave eNews, leading charter experts told me they are suggesting more strongly than ever that anyone booking a summer charter also purchase trip insurance. Usually, charter brokers do not earn a commission on such insurance, so there is no financial motive for the sales pitch. Many of them, like me, have simply come to understand firsthand how quickly and completely the volcanic ash cloud can destroy the best-laid travel plans.


So, I now add my voice to the chorus of theirs in urging charter clients to safeguard their summer travel plans with trip insurance. This is true for anyone flying private as well as commercial, as private jets that can fly alternate routes fill up pretty quickly when the commercial system shuts down. Many companies offer strong trip insurance policies; all you need to do is ask your reputable charter broker for one at the time you sign your charter yacht contract.

Written by: Kim Kavin
Kim Kavin is an award-winning writer, editor and photographer who specializes in marine travel. She is the author of 10 books including Dream Cruises: The Insider’s Guide to Private Yacht Vacations, and is editor of the online yacht vacation magazine www.CharterWave.com.