Yacht charter and school firm opened on "our lucky day" - Friday the thirteenth

North Fort Myers, Fla- Southwest Florida Yachts has announced its own "Berth" Day celebration, a two-year event surrounding the twentieth anniversary of the yacht charter firm and its sister division, Florida Sailing and Cruising School in N. Fort Myers, Fla.

Principals Barb and Vic Hansen took over the company on July 13, 1984. "Friday the thirteenth stuff is not a bad omen after all. It was definitely our lucky day," said Barb Hansen, adding that 2004 is also their twentieth wedding anniversary.

Called "Happy Berth Day to Us - Celebrating 20 years of Yachting Excellence 1984-2004" the anniversary will include a variety of discounts and gifts.

--Customers who charter sail or power yachts for five days or more will receive a 20 percent Sail-a-Bration discount between July 13, 2003 and July 13, 2005. Charters of three or four days receive 10 percent discount between July 15 - October 15, 2003.

--Returning yacht charter customers will find a celebratory gift of a bottle of "Happy Berth Day to Us" wine when they board the vessel.

-Several marinas frequented by SWFY charterers will offer special discounts as part of the Sail-A-Bration.

--Students who graduate from the live-aboard school, Florida Sailing and Cruising School, will receive a graduation gift, a Weems & Plath Nav Kit.

Hansen said anniversary events will include a special web site section featuring photos of customers and boats going back 20 years. "The boats don't change so much but, boy, you can sure see the changes in boating fashions over the years."

Southwest Florida Yachts keeps its fleet of nine trawlers and motor yachts from 32 to 42 feet long at Marinatown Marina on the Caloosahatchee River. Its sailing yacht fleet, nine vessels 24 to 42 feet in length, occupies slips at Marinatown Marina and also Burnt Store Marina Resort on beautiful Charlotte Harbor. Casting off from either location gives charterers access to a 150-mile long coastline, from Marco Island to Venice, rated the number one cruising area in the United States.

Florida Sailing and Cruising School (FS&CS) is a unique academy in which students live aboard the vessel while they take courses. FS&CS offers 10 live-aboard trawler courses and 13 live-aboard sailing courses. Its trawler school is one of the few remaining trawler training schools in the U.S.

"Real world, real times, hands-on learning," is how Hansen describes the live-aboard courses. Attendance is limited to four students, two per cabin, and courses are scheduled at the convenience of the students. By day, under the tutelage of the captain-instructor, they learn by doing - steering, plotting, casting off, tying-up. By night, under a cabin light, they read textbooks and prepare for the big test. Almost literally, she said, students "eat, breathe and sleep" their way to the diploma.

In addition to the live-aboard courses, FS&CS offers a one-day Safe Boating course emphasizing safety, seamanship and rules of the road and the two-day First Mate course in which students spend part of the time in a classroom and part of the time on the vessel. On the vessel the students get to experience what they have learned in the classroom and an opportunity to learn the proper knots for securing the boat, how to place fenders when docking, proper radio procedures and what to do in case of an emergency while afloat.

For charter rates and course descriptions and prices contact SWFYACHTS@aol.com, telephone 800-262-7939 or 239-656-1339, or write 3444 Marinatown Lane N.W., North Fort Myers, FL 33903.