Southwest Florida Yachts Announces
Free Cruising Days

NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. – March 31, 2008 – Southwest Florida Yachts announced that sail and power-yacht charters of three days or more will get two free days of cruising time for cruises during the "low season" between May 1 through December 13, 2008.

Similarly, as part of a three-year celebration of the company's 25th anniversary in 2009, two free days will be added to low season cruises of three days or more in 2009 and 2010.

High season charters are also rewarded, said Barb Hansen of Southwest Florida Yachts. In 2008, 2009 and 2010, cruises of three days or longer scheduled between December 14 and April 30 receive one extra day of cruising, free.

Southwest Florida Yachts charters power yachts from 32 to 43 feet in length and sailing yachts from 24 to 35 feet long, primarily for cruising and sailing the inland waters between the Florida barrier islands of Sanibel/Captiva and the village of Punta Gorda on Charlotte Harbor.

Hansen and her husband Vic Hansen established the yacht chartering and yacht school firm in North Fort Myers in 1984. “Helping people cruise and experience this beautiful area of America is a labor of love,” said Hansen.

Charterers enjoy cruises 12 months a year through a barrier island paradise featuring tropical birds and sea-life such as manatees and dolphins. Magazine articles have ranked Southwest Florida among the top ten yacht sailing and cruising areas in the world and the barrier islands of Sanibel and Captiva as among the best islands to visit for their ambiance, beaches, friendliness, restaurants and scenery.

Southwest Florida Yachts, the chartering operation, maintains its offices and power yacht fleet at Marinatown Marina in N. Fort Myers. The company’s sailing fleet is located at Burnt Store Marina in Punta Gorda.