Hear From Our Satisfied Clients

The knowledge and support provided by ACY was outstanding from start to handover. The time taken to review the selections of optional equipment and after-market equipment was invaluable in getting our boat set up for our personal use and for entering charter service. The delivery and orientation and explanation of the boat’s system will enable us to fully utilize the equipment and keep it functioning and maintained. ACY exceeded my expectations and will definitely be my source for my next boat.

Christopher P.

We recently had the pleasure of working with Denise Hanna, our selling broker from ACY. We’d met Denise on several occasions in Annapolis and at various boat shows over the last 8 years while looking at different catamarans and considering a future purchase. Although we wound up purchasing a used catamaran out of state from a different broker (a mistake I still regret), when we decided to sell, we knew we’d rely on her services.

Denise made the process very simple from day one. She inspected the vessel, advised us what to remove, gave us a list of required photographs for the listing, reviewed the entire process with us, and discussed the asking price and minimal acceptance level. Within three days we had an interested purchaser, who ultimately became the buyer.

Denise facilitated the survey and sea trial day and handled all the negotiations with a kind, but professional approach. Her personal attention to the needs of both parties made the transaction an easy one. She is extremely personable, a trait that sets her apart from all other brokers with whom I’ve spoken, some of whom are hard to reach, or do not respond to inquiries, and are hesitant to converse unless a checkbook or contract is in sight.

One last thing I really appreciate about working with Denise is that she actually listens. I do not appreciate being pressured to buy a boat (e.g., it’s an in-house deal), or told that I shouldn’t buy a boat too far away from home “..…because I won’t go with you until the sea trial.” Denise is accommodating when I change the parameters of the search and makes suggestions but I never feel pressured. We hope to resume the search for our next/last catamaran soon and look forward to working with her again. Without any reservations, I would highly recommend Denise to anybody selling a boat or searching for their next adventure.

Lee V.

I’ve purchased two sailing yachts from Chris and his team over the past 5 or so years. Atlantic Cruising has been fantastic to me and has always gone above and beyond to support me in my yachting endeavors. Couldn’t have been a better business team or technical team. I can’t say enough about the joy it’s brought my family and me. It’s been and continues to be a wonderful experience.

Richard C.

We would like to express our thanks to all involved in making Ndoto (dream), a reality for Valerie and me.  Thank you everyone at ACY for helping us understand the process, the build options, and everything you have done handling the relationship with Fountaine Pajot throughout the build and delivery process.

Thank you Archetype and Bill Lahr for guiding our financial decisions and for your assistance in establishing the Mashua Dream Vacations LLC.  Thank you Josef Buxton for remembering Valerie and me when we met again at Annapolis Boat Show after a one year gap in communication, and for being our responsive sales representative. Thank you Ken and Lauren for your expert and dedicated help throughout the optioning and subsequent commissioning process.  Having not been through this process previously, narrowing options was sometimes dizzying and we hope we didn’t confuse you all too much as we toggled back and forth sometimes between what we liked one day, only to amend our preferences later. Kris for your calming influence and experience with boat documentation, insurance and etc.

Chris and Valerie M.

Kristine and I are thrilled about the boat – literally a dream come true for us. We could not be more excited.

Candidly, I don’t know that this would have happened but for Josef’s professional approach to this entire process. His professionalism, patience and absolute candor from start to finish is what made this possible. I have a strong aversion to making major purchases where I’m out over my skis in terms of absolute certainty with what I’m doing. Josef immediately gained my trust and confidence and patiently helped me think things through from every angle. I am 100% confident that we’ve made the right decision for my family.

I’m looking forward to working with you and the rest of your team along this journey.

I hope this marks the beginning of a long relationship with Atlantic Cruising and Fountaine Pajot family.

Erik M.

I am a current 42 owner taking possession shortly. I wanted to tell you how amazing Jevon is. I’m sure you already know this, but the way in which he works is superb. His friendliness, his can-do attitude, and his way of not making you feel stupid are all just great qualities. He has such a polite way of helping people. The other owners that I’ve talked to down here in Fort Lauderdale who have met him all say the same thing.

The vast majority of your team at ACY is amazing.

We look forward to going on one of your wine events one of these days.

Dave

We just wanted to send a quick note thanking you now that our new Lucia 40 has arrived to her homeport in St. Petersburg.  After our memorable trip to the Fountaine Pajot factory last November, your team has done a great job in helping us arrange and manage commissioning in France and transport to Ft. Lauderdale.  Ken Krasko and Paul Robinson overcame COVID-19 challenges to complete installation of dealer options and conduct a “virtual handover”.  Lauren Miller was on top of every detail and kept the communication flowing throughout.  “Brave Coquina” arrived Saturday and is absolutely beautiful!

David Whidden, our sales consultant, has been amazing through this process.  David has been with us every step of the way starting with a test sail last spring, through the contracting, closing, and now handover process.  David’s deep nautical expertise and warm, approachable style have made us very comfortable with this major investment.  We now look forward to his assistance as we place Brave Coquina into service through Business Yacht Ownership^®.

Jeff and Sue, FL

We cannot be more satisfied with the ACY commissioning staff and couldn’t be more pleased with all of their work on the boat. From the initial phases of the boat building in La Rochelle to the transportation of the boat to Annapolis, everything was handled very professionally by the staff. Throughout the commissioning process, the entire ACY staff was there every step of the way to provide me with answers to my inquiries in a timely manner. We are also very pleased with the workmanship of the post factory options and the willingness and patience by the staff for the dynamic changes to additional options. We are also pleased with the overall management and care of the boat during its time at the ACY marina. Overall, it is our opinion that the ACY staff has gone above and beyond their duties to keep us, as new owners, very happy with our significant financial investment. We will highly recommend ACY to all future potential yacht buyers.

John J.

We want to let Atlantic Cruising know that Valerie has been one of the kindest and best yacht brokers I have ever used. She has been exceptional, trusting, and very helpful. She is also most importantly a straight shooter and a deal closer, so we were in excellent choose. Can’t stop saying amazing things about her professionalism and she is very prompt to responding and assisting. I rate her an 11 out of 10. Thank you.

Best Regards,

Daniel H., CPA, CA

Two months ago, we arrived in La Rochelle and were met at the rental car agency by Baptiste. He had been in contact several weeks before to update us on the progress of the boat. Upon arriving in La Rochelle, Baptiste immediately took us down to meet our new boat and spent the day with us showing and explaining the systems from bow to stern. During the following weeks, if we had a question Baptiste was quick to respond with an answer and if he was unsure, he would work diligently to get an answer or resolve an issue promptly. Baptiste is a true professional in every sense of the word and he had the ability to make us feel as if we were his only client while dealing with other boats and owners. He adapted to both of our personalities and made us feel right at home in La Rochelle. He recommended restaurants we shouldn’t miss, places to visit, and helped us when searching for odds and ends for the boat. Our experience felt more like a concierge service rather than a boat handover. If you can bottle up the experience we had with Baptiste from start to finish you will have many happy boat owners.

Clive & Jennifer

Just wanted to drop you quick email and tell you what an excellent job Jevon did today while servicing and helping me out with a couple of issues on the boat today. Not only did he fix the issues but he went beyond to make sure I understood what he did and gave me the confidence I could do it myself next time. Great service team!

Todd C.

Thanks for all your help! We had a great experience with you and all the work your put into the Space Between has performed great. We are always happy to recommend you to any cruisers we meet who might be in the market for a new boat.

John-Michael D.

We’re on the dock across from Divin In here at St Simons Island. Paul is down here assisting Divin In. One of my deck turning blocks broke on the way here from Fort Lauderdale. I asked if he would put eyes on our problem and, without hesitation, when he had a break in the action, he stopped by to confirm what I expected regarding how to go about replacing the block. He’s a superstar! Just thought you should know your team has been awesome helping us. Thanks for such great service.

Paul V.

This is a short note to tell you I’m back in the states from visiting the boat.

I believe Pierre Mendaron (with Uchimata) is the gold standard for commissioning. His calm demeanor, no-drama personality, flexibility, and patience gives me the confidence that I don’t have to worry about anything. Every one of his guys (Thierry, Didier, John Paul were the only ones I met) are “A+” level installers and craftsmen.To get as much work completed as they do and as quickly is humbling to consider. Uchimata’s front office (Audrey and Sylvie) are involved and make my side of the equation seamless. I doubt things would run as smoothly if the office wasn’t so efficient. Plus, Sylvie’s smile and Audrey’s beaming “Bonjour!” always made me feel welcome.

On side note, my shipment from the states (that I had sent almost 3 months earlier) arrived unexpectedly two days early from Rotterdam. When I got the email notifying me of this, I hopped on a bicycle, expecting the worst, that the shippers would just leave everything outside Pierre’s office in the rain. Plus I hadn’t even asked Pierre if I could use his warehouse to store my things. As the truck drove up, Pierre appeared outside his gate, listened to me explain the situation, and then helped me unload the truck into his warehouse. He was just leaving for the day, and he single-handedly saved the day. He really didn’t have to do that. And then two weeks later he had his guys bring everything down to the dock, carry the boxes down a low-tide ramp (have you seen the tide swing in La Rochelle?) and then handed them to me on the boat. This was way beyond their job description and workload. I hadn’t asked Pierre to do this, he just did it. I owe his whole group.

Last, but not least, is Baptiste. This guy is solid – a true gentleman. He is consistent, patient and also funny. If I had a question that he couldn’t answer immediately, he got back to me. He bought me lunch, took an interest in my life, showed me how to buy food in the market, and laughed at my bad French with me. I never felt rushed, pushed aside, or ignored on or off the boat. This is the guy you want behind the scenes: he knows how to get things done with minimum fuss, and took delight in helping me with any issue, without complaint. He would listen to any French explanation/situations and then explain to me in English what any issues were. He anticipated many of my questions and concerns, and it was always a pleasure to see him. He made a stressful situation so much easier by his presence.

David P.

We can’t thank you enough for all you have done in the past, and are doing presently. To name a few: KV, for all you do and especially orchestrating our christening, it was a highlight for us; Vaughan, thank you for your help during this process and the wonderful bag of goodies – you don’t know that I am a “bag lady” and that is worth a lot – love the cheese tray and all of the other ACY logo items – looking forward to receiving our “medium” shirts. which we will wear proudly. Dawn, thank you for keeping your BFF alive during her bee sting crisis! Sorry I didn’t get to say hello to you. Kenny and Bill are amazing, for which we are thankful. Chris, we appreciate your attentiveness to us and are glad to do business again with the ACY family. And, Bobby, what can we say? You are the best and we treasure your friendship (the scourge of Annapolis). We will be back in a couple to three weeks when Kenny gives us the ok to come take another look. Until then, best to everyone!!

Laurie & Ron

We wanted to write to you and let you know how pleased we were to see the teamwork and effort put forth by Paul and Bill as they worked to complete our boat, and make minor repairs.  We had a list of items to be completed this spring, and were waiting patiently for parts for an install of a microwave, and bench seat for our beautiful new sailboat. After consistent, intelligent communication, and preparing for months, they arrived with everything needed, including smiles, and worked right through the day and into the night to complete each task at hand. Commitment to customers means going the distance, which ACY clearly displayed: 12 hours of driving, 2 hours of flying, and then long boat docks, finicky dingy engines, wave action, and rain. These were no match for the dedication displayed to make us happy and proud to say we are Atlantic Cruising Yacht owners. Finally, please share our sincere and heart-felt thank you to the team of Josef, Paul, and Bill….You have made our dream of sailing into retirement possible.

John & Jules

I want to thank you again for your hospitality and outstanding service after the sale of our Lucia 40. Here we are almost 2 years after signing the final paperwork and ACY is still supporting us. Also, a huge thank you to Cap’n James for assisting me in repositioning her twice while here in Ft Lauderdale. You can be assured that when the time comes for her to find a new owner, we will be calling ACY. Thanks Again.

Paul V.

Jill, Jaden, and I have been on our new MY37 since June. We’ve been to Key West, the Dry Tortugas for the third time, and lots of west coast Florida spots in between. We’ve made lots of great memories and have had ZERO issues with our new yacht. Thank you for always doing the right thing and taking care of us even when you didn’t have to. Getting support from Sailing Florida and Paul and James at ACY has been immeasurable. Thank you for everything!

Todd and Jill

Our ACY Friends:

Heather and I want to thank all of you from the bottom of our hearts for all you did to make our dream come true. As Heather said that day in Baltimore: “We have a boat!”. It was a long process but you made it an easy one and an enjoyable one. I do not think I have ever had a major purchase where the process was fun. Rudy, your patience over three years before I finally did this was amazing. Words cannot quite describe what it was like working with Ken. The man is unflappable. I told him he would have made a great Navy pilot because nothing can spool him up. His demeanor during the Baltimore offload is legend. Bill, thanks for all your patience during the commissioning process without ever losing your smile. It was neat to meet your boys that day on the boat. Vaughan and Kris, thank you for making sure we made it through all the admin work which was the equivalent of closing on a house.

Perhaps the most awesome aspect of this whole adventure is that you all became friends, not business associates. Heather and I were both sort of down as we sailed away last week because we had gotten so used to coming down to ACY and seeing all of you. Fortunately, as we live locally, we will find a reason to occasionally stop in to say hello and tell tall tales of our latest adventure. All our thanks and best wishes to you all.

K. Crim

To all the Atlantic Cruising family:

I wanted to thank you all for making this trip and our lovely Aliénor possible. Although it unfortunately rained for almost the entire week, we still had a great time, loved our boat, and managed to fit in some nice sailing. We also found Aliěnor to be both comfortable and efficient. After a week on board, we were never short of batteries or water, and after filling the fuel on day one, we only used a quarter tank even running the generator for several hours a day, and the engines on numerous occasions. But above all, we appreciate the extra efforts you went to in providing the necessities that allowed us to actually live comfortably and sail safely while we were here. Thank you, thank you,  thank you.

Mitch,  Kelly and Melanie

I wanted to send a note thanking you guys for the great job you did in helping me with the yacht purchasing processes. Your knowledge and intimate understanding of the sail boats, equipment, outing, financing, and insurance options made the process much less intimidating to me. In fact I would have to say it was actually fun. Not something I have ever said about any other large purchase I have been through. So thanks again, you have a great team there at ACY.

G. Riedy

My wife and I want to take this opportunity to thank you and the entire staff for our recent boat buying experience. We couldn’t be happier with the Jeanneau 50 DS. It’s a wonderful boat and we are extremely happy with it.

I have bought and sold four sailboats, as well as other power boats since the early 70’s. Without a doubt, my experience dealing with you and the staff including, Bobby Allen, Kris Vareen, Jim Martin, and others far exceeded my expectations. Everyone went the extra mile to meet our needs and desires, as well as our schedule.

It’s been five months since we bought the Jeanneau and to this day, your team has continued to be there for us. This is truly exceptional service! In addition to supporting our purchase of the Jeanneau, you went out of your way to make the moving (from Virginia) and listing of our old boat effortless.

I can honestly say this has been the best customer service I have ever had.

Mark. P., Virginia

I am very pleased with Business Yacht Ownership^®. At first, I was very skeptical since it sounded ‘too good to be true.’ So, I engaged my accountant to fully review this program and was very pleased to find that it was based on sound accounting principles. I have used this program and am pleased to say that my tax refund in my first year has allowed me to pay for 2.6 years of financing and operating costs. This has allowed me to purchase my yacht years earlier than I expected.

Also, by combining this program with using the yacht in chartering, I am generating enough income to make double my monthly finance payments and thus will own the yacht free and clear when I am ready to exit the charter fleet. I am very pleased by this program and would recommend it to all that it makes sense for.

A. J., Centreville, VA

Eric Smith and all of the staff at Atlantic Cruising Yachts handled our recent sailboat purchase with the utmost professionalism and thoroughness. They made sure that the boat was a good fit for our needs, minimizing the chance for ‘buyer’s remorse.’ They spent the time necessary to assure that our boat was outfitted with the quality options we were seeking, working only with reputable suppliers. Their outfitters were top notch walking us through the boat’s systems and readily available after the sale to answer any questions which we had. We feel confident that we did business with the right people and would highly recommend Atlantic Cruising Yachts.

Mark and Susan

Chris, I hope you’ve all enjoyed your time in France. I wanted to drop a quick note to compliment your staff. Sean and Bill went out of their way to make sure that our boat was handed over on time and in perfect condition. Bill worked very long hours to fix any remaining issues and we left Annapolis on time and arrived in Newport without problem. Make sure he gets a raise! 😉

Stefan, Littleton, MA

I want to thank you for your patience and attention to detail and your staff for being courteous and available with advice and assistance. Bill provided very important support to get through the night with supplies and instructions and explanation of the manuals. Paul and Rob provided dock support and explanation of services explaining instruments.

Thanks guys for your hard work and dedication!  Job well done!

Jeff, MI

I wanted to thank you so much for all of the efforts of your entire team at ACY and Cruise Annapolis. As you know, we have been thrilled with our new Lucia 40, and your team was an integral part to our happiness.

Being that our family had not one iota of sailing experience, this was quite a huge undertaking for all of us. An infinite number of questions and comments were always in our minds. Whether it be that first webinar of Eric’s, Kris’s consistent attention to detail, Ken’s team with their technical expertise, the Cruise Annapolis captains and charter team, and finally to delivering the boat to its current home in St. Thomas, your staff has been professional, courteous, and have often gone above and beyond to make sure we were happy and that no inquiry was left unanswered.

No question seemed too petty, no request too unusual and nothing seemed too much to ask. Even if something was outside of the scope of possibility, sound reasoning and a thoughtful response was always presented. We have relayed nothing but a positive experience to anyone that has asked about the process of buying SV Discovery.

Your entire team has made us feel much like family, and we have enjoyed getting to know so many of your team.

Barb, Tom, Tom Jr. and Tim W.