Desolation Sound Yacht Charters & Services

An amazing experience from start to end!! Rented the Meridian 341 with some friends, the boat was fantastic and Merion and his team were super helpful and professional. Definitely doing this again soon!

Really happy with our experience. Had some mishaps with the boat prior to arrival but we were treated very well and professionally and it was a great experience. Will charter again!

Great experience. Company owners and staff are very knowledgeable and professional. Top shelf service and reasonably priced charter vacation. This was our third time with DSYC and we’ll be back! PS. It’s really convenient location as one can fly in/ out of Comox airport which is a 15 mins taxi ride away.

Had two bad experiences. One boat arrived with less than a tank of fuel and almost no water. The other had numerous electrical problems and a knot in the halyard. Despite numerous calls and emails (and a promise to reimburse us for the fuel), we can’t get anyone to respond. Update: They just contacted us and provided a credit. I wish they had done so before I posted. This could have been so easily avoided with a simple, prompt response.

We chartered a boat last year for 10 days and our only request was to ensure that the refrigeration was working on the vessel. This request was made well in advance of the charter date. We traveled several thousand miles and upon arrival and orientation we were assured that all systems were operating correctly. we then spent over $100 on provisions only to find out at 4 a.m. that the refrigeration was not working, though we suspected it during orientation. we also were not advised that there was a fairly serious and known oil leak in the engine. when we canceled the charter due to these issues, one owner was reasonable and did not argue with us, however the second owner argued and demanded to board the boat while we were trying to pack up all of the things we had just unpacked and stowed, plus the 60 lb or so of provisions we had just purchased. she didn't seem to think that sending people out for 10 days with no decent refrigeration was an issue that should warrant cancellation of the charter. We disagreed. Fortunatly, after a desperate last-minute search, we found the last charter boat available in the area as it was a very busy holiday weekend, otherwise our trip would have been utterly ruined. These owners are new and we wish them well but jeopardizing a vacation that cost several thousand dollars by not providing a fully functioning charter boat and a full disclosure at orientation will not bode well for their business in the future. charter guests are far more important than deffered maintenance for a charter boat.

Four of us chartered the "Once A Knight" power boat last August/September. We were out for 13 days. The boat was clean, except the carpet in the galley was filthy. I couldn't walk on it barefooted! The air conditioner didn't work after we used it the first time...it was out of coolant. Not good. It was during all the fires and smoke. For several days we were pretty much inside; it was hot! The engine on the tender failed. Turned out is was a broken cable and luckily we were able to start it manually after removing the hood of the engine. Good thing because we had to call twice and wait for responses. Finally they sent someone to fix it two days after we called in. Then on the way back, one of the bow thrusters failed. They had to meet as we arrived back at harbor to take the boat in to the slip. This was not an inexpensive rental. I expected better from a company that has been in business for as long as they have. I realize it was the end of the season, but don't feel that is a reasonable excuse for the issues we encountered. The amount of storage on the boat is minimal, especially for almost two weeks in Desolation where provisioning opportunities are scarce. Storage for clothes in very minimal. The second berth only has head clearance for sitting up in bed and scooting off of it. Other than these difficulties we had a wonderful trip and were able to laugh and have a good time together.

We chartered 36’ power yacht Skyrider and spent 6 days cruising desolation sound and had a very fun time. The team at DSYC was helpful and gave us all the info we needed to head out safely and securely on our journey. Our one small complaint was the vessel needs some TLC aesthetically. Would absolutely charter again.

A long overdue hello to Merion and Jennifer. My husband and I chartered the Meridian (Skyrider) a couple of summers ago and had the most amazing time! We went up to Desolation Sound where we had a fantastic week. We were very lucky because it was not busy due to COVID so every harbour we pulled into was practically ours to explore and find easy anchorage. We did a two hour lesson with Merion before we headed out so we felt very confident with the boat. The day we returned, weather was a little windy and difficult so we found that meeting Merion at the fuel dock and letting him moor the boat back in its tight quarters a godsend. Merion and Jennifer are very well organized, take great care of their boats and customers! We will be back to charter from them again!! Thanks again you guys!! Hope all is well. This review has been a long time coming :)