Let Elektra take you to Paradise!

ELEKTRA, proud and beautiful as her Grecian namesake, is a customized 68 foot ketch.

ELEKTRA is equipped with an abundance of modern gear that makes
her easy to handle and fun to sail.

Whether cruising from island to island, or lazily anchored in secluded coves, this yacht is perfectly attuned to the luxury of casual comfort.

ELEKTRA offers her guests a range of amenities not found on other boats her size. A hand-rubbed oiled teak interior glows with traditional warmth against the colorful fabrics and carpeting of the salon, staterooms and companionways. New cabinetry displays a complete entertainment center with 21" color TV, and a wide selection in the Media library. The salon also features a wet bar with ice-maker. Forward of the salon is a completely separate galley, utility room, work room and crew quarters, allowing guests privacy and quiet of their quarters aft.

 

Master Stateroom

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One of Two Additional Guest Staterooms

Each of the three comfortable guest staterooms has its own bathroom with separate shower and TV w/DVD player. Two guests staterooms (port and starboard) offer double berths, while the full width master stateroom aft has a queen-size bed, settee, and vanity. The yacht is fully air-conditioned with five individually controlled units.

On deck, ELEKTRA has a large all-weather cockpit with thickly padded cushions and backrests for comfortable lounging. Take a turn on the wheel and help trim the sails if you like. The large fore and aft decks are a sun worshipper's paradise. A built in, on-deck ice box keeps cold drinks always at hand.

The Spacious Cockpit and foredeck areas

For water sports enthusiasts, ELEKTRA offers plenty of toys including water skis, surf ski and knee boards, snorkeling and fishing gear, and a sail board. A dinghy ride to shore opens up the possibilities of hiking, shelling, browsing local markets and experiencing native cultures. To record your fun, tape the day's activities with the on-board video camera. From aft-deck barbecues to elegantly presented formal meals to beach picnics, ELEKTRA'S talented, enthusiastic, experienced, personable crew can match your mood and fulfill your charter expectations. They are seasoned sailors and experts on cruising the Caribbean.

The Salon Looking Forward

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Elektra's Crew

Captain Larry and Holly Klaas

Captain Larry Klaas remembers his first sailboat well, even though he was only twelve at the time. It was an old canvas-on-wood derelict fishing smack he'd salvaged from a neighbors' trash heap. Larry added home-made mast, rudder and sails, and launched his unlikely craft on the closest body of water, a small farm pond near his rural Mississippi home.

"That rotting old gal was a humble beginning, but she taught me plenty,"
Larry says with a smile.

Years later, after spending summers as a hand on shrimp boats in the Gulf of Mexico and sailing his own larger boats in Florida and the Bahamas, Larry earned his first Coast Guard Master's license in 1977. That same year marked his first visit to the British Virgin Islands on a charter boat. Ironically it wasn't as a captain, but as a film producer working on a picture called "Treasure of the Caribbees."

"During filming we sailed CSY 44' charter yachts to every island in the BVI, shooting sequences in more than two dozen locations and interviewing scores of colorful local characters. I fell in love with the place and couldn't wait to get back. Our local guides introduced us to the usual hot spots, and introduced us to some fantastically beautiful 'secret places' I remember to this day." Since then he's returned to charter many times in the Virgin Islands with several different companies, served as captain aboard private yachts, excursion tour boats and commercial cargo vessels.

Yet most of his previous "lives" have been far from the deck of a ship. Before college he served as an enlisted man in the U.S. Marines, and after graduation, was commissioned an officer in the U.S. Air Force, flying combat missions in Viet Nam and typhoon reconnaissance in the Pacific.

Returning to university after the war, Larry pursued a Master’s degree in Journalism, followed by a career in television news. He later joined the faculty of the University of Arizona to manage and direct communications and public relations. In the early 90’s he left the University to found his own media production company, writing and producing television documentaries in exotic locals from Africa to--mostly recently--Afghanistan.

Retiring from those previous "lives," Larry has now returned to his first love…the sea. He's sailed in the North and South Pacific, the Far East and along West, East and Gulf Coasts of the USA, but the Virgin Islands remain his favorite for chartering. "The beaches are gorgeous, the water is warm and gin-clear, the shore-side entertainment runs the gamut from casual to black-tie, the variety of islands, the sheltered waters, the superb back-up support for yachts---it's an unbeatable combination."

"Sailing about under the Big Blue Dome, sharing the joy and laughter of good company," he says, "has become one of my life’s most rewarding chapters. It gives us enormous satisfaction to see our charter guests enjoy these beautiful islands and fall in love with them as we have."

Holly Klaas - The first time Larry and Holly worked together she was a deckhand on a dolphin tour boat in the Florida Panhandle. Her main job was to serve refreshments to the passengers, but once dolphins were sighted she'd squeal and jump for joy. Her natural enthusiasm soon infected everyone aboard. Before long the rails would be crowded with happy and hollering passengers, cheering on the dolphins as they frolicked nearby.

It's what drew Holly to a life at sea, that joyous experience with the dolphins and cruising with Captain Larry along the "Redneck Riviera," and later through the Florida Keys. In Key West she entertained and served patrons at the island's most popular Tiki Bar while Larry captained local tour boats. It was a departure from her previous life as a chef who owned and operated her own shore-side restaurant in her native Mississippi. But Holly loved the camaraderie of bar-side chats with customers from all over the world.

"It was the first job I ever had where it was perfectly acceptable to go to work in a bathing suit," she says. "When it got too hot and business was slow, I'd just step out from behind the bar and take a refreshing dip in the nearby pool. Wonderful!"
Her culinary skills are matched only by Holly's love of cooking. When she and Larry returned to the Florida Panhandle from Key West, Holly went back to the kitchen, creating sumptuous dishes at one of the area's most popular seafood restaurants. After hurricane Ivan destroyed the restaurant and devastated the coastline in 2005, Holly returned with Larry to their home in Mississippi where she indulged another love...painting. Her art reflects her personality and her life. It's free-style and fun, evocative of the tropics with vibrant colors and lively strokes. Her works have been shown at one of Key West's most eclectic galleries, and is currently on display at a prominent art gallery in Mississippi.
As to life aboard Elektra, Holly says in her soft southern drawl, "Honey, I think I've died and gone to heaven, to live and work in such a beautiful place. It's paradise!"

Aboard, she indulges her passions for entertaining and cooking with the zest and spontaneous joy that her closest friends will tell you is the essence of Holly Klaas.

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