Sail Bermuda Charters, the luxury charter sailing company, has merged with Native Spirit Charters, and its owners, Jono and Chiara Dill, continue as Sail Bermuda Charters Ltd.

A statement from the company said the Dills are “seasoned sailors with a deep love of the ocean and a passion for sharing one-of-a-kind boating experiences with others”.

They started Native Spirit Charters in 2020, but the Covid-19 pandemic made it difficult to break into the charter industry, so they juggled running their own company with working as part-time captains for Sail Bermuda.

According to Mrs Dill, the idea of merging the two companies began to grow, as the benefits of joining forces became apparent.

The company offers private charters versus the ticket sale “per person” trips, which they say makes for a much more personal and pleasurable experience for guests.

Mr Dill said: “Instead of Native Spirit Charters investing in another boat to add to an already saturated market, a merger with an established high-end charter business with two beautiful boats was an easy choice.”

Sail Bermuda has three vessels in its fleet: the 47-foot catamaran Wyuna, the 44ft catamaran Elusive and the newest addition, Crichia, a Dehler 41ft cruiser for those who seek a more traditional boating experience.

Crichia was the name of Mrs Dill’s family boat in her native Italy. A student of marine biology, she has a master’s degree in marine science and management.

She has been a scuba-diving instructor for ten years, and Sail Bermuda will now offer scuba-diving experiences as an add-on activity.

There will also be free-diving lessons with Adam Johnson, of Free Diving Bermuda.

Mr Dill comes from a long line of Bermuda shipwrights and captains and learnt to sail at the age of 5. He began teaching sailing at the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club at 15 years old and transitioned to working on charter boats while at university.

He recalled: “Even during the off season, I would help my father at his boatyard focusing more on the maintenance side of things. Easy to say, the ocean chose me and vice versa.”

Knowledgeable of Bermuda’s maritime history, he shares information with sailing guests.

He is in charge of boat maintenance while Mrs Dill focuses on customer service and administration.

She said: “I believe collaborations are a very important feature for a business, especially in such a small place like Bermuda. Therefore we are actively working on being able to provide different experiences while on board, such as scuba diving, free diving, wake boarding, SUP yoga and many more.

“Overall, we are focused on continuing to improve the already very high standards Sail Bermuda has laid down, aiming to differentiate ourselves from other companies with our customer service, vessel quality and offerings.”

Sail Bermuda