Charter Logbook: A Week from Cannes to the Golden Isles on the Princess S62 ALL FOR YOU

I knew the French Riviera from episode one, from the Monaco, Lérins and Antibes side. This time I went the other way, west, in the direction most guests skip: along the red rocks of the Estérel, through Saint-Tropez, all the way to Port-Cros and Porquerolles. The boat was M/Y ALL FOR YOU, a 2024 Princess S62, 20.42 metres, six guests in three cabins, a crew of two. Twin MAN engines, a cruising speed of twenty-five knots and a top speed of thirty-two. What interested me most was the draft: just 1.46 metres. It lets you anchor where larger yachts have to stay further offshore.

The route is a proposal I put together for this yacht, and the port of embarkation is agreed at booking. I came aboard, set off and came back. Day by day, just as it was.

Day 1: Cannes and the first evening

We stepped aboard in the afternoon. The Princess S62 feels easy from the first minute: a low, wide aft deck, a flybridge with room for everyone, and a crew of two who know what they are doing and never get in the way. After a short tour we cast off and ran a little way along the coast to anchor in a quiet cove off Théoule.

The first evening, as always, was on the stern with an Aperol Spritz. We watched Cannes light up across the bay while the red hills of the Estérel grew darker and darker. Dinner on board: fresh grilled fish and a tomato salad. Nobody reached for a phone.

Day 2: The red rocks of the Estérel and Saint-Tropez

I like to get up at dawn, climb to the flybridge with a coffee and watch the sun slowly rise. That morning the sea was as flat as a lake, and the rust-red rocks of the Estérel lit up one after another. After breakfast we followed the shore, close to the rock, because the shallow draft lets you come in really near. We stopped in the bay of Agay for a long swim in warm, turquoise water that, against red rock, looks like another planet.

In the afternoon, Saint-Tropez, less than an hour from Agay. We crossed the gulf, anchored at the entrance and took the tender to the old port. The obligatory ritual: ice cream at the famous ice-cream parlour on the quay, eaten on a low wall, looking at yachts bigger than our whole marina. In the evening we went back to anchor in the Baie des Canoubiers, dinner on the stern, seafood and cold white wine.

Day 3: Pampelonne and a day for the water

The third day was a day for the water. We moved south along the peninsula to the bay of Pampelonne, a three-kilometre beach that looks different from the sea than from land: no crowds, a row of white cabins on the shore and clear turquoise water. We anchored well outside the line of buoys, where the seabed is sand, and hardly moved all day. Lie back and swim in warm, turquoise water: that was our whole plan.

In the afternoon we rounded Cap Camarat, with its white lighthouse on top, and returned to anchor. Dinner: fish caught that day, grilled with lemon.

I noticed something here that gets lost on larger yachts: on a boat this size the whole group stays together. Nobody disappears into a cabin at the far end of the deck, conversation happens on the flybridge, and the crew of two appears exactly when needed and vanishes when not. For six people it is simply the right size.

Day 4: Port-Cros, an island in a national park

On the fourth day “too far” stopped existing. The Princess S62 cruises at twenty-five knots, so we reached Port-Cros, an island out at sea, in under an hour and a half. Port-Cros belongs to a national park, and it shows: dense forest running down to the water, no cars, no concrete and water so clear you can see the bottom from the deck at ten metres and more.

We anchored by Palud beach, where an underwater snorkelling trail has been laid out with boards describing the plants and fish. We swam with masks over meadows of sea grass, among shoals of bream. In the evening a walk to the tiny harbour and a dinner of local fish in the island’s only village.

A small yacht with a shallow draft is not a lesser version of a big one. It is a different route: closer to the rocks, closer to the beach, where larger vessels have to stay further out.

Day 5: Porquerolles and Notre-Dame beach

From Port-Cros to Porquerolles is only a few miles, so we crossed gently after breakfast. Porquerolles is the largest of the Golden Isles: pine forests, vineyards, a village without cars where everyone cycles. The shallow draft came in useful again, because we anchored right off Notre-Dame beach, one of the loveliest in France, white, long and sheltered from the mistral by the very shape of the island.

The whole day: swimming, a long lunch on deck, and in the evening a short walk to the village and back to the stern. It was the day I understood why one comes here.

The island has an everyday side too. In the village we bought baguettes, local cheese and tomatoes, which we later ate on the stern with the sun going down. No grand arrangements, no plan, just good food and a warm evening.

Day 6: Cap Taillat and the way back

The sixth day was the return east, but not by the shortest route. We stopped at Cap Taillat, a wild headland where a narrow strip of sand joins a rocky islet to the mainland. There is nothing built here, only water in three shades of turquoise. A swim, lying on the stern, a light lunch on deck. When it cooled a little we climbed to the flybridge and watched the shadow of the headland lengthen across the water.

We spent the evening at anchor in the bay of Cavalaire. Thanks to the cruising speed we had the whole day to ourselves, unhurried and without watching the clock.

Day 7: Back to Cannes

The last morning was the same as the first: coffee at dawn on the flybridge, the sea like glass, the silhouette of the Estérel in the distance. Nobody was in a hurry. We came back along the coast at an easy pace, with one long swim on the way, on empty water. We reached Cannes tanned, rested and a little too pleased with life.

What it costs and what to know

M/Y ALL FOR YOU is a Princess S62 from 2024, 20.42 metres, with six guests in three cabins (two doubles and a twin), a crew of two and at-anchor stabilisers. She charters from €27,000 per week in low season to €30,000 in high season, plus APA, the advance for fuel, provisions and port fees that is settled after the trip (roughly 30% of the rate as a guide; I confirm the exact figure for your dates). Taxes and port fees are not included in the weekly rate.

Two things to think about before booking this route. First, the mistral: the north-westerly can close the western part of the route for a day or two, so I keep the order of stops flexible and the captain plans the weather windows. Second, the national park and sea grass: Port-Cros and part of Porquerolles are protected zones with their own anchoring rules, and anchoring on Posidonia meadows is prohibited, so the captain chooses sandy spots and books them ahead, because at the peak of the season they go quickly.

The route I have described is a proposal: the order of stops and the length of each passage are agreed with the captain for your dates, the weather and mooring availability. The yacht is also offered in Corsica, the Ligurian Riviera and Sardinia, on request. On board there is a Williams Jet Tender 325, a Seabob and towable toys, but to be honest, what gave me the most joy was lying in the water and the long dinners on deck. She suits two couples or a small family who want to travel at their own pace.

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Want to sail this route for real? Tell me when and with whom you are sailing, and I will check availability and build the week around you.