Larry G. Haugh, Star Clippers’ vice president of sales based in the company’s Miami office, recently sat down with “Vacation Agent” magazine to discuss programs and new itineraries. Here’s what he had to say.

Star Clippers has some interesting new itineraries planned for the upcoming year. Tell us about the new Costa Rica program by Star Flyer.
Our owner decided that it would be a good idea to have all three ships in Europe for the summer. Half of our business comes from Europe, so we have a drive-up market. Star Flyer is currently doing a pretty interesting repositioning sailing, going 34 nights from Papeete, Tahiti, to Balboa, Panama. From there, it will move on to Europe in May. We cannot move the ship back to Tahiti for the fall, so we will move it to Costa Rica for the first time. We listen to what our passengers are saying and what they like. We’re always looking for new opportunities.

We’ll visit 40 new ports of call this year, which is exciting to offer new passengers but also gives our past passengers the opportunity to sail into new wonderful ports. Over 55 percent of our passengers return. As we say to our agent friends, once you get passengers on Star Clippers, they’ll definitely come back, and they will tell their friends.

What’s on tap for the summer Mediterranean season?
Once the Star Flyer comes back from Tahiti, it will operate western Mediterranean cruises from Monaco or Cannes. During the summer, the Star Flyer also will do a series of sailings out of Rhodes along the Turquoise Coast of Turkey. The Royal Clipper sails from Barbados in April back to Rome and will do a series of seven-night Rome roundtrips visiting Sorrento, Taormina and other places. It will also do a series of 10- and 11-night sailings in July, August and September up the Dalmatian Coast to Venice and back. Star Clipper will be sailing from Athens to the Greek Isles and Turkey, which is quite popular. There are a couple of sailings that go from Athens to Venice and back along the Dalmatian Coast.

Star Clipper is not returning to the Far East. Why not?
The ship will spend next winter in the Caribbean, operating alternating itineraries from St. Maarten. We’re moving the Star Clipper out of Asia due to the rise of piracy in the Strait of Malacca, Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and the increasing boldness of the pirates. The stability of the region is too unpredictable at this time. We hope that the piracy situation can be alleviated, and when that happens, we plan to return to Thailand and Malaysia.

The Larry Haugh interview will be continued tomorrow in another post. Stay tuned!

Nibbling, typically  refers to taking small bites out of a tasty treat, but in the sailing world it refers to the pointed shapes of the ends of certain deck planks.

According to John G. Rogers’ Origins of Sea Terms these pointed ends are made to fit either the kingplank or the covering boards.  The origins come from the Anglo-Saxon nebb, beak.

Today’s challenge is: Nibbling. Do you know what this phrase means and how it originated?

Sailing Lingo aims to test your knowledge of the peculiar and sometimes indecipherable language of sailing. We pose a question and see who can answer it most accurately in the comments on the post. The following day we’ll post the answer to the question and save you some Googling.

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Curu contains Costa Rica’s first private national wildlife refuge. Located on the southern Nicoya Peninsula, the area offers easy access to see some of the most sought-after species such as howler and spider monkeys, scarlet macaws, collared peccary, coyotes, iguanas and hundreds of species of tropical and migratory birds. An almost-extinct species of oyster (Ocypode occidentalis) can be found here, as well as lobsters, chitons and mouthless crabs. All five of Costa Rica’s mangrove species are represented in Curu. The refuge is one of the few places in Central America where agriculture, scientific research and tourism exist in harmony.

Star Flyer will call at Curu on the seven-night round-trip Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica, cruises beginning November 2010.

Here are some nighttime photos from our wonderful cruise on the Royal Clipper. It was an amazing experience.

My best,
Nina Long

The ditty bag is a small bag in which a sailor keeps small tools and equipment, also personal articles according to John Rogers in Origins of Sea Terms.

The ditty bag and the sea bag were the first projects for an apprentice either in the sail-maker’s trade or as a working seaman. The reason for this is that these items incorporated primary skills in making and repairing sails. Besides learning the techniques of seaming, making twine grommets and sewing eyelets, the bags were an essential part of the sailor’s sea-going wardrobe.

There are innumerable variations of the ditty bag; some are very intricate but most are simple and functional. Loui Bartos’ article, The Sailor’s Tradition Ditty Bag and Ditty Box, goes into much detail of the history and origins of the bag and even features a diagram for those that would like to try their hand at making their own ditty bag for their next sailing!

Sailing Lingo aims to test your knowledge of the peculiar and sometimes indecipherable language of sailing. We pose a question and see who can answer it most accurately in the comments on the post. The following day we’ll post the answer to the question and save you some Googling

“I personally felt more confident with a real crew member in charge…no offence to my darling husband!”