Investigating a bareboat charter in Caribbean late Jan early Feb 2011. Three couples, three staterooms (ideally three heads). Looking for advice on boat selection, good charter services in BVI... or other location you might recommend.
Caribbean bareboat charter
- Thread starter JerryRoman
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With three couples, I'll suggest a catamaran. You all will have you more privacy with a 3 staterooms 3 heads Cat. I've always chartered monohulls but will be chartering a catamaran (Catamaran CO.) for the first time in a couple weeks in BVI, so I'll let you know how it work out.
Second vote for Sunsail. Used them a couple of years ago. Found them to be very professional and easy to deal with. I would consider a Cat but either way you are in for a wonderful trip.
Just remember that there are over 950 charter boats in the BVI and not enough moorings to go around during the tourist season. Plan your daily trips accordingly. We live in St. Croix and race in the BVI. If you can, go directly from the charter headquarters to North Sound in Virgin Gorda. That will put you a day ahead of everybody. The moorings at Bitter End are free and first come basis.
The Bitter End gets a lot of traffic, and Cay's idea is right, but you should also check out Leverick Bay in North North Sound. They have a nice restaurant and a pool with mooring balls. Less crowded and just as much fun. There's good snorkeling just west at that narrow pass that you're not supposed to sail through, Mosquito Island IIRC. Just do a Google Earth on it from Virgin Gorda, BVI. Nice place. You can dinghy over to it.
For the BVI, check out Footloose. They are a subdivision of Moorings. Its where the Moorings boats go when they get beyond the age limits of that fleet. Great savings on good charter boats.
We have cruised extensively in the BVIs. I can't fault those who reco Sunsail, its got a good rep. I have used the Moorings exclusively since about 1984 in multiple locations and most seasons. In years of chartering with the Moorings, I have had no more than 1-2 glitches and extremely few mechanical problems. In the BVIs no one can compete for service and quality. All bareboat cruising boats leave something to be desired vs a private yacht. But for three couples I would recommend the largest monohull you feel comfortable handling or a 40 ft or larger cat. The cats are not as much fun sailing but are easy to handle and offer more privacy.
Jerry, I registered on the forum just to be able to respond to your post. My wife and I love bareboat chartering and we’ve done it in several places in the Caribbean, and a few times in other parts of the world. You will love it. With 3 couples, opt for as much room as you can. If not a catamaran, maybe even 2 monohulls.
BVIs – We were a bit, just a bit, disappointed in the BVIs. It was easy line of sight sailing, but we found it to be rather expensive, and we didn’t feel like it was easy to soak up any local culture. The marinas and anchorages seemed to be attached more to resorts than real towns. One night we did venture out of the marina area to find a lovely little town. We stopped and had a couple of drinks in a “bar” that seemed to be more of a garage attached to this family’s house! Great experience there. We will be giving the BVIs another go.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines – This was a fabulous place. My wife and I actually did some ASA courses on that trip. Just me, my wife, and our instructor. It was great, and the instructor was as much of a guide as anything. The sailing is fairly easy navigation-wise – not as easy as the BVIs, but easy. The islands were different, but wonderful – Bequia, Mustique, Union Island, etc – all very scenic.
St. Martin/St. Maarten – My wife and I did this one on our own, just to see if we could. We did, and it was, again, great. We picked up the boat in St. Maarten, and we sailed down to St. Barts, St. Eustatius, back to St. Barts, then to Anguilla, then back to a few stops in St. M/St.M. The sailing was a little more challenging, as the distances between the islands was greater, but well within our comfort zone.
Guadalupe – I set up this trip for my wife’s 50th birthday. We actually had two boats as we had about 10 people. We were a bit unfortunate with the weather, but we had a really good time. Picked up the boat on the main island, sailed along the south coast, then down to Isle des Saintes, then up along to the west coast to Jacques Cousteau National Park. That was easy sailing.
To change areas of the world completely, BY FAR, our favorite place to charter is Greece, specifically the Dodecanese islands. The Caribbean just can’t compare. We’ve been there twice, the most recent just a few weeks ago. If you can take a few days extra, I would STRONGLY recommend that. It will be the trip of a lifetime. Great sailing, WONDERFUL people. You haven't lived until you've sailed into a port, drank some Retsina, and danced with an old Greek lady!!
If you do go in the Caribbean, you might want to consider doing a course during your trip, either ASA or USSA. You don’t need to, since in the Caribbean, you generally only need to put together a sailing resume to be able to charter. The certificate would help, however, in later charters, especially if you do it in other areas of the world, like Europe.
We’ve always used Sunsail in the Caribbean (except in the Grenadines we used Barefoot Yacht Charters). They’re easy, they’re relatively inexpensive, they provide great service, and you get discounts having chartered with them before. In one anchorage, someone stole our dingy outboard. The next morning, the base manager was at the anchorage with another outboard. However, I think anyone you go with you will like. Ask around about the smaller operations, though.
Sorry for the long post. I’ll be happy to share more info with you if you want.
Fair winds!!
Wink
BVIs – We were a bit, just a bit, disappointed in the BVIs. It was easy line of sight sailing, but we found it to be rather expensive, and we didn’t feel like it was easy to soak up any local culture. The marinas and anchorages seemed to be attached more to resorts than real towns. One night we did venture out of the marina area to find a lovely little town. We stopped and had a couple of drinks in a “bar” that seemed to be more of a garage attached to this family’s house! Great experience there. We will be giving the BVIs another go.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines – This was a fabulous place. My wife and I actually did some ASA courses on that trip. Just me, my wife, and our instructor. It was great, and the instructor was as much of a guide as anything. The sailing is fairly easy navigation-wise – not as easy as the BVIs, but easy. The islands were different, but wonderful – Bequia, Mustique, Union Island, etc – all very scenic.
St. Martin/St. Maarten – My wife and I did this one on our own, just to see if we could. We did, and it was, again, great. We picked up the boat in St. Maarten, and we sailed down to St. Barts, St. Eustatius, back to St. Barts, then to Anguilla, then back to a few stops in St. M/St.M. The sailing was a little more challenging, as the distances between the islands was greater, but well within our comfort zone.
Guadalupe – I set up this trip for my wife’s 50th birthday. We actually had two boats as we had about 10 people. We were a bit unfortunate with the weather, but we had a really good time. Picked up the boat on the main island, sailed along the south coast, then down to Isle des Saintes, then up along to the west coast to Jacques Cousteau National Park. That was easy sailing.
To change areas of the world completely, BY FAR, our favorite place to charter is Greece, specifically the Dodecanese islands. The Caribbean just can’t compare. We’ve been there twice, the most recent just a few weeks ago. If you can take a few days extra, I would STRONGLY recommend that. It will be the trip of a lifetime. Great sailing, WONDERFUL people. You haven't lived until you've sailed into a port, drank some Retsina, and danced with an old Greek lady!!
If you do go in the Caribbean, you might want to consider doing a course during your trip, either ASA or USSA. You don’t need to, since in the Caribbean, you generally only need to put together a sailing resume to be able to charter. The certificate would help, however, in later charters, especially if you do it in other areas of the world, like Europe.
We’ve always used Sunsail in the Caribbean (except in the Grenadines we used Barefoot Yacht Charters). They’re easy, they’re relatively inexpensive, they provide great service, and you get discounts having chartered with them before. In one anchorage, someone stole our dingy outboard. The next morning, the base manager was at the anchorage with another outboard. However, I think anyone you go with you will like. Ask around about the smaller operations, though.
Sorry for the long post. I’ll be happy to share more info with you if you want.
Fair winds!!
Wink
Wink,
You answered several questions we had about chartering. Thanks for the post.
Were there any surprises or major differences chartering in Greece?
Also how did Sunsail handle the theft of the motor. Did you pay a deductible toward the insurance?
Thanks,
Jim
You answered several questions we had about chartering. Thanks for the post.
Were there any surprises or major differences chartering in Greece?
Also how did Sunsail handle the theft of the motor. Did you pay a deductible toward the insurance?
Thanks,
Jim
Jim, Greece was awesome. No major surprises in Greece, except you almost always dock stern-to, putting the bow anchor out first. If you haven't done that before, it's worth practicing a little, but it's really not hard. Also, as in just about the rest of the world, the navigation aids are reversed, i.e. here it's "red right return." Over there it's the opposite. But we actually didn't run into that so much. It's pretty easy, and a good pilot/cruising guide helps. The Greeks are lovely people, and there's no shortage of help if you need it.
As for the motor theft, it happened at night on Guadalupe when we had dingied into shore for dinner. We called the base that night, and by 9 the next morning the base manager came to us with another outboard. No charges, no hassle at all. Note, when we first picked up the boat, I asked if we needed to lock the outboard to the dingy, as they had asked us to do in St. Maarten, and the guy said no, so they couldn't really blame us.
As for the motor theft, it happened at night on Guadalupe when we had dingied into shore for dinner. We called the base that night, and by 9 the next morning the base manager came to us with another outboard. No charges, no hassle at all. Note, when we first picked up the boat, I asked if we needed to lock the outboard to the dingy, as they had asked us to do in St. Maarten, and the guy said no, so they couldn't really blame us.
Just returned from a 10 bareboat charter in Virgin Islands and I highly recommend a catamaran. This was my first experience with a cat and I loved it. It was 6 of us (3 adults 3 kids) on a lagoon 380 and it was very comfortable. We used the Catamaran Co. which I’ll recommend together Sunsail, Moorings, Horizon all companies I’ve used in the past.
Winkfish, The only con I found was sailing to windward. 60 deg is the best we got but we made up for it in speed. Everything else was a plus to me. I think the biggest pro was the stability especially with the family on board; we were able to grill steak while beating in 15 - 20 knts of wind. Also with six people on the boat, it didn't feel crowded, we all had our privacy with lots of storage. I'll have to admit that I am now a cat convert and I never thought this could happen.
TMM in BVI
We have chartered with TMM in the BVI many times. They have great customer service, the boats are in very good condition, and they are much less expensive than Moorings and Sunsail. You reserve a specific boat with TMM. Boat information and availability is online at their site sailtmm.com
We have chartered with TMM in the BVI many times. They have great customer service, the boats are in very good condition, and they are much less expensive than Moorings and Sunsail. You reserve a specific boat with TMM. Boat information and availability is online at their site sailtmm.com
I have to disagree with Bud-the BVI's were wonderful 3 years ago, but TMM was awful! all 5 of our boats had major problems from lack of care, and the TMM staff was indifferent at best. This includes a broken stove, bad mattresses (9 years old original), a dead windlass they ripped out of the boat and kept promising to replace, missing cotters in the rigging of a brand new Hunter-we almost lost the mast and more.
In contrast, the next year we chartered with Maine Cat in Abaco and the cat was pristine and their support was exemplary.
In contrast, the next year we chartered with Maine Cat in Abaco and the cat was pristine and their support was exemplary.
Get. A. Catamaran. Comfort, ease, you'll love it, makes its own sauce...
for my part, TMM was good to me (36' Fontaine-Pajot). Boat was new. There were some issues but it was with the boat fabrication itself and TMM could have done nothing about it (weird joinery which squeaked).
But another good, less expensive, choice is Conch Charters. We chartered their 45' Leopard and were pleased with boat and service. It's a second-tier charterer (like Barefoot) but much smaller. Our friends had chartered with Conch before, and another couple we know regularly charter with these guys, so there must be something in it.
Second also the Leverick Bay suggestion. Wouldn't even bother with Bitter End, me. We enjoyed the Sandy Spit and Foxy's Taboo side of Jost (east end). Beef I. and the Aragorn thing are ok but I liked the Loose Mongoose better. Manchioneel Bay is kewl. The Dogs are better than the Indians. You prolly won't be allowed to go to Anegada if it's your first time but Anegada is kewl.
for my part, TMM was good to me (36' Fontaine-Pajot). Boat was new. There were some issues but it was with the boat fabrication itself and TMM could have done nothing about it (weird joinery which squeaked).
But another good, less expensive, choice is Conch Charters. We chartered their 45' Leopard and were pleased with boat and service. It's a second-tier charterer (like Barefoot) but much smaller. Our friends had chartered with Conch before, and another couple we know regularly charter with these guys, so there must be something in it.
Second also the Leverick Bay suggestion. Wouldn't even bother with Bitter End, me. We enjoyed the Sandy Spit and Foxy's Taboo side of Jost (east end). Beef I. and the Aragorn thing are ok but I liked the Loose Mongoose better. Manchioneel Bay is kewl. The Dogs are better than the Indians. You prolly won't be allowed to go to Anegada if it's your first time but Anegada is kewl.
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