TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands First Charter!

Hello all TTOLers. Ive been vising the BVI about every other year over the past 10 years and love every time we visit. We have been land-based (Tortola) every time we have visited. We are going to charter a catamaran this summer (with a handful of other people) and are really excited. We obviously have no experience sailing so we'll need to hire a skipper. That being said, there are a lot of charter companies out there and Im not sure where to begin. To be honest, Im not sure even the best questions to ask.. Given you are all so experienced, I figured I would ask the experts! Catamaran Company, Voyage, Moorings, etc..? Pros/cons? Im sure more questions will stem from this I really just wanted some positive or negative reviews if anybody felt strongly one way or the other. Thanks in advance!

getting a handful of people - with no experience sailing - to charter a catamaran is going to be an eye opener for everyone on board. Your skipper can certainly handle the vessel but will need help in some things, and instilling good boat habits will be a daily part of the Captains routine - using the heads, conserving water, power usage limitations, organizational structure on many levels from personal cleanliness, galley duties, beverage intakes, shore excursions and safety aboard are all potential stumbling blocks that are not commonly evident on a shore based vacation.
Expectations on their part and pre trip meetings and planning on every-ones part are a worthwhile consideration.

I would book with a crewed boat, rather than going to through a charter company that would add a skipper. This gives you a better feeling for who you're living so closely with and they can also help set expectations for your group before arriving.

There are many of these, including some TTOL sponsors, and I bet more posted will chime in with specific suggestions.

Decide how many individuals/couples will be going as this determines the size vessel/ layout. With 1 couple per stateroom, the size cat will be fine. Do not try to use the salon as a sleeping area and generally single berths are best for captain/ crew, and sometimes okay for kids. Do NOT overcrowd. Most are well suited for 4 couples with more than 4 couples requiring even larger yachts. Get real commitment from those going as a late dropout can be costly to the others who pay to go.

Most cats over 40 feet will have generator and air conditioners, which I will argue will be very important for at least some of your group.

Determine if you (and some of the others) want to be guests on a boat or if your intent is to learn some/a lot about sailing. If you really want to learn, chartering a bareboat with ASA instructional skipper may be best. If you want to be served and no hands on sailing, then a crewed boat (Captain and first mate(who likely will serve as cook, maid, and deckhand)) may be perfect for you.

Plan a general cruising itinerary and expect it to change . Let captain know if you want more partying or more secluded anchorages. Let him know if you want more time under sail or more time snorkeling , exploring, etc.

Many great companies out there. Almost all of the charter boats are owned by individuals and managed the companies. Chartering directly from owners is also an option as inferred by Kryssa. Many of the sponsors are individual owners (like me) as my new Lagoon 42 is Sea Tiger (www BareboatBVI).

It is not too early to begin planning.

Call a Charter Agent for your first charter adventure. It is a service YOU don'pay for, but the Agent will ask the questions, and get the information from YOU that you can't sort out for yourself on the first go. You'll get a range of boat prices, Captain-only or crewed, most likely representative of different charter companies, so you can start to work up a probable budget. Lots of decisions to be made, but an Agent will cut them down to size.

Lianne LeTendre here on the board is one of those people. I believe she is a listed sponsor as well as advertiser with TTOL.

Thanks everybody for the feedback. I feel like I need to clarify a few things... the group going has all been on sailboats multiple times. When I said we had "no experience sailing" I just meant for a full 7 day stretch. Everybody is a beginner until they're not! Our group is 4 couples so we'll know everybody on board, short of the captain.

I've spoken with most of the big charter companies on the phone (who all seem nice) who answer all my questions and are very informative. There are just so many, I didn't know if there was some aspect that made one better than the other.

I'd love the opportunity to make a connection and speak with some individual owners on here if available. For reference, we're looking to go the week of July 1.

Captain and Crew first, boat second. A quality broker who has been on the boat recently, knows the crew personally, and has recently book trips with that crew is the key to success. Your broker should take the time to learn your expectations and then search for a crew and a boat that caters to that level and type of expectations.

Level of food service, level of party atmosphere, does your group actually want to sail, do you want to dive most days? Do you want a social chairman who will lead you group as the life of the party? Or would you rather have bus driver that moves the boat for you in near mute silence each day.

A quality professional travel agent should never book a resort she has not visited very recently, the same with a crew and boat. In our three plus decades of chartering. The number one issue we have encountered is new friends at the beach or bar who for whatever reasons do not match with the crew running the boat they rented over the phone from a large charter operator.

Kupton

With that clarification,I would lean towards a boat with 4 cabins, 40-45 foot and get ASA skipper to become qualified (one, some, or all) by doing the ASA Cruising Cat course while in the BVI, and preferable 10days... Spacious boat but smaller will be easier to dock (IMHO).

So all said, I would say the Lagoon 42 would be the PURFECT boat for you... Such as Sea Tiger ;-) Although Sea Tiger is chartered for dates you need...

But seriously, great charter and if you go 7 days, you will wish you had chartered x 10 days,,, and if 10 days you wish for 14 days...and....

Contact Liane at www.bareboatsbvi.com she is a BVI based broker and has been on every boat she books. Her website is amazing. She will give you very accurate information what to expect.

Only other thought I have is when booking with couples, everyone wants to go until you ask for money.

BVI Yacht charters has a lot of really nice cats. They can provide a captain for you as well. I have worked with them on my charters for 10 years and they are top notch in customer service and well maintained boats. I like that you charter a certain boat, they know you by name not charter # and are available to answer questions and make choosing your boat realistic and fun.
http://www.bviyachtcharters.com/british-virgin-islands/bvi-fleet/

I've sailed with the Moorings about 20 times, mainly in the BVI, but also St. Lucia, St. Martin, Canouan, and Grenada. During those sails, we needed assistance out on the water (usually because of our own gaffes) about 5 times. They were there for us every time within a very reasonable amount of time and we were never left unhappy. You pay a bit more (usually newer boats), but their service has always been impeccable in my opinion.

Kupton, Im no expert, but here is my two cents. If you are chartering for the first time, you should talk to Mark Welsh. He is a sponsor here on TTOL with SailOrion, and Orions float plan. He charters a wonderful Lagoon 400 out of TMM, but Im willing to bet even if you dont charter his boat he will answer any of your questions. Great guy and very knowledgeable about the BVI.