TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands How does Moorings determine your qualifications?

Hi there everyone,

My first post to this forum. Friends and I are doing a bareboat charter through Moorings next month. I’m concerned that our captain may not really have the experience needed. He completed the perfunctory resume on their website, but how do they actually assess his knowledge and skills? If they determine he’s not truly qualified, do they have a captain available at the ready who can go for the whole trip?

I’m not involved with the booking process so am getting all the information about this trip second hand.

What I would like to do is book a captain for the full week in advance, rather than wait until we get down there and then potentially be in a tough situation where Moorings won’t release the boat to us. But if they have captains on hand who are available last minute, I won’t worry about it so much. Of course our friend, the would-be captain, is confident of his skills.

Just looking for any information about the process Moorings follows. Thanks in advance.

The best way to find out Kitty is to get her out on the ocean. If anything is going to happen, it's going to happen out there.

Have never used The Moorings, but they should find out a lot at the boat briefing...of course if you're not comfortable with the person, (your friend?), you should say so asap imo.

The cynical here will say if your credit card clears, you're qualified. That's an exaggeration, but there's no question many captains don't have as much experience as ideal, particularly when something goes wrong. Last year I saw a captain spend a good 45 minutes trying to pull up to the Marina Cay fuel dock, at one point hitting the dock very hard - as in the hull made a loud cracking sound.

Doubt you can count on experienced captains sitting around waiting to bail you out. Why not book a captain for a day. He can familiarize your friend with the boat, and help you all determine if you are good to go.

I have chartered twice and the first time they will send you out with someone and get you to do a few circles, can raise the main tack, jybe. The second time, they gave me the keys and off I went. I think they are less concerned with whether you can sail well as opposed to whether you can handle the boat safely, know the rules of the road, understand navigation signs, boeys etc.

If they deem the "captain" to not have enough skill or experience they will assign a captain. What experience does your captain have? Has he sailed/ chartered in the BVIs before, does he have a sailing certification of some type, does he have a boat, has he bareboat chartered in other areas?

My friend and I chartered successfully after taking a bareboat sailing course in the BVIs, Did we have a lot of experience, no. Did we know what we were doing, yes. Did we know the sailing grounds and the harbours and approached, yes. Were we scared s**tless when we first took the helm and had that captain watching over us, you bet! Was the trip a success, yes!

Three charters later and an ASA 101-104 certification I feel pretty confident about chartering a boat in the BVI, Grenada and working on gaining experience and knowledge every chance I get to expand my sialing ground .... Greece here we come!

When we first chartered a 42 ft monohull they didn’t seem too worried (but we own a small sailboat at home). When we chartered a 40 ft cat a few years ago, they made us go out with a free “friendly skipper” who put the skipper and crew through their paces including anchoring. It was a great experience and it helped us all get used to working together.

Sedona I think you should cancel your trip, the BVI is a simple non-lethal sailing area and if you have Any doubts about the captain you should step out.
Your Negativity is detrimental to all involved

Last spring a friend of mine and his friend chartered a 50 ft powercat thru the moorings. The extent of his experience was driving a pontoon on an inland lake. When he hit a boat on his way out of the marina the guy tossing the lines for him from the dock just waived.

(My two bits of wisdom): If no one in your group has ever participated in this type of adventure, nor visited the British Virgin Islands, then I would suggest a hired skipper would be very beneficial for both the operation of the boat as well as your guide to the islands. If someone in your group has indeed participated in this type of adventure in the BVIs or similar location, then it depends on their skills at operating a boat. You apparently do not know the answer, but you do perhaps know if they are normally either careless and/or irresponsible (say when diving their cars). The British Virgin Islands is considered a 'skill level one' sailing destination. You are never far from land, hardly more than several miles, simply 'bumping' from island to island (you will not be in the open ocean with no land in sight). If your friends are responsible individuals, you should be fine. Again, nothing wrong with having a local skipper, just the extra expense and giving up space on your boat. Catamarans are much easier to manage and operate (perhaps only my opinion) sort of like a 'party barge' although more expensive than mono-hulls.

OP here. Our friend owns his own 38 foot boat but he’s a new owner— just bought it last year (it’s his first boat) and has not operated it in these waters.

Not sure why person above felt the need to lash out at me. I’m trying to understand the process. Thanks to those who provided helpful feedback!

If he has operated his boat at home, even if only in a lake, I wouldn't worry too much, you should be fine. I didn't understand that comment either …. I guess it's just a social media thing today. Don't be afraid to continue using this site for answers and help in planning your itinerary.

Hi, I’m not lashing out, if you have any doubts about your captain why didn’t you discuss it with the Captain instead of going to the website?
It’s my opinion that this attitude is detrimental to the friends (crew) on the charter.
One of the great things about a bareboat charter is the adventure of learning an discovering new adventures.

We're going on our 14th charter in July all with The Moorings. The BVI isn't without its dangers but it is a good spot for someone to go without ocean sailing experience. I'd suggest that you read their FAQS which will answer many of your questions. If they have any doubt about the captain's ability to sail at the selected destination, they will provide a "Friendly Skipper" for half a day, or the charterer of record can request one. That might be a compromise between no skipper at all and a full time skipper which would incur significant additional expenses.

Awesome. Thank you all! I’m excited for our trip!

Sedona, can you swim? Can the skipper swim? Yes? Oh good, no problem at all in that case cause someone is going swimming!

Ahhh, just kidding,

The BVI and the charter boats therein are perfect for your group, its basically day sailing with training wheels, you aren't under way after dark, it's all line of sight navigation meaning you can see the next destination upon departure.

Please keep a positive attitude and have fun, if you stress out you could easily make the trip an unpleasant experience for all.

Also, learn about "island time", nothing worse than being in a hurry down there.

If your captain has not already been advised by the Moorings that they will require an on water check out then he will be subject to the boat briefing only. If you feel the need for such a check out request it in advance or you may waste a lot of time on the dock while they try to locate a captain.

I sent my resume stating that I had boated for 50 years, had crossed Lake Superior etc. When getting the briefing to our 474PC I asked the girl if anyone had read what I sent. She laughed and said no. As long as you have purchased the required insurance I guess you are good to go.

Thus the history of "Credit Card Captain".

Yes. BVI is "beginner" waters.
If he owns on boat and has sailed it, probably okay.
However, be alert for irresponsible behavior (Alcohol use/abuse while underway), lack of being at helm (someone) at all times underway, and not going to areas that charter company "redlines' as a no go area.

IMHO...

1) Use the friendly skipper
2) Have Moorings dock the boat at the end and possibly take it out
3) Dont skimp on the boat briefing and have others watching
4) Have a second in command..."I watch the boat and you watch the crew"
5) Have your own boat briefing...I go over my rules of the boat

Depending on when you go Moorings should be able to "round up" a skipper last minute. I take a boat out a Moorings 514PC bareboat 3-4x per year but always try to be mindful that for me it is still an "away game" and not my equipment. People get hurt or worse down there all time as you can read about on this board. I came close to losing someone in Feb '19.

I dont mean to scare you but if you have concerns talk to your captain and suggest he hop on this board for a while. The people on here are some of the most knowledgeable and helpful you will ever meet. At then end of the day having boated decades and being a licensed Captain down in the BVIs I am still a "credit card captain".

You will LOVE Greece. We chartered twice and would love to go back sometime. Be aware it is all stern to “ parking “ as they call it . And the winds called Meltemi can howl changing your plans quickly We were lucky and avoided them . We did a flotilla both times but would go on our own for sure . Enjoy

Just an update— we decided to hire a skipper for the week. Thanks all for your feedback!

just make sure he takes everything slow and be conservative. you will all have a great time!

We decided to hire a skipper— seems like the best way after we all talked about it.

Good plan, and next time you are back (and you will be back) you'll be familiar with the whole process and can charter on your own.

good for you...make sure, however, you still come up with an itinerary and are active participants. I bareboat and sometimes have a sister boat that has a Moorings captain. Last May he wanted to take his crews to Spanish Town instead of Anegada so he could see his buddies. He even left their boat a couple of times with the dinghy. After a couple days of this the other crew told him to follow my agenda unless there was specific reasons not to. Needless to say I dont get this Captains Xmas cards...

More recently this same group went down in December without me and since the captain didn't look at the weather (or did and ignored as he didnt want to make the effort) were boxed out from going to Anegada when had they adjusted the schedule a couple of days it would have worked

Thank you — great tip. Hope we get a good, easygoing captain.

oh they are all easy going...:) Hard but important to adjust to island time...

Just have your team plan like they were bareboating checking itinerary weather etc and that will be great practice for going live

I would change the comment above to this... Sedona I think you should not cancel your trip, the BVI is relatively easy sailing area.

What size boat are you chartering? Your capt should be able to handle a 40+ maybe 50 if he knows his way around a 38.
First time on a cat might be a bit of a challenge.
I would also ask how much help will he get from the crew? ...that's you. Might make a difference.

Some of the charter companies will give you a captain for the first day to get your bearings on the boat.
Leaves the dock with you, gets you to and secured at the first anchorage/mooring and gets off the boat.

I am sure the Mooring can take care of you but I would be having this conversation with your captain.

BTW lots of good videos you can watch on getting off the dock, mooring etc Sailing Virgins

Good Luck

quote= We decided to hire a skipper— <<< This will work as well. ( now to can concentrate on reviewing all the great post on the site on planning you trip.

I told my crew on our 474PC "If it looks like we're going to hit something DON'T try to fend the boat off". As 22 tons there is no way you could stop it from hitting without hurting yourself.

Another good reason to get a resume and photo of the captain.
Remember he or she will be in your home for a week.

I don't know if Moorings will do that...