TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums US VI and Puerto Rico CYOA is now Waypoint

Lots of familiar faces in that photo.

Cheers, RickG

Wish the merger the best of luck and hope that the "CYOA Experience" doesnt change.

Well this is interesting. I have never heard of Waypoint.

Neither had I but,
bases in Annapolis, Florida, BVI and now USVI.
and Bahamas, Belize and Newport

Interesting. Going to ask Barney about this as CYOA was the TMM courtesy partner in USVI if issues arose.

It is all good. I am still the base manager. Kirstie Palmer the former manager of BVI Yacht Charters is the president and managing partner. Chris Bent the president of Atlantic Cruising Yachts is the other partner.

The lion's share of our boats have been coming from ACY for years. Newer boats, more boats, and better factory support. John was ready to retire and this is a natural fit.

The title of this post says Wapypoint, for some strange reason? Geeze

Maria and Steve--I fixed it.

So interesting, I just now logged in to post a reply to the “CYOA is Great” thread and saw this one first. So I’ll consolidate my thoughts here.

First, my family and I just returned from our most recent charter with CYOA. 3 days in the SVI and 5 nights in the USVI. I first chartered with CYOA win 1986 with my dad (I was 16). Since then, I’ve been back to the USVI and BVI countless times, and on all but 2 occasions have sailed with CYOA. The other two just mentioned were reminders that we should have stuck with CYOA all the time.

As always, this recent charter was yet more confirmation of the absolute excellence of this company…starting with superiorly built, equipped and maintained boats and a terrific facility, but ending with a staff which is, from top to bottom, of of the highest possible caliber of people you’ll ever meet. I could not possibly exhaust the list of faces who have added great enjoyment to our trips. But to name a few: Sarah (the best booking agent and customer advocate you’ll ever meet), Jay (master at everything related to boats and sailing), Kyle (fabulous director and charter interface), Marsha (the first and most pleasant face you’ll meet on arrival), Justin (aka “Jay Jr.”), Nick (fabulously talented mariner), and Weeks, a familiar and tremendously helpful staff member for many years. No, Nancy, I didn’t forget you. Saving the best for last. I’ve known you forever, and appreciate your heart and friendship more year by year. Thanks to you all!

Here’s the great news. I’ve already been in touch with the President of Waypoints, Kirstie Palmer, as well as Sarah O’Leary and Jay Pennington (both aforementioned), and what I’m hearing with assured confidence is that Waypoints was largely attracted to CYOA BECAUSE of the reputation, operation and culture that had come to define that organization over many years (John Jacob, here’s your shout-out at last. Well done, friend!). As such, I am buoyed by a confident expectation that the fleet quality and personalized service we’ve come to expect and, even more importantly, the faces of people who have become the heart and soul of CYOA will remain front and center as this exciting transition takes place.

I, for one, am sad for the CYOA era to end, but exceedingly encouraged for a future that is bright for we charterers under the new banner of Waypoints.

Shifty

Visited their website to see what to expect. It lists fewer yachts than CYOA used to list. The details about the yachts were very sketchy. Notable is the lack of any mention of water makers and ice makers. CYOA always listed full details on what their yachts had to offer. Hope this is not a bad sign.

No, it is not a bad sign. The webpage is still under construction. We still have heavily optioned boats. The new parent company sells the boats that we manage. They have been for a long time.

Having dealt w Capt Jay and CYOA on several past charters , I just this is a good thing and look forward to charter with waypoints in the future

Thanks Jay. I was hoping it was just transitioning pains and not dramatic change.

Yep, just working through the IT transitions. Waypoints vision for the future is closely aligned with CYOA's business model. You can expect great things for our future. First-class charter experiences, with first-class boats, will be available at all the Waypoints bases.

Congrats, Jay!

Will Waypoint allow sailing to SVI or St Croix? I didn't see anything on their USVI site, but I think CYOA did not allow SVI recently.

CYOA has always touted the SVI as one of the benefits of chartering with them. If there were restrictions I suspect they were temporary covid issues. I still don’t know how they get around the duty tax issue for the owners but suspect it’s don’t ask don’t tell.
G

Yes, we are still allowing the SVI's and St Croix. There are still higher qualifications and crew restrictions.

Thanks CaptainJay. We are planning a big trip for '23 (a long way away I know, but one can dream) and this is positive news.