TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands I'm a bit alarmed by what I just witnessed...

Here at Pirate's Bight on our last full day I just watched a charter group hook up the Moorings M5000 "Crispy" in the following manner:

They disconnected the chain hook from the shackle at the bridle, picked up the mooring pendant (after 4 attempts) and fastened the shackle around the pendant below the eye splice. High fives all around after that.

This was right behind us. I paddled over to them and as politely as I could manage asked them if no-one had instructed them how to hook up to a mooring. "We know but we forgot".

I helped them attach dock lines. In the process I removed the shackle which was (barely) hand tight.

As a Moorings owner, my confidence in the process of vetting charter guests is seriously shaken at the moment. I am going to do what I can to share my concerns with base management when I return tomorrow.

Somebody did some serious lying on their resume. I have noticed a improvement in mooring techniques the last few years. Still see boats anchoring without a bridal or snubber however.
G

I have been watching Bareboaters in the Caribbean for over 40+ years of living / working / sailing . I am never surprised at any example of ineptitude . Vetting bareboat/rental charter captains has never been very strict or enforced enough.
Back in the 70s when I started working/sailing In the VIrgIn Is. - bareboats were usually chartered by Boat Owners of similar size vessels elsewhere - few bays had moorings - anchoring was essential. Boating experience was more widespread across the rental fleets.
Charter guests * Charter boats *AND Reasons for chartering * have all changed totally over time.
************Plenty of BareBoat Tales always told over Rum at sundown. **********

The Amex card doesn't lie.

The downwind approach to pick up a mooring is always good for some fun entertainment!

I have been appalled at what I have witnessed in our six trips the last year. We shake our heads often, both with charter groups from some of the larger fleets and with one of the by the cabin crewed companies. 😳

Its stories like this that make me happy we own a crewed boat. Our first was a bare boat and it got pretty beat up in its first two years. She was lost in Irma and we decided a crewed boat would be run by competent folks and be better looked after. We are in our 4th year. Best decision we ever made (regarding boating).

I can see the advantages for sure, but I assume that means you can't just take the boat yourself and give the crew a vacation?
I guess I need to be captain :-)

You can take the boat yourself in most crewed fleets. Generally however you are responsible for putting the crew up somewhere during that time.

We looked into crewed options before we purchased our boat in early 2021 - we want to sail 2-3 weeks at a time 3-4 times a year and therefore it makes little sense for us (we don’t want crew aboard) as we would be putting the crew up and paying them while using the boat. We are (so far) very happy with TMM and their protocols.

We also like to go 3-4 weeks. I'm afraid just the crew tip would more than double the cost of our entire trip.

This was exactly my worry going into this deal. I love being the captaining/sailing. We gained the trust of our crew during the first trip and expressed our desire to do the sailing. Our captain lets us sail the boat, anchor, dock, the works. We have become good mates. I think most crews do not allow this. We are fortunate. The other BIG plus is having someone else to do all the provisioning and cooking. Wonderful meals! We eat ashore 2-3 meals a week to give the chef well deserved time off. We figured the cost of food and beverages is a push (self provisioning + eating ashore vs the per diem charge). The nut cost wise is the crew gratuity....~$4000+ per week....but split between 3 or 4 couples its not too bad and is well worth it....none of us like to cook and clean on vacation. That said, I love bare boating and if it was just my decision, that would be my choice.

Sounds like it works for you Husker which is great! I want privacy and I am one of those atypical people that actually loves to provision and cook - probably from my former life as an event director - haha. We also like to sail with just family or one couple so that extra $4000 per week would break the bank with the time we spend down there - lol.

We saw a Navigare boat spend about 3 hours trying to anchor downwind in White Bay. I guess he didn't notice all of the other boats facing him.

I've come to realize that I'm really not out here to "relax". I think it's more like being a sport pilot in that beyond sailing, operating the boat and it's systems and even maintenance is really an essential part of what it makes it fun for me. On this trip I ended up buying a half gallon of metal polish and polishing every bit of exterior and interior chrome on the boat. Every Davit, stanchion, grab rail, backing plate, pulpit, helm seat and bimini support, interior galley and head fixture, etc. Next trip I'm planning to bring a Makita and polish out the exterior fiberglass and deck-brite the non-skid.

Mr EZgoin..please come by house and bring your gear..beer on me!

EZ - sounds like we’re of the same mindset. Even though TMM does a meticulous job with upkeep for us there is always a list of special projects or just because things we are doing on the boat each time we are there - I better not tell my hubby about that polish - I can see his eyes lighting up right now - lol.

MIDiver - TMM sounds like a better fit for us vs our current charter co. Do you know who I can contact there about joining their fleet? We come out of our current contract next year and are weighing options.

Depending on the age of your boat TMM probably won’t be interested. I think they prefer to bring new boats into the fleet. It doesn’t however hurt to check with them as they might have a hole in their fleet that your boat fits into. You might consider brokering your boat and rolling into a new boat as at the moment used charter boats are commanding very strong resale.

Ha ha, welcome to real boat ownership!
It's all about maintenance and fixing things, as you have discovered

Perfect place for tinkering...much better than tinkering on my boat on the Potomac River

Thanks George. Good info. Does TMM do bareboat and crewed?

You might look into Captain's Compass. We have a Leopard 45 in Brent's fleet. It's the second boat we have owned and both have been in his fleet. Brent does a great job maintaining his boats and qualifying charterers. You should talk to him before you make a decision. We have been very pleased with Brent for years.

TMM does just bareboat, though they can arrange crew for clients is they are looking for that.

Great people at TMM - highly recommended (my boat is there, so I might be a little biased - but they are all like family now).

Sent you a PM.

Good luck!

-Peter

Yes, I did not find it a hardship. An hour or two in the morning sun, like exercise.