TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands ouch

I asked for any input about Fairwinds Sailing School's Charters and no one seemed to know anything about them. NOW we know why. Although our 8 day trip was wonderful because we were in a great place with great people, I would never recommend this charter company and everyone we met along the way had similar comments. Dirty boat, mechanical problems, no resolutions to the problems and no local contact to make things right. We had to have dinghy towed at White Bay (with lots of whoops of "DINGHY SHAME") and a night with no AC and then 3 days with one engine. Again - trip was great and met wonderful people and went to a few new places, but there is no way to endorse or support this charter company!

I'm glad you did not let the crummy charter company dampen your trip.
Thanks for the info.

Was this a crewed or bareboat charter?
What was wrong with the dinghy that it it wouldn't start?
Why didn't the AC work for a night?

Thanks for the first-hand review.

No first hand knowledge from me, but I was warned away from them when I was looking for a sailing school for pretty much the reasons you mentioned: dirty and mechanical issues. One couple I know who did their ASA 101, 103, 104, 114 said they got plenty of practical experience doing repair and maintenance. But, second hand info.

Cheers, RickG