TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Anyone ever get "assigned" a skipper for charter?

Hey All -

Not sure if anyone remembers me, but my husband and I crewed on a family charter in 2014, did ASA 101 locally, ASA 103/104 in BVI last month on a Beneteau 51, and just joined a sailing club near our home. The boats we will be sailing on our own this summer are Catalina 27s.

The boat we charted for November is a Bavaria 46 through Horizon. I guess I am worried that they won't like the fact that we aren't sailing boats closer to the size of my charter boat and that my anxiety will come through and we won't seem confident to charter the boat. We will have 5 total adults on the boat - myself and my husband, 2 experienced crew, and 1 sailing newbie.

Has anyone ever did so poorly on the check out that they assign you a skipper? It's just so much money for this trip - and we have no space other than the salon table for another person. I wouldn't go on this trip if I knew I'd need a skipper - but how do you break out into chartering on your own if you don't have access to bigger boats to practice on.

Any thoughts appreciated - thanks!

I don't imagine that you will have an issue. I would think that you could take a skipper for a few hours than drop him shoreside if you are nervous.

Hi Kryssa,

I sell charters for Horizon and although you may not have a lot of experience, the fact that you just recently passed your ASA 104 aboard a Beneteau 51 (in the BVI), will work in your favour.

They may ask you to hire a check out skipper for the first day. I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you get as much hands-on sailing experience as you can this summer, you will be fine.

In many cases having a skipper aboard for the 1st day may relieve any anxiety you have and you will get some good tips on the operation of the new boat too.

We've used a day captain to start a couple of our trips. They'll help familiarize you with the boat, help "relieve" stress handling a new boat at the marina and during the brief 2-3 hour sail if there are any issues/quirks with the boat the captain can help. We used a day captain at TMM aboard Mardi Gras, he left the driving to me and instructed a couple first timers we had on their responsibilities, i.e. raising main, tying/stowing fenders, operating the windlass, hooking etc. We sailed to Peter and set the hook then moved to a ball in Sprat Bay where we dinged the captain in to catch the ferry back to Road Town. Literally All systems checked, no questions. Money well spent for us! You are going to be fine, enjoy the planning! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

Agree with Beerman.
Also in your favor is only 1 Newbie. The captain of your group, if not seasoned, does not need to have ALL newbies to instruct in their duties.
With your experience, I suspect the greatest apprehension will be docking. easier on a fuel dock/ T-dock.... which is only time necessary in most cases (Picking up balls and dropping anchor...
Returning to base, some operators will insist on putting their staff back on board to dock at marina, as often very tight. A radio call (or phone call) with request will usually be met with the base staff meeting you and boarding from a dingy.

Have fun!

We have sailed a reasonable amount (and been down to bvis at least 6x), and yet we still always ask for a skipper for the first day as we know there is always a ton to learn on any boat. The fact that you are showing a strong respect for the boat, and some humility probably puts you in the top 10% of many bareboat charter groups! the people that would scare me are those that are overly confident. I highly doubt you'll have any issue. Hope you have a great time

My ASA 103/104 was on a Beneteau 393, My first charter was a 43 Leopard. I had to get a check out captain the first day since my classes were on a mono and charter a cat. It really helped me get comfortable that first day. The biggest benefit is that he worked with each person on our crew on what they'd need to do when tacking, anchoring, picking up a mooring ball, etc. Then, we went out and practiced picking up balls for an hour, sailed over to Cooper, went over charts. He listened to my trip plan, offered a suggestion or two on things to do I hadn't thought of, then we sailed back and dropped him off. It was money well spent. Instead of just checking me out, he was a teacher for all of us. It was great.

The big boat will not sail much different from the small one.
A couple of things though:
1) The sails pull A LOT harder and require more thought and care while handling. You generally can't handle them without a couple of wraps on the winch.
2) You're not going to muscle a 47 footer around the dock like you can a 27 footer.
3) Around the docks under power, slow is pro. Have a bail-out plan in case you need to go around again.

I have some knowledge on this...

can I ask if it is KIBO, the BAV 46 Vision in question?

Based on my observations and experience on this issue, please PM me with the details as I used to have a BAV 46 Vision with them, but no more.

It is unlikely to be Kibo as she is leaving the fleet. The boat would likely be Sweet Chariot.

That was one of my points I was to mention. Since Kibo is leaving there may be additional "complexities". I know when I pulled mine out I was in "sick and tired" mode.

"complexities"

What does that mean?

So the simple answer is to assign the experienced people as "captains" and just have you maintain financial responsibility.

I once overheard this conversation between an owner of a charter firm and a client.

"
my son wants to come down in 6 months with some of his friends after they graduate high school, but they all have no experience.....

Oh, well, you have a charter this month, just "assign" him captain for this trip and you will have no problem.

"

We had a skipper assigned to us when we chartered a 50 foot Lagoon from TMM at the request of the boat owner.

Nice guy named John. He let me take the boat off the dock and just sat back and watched us operate. We sailed through the cut and over to CGB where we dropped him off.

No cost to us other than cab fare for him to get home. We all enjoyed having him on the boat.

Once you leave the BVI and the marketing companies running boat operations that is more common. One common final step in the checkout elsewhere it to take a staff member away from the dock to a channel marker circled on a chart and return the staff member safely to the dock.

Then once in Maine we chartered a large complex boat. The keys were under the mat with a note that said "Have A Great Trip" with a Cell Number. Never saw anyone representing the boat on the way out or the way in.

^^^Done that too. Boat had many issues. We survived ! Much prefer a good checkout.

Thanks all for your info - I feel a lot better now. We are totally open to someone sailing with us for a day, it would just be uncomfortable overnight. Also, I am sure I will feel more confident after all of the local sailing we plan to do this year. Will keep you guys updated