USVI

[dhenline]

I am looking to bareboat charter the USVI in early November. there is a charter company called Way points that has a boat available. Has anyone used them and if so how was the experience?

Dream charters also has a boat but their reputation seems to be spotty at best. any thoughts on them

Any thoughts on other companies I may not know about?

don

[Cool Hand Luke]

I've only ever used Sunsail and Moorings. But they only have BVIs and SXM, not USVI (at least I don't think they do).

I'd probably go with DYC... bigger name, bigger company, therefore easier to get issues resolved.

[jadean42]

The Waypoints USVI operation is from their recent acquisition of CYOA. I've charted with CYOA 3-4 times in the past couple years and have another charter this fall. It'll be my first under the Waypoints banner, but CYOA's fleet was consistently well-maintained with a friendly base crew so I'd expect the same under Waypoints. Not sure how/if operations have changed since the acquisition (I know CYOA's reservations manager, who was AWESOME, has since left, and there's a bit more back & forth to get a reservation made vs. in the past, but I've heard most of the St. Thomas staff is still in place).

[dhenline]

I have also found a nice boat with Virgin Island Yacht charters. Does anyone have any experience with this outfit? Sorry to be paranoid but the bareboat company can make or break the whole vacation.
so any experience with this group
don

[bstreep]

CYOA is a good, reputable company. DYC? Not a chance in hell. If you GAVE me a charter with them I wouldn't use it.

[dcondit]

I’ve used DYC before a couple times and had no issues. I’ve heard lots of bashing but mostly from those who haven’t used them.

[bstreep]

Originally Posted by dcondit

I’ve used DYC before a couple times and had no issues. I’ve heard lots of bashing but mostly from those who haven’t used them.

I can absolutely assure you that we have used DYC. We have our 18th charter booked in Grenada. #16 was 2 weeks in French Polynesia with DYC. I can assure you that it was horrific. Worst charter by 100X. Just a horrible, horrible company to deal with. So bad, that we went back as a "redo". Went with Tahiti Yacht Charters. Wow. Fantastic folks. The difference was night and day. You could tell that the DYC folks hated their jobs and Tahiti Yacht Charters workers loved theirs.

I've heard from many, many others with similar (or worse!) stories in the 2 years since our charter. We aren't the only ones that refer to them as "Nightmare Yacht Charters".


Do a search on my name, and you will find my review. Glad you didn't have a problem. Consider yourself lucky.

[jmc42]

I have chartered with CYOA three times in the USVI. After I booked this last time, they became Waypoints. I didn't notice much difference other than a few of the staff have left. "Captain Jay" is still there and I felt like the boat was well maintained and ready to sail. I really like their predeparture briefing online and the videos are available to view online if you need them during the charter.

I have not chartered with another company in the USVI but I've seen many other charter boats and the Dreamyacht boats I've seen look tired. A relative who is a liveaboard and is at the same marina expressed doubts about their boats and maintenance. If you try them in the USVI, please let us know how it goes.

[Funkydrum]

Waypoints is the charter arm of the Fountaine Pajot / Dufour dealer, Atlantic Cruising Yachts. Their division manager previously managed BVI Yacht Charters in Tortola, which was a well-oiled operation (we used them numerous times).


Waypoints recently expanded their VI presence with the CYOA purchase (as others have noted) and a new base in Nanny Cay / Tortola. They know their stuff and will likely give Moorings some serious competition.

[Calphor]

We have had three charters over the last year and a half with DYC out of Compass Point Marina. I don’t have any other companies to compare with, but we had good experiences. On the down side, two of the three charters, we took out a different cat than we chartered. The first, we chartered a 3 cabin Leopard 44, but ended up with a Bali 4.3. The rigging was a bit honked up when we picked up the Bali, but overall it went well. Our third charter was originally supposed to be an FP Elba, but it had a mechanical issue and they sent us out on a Lagoon 46. Pretty easy on check in and out, but we typically would wait for several hours at the DYC office prior to being able to load onto the cat. The staff was friendly and willing to help, but in general the cats were not as completely equipped as we would have hoped. Happy to answer any questions about our experience.

[Jughead135]

Originally Posted by Calphor

We have had three charters over the last year and a half with DYC out of Compass Point Marina. [...] Happy to answer any questions about our experience.

Hope you meant that...!




We've booked with DYC from Compass Point for November. Some of the posts here have me a bit nervous.... We've got a 41' Beneteau Oceanis monohull, which is to be our first bareboat charter. I probably have more questions than I realize at this point!


The big area we haven't addressed yet in our planning is provisioning. How did you handle it? We have a slightly broken schedule: we have the boat for 10 days, but it'll be just my wife & me for the first three. The other two couples joining us have not sailed before, so I'm debating trying to find a dock to pick them up vs. trial-by-dinghy-fire for their first intro to sailing in the Islands!

I wonder if there are any docks in (say) Red Hook / Vessup Bay where we could combine a provisioning run with a pickup? Not looking to spend the night or get any hookups or services--just an hour or two to hit the market & board our friends. I gather slips can be hard to come by--what about a short-term tie-off? Do any of the provisioners on the island have a deal with the marinas, "come tie off here while you shop"? The idea would be to do a short provisioning for the first three days (just the two of us), and get our guests involved in the main provisioning for the next seven days (for all six of us)....

Only other questions coming to mind for now are: what did you do for fuel (topoff at end of trip)? And, does anyone pump-out the holding tank down there, or is it simply "go three miles thataway & let 'er rip"?

Any & all advice are welcomed by this newbie!!

[Stu Jackson]

Have you read the Cruising Guide for your proposed area and the "handouts" from the chartering company? Usually these are all spelled out in detail.


Enjoy your trip.


PS - I was a first time charterer in 1986, pre-internet. Snail mail days. Just so you understand why I'm incredulous about your questions.

[Jughead135]

Your incredulity notwithstanding, I have not been able to find anything specific to my question about the dock availability in the Cruising Guide (read cover to cover) nor the "handout" (i.e., PDF file) from the chartering company--which, of course, is why I asked the question in the first place. While I've put out feelers to a couple of marinas to try to answer the question directly, I had this fanciful idea that perhaps an online forum with cruisers more experienced than I might also be a good resource, and then I stumbled on a post from someone who explicitly offered to answer questions!



The other two questions were more of the "what did you find to be the easiest solution" type than a true "how do I?"


Do you have any constructive advice about where in these documents (or elsewhere) I might find specific information on these topics, or is your credulity already stretched beyond its limit?

[Joli]

Moorings charters out of Yacht Haven.

Dockage can be found at Yacht Haven, Crown Bay and Red Hook. It's pricy, up to $6.00/foot. We rarely dock.

We provision and pick up guests in Charlotte Amalie using the Yacht Haven dinghy dock. You can also get on the dollar bus and provision at Cost U Less.

Seven days gives you enough time to quickly tour St John and a little bit of St Thomas. You don't have time to sail to St Croix.

Love the USVI's. Great beaches, diving but not much for beach bars.

[Calphor]

To be honest, we used DYCs own schedule to our benefit. DYC has a 5pm check-in and most of the flights we have come in on get in around 1 with the taxi getting us to Compass Point around 2:00-2:30. We would time things out so that as DYC started the paperwork around 4:00-4:30, my wife would typically take a taxi over to the Food Center (just across the main road) spend and provision there. By the time she got back, we were either just getting the boat briefing or had finished loading the gear, so I could help her take the provisions to the boat. We have also short provisioned at Compass Point and planned to pick up a mooring ball at the west end of the Caneel Bay mooring ball line and taken the dingy into Cruz Bay and provisioned at the Dolphin Market.

As for fuel, we would either fuel up at Cruz Bay, or call the office when bringing the boat in on the final day and they will send a pilot out to dock you at the fuel dock and refuel. Either way is easy, but there is only one pump at Cruz and we had to wait 30 minutes or so to have the dock open on one stop. We planned an afternoon of sailing late in our trips to get out beyond the line and dump the black water tanks.

We found that the easiest way to pickup people arriving after us was to anchor in Lindbergh Bay and pick them up from the beach with the dingy. The beach area is a few minute walk from the airport. There is a park between the beach and the airport that is even easier, built the shore is a little rocky, so people who are a little shaky with their balance may not find that a pleasant experience. It is a nice little downwind sail to get to Lindbergh Bay, but it does make getting back to St John before nightfall a bit tricky, especially if the weather picks up.

Enjoy the USVI, there are lots of places to explore while you are there. I would suggest making a stop at Leinster Bay and snorkel Waterlemon Cay. Also, Great/Little Lameshur Bay has great snorkeling as well. Enjoy the trip and remember that the provisioning/fueling and tests are all part of the adventure regardless of how easy or how much trouble they become.