Recommendations on charter in Caribbean

[leboyd]

As you can see there are a lot of choices in a lot of areas.

I’ll just add that you don’t need to worry too much about the boat age in a lot of the Caribbean. Most of the boats are less than 2 years in service because they’ve all been replaced.

[Dolphin460]

If you really want to test the cruising life look into characting a skippered cat in Croatia or the Ioanian Sea of Greece (CORFU). I have been here cruising for 13 years and love it. No hurricane season. We cruise from April to November and no problem with finding a quite spot to anchor. Crystal clear water, great food, friendly and helpful people, historical sites to visit, and safe. I have never worried about leaving my tender in the water or worrying about my wife taking our tender to town at night by herself. Just an idea before you jump to the cruising life. Good luck.

[drapem1]

I would 2nd, 3rd, 4th the BVI for all the reasons previously stated. We have kept our monohull in Nanny Cay for the last five years. We survived Irma (although it took the better part of a year to get back our boat back together) Nanny Cay has done an amazing job getting their facilities even better than before. Horizon Yacht charters have built back quite an inventory of cats and i hear very good reviews on their chartering services.
As for the rest of the BVI, although many places are still rebuilding, there are also many islands that have rebuilt and fully operational.
Book soon and don’t be hesitant to consider the BVI later in the year (early summer - May, June) as rates may be better and weather is always amazing.

[stevenkorson]

Cruise Abaco in the Bahamas. Ask for Captain Ray. We got our ASA certification and then had the boat to ourselves for a couple days. Unusual thing is that the Captain goes home at night. The boat is yours for the evening and night. We were usually at a different port, different mooring ball for the night. Captain Ray takes the ferry to whatever island you are at and you pick him up in the morning for another day of learning. Boat was Kalani. Beautiful Helia 44. Great ports. No hurricane damage at any port. Wife loved it. We got comfortable with the idea of living on a boat and confident enough that we bought a Helia 3 months later. Money well spent. Since we learned on a Helia and lived on one for 12 days, we had a good idea in what to look at when we were shopping used Helias. PM me if you have any questions. Good luck!

[edsml]

ed91e,

Sorry I 'm late to the party, but I have a somewhat dissenting opinion. If you were skippering yourself I'd also recommend the BVI for the first charter, I love it there-- making my seventh trip next month taking two groups aboard a 52' cat. But the BVI won 't give you a good representation of what cruising life is like because it's so easy there. You'll also be exposed to the worst of the sailing community, and the most crowded conditions, for that same reason; many charterers there never raise a sail!

Take advantage of a captain and go somewhere you can actually practice anchoring! There are so many great islands-- St. Maarten, Guadeloupe, Antigua, and Martinique to name just the ones that have plenty of cats available. Plus you're likely to get a better rate. I just sailed Martinique and St Lucia last month aboard a new Lagoon 42 for a couple thousand less than in the BVI. Save the BVI for YOUR first skippering charter.

I also agree with others that you should wait until April or May. You'll still have great conditions, but with less crowding and a lower cost.

Have fun!

edsml

[edsml]

P.S. Feel free to contact me if you'd like more specific recommendations. My personal favorite is Guadeloupe and their smaller islands, then on to Dominica!

[windcastle1]

If this is your first time chartering then the BVI is the place to go. Your never more than 2 hours sailing to your next Island. More than 90% of these islands have a restaurant and have mooring balls so no dropping the anchor worries or cooking if you don’t want too.

The Moorings is the 800 pound gorilla in the charter market as they are the largest ( and modt expensive) but provide the complete “One stop shop” package. They have a very nice hotel right in the marina with 2 restaurants, bar and pool. You don’t have to charter from the Moorings to stay here as it’s a separate cost center. Cats under 40 feet “usually” are a 3 cabin model which means owner stateroom. Call to check. The Moorings only charters Leopard/Moorings cats. The other charter companies have just about everything under the sun to charter and all companies can provide a Captain.

Like yourself when we chartered for the very first time in the BVI and really didn’t know what to expect we went with the “Big” guy of the industry or the one stop shop. They have the newest boats (most now have all new boats since the hurricane), a hotel in the marina with restaurant so no taxi or having to go back and forth so most convenient. After being on an airplane for 10 to 14 hours it was great to get an air conditioned room and a big bed to relax, take a nap and a short walk to the on site restaurant.

After we chartered a couple of times with the Moorings we ended up chartering from TMM as we wanted to try sailing different Cats. It’s how we decided on getting our own Lagoon catamaran. My recommendation is to get a boat with a genset and air conditioning as the BVI can get very humid depending on the time of year. It can make all the difference for your comfort . I know some will disagree but at least you have the option. My wife initially described sleeping on a boat as “Upscale” camping.

In closing there are many fine charter companies as described above. Some with “hundreds” of boats like the Moorings to companies with less than that amount. Hopefully I have articulated our first time experience and our reason for the choices we made. I too was “selling” my wife on the “boating” life and it worked!!!

[SV Mia Noi]

Hi ed91e ... BVI's are awesome. Excellent choice for a first charter.

Just returned Dec 14 from a ten day charter onboard a Beneteau 38.1. I recommend BVI Charters BVI Yacht Charters - Sailing Vacations with the personal attention you deserve ask for Anthony the base manager. All new boats.

We had a wonderful time, great wind. Jumped from Willy T's, sundowners at Cooper Island Brewery and a painkiller at Soggy Dollar bar, White Bay. I recommend visiting October, November or December 2019. Honestly, the islands are still rebuilding. Saba Rock and Bitter End Yacht Club were off limits construction sites, no safe moorings. Trellis Bay still had yachts washed on the beach.

Buy 'The Cruising Guide To The Virgin Islands' and try to get to Anagoda if time permits. Good luck.

[jerrypeters]

Originally Posted by edsml

ed91e,

Sorry I 'm late to the party, but I have a somewhat dissenting opinion. If you were skippering yourself I'd also recommend the BVI for the first charter, I love it there-- making my seventh trip next month taking two groups aboard a 52' cat. But the BVI won 't give you a good representation of what cruising life is like because it's so easy there. You'll also be exposed to the worst of the sailing community, and the most crowded conditions, for that same reason; many charterers there never raise a sail!

Take advantage of a captain and go somewhere you can actually practice anchoring! There are so many great islands-- St. Maarten, Guadeloupe, Antigua, and Martinique to name just the ones that have plenty of cats available. Plus you're likely to get a better rate. I just sailed Martinique and St Lucia last month aboard a new Lagoon 42 for a couple thousand less than in the BVI. Save the BVI for YOUR first skippering charter.

I also agree with others that you should wait until April or May. You'll still have great conditions, but with less crowding and a lower cost.

Have fun!

edsml

I concur, the BVI is beautiful but it is a theme park. Not at all like true live-aboard cruising. Try the Grenadines. Either St Vincent or Grenada. Horizon Yacht Charters can help you on either island and the cruising ground between the two islands is some of the best in the Caribbean.

[Saleen411]

Originally Posted by jerrypeters

I concur, the BVI is beautiful but it is a theme park. Not at all like true live-aboard cruising. Try the Grenadines. Either St Vincent or Grenada. Horizon Yacht Charters can help you on either island and the cruising ground between the two islands is some of the best in the Caribbean.

As a charterer, would you recommend a one way starting in Grenada or St. Vincent?

I read where somebody recently had a nice sail from St Vincent to Grenada, but looks to me starting in Grenada would be more wind and current friendly.

[jerrypeters]

Originally Posted by Saleen411

As a charterer, would you recommend a one way starting in Grenada or St. Vincent?

I read where somebody recently had a nice sail from St Vincent to Grenada, but looks to me starting in Grenada would be more wind and current friendly.

I would definitely go from St. Vincent to Grenada especially if you only have a week. The sail from St Vincent to Mustique or Bequia (Bequia is my choice) is nice and easy and a good first leg. Only one to rwo hours. From either place south to Canuan, Tobago Keys and Union (among many other options) will provide easy hops.

Coming north from Grenada requires a nearly full day sail to Carriacou for the first good stop. From that gateway the trip up north is similar to the southern route in reverse with short day hops. The wind/current is roughly equal in either direction but usually better sailing south since the prevailing easterlies are likely to have some north in them.

[Saleen411]

Originally Posted by jerrypeters

I would definitely go from St. Vincent to Grenada especially if you only have a week. The sail from St Vincent to Mustique or Bequia (Bequia is my choice) is nice and easy and a good first leg. Only one to rwo hours. From either place south to Canuan, Tobago Keys and Union (among many other options) will provide easy hops.

Coming north from Grenada requires a nearly full day sail to Carriacou for the first good stop. From that gateway the trip up north is similar to the southern route in reverse with short day hops. The wind/current is roughly equal in either direction but usually better sailing south since the prevailing easterlies are likely to have some north in them.

Excellent! Thanks for the prompt informative response!

[captstu]

I've chartered for may family and skippered a large number of times in the BVI and USVI. I find the best overall experience is to charter out of St. Thomas where you can taxi directly to the boat and spend the first night on board rather than unpacking into a temporary hotel.

Provisioning can be accomplished the first night with a short dinghy ride to US price and variety of provisions.

The first full day is an easy sail to Christmas Cove for some of the best snorkeling in the islands - then a comfortable reach to Jost van Dyke to clear customs - avoiding both the ferry rides and the long lines in Tortola.

I have a description of our last trip on my Web Site at:

http://www.shearwater-sailing.com/in...e-summer-2017/

If this trip looks interesting, I'd be happy to help - Since I'm retired, I can't charge - but I would enjoy a trip to the VIs and would be able to help with recommendations and boat handling.

[jheffel]

Check into a charter co that offers certification for Multihulls. They have a curriculum that will help with the transition from monohulls. ASA has an excellent program.

[ed91e]

Originally Posted by captstu

I've chartered for may family and skippered a large number of times in the BVI and USVI. I find the best overall experience is to charter out of St. Thomas where you can taxi directly to the boat and spend the first night on board rather than unpacking into a temporary hotel.

Provisioning can be accomplished the first night with a short dinghy ride to US price and variety of provisions.

The first full day is an easy sail to Christmas Cove for some of the best snorkeling in the islands - then a comfortable reach to Jost van Dyke to clear customs - avoiding both the ferry rides and the long lines in Tortola.

I have a description of our last trip on my Web Site at:

Virgin Islands Sailing Adventure – Summer 2017 – Shearwater IV

If this trip looks interesting, I'd be happy to help - Since I'm retired, I can't charge - but I would enjoy a trip to the VIs and would be able to help with recommendations and boat handling.

Thanks a lot for this input. I have saved your description and will have a look at it when we make our planning for the week.
One again, thanks a lot