# Planning Carribbean Bareboat Charter



## District (Mar 7, 2017)

I'm in the initial stages of planning a 1 week bareboat charter in the Caribbean. Location and times are wide open right now, but probably US/BVI. Does anyone have any recommended times, places, and companies to rent from? Any other suggestions and advice are welcome.


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## TQA (Apr 4, 2009)

There are quite a number of threads on this topic. 

BVI best choice.

Moorings is upmarket and has the best support.

Conch is cheap and cheerful.


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## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

I think it depends on your level of sailing ability. The BVI's are the "kiddie pool" of bareboat areas and a great place to hone your skills with a minimal chance of problems. You'd be hard pressed to even find a place where you had to anchor instead of taking a mooring.
Down island is much more challenging with longer runs across open water and quite often, rougher conditions.
Off season is cheaper and much less crowded. Conditions are milder for sailing (if not a few degrees hotter) as the winter down here can bring heavier winds and rougher seas. The off season is also hurricane season, so a good watch on the weather is appropriate, though should anything develop that might threaten your area, *EVERYBODY* will be endlessly chatting about it. Depending on the month and the forecast season activity, trip insurance might well be a good investment for an off season bareboat charter in the Caribbean.


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## SHNOOL (Jun 7, 2007)

BVIs are a great way to start... I did and can't wait to go back. We used Moorings the first time and the service was truly flawless. This go around we are using BVI Yacht Charters, we'll see how that works. The Moorings are use to first timers and really walk you through the whole process, that does not make them newbies only, just that they were great to me, and I found the process pretty well thought through. Brillant marketing too, handing you a rum punch immediately upon stepping out of the cab


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

If this is your first charter I would recommend Moorings/Sunsail especially if you don't own a boat.
Theirs are more expensive but newer and more resources to fix you up on the go.

The BVIs are a delightful, easy, well infrastructured and supported. Each day is a delightful sail, a close mooring ball or achorage close to a bar or restaurant as well as snorkeling spot.

Yes its crowded... but not crowded like at home at the beach on a hot Sunday afternoon.

Not even you can screw up your families vacation! Everyone will enjoy it. There's nothing *really* that can go wrong. Even if one of your familily or friends absolutely hates it you can just sail back to Tortola and offload the ungrateful mug into a hotel in less than 2 hours.


Mark


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## fallard (Nov 30, 2009)

Agree that it would be hard to do better than the BVI, especially if you are a first-timer in the Caribbean. Yes, you may run into a crowded anchorage with limited mooring availability, but nothing like the northeast US. There are anchoring options (plan B) that you might want to prepare for, just in case you arrive late at a place like Cooper Island to find all the moorings taken.

One drawback to the BVI is getting there, if you can't get a good flight arrangement. You can take a ferry from St. Thomas or a puddle jumper from San Juan, if you can't get a direct connection. 

After more than a dozen charters in the US/BVI, I've gravitated to Island Yachts at Red Hook, St. Thomas. If you go from there to the BVI (and you will want to as a first timer) you'l have to check into the BVI, presumably at Soper's Hole or Jost van Dyke and you'll have to check back into the US at Cruz Bay, St. John. That's probably too much hassle for your first time, but isn't that big a deal for future trips where you might spend some really quality time in the harbors of St. John. The real advantage is the availability of flying into St. Thomas on a real airplane.


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## Tanley (Aug 20, 2009)

MarkofSeaLife said:


> If this is your first charter I would recommend Moorings/Sunsail especially if you don't own a boat.
> Theirs are more expensive but newer and more resources to fix you up on the go.
> 
> The BVIs are a delightful, easy, well infrastructured and supported. Each day is a delightful sail, a close mooring ball or achorage close to a bar or restaurant as well as snorkeling spot.
> ...


I haven't seen it more succinctly put. The BVI Tourist Board should put this in a brochure...


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Is this the first time? If so, BVI is the way to go. Moorings is all inclusive and fairly simple and could be a way to start. I swore by them at one point, despite every single boat having issues, such as: clogged fresh water tank vent, inoperative oven, etc. The briefing did not identify either, because their briefings are pretty cursory. 

There is a hassle to chartering out of BVI. If you fly into St Thomas, you'll take the ferry over and have a miserable experience clearing customs. It's taken as much as 2 hrs and it feels every bit like the third world country you're actually entering. Alternatively, you fly into Tortola and clear at the airport, but you'll most likely have to connect in Puerto Rico. Virtually no where flies direct. Those connections, not unlike the ferry, can be very unpredictable. I've been told, if you miss the last plane out of Puerto Rico, you'll sleep in the terminal. The nearby hotels are always full.

I've recently begun to use CYOA out of St Thomas. It's major advantage is flying into STT and literally being aboard in about 20 mins, which includes the time to de-plane and hail a taxi. It's a smaller operation, so the inventory and availability are limited. On the flip side, it hurts them to have to chase you down to fix a problem, so they go above and beyond to insure it doesn't happen. Their briefing is extremely thorough, including an on-water test of all systems, including the sails and a tack/gybe or two. I've had to call chase boats from both the Moorings and Horizon, but in both CYOA experiences, they ship has done her job from dock to dock. I didn't love the Hunter I chartered this year, but she got the job done. Their new Beneteaus looks really nice!

The downside to chartering out of STT is that you'll still want to go to the BVI and will have to clear customs with the boat. I used to think that wasn't worth doing, but I was totally wrong. It's very simple and you do so at remote customs locations, so you fully avoid lines and crowds. CYOA gives you all the forms you need and a guide for how to complete them. I cleared into the BVI at Jost Van Dyke and simply made Foxy's our first destination. Seriously easy decision. St. John is also in play, as you'll pass it between STT and BVI. If you start in the BVI, you're very unlikely to want to clear into the US, just to go to St. John.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

capta said:


> .......Depending on the month and the forecast season activity, trip insurance might well be a good investment for an off season bareboat charter in the Caribbean.


I wonder exactly how trip insurance works in the face of a hurricane. If the storm is 5 days out on the date of your flight to the islands, I'm not sure the predictability of these storms is sufficient for insurance to simply reimburse you for not going. If you do go and get within a day or two of landfall, you probably won't get a last minute flight back out.

It's sort of like my haul out insurance. My slot to be hauled out is prior to the window that the insurance company is assured to pay.


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## KnottyCanadian (Mar 3, 2017)

Great information!

Be aware of the age and condition of the boats provided by the Charter Company - Moorings as mentioned has top tier new boats, Sunsail and Barefoot are owned by Moorings and have older boats. I have used Sunsail twice and was very satisfied. Went to Dream Yacht Charters this year and was thoroughly disappointed in a 3 year old catamaran - she was beat up...

Price does not reflect the condition of the boat... nor does the notation 'New' mean new or new condition!

Ask the questions and demand the quality from any company.

Good luck


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## KnottyCanadian (Mar 3, 2017)

FYI - I planned a 7 day cruise - 10 people, 8 had never sailed before, used a 52 catamaran - did the tourist areas of BVI and some not so frequented places. Had 30+ knots winds on a return trip from Anegada. Need som e questions answered I can help...


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## Telesail (Dec 28, 2011)

Checking into BVI and then back into US is really not a problem if you charter out of St Thomas. I am a big fan of flying into Charlotte Amelie. 

Cannot comment on chartering out of Red Hook but CYOA at Frenchtown certainly looks after their boats and are worth a look. 

In terms of timing, June and even July are very uncrowded and great sailing. This time of year, Feb & March, there is a chance of strong easterly winds and northern swells from storms in New England. But by June you can be pretty sure of wind and waves running same direction. 

A slightly off beat option might be to charter out of Puerto Rico and play around Culebra and Vieques with the advantage of downhill return home at the end of the week......


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## fallard (Nov 30, 2009)

Telesail said:


> Checking into BVI and then back into US is really not a problem if you charter out of St Thomas. I am a big fan of flying into Charlotte Amelie.
> 
> Cannot comment on chartering out of Red Hook but CYOA at Frenchtown certainly looks after their boats and are worth a look.
> 
> ...


We've been impressed with the condition of the Island Packets that are chartered out of Red Hook by Island Yachts. I suspect that Island Yachts, which is the Island Packet dealer for the Caribbean, probably sold the charter yachts to their owners and is obligated to keep them in good condition.

In any case, the Island Packets are not race boats, but they are a cut above the Jenneaus and Beneteaus--and certainly Hunters--that other charterers tend to provide. That said, the Island Yacht boats tend to have minimal electronics (usually no chartplotter or autopilot), but I have never had to call for a problem during the 8 or so charter from Island Yachts. We've been to Anegada, St. Croix, and the Spanish Virgins, so that says something for the confidence we have in their boats.

Having been to the Spanish Virgins, we'd advise the uninitiated that it is a delightful venue, but the facilities for bareboaters--like replenishing fresh water--are not the greatest. Dewey, however, on Culebra is otherwise a bareboat cruising jewel: great anchorage, selection of restaurants, provisioning options, and even a chandlery. Also, the moorings were free when we where there several years ago. Culebrita is the most scenic place we've visited anywhere in the Virgins.


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## SailingShells (Mar 17, 2017)

Hi District

I have a suggestion! My fiancé and I are looking for 2 more couples or singles to join us for a charter out of Tortola May 9 - May 16 2017. We love to sail and enjoy life to the fullest. Our only requested stops are Trellis Bay for the full moon party on the 10th and Jost Van Dyke! Other than that we are game for anything. We are looking into a 43' Benneteau from BVI Yacht Charters with a ASA Instructor so I can complete ASA 103 & 104 courses during the cruise. If you are interested email me at mikeatmichaelshellcpadotcom.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Hi SailingShells. Welcome to the forum. 

Your plan sound ambitious to me. A full moon party, two certifications and strangers aboard. I wonder if an instructor would be willing to only have a couple of students, among a boat of strangers. That might be distracting. The non-certifying crew may not get to do as much sailing as they like, as the students are doing MOB drills, etc. Or, they may not get the shore time they like, as the boat is being used in class all day. Would 103/104 be roughly 3 days of the cruise? You would also have to pick up the instructor and drop them off. Sounds complicated.

p.s. Just occurred to me. I think some bareboat companies put Trellis off limits during the full moon parties. You may want to check that out.


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## cjkloehn (Apr 5, 2017)

KnottyCanadian said:


> FYI - I planned a 7 day cruise - 10 people, 8 had never sailed before, used a 52 catamaran - did the tourist areas of BVI and some not so frequented places. Had 30+ knots winds on a return trip from Anegada. Need som e questions answered I can help...


How was the charter experience with 10 people on the 52 foot catamaran. Were quarters cramped? I am considering a similar trip next year with my family - 10 adults 6 of which don't have sailing experience.


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## RickGUSVI (Jan 21, 2013)

We did 10 with a FP Helia 44 through CYOA. My nephews loved the coffin berths with a/c, so sleeping accommodations were great. There was a ton of room to move around. Everyone had a great time. We keep a Beneteau 40 in the USVI and it was interesting to try the cat experience. 10 on the 44' cat was roomier than 6 on our 40' monohull.

Cheers, RickG


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