tewels

I am interested in any advice from those who have experience chartering a catamaran in the BVI’s. I'm in the beginning stages of planning for next summer. I am well traveled in the Caribbean, but am not a sailor, and we have never chartered a boat. We are ready to take our vacation to the next level.

We spent a week in Tortola last year, and were always jealous boats that would pull up to the beach and hang out. We took a day sail on Mystique (voyagecharters.com) out of Sopers Hole. This made us want to do the trip. We just really want to beach hop, go to Bombas for the full moon party, snorkel, dive, see some spots we couldn’t see if we were land based.

We will probably have 3-4 couples, and have a fairly moderate budget. Will be flying in from Dallas. Would we be better to sail out of St. Thomas or Tortola? We plan on a week cruise.

Any recommendations for this trip would be greatly appreciated. Right now, I’m looking at June or July 2008, and want to get our air secured with FF miles. Not sure how far out these boats book up. What size boat would be best, do we need A/C. Looking for a personable
company with a fun captain.

Does anyone know anything about Lionheart? This is about how much money we would like to spend. Around 2k a couple. http://www.charteryachts.info/lionheart/pricing.html

Thanks in advance for your help.

A_Traveller

If I were you, I'd sail out of Tortola as it will put you in the best location to reach the maximum number of islands during your trip.

You might want to post your question on the BVI forum at: www.traveltalkonline.com

It's a very active forum with lots of BVI sailing experts. They can answer all your questions.

With 3 or 4 couples you'll need a fairly large boat (maybe 45+ feet) as accomodations can be fairly cramped. You'll probably have more selection of boats if you sail out of Tortola. For starters check out www.moorings.com - it's one of the largest bareboat companies in the Caribbean. They can supply a qualified captain (and cook if you need one). There are also several links in the sponsor section at traveltalkonline. Also do a google search using such topics as "Caribbean Yacht Charters" or "Yacht Charters - BVI's" and you'll find links to almost every yacht charter available, including photos, boat specs, sample itineraries, rates, etc.

Good luck in your quest - it's a great way to see the BVI's.

doug_stallings

If you're not a sailor, then you want a regular yacht charter and not a bareboat. It's much nicer if you have someone to do the sailing, cooking, and cleaning up. But it will cost more than $2K per couple, so that might be a consideration for you.

pinafore

I have been on 2 bareboat charters out of Tortola. One with the Moorings and One with the Company out of Sopers Hole.The Soper's Hole Catamaran was a much much nicer boat. It had 4 bedrooms and 4 baths, an extra 'crew' cabin and bath. Lots of freezer and refrigerator space and so on. Nine of us went last year and we had a fantastic time, even visiting the famous Cow Wreck bar on Anagedea. You get an extra night on the boat in Soper's Hole too that saves you staying in a hotel. If you do not have a Captain's license then you will have to do the trip with crew. If your trip time is flexible try going at the end of October/beginning of Nov, the prices are less but the weather better than in the summer. Much less chance of hurricane related storms then than in June, July.You will pay about $1500 per couple including food for bareboat and more for a CAptain divided by 4 couple should not be too much more.
A/C is a good thing, but you will feel hot and sticky most of the time, but as you spend all the time in a swimming costume there is little laundry to do and a quick shower during the day helps to cool you off.

wilsonsam

I've just come back from 10days in the BVIs chartering a bareboat from TMM. Don't what ever you to charter from them! We wasted several days getting the boat fixed! While we were away we met a group who'd taken a skippered cat through Moorings. It was great! Their skipper was fantastic - he was a local and knew the islands inside out (Maynard was his name in case you want to ask for him!). Worth every penny and he was a great cook!
Good luck!

Callaloo

Wow, Wilsonsam, sorry you had a bad experience with TMM. We've used them ourselves, and consider them among the cream of the crop of charter companies (and we have tried many). Unfortunately, bad things can happen on charter boats -- in our case, we've only ever had issues with Moorings boats (which were promptly fixed), so it truly is the luck of the draw. As sailors and owners of our own boat, as well as frequent charterers, we know how fragile marine systems can be, and how corrosive the marine environment (and indifferent charter guests) can be.

What were some of the problems with your boat? How did TMM fail to address them?

Also, I'm curious about the captained Moorings boat you encountered. A skipper that cooks!! He must be rare indeed, because my experience with Moorings' captained boats (as opposed to crewed) is that the captain ONLY captains, while the charterers not only supply his food and a bunk, but also do the cooking. That's a sweet deal indeed. Either Moorings has changed their terms for skippered charters, or you encountered a skipper who provides a lot extra for the relatively modest fee that the Moorings skippers are paid.

beachbum2

Footloose is a Mooring company that uses boats that have been in the Mooring fleet. They are just a bit older and cheaper. There are so many companies out there and you can have problems with any. We used TMM years ago with no problems. There prices are good, but service is definitely not Moorings. We have left from both Tortola and St. Thomas. It really doesn't make a big difference. The only thing you may want to consider is when we went out of St Thomas, we checked a cooler of meat/etc as a piece of luggage and it was no problem to St. Thomas. I don't know what the rules are for Tortola. It was great bringing some of our own meat as it is very expensive there and does not have a ton of flavor. I brought steaks, ground beef, bacon and chicken and even a frozen Lasagna for an easy meal and some lunch meats. We ate about half of our dinners and half of our lunches out and most breakfast in. You really don't need a cook as there are great restaurants all around and it will hike your price up. There are several agents that also deal specifically with charter and bareboats. We have used Ann Wallace White out of Annapolis. She knows all the crew she deals with and can recommend someone to fit your personalities and needs. It is still my favorite type of vacation and I love the BVI's...sailed 3 times there. I hope this helps some. I'd look at the catamarans with 4 equal cabins.

NinaM

Booked with Footloose 2 yrs ago and had a very good experience with them. We chartered our boat out of Tortola and had a week and a half of glorious sailing (and we did sail, not just motor between islands as it seems most people did). We did go to Anegada, and got caught in the tail end of a tropical storm on our way back which made for some super fun sailing (this is where having experienced people on board really helps). The "Baths" were amazing, albeit very busy, and the snorkeling was really beautiful there. The snorkel around the "caves and the Indians" was really a highlight. What I loved most was being able to drop anchor at a secluded bay and just diving off the boat and having a wonderful time. My only suggestion would be to hire a captain if you're not experienced, or unless you just plan to motor between the islands. But honestly, the highlight of the trip is the sailing aspect. We did find grocery shoopping to be super expensive, but what do you expect from a tiny island where all the food needs to be shipped in. With that many people on board for your trip, I would advise having supper on land if you plan on picking up a ball every night, making the whole eating thing a much easier endeavour. Happy planning!