Any Experience Chartering with Horizon Yacht Charters, BVI ?

[grasspack]

Hello,

We are new to the forum and have been enjoying reading all the past threads. But I would like some info from anyone on Horizon Charters in the BVI's. We are planning a bareboat(our first) in March of 2011 for 10 days. We both have our ASA certs and are planning on taking our 3 children(ages 20, 18, and 9). We chartered there last year(with festiva) but had a cook and captain. We did our ASA certs over the summer and can't wait to do it all by ourselves.

Thanks
Tim and Alice

[s/v Moondancer]

I chartered one of their boats in Grenada, they were a very professional outfit.

BVI is a good place to start with the Kids...Enjoy.

[FecklessDolphin]

My wife and I chartered with Horizon in St. Martin and thought the company treated us well. A piece fell off the mainsail luff track and they were out in a power boat to make everything right. I did not ask them to adjust the price of the charter due to the equipment problem as I did not mind it that we spent some time fixing the boat. The BVI is a more gentle sailing area with more options for moorings.

[Reality Check]

The Nanny Cay operation is generally considered a good source for bareboat charter. I've spent some time in Nanny Cay and have talked with a number of charter people who reported great service and good boats. You will generally have a wider selection of boats as compared to the Big 3 which is actually a huge 1.

You will have ease of picking up supplies just feet from your boat. Only problem I've had brought up is the difficulty in getting in and out of the slips. They seem to be good about dragging along an additional dink and getting you into the channel then hopping off. With out bow thrusters, some of their slips are difficult to access and if the wind is up (which does not occur often due to the natural protection) it can be a stressful few moments.

Think you will have a great time!

[grasspack]

Thanks so much for getting back to me. We are so excited and can't wait to get there. I had heard that getting out of the slips there can be difficult, so hopefully they will help us I did not realize that there is a store so close. That will be convienent. Is that the best store to shop at?

Thanks again.

[Reality Check]

For food supplies you have a small grocery store about 6 feet from the Horizons Office. For boat stuff, you have the 2nd best chandlers on the island just behind Jenickers. Jenickers is a really great place to have a nice breakfast or lunch, the lady that runs it is Doris and she is a great person, Devon is the bar tender.."da best on da island"

For Beach stuff and gifts, you have a choice of about 4 or 5 places at the dock or just down the marina road before you get out to the main street.

PegLeg's is now a nice place for dinner and lunch. Has a new chef named .....gezzz I can't bring it forward, big guy and a great chef.

You can order yacht provisioning on line from several places, Bobbies is probably the best know and I've used them often. Do not go full provisions unless you have my number to call to pick up your over supply!!!! Half provisions will get you through as you WILL eat out more than you plan. Don't bother going into town to shop for food supplies as it will cost you most of a day you could be spending sailing, If you do go to town for food shopping, go the the New RightWay next to the Cash and Carry (a whole sale quantity place).

[CaptainBW]

Haven't used Horizon, but have used Sunsail twice now, and would look for someone else the next time.

[maytrix]

Originally Posted by Reality Check

Do not go full provisions unless you have my number to call to pick up your over supply!!!! Half provisions will get you through as you WILL eat out more than you plan.

I would say that really depends on what they are looking for. Our first charter a year ago, we ate most of our dinners out. All breakfasts and lunchs on the boat.

This year, knowing that each dinner out was $50-70 a person, we decided we'd rather go out for drinks and apps prior to dinner and have the majority of our meals on board. This ended up being all but 1. The 1 dinner out was $70 a person. With 9 people, all the rest of our meals on board cost us less then the 1 dinner. Drinks/Apps were typicallyl $10-15 a person.

So, for a family of 5, they'd be looking at $250 per dinner in most spots. Get's expensive and even though groceries are more expensive then at home its still a lot less than dining out. So how much is provisioned really depends on how much more they want to spend.

With most of the meals being decent but not fine dining, we personally had more fun dining in and spending saved meal money on other things such as souvenirs, a guided dive..etc.

[maytrix]

Originally Posted by CaptainBW

Haven't used Horizon, but have used Sunsail twice now, and would look for someone else the next time.

What didn't you like about sunsail? Having used the moorings twice and knowing they are owned by the same company and boats are serviced by the same staff, I really wouldn't think of going elsewhere myself. At least not unless it was a substantial savings.

[CaptainBW]

Originally Posted by maytrix

What didn't you like about sunsail?

Both times we used them we had similar issues.

There was a general attitude of most of the staff that made it like pulling teeth to get questions answered, or issues with linens and gear resolved. We have traveled quite a bit in the Caribbean and we know that things move slower, and that a tourists attitude will affect the attitude you get back, and we approached dealing with issues appropriately with no affect.

The boats we had were beat to hell. The second time, the bottom of our boat had 3 inches of algae at the waterline, and after waiting more than an hour to get someone to scrape it (which should have been done the day before) we decided to just sail the boat as is. The anchor light did not work. The reefing rigging did not work properly. It was impossible to understand anything that was said on the marine radio, which was a real problem when we came back in to the base. Etc...

We had a good time, and it was mostly a combination of minor things that were wrong, but for what you pay to charter with them I can't believe that there isn't a better experience with another charter company.

[maytrix]

How long ago did you use them? I'd be surprised if Sunsail and Moorings service and boat quality was that different. We looked at a few sunsail boats a month ago and they all seemed to be in very good shape.

I know the moorings staff and service have been excellent for us and I know for service, all the staff are shared between the two companies.

At any rate, I have heard good things about Horizon.

[busyengineer]

To the gentleman "grasspack" - stay clear of Horizon at all costs. They are the worst of the worst when chartering. We had so many problems with our charter my girlfriend cried the whole way back to Denver. Never again!

[grasspack]

Appreciate all the feedback on Horizon Yacht Charters. Feedback was mixed but we are going to give it a whirl anyway. Either way we will be sure to post our experience when we get back but are determined to have a great time!

[TaoJones]

This thread, at this point, went down a path devoted to the experience of one couple when they chartered with Horizon Yacht Charters in the BVI. In an attempt to get this thread back to the OP's question, all of the posts dealing with that single charter have been moved to a standalone thread entitled, http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...bvi-49525.html in the Product & Service Reviews and Evaluations Forum.

TaoJones