Planning BVI Trip for June

[dkb498]

As we were going through the usual suspects (Sunsail, moorings, etc) we stumbled into conch Charters out of Tortola. Does anyone have any thoughts or experiences with these folks?

Much appreciated

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, dkb498.

[LifeJacket]

We have not (yet) used Conch Charters out of the BVI. My understanding is that they are the charter company that the boats go to once they have some years on them 4 or 5+. So the equipment might not be brand spanking new ... but that should certainly not persuade you not to use them. Just be aware that older systems (especially those that have been in charter for almost 10 years) may or may not work as well as newer ones.

We have had terrific experiences with The Catamaran Company and TMM in the BVI ... and are currently working with Horizon out of Grenada ... which so far has been the the ultimate in customer service ... possibly because it is a little harder to get to Grenada.

Have a great time!

[saler13]

Conch Charters will treat you well, they are a top notch 2nd line charter company.

[Pierremundo]

Go for BVI Yacht Charters. BVI Yacht Charters, Tortola Great yachts and service for the right price. Sailed 4 times with them without problems.

[maytrix]

Check www.sailonline.com and look for some owners time if you are looking at Sunsail and Moorings. There's some other owners from other companies selling time too.

This time of year you can save a decent amount, especially depending on the boat.

[dkb498]

Thanks guys - helpful info. Excellent tip from maytrix, will check out.

[Troubadour52993]

I did a Footloose charter with someone who had been with Conch many years ago. He said he had to dig into the tool bag several times, but we had to dig in also on both a Sun yachts charter (jib track car stop disintegrated) and a Sunsail (starter solenoid). The boats I saw seemed as nice as the other second tier charter boats.

[nial]

Conch will not allow their boats to sail to Anagada. Don't ask me why, all the others don't seem to have any problem with that.
nial

[bstreep]

Originally Posted by Pierremundo

Go for BVI Yacht Charters. BVI Yacht Charters, Tortola Great yachts and service for the right price. Sailed 4 times with them without problems.

Dittos. And, they let us sail to Anegada. Wonderful folks - great response in the event of a problem.

BTW, I've recommended them at least dozens of times to folks who chartered there. I've never had someone come back and say "uh... Bill... you led us astray...". That's saying a lot too - not just my experiences.

[captainstubbie]

from my own personal experience, i would look for another company to charter from. we sent our grocery list to them well in advance, only to find a 'bare boat' with the excuse they never got it (and no call/email saying they didn't despite our conversation with them saying that we were sending it so please take care of it) - so we spend the 1st morning shopping instead of sailing, while to boat was clean it was very well used - and we had to put up with a sticking bilge pump, a sticking fresh water pump, a roof hatch that leaked every night directly onto our bunk, and other maintenance issues. while the trip was awesome - the condition of the boat was such that i would try someone else next time.

[zippy]

We are chartering with Conch next week. This will be the first time with them. We have chartered in the past with Sunsail and 2 other smaller companies, all on very new boats so it will be interesting to see if the savings gained by chartering an older boat are worth it.

[Tayzach]

I have chartered with Conch two times. Once I organizated a group of 22 on 5 boats. I can say the trips were great. The boats are older but in good condition. As or Anegada, they allowed us to sail there both times. I would definitely go with them again.

[Steve W]

Chartered 6 times in the last 10 yrs in the BVI, the last one was with Conch. eight year old Beneteau was spotless, everything worked except the knotmeter (never worked on any of the other charters, either), service was good, though they were a bit slow answering emails. Dinghy was great. Short walk to Rite Way market, had Bobby's deliver everything else from an online order. The Pub restaurant is next door and Road Town Pussers is within walking distance. I think they gave us a free night sleep aboard + paid for 7 days and got 10 days for late May charter. Lot of bang for the buck. Fuel avaible at marina, made for easy checkout. Woild use them again. Have a great trip!

[dkb498]

Thanks Guys - All great info.