What do sailors do on vacation?

[Offshore74]

Me and my wife are planning our september vacation, we both have our cruising certification and I've got about one season of lake racing one-design under my belt so we both have a handful of sailing experience.

Now we have the bug we're thinking our next vacation will be away from land and on the water sailing. However we've never chartered a boat for longer than a day sail in Maine. And I'm wondering if there is a good reputable place/website someone could recommend of where we could begin our search for a week on the water.

We're not interested in multihulled boats, but not apposed, and the only two places we've talked about sailing in so far (which are worlds apart) are the BVI's and Croatia. The latter being a cheaper destination which has some appeal.

Anyway curious what others would suggest in a situation like this. We certainly can't buy a sailboat fast enough, so we're looking for the next best thing with a knowledgeable captain so we could learn a few things on a great boat, and have a memorable vacation. Appreciate your input and thanks in advance!

[monte]

Hopefully someone cruising the areas will put their hand up and offer you a good deal to jump aboard for a week or so. Maybe a better option than chartering a skipper and yacht just for the two of you, unless you can rope in a few more friends to split the costs. September is mid hurricane season in BVIs so it might be hit and miss, but a fantastic place to spend a week sailing nether the less. Croatia is equally awesome. September in Croatia is getting a bit late in the season but still warm enough to swim. Allow an extra week if travelling that far for some land travels as well!


"I think multihulls require less IQ to sail than a monohull" - Duckwheat

[sailorboy1]

don't know, but

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...to-114424.html

[sec906]

Originally Posted by Offshore74

Me and my wife are planning our september vacation, we both have our cruising certification and I've got about one season of lake racing one-design under my belt so we both have a handful of sailing experience.
[snip]
Anyway curious what others would suggest in a situation like this. We certainly can't buy a sailboat fast enough, so we're looking for the next best thing with a knowledgeable captain so we could learn a few things on a great boat, and have a memorable vacation. Appreciate your input and thanks in advance!

Have you considered a flotilla in the BVI (Sunsail)? You'll have a support boat nearby if you run into any trouble, they'll talk to you every night about the destination, options, and hazards for the next day. You'll get to meet other sailors and the sailing is pretty easy. My wife and I did that for our first "big" sailing trip on our own and it was a great first step.

[Offshore74]

Great responses thank you, clearly we're a bit green about September being Hurricane season in BVI maybe we push it to November which is apparently before the crowds start pouring in. Not too well versed in Croatia yet but it sounds appealing. And better put, where to cruisers vacation TOO? I'm on that link like bread to butter. Appreciate the feedback!

[Offshore74]

Originally Posted by sec906

Have you considered a flotilla in the BVI (Sunsail)? You'll have a support boat nearby if you run into any trouble, they'll talk to you every night about the destination, options, and hazards for the next day. You'll get to meet other sailors and the sailing is pretty easy. My wife and I did that for our first "big" sailing trip on our own and it was a great first step.

I like that idea a lot, I'm also surprised at how astronomically expensive the idea of Chartering a boat can be and how many people you share with. I guess this is why people take up bareboating? Then I guess you need some trustworthy friends who sail, I know only two others I'd do that with. I guess that's leading me to another area, bareboating...

[GordMay]

According to
➥ Yacht Charter - Cosmos yachting
And to ➥ BAREBOAT CHARTER
To charter a yacht bareboat, in Croatia, it is generally required by the port authorities that the designated skipper holds an official sailing license, for example the ICC (International Certificate of Competence).

[denverd0n]

I would suggest a bareboat charter in the BVI. The sailing and navigation are both dead simple. My wife and I have chartered several times in the BVI with Sunsail. They will provide a captain for a day or two (or maybe only a half a day) if you think you need it. But my guess is that you don't. If you have any clue about how to anchor or pick up a mooring then you will be fine.

Sunsail, The Moorings, and Footloose are all the same company, at the same dock, with excellent shoreside facilities. I can recommend them. There are others that you will find if you do a search.

November is, in fact, a pretty good time to go. Hurricane danger is almost completely past, but the crowds have not started to fill in. Good luck.

[Offshore74]

Great responses thank you! And thanks for pointing out Croatia's limitations - not sure a Sailing Ontario certification will suffice. Did some digging around here and found a previous post on BVI's and barefoot charter recommendations that was quite helpful.

Thinking it might be four of us and a 5 year old boy now, haven't traveled with a kid before so that could make it interesting. 41' mono enough room?

[farshore]

Check out " charter a classic wooden schooner off season" in the commercial forum!

[SV THIRD DAY]

Work on the head, haul out, strip the deck and apply kiwi grip, teak varnish, engine oil change...oh...that's what I do on vacation...

[valhalla360]

We take the RV out or go to a resort but then the boat is home.

We always struggled with the whole charter thing. If you have 3-4 couples sharing, it's pretty reasonably priced. If it's 1 or 2 couples, once you add up all the costs, it's an expensive vacation.

I would still contact the Croatia charter companies and tell them your situaiton. I thought I heard that the ICC is required but it doesn't get enforced with chartering (YMMV).

[Peter200]

A great source of information for both destinations is YouTube. Just type in sailing and then you can see videos posted by people having sailed in Croatia and the BVI's. Have a great time in either destination.

[Brob2]

September equals Greece. Perfect weather, swimmable, better rates and (somewhat) smaller crowds.

[DMCantor]

From what you've said about your experience, I would recommend a crewed charter. If you head for the Caribbean, it is well worth working through a broker like Ed Hamilton (Caribbean Charters, charter boats caribbean, caribbean vacations sailing by Ed Hamilton Yacht Charters). They can match your interests to a particular boat, and there is no cost to you. We used them a couple of times to link up with skippers who were interested in teaching us more about sailing. No other relationship with them.

September in the BVI is big-time hurricane season, but you might get lucky. Croatia will be lovely, moderate weather and the crowds will mostly have gone home.

David
s/v Callisto