Chartering with Moorings

[NoahTreat]

The wife and I are thinking about chartering a catamaran for seven days in Tahiti. In April 2020. We have zero ocean sailing experience. Some lake sailing experience. We know we don’t want to charter by the cabin because of the other 8 people who would be on the boat. So we are looking at the option of chartering and just hiring a skipper. So it would just be the two of us plus a skipper. Has anyone done this before? Any pros and cons? Any tips and tricks? What should we be on the look out for. We are not tied to Moorings any other companies or boats you would recommend? Thanks in advance.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by NoahTreat

The wife and I are thinking about chartering a catamaran for seven days in Tahiti. In April 2020. We have zero ocean sailing experience. Some lake sailing experience. We know we don’t want to charter by the cabin because of the other 8 people who would be on the boat. So we are looking at the option of chartering and just hiring a skipper. So it would just be the two of us plus a skipper. Has anyone done this before? Any pros and cons? Any tips and tricks? What should we be on the look out for. We are not tied to Moorings any other companies or boats you would recommend? Thanks in advance. Attachment 198163

Heaven forbid those eight other people!

[belizesailor]

I havent done it as a charter guest, but many times as a charter captian. It is common for couples to work in the charter industry as captain & crew. An upside to this is that it helps balance out the social interaction with only a couple as guests.

My suggestion is find a fully crewed boat with a couple as captain/crew, its quite common.

Ive run charters with female crew and had the guests assume we were a couple. It was working well so we didnt spoil the illusion. [emoji16]

I suggest you stick to the major players or at least highly rated smaller charter companies as they typically have higher expectations of captains & crew. Some dude with a boat...maybe not so much.

[bobnlesley]

Originally Posted by NoahTreat

The wife and I are thinking about chartering a catamaran for seven days in Tahiti. In April 2020. We have zero ocean sailing experience. Some lake sailing experience. We know we don’t want to charter by the cabin because of the other 8 people who would be on the boat. So we are looking at the option of chartering and just hiring a skipper. So it would just be the two of us plus a skipper. Has anyone done this before? Any pros and cons? Any tips and tricks? What should we be on the look out for. We are not tied to Moorings any other companies or boats you would recommend? Thanks in advance. Attachment 198163

Is this from Tahiti itself, or Raiatea further west in the Society Islands? We spent several weeks in the latter and met/spoke to several charter yacht skippers; my understanding was that any of the charter companies will arrange a professional skipper for you and that whilst each company has it's preferred/usual skippers, the guys all seemed to work for whomever wants them that week; the charter company will no doubt arrange one for you and one who speaks English - lots of bi/multi lingual French guys and a few Kiwis/Aussies/Brits too.
Given you lack of ocean, indeed even open-sea experience I would suggest you're making a good decision, the inter-island distances aren't huge, but there are noticeable tides to cope with and the seas soon pick-up, even on a nice day you might find a 6'+ swell rolling up from the Southern Ocean. In addition having a pro-skipper helps guarantee that you will get somewhere; just before we left there was a Mara'amu wind blew through and the charter company rules didn't allow those yachts without a pro-skipper to leave the dock whilst the wind was blowing F6 or more - it did so for five straight days! - so that weeks charterers got to know inland Raiatea really well.

[NoahTreat]

Originally Posted by wingssail

Heaven forbid those eight other people!

I should’ve explained that more. We are looking for something a little more intimate and flexible on the schedule. Also I want some one on one time with a pro skipper while sailing. Soak up as much knowledge as possible.

[chouliha]

Originally Posted by NoahTreat

I should’ve explained that more. We are looking for something a little more intimate and flexible on the schedule. Also I want some one on one time with a pro skipper while sailing. Soak up as much knowledge as possible.

We are currently cruising FP for the past 5 years on our own boat. But we recently did a charter on a 40' cat from Tahiti Yacht Charter in Raiatea. My suggestion is to charter from Raiatea rather than Tahiti itself. Much more choices on places to go and see.

Secondly before you go much further have you checked the cost of the charter. For us with me running the boat it was $1000 a day!

If this works in your budget then good on ya. Raiatea has 3 different charter companies and they provide skippers on request.

You can PM me for me info if necessary but I am sure there are 100's if not more folks on this forum that have chartered in FP and could offer advice.