BVI Charter Company - Recommendation Needed

[MikeHe]

Can anyone recommend a BVI charter company post hurricane? I'm looking for a ~37' monohull in good shape for a week this winter.
Thanks

[CaptCanuck]

We’ve used VSV, Vacances sous voilesTwice and going back for a third time. Great location at Nanny Cay, friendly staff, good boats and reasonably priced. Have a Hanse 38 we’ve chartered before. Can’t recommend highly enough.

[soares29]

Have used Moorings few times and DYC once. Very happy with both .

[MikeHe]

thanks

[TriggerHappy]

Moorings twice in the BVI and would recommend. Great base of operations as well. Pricey though so keep that in mind.

[kupo2kupo]

Horizon Yacht Charters out of Nanny Cay. Immaculate boats, great personal attention. Haven’t used them since the hurricane, though.

[Flagman101]

BVI yacht charters are good to!
With all those names you should find a boat

[captainjay]

We have a nearly new Beneteau 38 at CYOA Yacht Charters.

Jay

[Funkydrum]

Originally Posted by Flagman101

BVI yacht charters are good to!
With all those names you should find a boat

BVIYC got a bunch of new Monohulls post-Irma

[Journeys End]

Island Yacht Charter out of St. Thomas. Small Boutique charter company. Much easier to fly in and out of than BVI. All Island Packet yachts. Great owners.

[Funkydrum]

Originally Posted by Journeys End

Island Yacht Charter out of St. Thomas. Small Boutique charter company. Much easier to fly in and out of than BVI. All Island Packet yachts. Great owners.

Like that idea as long as you plan on staying in USVI. One week is skinny if you're planning on checking in / out of BVI...

[MasterJib]

You can also check out peer-to-peer platforms such as Antlos or GetMyBoat, where you can book directly with private boat owners.

[contrail]

If you are thinking of booking directly with a private boat owner, and it's in the BVI, make sure the owners have a trade license. The BVI takes that seriously, as a number of folks found out when Air B and B started out!

[dave907]

This may be too late to help, but for those that might look this up later:

I've chartered in the BVI's over a dozen times. A few recommendations:

- I would not charter out of St. Thomas or the USVI's. All the good cruising is along Sir Francis Drake Passage. You have to do an exposed passage from St. Thomas to enter the passage. It is often uncomfortable. Also, the charter companies I've experienced on USVI are a bit stuffy. It took us three hours to get cleared to leave the dock on one trip because they insisted that we do a full inventory of all gear on the boat (including counting the wash clothes, forks, etc.).

- Moorings is the biggest outfit on Tortola and they've got the routine down to a well-oiled machine. Their base has private marble bathrooms with showers and fresh towel service.

- MarineMax is a newer charter company that I've used three times and they're also very good. Their base is not as luxurious as Moorings, and they are farther away from provisioning stores. However, MarineMax is the place is you want to charter a power cat. Their 47 foot power cat is amazing. I've chartered it twice and it's a party barge that would make Jaba the Hutt jealous.

- A good tip for either company is to pay an extra half day to sleep at the dock the first night. It's cheaper than a hotel if you have four couples, and you can get your briefing that evening. If you do it this way, you can cast off at first light and get a full day on your first day out. If you expect to cast off the dock on the first day you arrive, you'll be lucky to motor out before dinner time, and you'll be pulling into the first night's anchorage in the dark.

- To have the charter company provision or not? After a lot of experimentation we've chosen a half and half approach which works pretty good. Have the charter company provision the basics (paper towels, garbage bags, aluminum foil, soap, etc.) Also, have them provision the heavy stuff like cases of bottled water (you don't want to drink out of the tanks), beer, soda, etc. If you do this then you can provision just the fresh meat, fruit, and specialty items you might want.

- Dining ashore is expensive (like everything else when on vacation in the Carribean) so we tend to make most meals on-board and just have 2-3 nice dinners onshore during a 7 day charter.

- BVI Must sees: Norman Island the bight (go for a hike on the ridge of the island and consider hiking down to the lagoon on the backside for some rarely used snorkeling); The Baths (go very early, because there are few mooring balls and anchoring is not permitted); Bubbly Pool (worth the hike, especially if the seas are coming from the North . . . imagine a huge jacuzzi. Pack in some beer and folding chairs for a great afternoon. Bring a garbage bag because there are no waste cans); the Willy T (alas, the last Willy T sunk during Irma, but apparently there is a new one, but tragically no longer at the Bight in Norman Island. It is (or was) the best daytime party barge in the BVI's. It gets a bit too hardcore for old folks like us in the evening, but it's wonderful place to enjoy afternoon cocktails and jump from the second level into the clear water).

Hope this was useful. BVI's = my favorite place on Earth. Enjoy!

Dave

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