A newbie planning a charter in BVI...recommendations and words of wisdom

[L42AtEase]

Bring a hand held GPS. Most charter cats don't have them, since most of the navigation is line of sight. But navigation is also about obstructions and bottom depths. It will give you piece of mind when going from the Bitter End to Anagada.

Scuba tank fills were a little tricky to find , if you are diving.

Not all empty mooring balls have pennants to tie up to. You would do yourself a huge service if you learned the right way to tie up to a mooring ball without a pennant attached.

Make sure all and I mean all of your crew know how to tie up the dinghy to the boat. Ours drifted away because one of our crew didn't know how to tie a bowline or a clove hitch. Thankfully a nice guy from One Love Bar (right next to Soggy Dollar Bar) in White Bay on YVDyke brought it back for us.

Make sure you have a dinghy air pump

[L42AtEase]

*correction: peace of mind.

Also, it was nice to have a handheld VHF for the dinghy.

[zboss]

It goes without saying - Watch your drinking. For sure, tie one one at some point, but make sure there is someone on board that is sober and can manage the boat. It's say to go overboard on the alcoholic consumption in the BVI because it's like a national sport.

[Pendragon35]

Another vote for drinking only after anchoring/mooring. I'd get everyone to agree to that any other simple rules (like "I am the skipper, that means you have to do what I say") BEFORE you leave.

[Deep6]

Thanks for everyone's input on this thread it was a great time and overall things went fairly well. For people reading this thread for their own development I'll absolutely echo everyone's thoughts to establish that within reason the boat isn't a democratic environment. One of the girls on the trip ( the one that planned all the events and such) was an A type personality and caused me then most grief. The largest issue I had ( which was definitely not a small one in my books ) was contacting another boats anchor pulpit while trying to grab the last mooring surrounded by boats in a 35 kt squall. I had listened to the whining of the masses and stayed too long at the baths which meant almost every mooring field was full and the weather was turning. In the end I left the mooring field entirely and rounded the next bay and set multiple anchors with vigor and kept a watchful eye and an anchor alarm running on OpenCPN.
So, I guess in conclusion for those who are newbies ( I still consider myself a newbie) you're the skipper and no one else....and find you're moorings early.




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