Cat Charter in Seychelles in July

[12BCruzn]

Hello All,

We are considering a bareboat cat charter in Seychelles in July. It will be a 35 hour journey to get there, which is daunting and so would like to get recommendations from anyone who has been there. Was it worth the trip (and the money)? How are the anchorages? Have you been in July? Any tips?


Thanks in advance!
Pat

[Jeannius]

Hi Pat


I'm not sure how many people you'll find on here who have chartered in the Seychelles so I'll share my experience even though it is about 20 years old!


We chartered a 38ft mono from Sunsail back in around 1998. At that time the Seychelles were just opening up as a charter destination with only Sunsail and VPM offering boats. It was immediately obvious that it wasn't setup for sailing in the way that our only previous tropical sailing vacation, BVI, had been. No mooring balls, no dinghy docks, provisioning only on the main island.


The islands and anchorages were incredibly beautiful and for the most part deserted but, at the end of May, beginning of June, there were ocean swells that meant half the anchorages couldn't be used, at least by a mono. We were also stuck in the harbour on La Digue for three days with torrential rain and 30 knots + wind. The wind and rain was apparently unusual as May to September was supposed to be relatively dry. It wasn't! Sadly the rest of the time there was virtually no wind so we motored everywhere.


The other big problem we had was the tidal range and the lack of dinghy docks. One night we anchored, well out because of the range and a gently sloping bottom, and went for a meal at one of the resorts. A couple of hours later when we left, the hard, heavy, dinghy was a good 50 yards from the water. It was an incredible struggle for me, my wife and then 13-14 year old daughter to get that thing back in the water.


Anyway, to sum up, the Seychelles were magnificently beautiful but we said if we went back, it wouldn't be on a sailing holiday. We haven't been back so things may have changed but if it is the same as it was 20 years ago, I wouldn't recommend it for sailing.

[12BCruzn]

Thanks Mike. We changed plans and are going to Croatia instead! Oddly enough we will be on a 38ft mono! BTW, Croatia requires a sailing certification (ASA 104 or equivalent) so I had to scramble to complete mine before the trip. We’ll be sailing out of Split. Any recommendations there?

[Jeannius]

My knowledge of Croatia is even more out of date than my knowledge of The Seychelles! I did have a land based holiday there over 40 years ago when it was still Yugoslavia. Stayed on either the island of Brac which is just offshore from Split or the next one out, Hvar, can't remember which.


It is a beautiful part of the world but can't help with sailing info!

[sigmasailor]

Bring enough money for the (state owned) marina's. Other than that the sailing is lovely; you cannot go wrong.

[Nils Gruttner]

Hi 12Bcruzn,

Who are you chartering from in Split? I am going there in April next year. Wouldn't mind hearing from you how it went.

[OzDean]

Hey Pat, we spent some time around Split in 2011. Re sailing certification, I had an International Certificate of Competency (ICC), however Croatia also required a "Licence". It turned out my 30 year old "General Boat Driving Licence" from Australia did the trick ,they just wanted a Licence number to put in a box, that Licence simply stated that I could drive a power boat. I thought the ICC would be enough. I suggest ask the charter company exactly what they require and send the details in advance for approval. Re Split, that was a great place itself and a base to sail from, plenty of islands to visit within a day sail, I recommend the blue cave off Vis, the Mrdujska Regatta was on while we were there, we did the main race and it was fun, but it means the Split marina berths fill up.

[12BCruzn]

Originally Posted by Nils Gruttner

Hi 12Bcruzn,

Who are you chartering from in Split? I am going there in April next year. Wouldn't mind hearing from you how it went.

OzDean,
We are chartering with Dream Yacht Charters. We have used Moorings and Sunsail in the past and would have used them this time, but we found DYC had a more convenient time slot and boat availability this time. Last summer we chartered with Sunsail in French Polynesia and saw several DYC boats about so figured they must be doing something right.

[alex_sauvage]

Originally Posted by 12BCruzn

Thanks Mike. We changed plans and are going to Croatia instead! Oddly enough we will be on a 38ft mono! BTW, Croatia requires a sailing certification (ASA 104 or equivalent) so I had to scramble to complete mine before the trip. We’ll be sailing out of Split. Any recommendations there?

We chartered in Croatia last fall and had a great time. But as mentioned above bring money for marinas. They are not cheap but generally pretty nice. Better than yacht clubs I see in NA. How long is your trip ? Also check with your charter company if you need VHF radio license. There is a requirement for it, but I don`t remember how much they enforce it

[12BCruzn]

Originally Posted by alex_sauvage

We chartered in Croatia last fall and had a great time. But as mentioned above bring money for marinas. They are not cheap but generally pretty nice. Better than yacht clubs I see in NA. How long is your trip ? Also check with your charter company if you need VHF radio license. There is a requirement for it, but I don`t remember how much they enforce it

Oh, great . . . NO they didn't mention anything about a VHF license, although the ASA 103 and 104 instruction includes the proper use of the VHF radio, so maybe this suffices . . .

Our charter is for 7 days. BTW in Croatia DYC, Sunsail, and Moorings only have 7d or multiples of 7d charters available.

[alex_sauvage]

Originally Posted by 12BCruzn

Oh, great . . . NO they didn't mention anything about a VHF license, although the ASA 103 and 104 instruction includes the proper use of the VHF radio, so maybe this suffices . . .

Our charter is for 7 days. BTW in Croatia DYC, Sunsail, and Moorings only have 7d or multiples of 7d charters available.

7 days is too short to go down south to Dubrovnik, but there are a lot of places around Split. I would recommend Trogir (you can visit by bus or ferry as well), Hvar, Korcula, Vis...you can go south to Mljet or north to Sibenic and Krka National park.

[pathlesschosen]

See the conversion on the bottom of the link below regarding the FCC license. My understanding is the license is required, but unlikely anyone will ask. I spent the $70 to resolve the issue. Cheers

https://www.latesail.com/en-us/blog/...e-abroad-faqs/

[12BCruzn]

Originally Posted by alex_sauvage

7 days is too short to go down south to Dubrovnik, but there are a lot of places around Split. I would recommend Trogir (you can visit by bus or ferry as well), Hvar, Korcula, Vis...you can go south to Mljet or north to Sibenic and Krka National park.

The boat is in Trogir and we arrive 24 hr prior to embarkation so we will get to see some of that old city before we cast off. Hvar, Korcula, and others are on the itinerary

[12BCruzn]

So, just to be on the safe side and because of the warnings issued by you all, I have sent off for the ASA international certificate of competence and, just for good measure, the State of Florida Boating License.

[Piscis]

Croatia is a great place for sailing.


We went there a few times and cruised around the Kornati national park. Nice little Islands with a few small hidden marinas and bays. Many of those bays offer free mooring balls, if you dine in at one of the local Restaurants - at least that was how it was two years ago...
You might will get approached by the park rangers. They will collect the national park fee from you. You might consider paying in advance via their online payment System. Safes you a few bucks i guess.


From Trogir it is a 60 NM sail to the NW to that area, passing Primosten. A very nice small Harbour town with a wonderfull Dining and Restaurant area and Marina.




Best wishes to you...