Recommendations on charter in Caribbean

[shawndear]

Try Bluescape Sailing and Scuba Diving. Its a Bahia 46'. No owners cabin but probably the best priced catamaran in the Caribbean that can cater from all-inc down to half-board so no wasted time shopping or cooking and washing up. A real holiday for a similar price to a captained yacht of the same size. Operation out of St Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada and for 1 week charters, charge no extra for one way trips that give you the best of sailing direction (north to south) and time on the islands. You can find them on Facebook and Trip Advisor with many recommendations. Scuba Diving is also available from the yacht. If you are thinking of going green, the yacht has 2300watts of solar and two wind generators with ample lithium battery power.
www.bluescape.eu

Cheers

Shawn

[davecalvert]

If you want a real sailing adventure in unspoiled islands without the crowded anchorages, consider the Bahamas. We have a renovated Leopard 46 just starting the season. www.calvertcatamarancharters.com

[MultiCountryDon]

Go 1st class-
BVI-Moorings
Just Perfect.

[contrail]

I am based in the BVI and can probably help out. Feel free to send me a PM with your phone and I will be happy to give you a call.

[ShellBack89]

Not sure if Wiley Sharp with Denison Yachting follows the forum but I know his wife is an charter broker for Captained Cats out of the USVI and BVI. He and his wife did a video series on "How to Charter a Catamaran - What is a charter broker" on youtube. Link below. It's a 3 part series.



https://youtu.be/WgJXzmAwGPE

[DeepCut]

Highly recommend TMM Charters in BVI. Mid size company. Great support. They have several owner versions in size range you desire.

[Dr. Sea]

Originally Posted by ed91e

Hello,
Me and my wife are planning to charter a cat around 45 feet for a week during the first half of 2019. We want a skipper included since we don’t have any experience in sailing such a big cat.
When would be the best time to go?
From where and which charter agency would you recommend?

1. Where? Since you are new to chartering, there is absolutely no better place than British Virgin Islands. Terrific combination of protected waters, great beaches, and an unmatched selection of yachts. Some of the big resorts are not yet rebuilt, but all the places that you will want or need are up and running.

2.When? January-March is high season. That means higher cost and more crowds. And January can be rough. The weather is not better in January-March than later, it's just that demand is higher because people want to get out of North American winter. Prices go down in April and again in May and the weather is absolutely just as good. June is also good, July is getting a bit rainier, August is too hot and rainy, and don't even consider September - Thanksgiving.

3. Agency? Sunsail, Moorings, and Horizon have the newest boats and nicest marinas. And they are the most expensive. Conch and BVI Charters have good boats, a little older but still in very good shape, and you can save some money if you don't care about the marinas. Do a little research and make a comparison chart. Don't forget to ask about the cost of a skipper.

[Spear06]

BVI Yacht Charters. Lots of new/newer boats, FP and Lagoon. Several owner versions available in multiple sizes. Great staff, very friendly and always helpful.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by DeepCut

Highly recommend TMM Charters in BVI. Mid size company. Great support. They have several owner versions in size range you desire.

I know the TMM crew...Crooks they are I tell you! (thats a joke...founder's last name is Crook).

Unfortunately they had to shut down their base in Belize.

[ed91e]

Originally Posted by Jeannius

Biggest choice of cats is going to be in the BVI. I recommend you try Liane at https://www.bareboatsbvi.com/charter...er-brokers.php . She's been around for ever and personally checks the boats she represents. There aren't many owners versions around but Liane will know where they are.

Thanks for this. I have filled in their form but not yet received any reply.

[ed91e]

We want excellent meals both day and night
But we both like cooking so we will plan to handle that by ourselves for those nights not close to a nice restaurant

I know how to sail, my wife doesn't. But the idea would be that we will be very much involved in the boat handling. The skipper is just there since I have no experience with catamarans or the Caribbean waters

Would love a mix of remote islands and cosy villages.

I really like the look of the FP's. So that would be our first option. Coming from monohull I want to understand how different a big catamaran is under sail.

Originally Posted by belizesailor

ed91e, besides a 45 cat and a captain, what do you & your wife want out of your charter experience?

Good meals aboard most nights?

Lots of resturant options ashore?

Sailing instruction? Or at least some hands on?

Remote islands/beaches all to yourself or more developed?

Lots of night life or mostly quite nights at anchor?

Diving, snorkelling, shore excursions?

Since this is partially pre-purchase research, do you have any specific make model or boat in mind?

...

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by ed91e

We want excellent meals both day and night
But we both like cooking so we will plan to handle that by ourselves for those nights not close to a nice restaurant

I know how to sail, my wife doesn't. But the idea would be that we will be very much involved in the boat handling. The skipper is just there since I have no experience with catamarans or the Caribbean waters

Would love a mix of remote islands and cosy villages.

I really like the look of the FP's. So that would be our first option. Coming from monohull I want to understand how different a big catamaran is under sail.

Thanks for the details, always best to actually know the criteria before offering up a solution IMHO.

That said, I think as many suggested, you can accomplish all the above with a crewed charter in the BVI. It is beautiful classic E Carib sailing and very well developed for chartering, but tends to be crowded (maybe less so since the massive hurricane damage).

Given that you will have a local captain aboard, that also opens up Belize as another option (Belizean waters are very complex vs the radically simpler waters of the BVI...so local knowledge is very important).

Belize is much less developed than the BVI and most of the islands inside the reef are still uninhabited. This means of course that there are fewer options for meals/nightlife ashore, but there are some consisting of both villages ashore and islands with resorts.

Belize is much less crowded with charter boats. Its still easy to find anchorages where you may be the only boat there...or at least not besieged by hordes of bare-ly-boaters.

Belize has the second largest barrier reef in the world too with loads of spectacular snorkelling an diving.

If that appeals to you then its an option to consider. There are 2 (technically 3) charter options in Belize:

Belize Sailing Vacations, Belize City. Smaller family owned company that runs full service charters only (no bareboat, but you arent looking for that anyway) and an ASA sailing school. They have great food and service all day long!

Moorings/Sunsail, Placencia. Two companies owned by same parent company and co-located in the same marina. They offer mainly bareboat charters, but also provide full service charters.

[ed91e]

Hi Denny, Thanks a lot for your message.
I think my wife would kill me if I considered her as crew and designated to make up the berths . Also, me being Swedish I believe in a somehow equal relationship is the key to success .

I will get in touch with Horizon, you're the second who recommends them.

I ordered the guide book you recommended. Cheers!

/E

Originally Posted by Lihuedooley77

Chartering in the caribbean......40 plus foot cat, with a captain

We have been bare boating ( sailing ) world wide for 35 years. Australia, Tahiti, Tonga, Mexico, The Caribbean, The Greek Islands, and Ireland.

For you and your wife, we highly recommend.....

THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS !

Yep, for your First international Sailing Vacation, you want a decent sailing area, good weather, safe and snug and beautiful anchorages, Islands that are easy passages , friendly people, plenty of moorings. snorkeling, beaches, some shopping, great places to eat and drink, and easy to reach . Not to mention loads of fun .


1. I have never chartered a special owners boat. but have experience and have found the charter fleets have fabulous vessels , and many are nearly new. .

Some charter companies...

2. Suggest Dream Yacht Charters who are now moving to SCRUB Island for their new base in the BVI. Look both up on the web. Scrub sounds awful, but it is a fabulous resort by Marriot and will knock your top siders off, and spoil you silly. The only resort on the island. It is like a private island.

Horizon Yacht Charters out of Nanny Cay is another idea. In fact this May, we will be staying there at the hotel for a couple of kick back days before picking up our jeanneau 36i at Conch Charters.

3. Is your wife going to be part of the crew, when you charter, and is she going to be assisting you as crew after you purchase a 40 plus catamaran that you will be sailing yourself.

We see the skippered charters in the BVI, and sometimes the Captains are being assisted by their charter guests when picking up moorings. They have fun and get quite good at it.

4. Other Charter Outfits , with newer bare boat and skippered charters, are;

The Moorings, and also Sunsail , ( same corporation ) with all kinds of quality catamarans. Huge fleet. They have different price ranges from older to premium....you may need premium. Or what ever they call their top of the line.

5. I believe the moorings, and sunsail have a video of the BVI, that will give you a good idea of what cruising those waters and islands are like. Their base is located at Road Harbor, on Tortola, BVI.

Tortola is the arrival island for aircraft and ferry boats . For Scrub Island, There is a free small ferry boat, that runs from near the airport to Scrub island in just a few minutes. Maybe 10 minutes. All day long.

6, We sail the BVI in the month of May, before the kids get our of school and before hurricane season. This coming May 2019 will be BVI trip # 17.

7, We also go for two weeks , you can get a sleep aboard the night before you actually hoist sail . You can also stay in a hotel the first night. We plan to arrive in the very early after noon, check in to the hotel, stop by the base office and let them know we have arrived, swim in the pool , have a welcome Painkiller or two , and have a nice dinner out, and then get some rest for the next day, and then let go the dock lines and sail off on your BVI cruise.

8. I see you want a skipper. Cool, is your wife planning on fixing all the onboard meals, drinks, snacks, making up the berths, etc ? If not, it may be a good plan to add a combo cook, crew and bartender . Spoil yourselves a bit, if you wish.

Just a note, we have sailed the Abacos, Bahamas; The BVI ; The French West Indies, and the Windwards and Grenadines......all Caribbean .

We had great cruises , bare boating all of those islands, but, WE LOVE THE BVI, and just keep coming back over and over.

You can also find other Charter Companies on the computer, I just posted the ones that I have experience with that have newer vessels.

Other posters will be sharing great information with you as well, so have fun planning your wonderful sailing vacation.

Also, you might want to order, A CRUISING GUIDE TO THE VIRGIN ISLANDS.....by the Scott's . It is a complete and very helpful guide for sailors and yachtsmen. Superb. You will be totally prepared for your BVI sailing vacation......100% , That includes planning and while in the islands.

Have fun !

Denny
U.S.C.G. Lic. Captain

[Bean Counter]

For a week only. If the purpose is to convince your wife to buy a boat then with only a week window, best time to go would be April / May. If you want smooth water try the Abacos in the Bahamas at Marsh Harbour, Dream Yacht Charters or Moorings. If you get a boat in BVI and there is a 25 knot trade wind blowing on the first day (it could blow all week) it will not be a great start for a non sailor. In a week around Marsh harbour the distances between harbours is short, the restaurants are plentiful and no ocean swell to contend with when anchoring/mooring, you probably don't even need a captain.

[ed91e]

Thanks everyone for all your input. Much appreciated!