USVI Charter Company for Cat

[jspoone]

Looking at doing my first bareboat charter next May in the USVI. Looking for a 40-45' Cat for 8 people. Two of us have our ASA 114 and did a 7 day liveaboard last April in the USVI so we are comfortable with the area. With all the Covid restrictions, I don't want to deal with going to the BVI. With that said, looking at charter companies for the USVI, seems like Dream Yacht Charters has the most available boats that meet my needs, but I have read a lot of bad reviews. Can anyone give me their experiences with Dream Yacht in the USVI and/or recommend another charter company? I have already looked into the Moorings and they don't have a cat available that meets my needs during the time we are looking at going.

Thanks,

[leboyd]

I always use visailing.com (broker) to help me with this. The charter company pays the broker. I've found them to be very helpful in selecting companies and boats. (no, I'm not associated with them and I do not receive any personal benefit from a recommendation)

[RickG]

CYOA has the best fleet with a steady stream of new boats. DYC has problem boats that do not get maintained. Moorings is in between.

CYOA Yacht Charters | US Virgin Islands | St. Thomas

Cheers, RickG

[Cuvee]

I also highly recommend CYOA. I had my Saba 50 with them for 6.5 years. Their fleet is very well maintained.

[dhenline]

CYOA seems to run a pretty good outfit. They are located near the airport and thus convenient. I would also concur with avoiding the BVI until it becomes a bit more user friendly
don

[SeeMonstrEd]

I live here in the USVI and have kept my boat at Compass Point where DYC keeps most of theirs. I will echo what others have said about them. Their maintenance is below par. CYOA in French Town has newer boats that are better maintained. That is also why they are harder to book because they are busy.

In the BVI Mooring has a big base and they were good there. Moorings really does not have a base on St Thomas. Their boats are all over the place so is maintenance and support.

[jspoone]

Thank you all for your responses. Looks like I am going with CYOA.

[Siberian Sea]

I’m a delivery skipper for Dream Yacht Charter. No, I’m not an employee I’m a contractor they use on a regular bases to relocate their vessels. That said I get to sail solo longer distance all their boats. Overall they aré not a bad company. They will work with you and have great people at all their ports of operation. Right now I just finished moving a real nice Lagoon 40 from Martinique to Scrub Island BVI. Was a very clean boat with no issues. Yes, look around and compare prices and values for your charter needs, but my experience has been that overall Dream Yacht dose not deserve the bad rap I have heard.

[Shanachie]

Of course, the big question is, which charter company?

[jmschmidt]

Dream Yacht closed their Puerto Rico base and left my Leopard 47 PowerCat high and dry. I've heard they have opened a "virtual" base by doing some kind of joint venture with an established charter operator on St. Thomas. I think this means that if you contact Dream for a USVI charter they will steer you to that existing company meaning they are really more or less a booking agent. Some of the boats there may be owned Dream boat owners who were previously cut off from their so called "guaranteed rental income". Dream open and then immediately closed their Scrub Island (BVI) base when Covid invaded. Good luck.

[randygwatkins]

The return process at Compass Point Marina (for Dreams) can be a nightmare. I had a bad experience with them and will not use them in St. Thomas again because of several issues.
CYOA is very easy to deal with, our boat from there had a few problems but that's based on a single charter experience.
On the other hand, our Moorings experiences (3) have all been very positive, and Yacht Haven Grande is a pleasure to charter from.
We just returned from chartering from BVI Yacht Charters in St. Thomas. The boat seemed well maintained, business procedures were good but again...Compass Point is a PITA! They were in business with Dreams in St. Thomas, and seem to still be somehow connected but they told me they were no longer associated with them. But when I call the phone number, it comes up "Dreams St. Thomas" in my contact list on my phone...

My recommendation: go with CYOA if they can supply you a boat that fits your needs and time constraints. If not, consider Moorings, THEN BVIYC, and lastly, Dreams.

[remydog]

CYOA was purchased by Waypoints. Anyone know anything about them? They seem to be operators and not charter brokers. I understand that working with a broker may give me access to more variety and options than a single operator. Thoughts?

[RickG]

Waypoints is aligned with Atlantic Yacht Sales in Annapolis. The CYOA staff is still in place and Jay Pennington is still the base manager Same new boats that are well maintained by the same maintenance staff. They also have a base on Tortola in Nanny Cay.

Cheers, RickG

[remydog]

Based on this good advice and from elsewhere, I am about to sign with Waypoints. Any tips on what to watch out for or make sure is included in the charter contract? TIA

[SeaKing]

i know an employee at waypoints that goes to al the offices and they seem to be a good company. Stay away from Charter Caribe. They are CROOKS!