USVI small scale sailing charter requirement questions

[TenaciousH]

Hey Cruisers!

I hate to add to the list of threads about sailing charters businesses, but I noticed I have a few factors that dont seems to be relevant to the others. I'll get to the point...

I'm well on the way from Corpus Christi TX, currently in Fort Myers Beach FL, on the way to the Bahamas and then to the USVI in my 1970 Morgan 38. The plan is to do just about anything we possibly can to make money (everything from winch servicing to top/bottom/prop cleaning to oil changes etc), but we're going to focus on using my captains license to do daysailing charters and boat deliveries for the bulk of any income we can get our hands on.

I know there is an epic amount of competition out there, and I also know its going to be all-but financially impossible to find any convenient anchorage near any "cruise ship destinations."

What I'm looking to find out is exactly what licensing and documentation is required for me to legally take out sailing charters and deliver boats in the USVI area.

I have a USCG 100-ton near coastal masters license, and I have experience running small businesses. I have a growing website and a knack for internet advertising and networking. The boat is a very solid blue-water cruiser, but without any private staterooms we won't have much luck doing overnight trips anyway, so I expect our bread and butter would be taking between 2 and 5 people on 3 or 6 hour cruises that include one or two meals, drinks, etc.

What [we like to think] makes us a bit different is we're in no way trying to be a high class, expensive charter service. We're going to target the younger crowd on a budget looking for a spur-of-the-moment daysail with a few chill young dudes like ourselves. I have alternate income so I'm not living charter to charter, I'm just looking to make beer and fuel money while we're down there for about 6 months or more. If we manage a charter or two per week we're more than happy.

What are your thoughts? Are we just like every other soon-to-fail yet optimistic crew of young sailors headed to paradise?

Thanks for your input, and happy cruising!