[color:"blue"]The largest sailing group I've ever organized was 4 people, it was our first charter. It was a disaster mostly because the guest couple thought they were going on a luxury cruiseliner.[/color]

Completed a charter for 6 aboard a Beneteau 43, 4C, 2H, with crew members coming from 4 US cites and one from Switzerland.

The make up of your crew as you described it sounds like a good mix compared to the one above. The fact that the GF has some sailing experience helps a ton. She will be able to anticipate once she gets the lay of the boat, its rigging and sail handling equipment.

[color:"blue"]So the nephew is a US citizen but the niece is Greek.[/color]

The advice above about basing in the USVI is spot on.

[color:"blue"]I'm thinking either a largish (50'+) mono with 4 cabins or a 40'+ cat[/color]

You are thinking correctly. You'll get a mono for a bit less than a cat I would think and if you are more comfortable with a mono (like I would be) than a cat that's your best bet. 4C and 2h and there are plenty of nice offerings out there in that range. I got a lot of advise here that 6 on a 43 was too many. Worked OK except a little tight in the cockpit or salon for meals otherwise no problems. I should point out that my 4 kids and one son-in-law have all sailed extensively, independently and with me so we are familiar with tight quarters and potential issues when 6 people get inside of what amounts to a small U-Haul.

[color:"blue"]We usually do almost all our provisioning the first day and except for a few things along the way we are fine for two (and we eat on the boat almost exclusively) but I don't think we'll get away with that with 5 of us.[/color]

Split provision segments of your charter. After your first segment,think about having stores in Cruz Bay (for St. John's) and Riteway (most mooring areas around Tortola)deliver to you. Buck's in Spanish Town VG will also deliver. You can place phone orders on the fly so you don't get locked into a particular schedule. Beer, wine and liquor are considerably less expensive in Tortola than elsewhere. USVI refreshment prices are going to be higher. Go light for those provisions and load up in Tortola environs.

[color:"blue"]How do you communicate between two parties?[/color]

Three options: (1) Make sure everyone has an international dialing plan. In the USVI there is fairly good cell and 3G/4G coverage from ATT (and others) but watch roaming charges if you are ATT and pick-up a Verizon tower. Just shut off roaming on your phone to prevent that.(2) Everyone buys sim-cards or preloaded phones locally for local service. Plenty of well priced options there. This may be cheaper than international calling plans for US residents. (3) There are several free VOIP phone Apps that if you have an internet connection (not 3/4G) you can communicate enroute/as you gather. We used Viber. Easy to use. Google it.

[color:"blue"] ......meet up in STT or just have everyone meet at the boat?[/color]

I favor your second option. Our group of 6 came from 4 cites in the US and one from Switzerland. We had three others staying in a Condo at Leverick. The logistics were complicated. Everyone was on their own to get there. The deal for me was I paid for the charter (and the condo). I kept track of everyone's flight arrangements, we used Viber to communicate progress or announce delays (there were none). I flew into EIS a day before the charter and stayed at Nanny Cay Hotel. My son arranged for a water taxi for 5 from STT (where everyone else flew into) right to Nanny Cay/the dock where the boat was. The VG Condo group made thier own way to Leverick via Tortola Ferry and got the usual great service from Nick who helped arrange pick-ups, reservations and stuff. Smooth as silk.

[color:"blue"]How do you do provisioning - account for different tastes and such. I think my wife has a good idea about the niece/nephew but we have no idea about the GF.[/color]

We had one "galley wench" (my daughter who loves to cook aboard and is very good at it) as the chief planner (suspect your wife might do well at that). She developed a meal plan (2 meals a day, the rest were off the cuff or left overs) upon which we based the provisioning list. She asked for input from all of us and a deadline for that. After that, you don't like it?, too bad.

My son was the bar tender. He did all the beverage planning asking us for inputs along the way. We used the rule, "less is more" and still ended up with too much Gin, Vodka and Tonic and not enough wine/beer and Club Soda .... consumed at an alarming rate because it is an excellent elixir after too much to eat and drink the night before. One size does not fit all and your mileage will vary.

[color:"blue"]What about assigning chores and duties.[/color]

Your going to get a ton of different input on this. Here's what I did:

We had a purser (handled all the money for mooring balls, ice, grab something provisioning and extras). For a 7d charter each person kicked in $75 The $450 covered most everything although "Dad" probably paid more than his share. It covered one $200 lunch out at the Baths.

We had a Captain (me). I did NAV, safety and general commanding of the sails and rigging. My kids have sailed with me extensively and know who is in charge. That's going to be a different dynamic for you. My recommendation is that you subtly let people know that there are certain things you will be in charge of and we're not voting on those things.

Pilot (my daughter who knows how to read charts). Her job was to point out visual land marks and channel markers as we made an approach to a mooring area or docks, keep a sharp watch on the depth and, when necessary, go forward and look for coral heads.

Foredeck crew (my son and my daughter's husband). direct the Captain to the mooring ball and handle the hook up/make the boat secure in a slip with appropriate dock lines. Both know how a boat is properly tied up. Recommend you don't assign this role to someone who has no clue but DO let people learn by assigning a novice with someone who is experienced.

I also downloaded the operating manual for the boat we chartered in .pdf format and sent it to everyone in advance. My son-in-law, a good mechanic in his own right, was responsible for learning power plants and fuels. Every morning he checked belts, fluids, cooling before we cranked the engines to charge the batteries. My son had Electrics, refrigeration (AC and coolers) and Plumbing.

What all this tended to do was make the boat briefing go really quickly because the guy doing it at the charter base realized immediately we knew the boat pretty much cold before we got on it. It also led to a very smooth, trouble free operation of all systems as well as quick trouble shooting and repairs when needed.

I also asked everyone to know how to put a reef in the mainsail and sent them pictures of how to do this. We never did put a reef in but that is something all crew should understand how to do it.

As we approached Norman Island on our first day in calm seas and little wind. I threw a seat cushion over board, climbed up on the cabin top and announced I just fell overboard. My kids have experienced this with me before. It took them about 5 minutes to organize themselves, drop sails, get the boat around and pick up the seat cushion from the stern platform. Very impressed! I'd recommend you walk your crew through this. It can be fun.

Final comment on this: My kids all laughed at me when I assigned duties. After the charter they told me it was the best thing I did (except for pay for the charter of course!).


PM me or drop an email to [email]jbuch002@gmail.com.[/email] I'll be glad to help out with any questions you might have.