We booked a bareboat charter with Fairwinds through a broker for this same week last year. We had booked about 6 months in advance but were told about a month before our charter that our captain did not have adequate credentials to sail the boat and that we would have to pay one of their captains to sail the boat for the duration of the trip. Given the nature of their business (sailing school, not bareboat chartering), Fairwinds has a vested interest in keeping their captains employed and their boats in working order at all times. Although our captain was well qualified, we weren't going to win this debate nor did we have the luxury of time.

Luckily, we ended up finding a charter through Dream Yacht Charters instead, who were great to work with. And I'm happy to report that we returned our 44' cat intact and without a scratch <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />

So my advice would be that if you plan to charter with Fairwinds as a bareboat, make sure they review your captain's credentials well in advance and you get their approval IN WRITING.