I am going to be on a BIG cruise ship in December and we are stopping in St Thomas for the day. I would like to do a one day bareboat charter on a 40-45' catamaran. Any suggestions/recommendations?

Nobody I know of would cut at 40+ foot cat loose for a 1 day bareboat charter. Waaaaaaay too much overhead in the turnover of a bareboat cat do make that economical.

You could certainly find a captained day-charter to go on.

You should google "day sailing in st. thomas"

here's one offeror... http://www.daydreamervi.com/

book a sailing trip on your own, the cruise ships always pad their shore excursions. There are many great day trips to book on your own. Yes, you will get back to the ship on time, this is what these people do for a living.

Interesting, in California I belong to a sailing club and we have over 100 private boats in 6 marinas from San Diego to Ventura that are part of the rental program and can be bareboat chartered from 1/2 day to weeks. I was hoping to to find a similar operation in the USVI that I could charter with. Not really interested in someone else being the Captain, I will be tired of that the minute I board the BIG ship in Ft Lauderdale.

Well, I don't know anyone at the Yacht Club that has a big catamaran. And I don't know anyone who would rent their boat out. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" /> I think you are stuck going on someone's crewed boat, unless you want to do a Hobie Cat somewhere. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/sorry.gif" alt="" />

Can nonmembers of your sailing club just show up and rent a 40+ cat? If so, how much would that cost for a day?

Maybe look for a smaller day sail boat. One of the six packs would be best. If you don't mind paying for it you could have the boat to yourself with just you and the Captain. You might stand a chance of taking the helm with the right Captain. Not the same as bare boating but would allow you some time at the helm. As said above doubt you'd find anything like what you have asked. This might be a nice compromise.
Chip

Yes, typically they would be a member of another sailing club but not always, they make advance reservations and they can show proper certification and demonstrate their experience on a checkout sail. A Belize 43 charters for $599 a day plus ins and fuel.

STYC is not a sailing club, but a private yacht club. There are more power boats then sail boats all individually owned.

Excuse my ignorance but what does it cost to be in a sailing club in your area and how much is insurance typically for a Belize? I don't think there are enough boats and interested non boat owners to create a club with multi hundred thousand vessels with such a small population. I was in flying club in the states so I am familiar with the business model.

The insurance and fuel are about 10% total and the monthly dues are $30. They are an ASA school also, plus they do day boat group trips, night sails, flotillas all around the world and local races. It is definitely not a Yacht Club. Each marina has anywhere from about 10 to 30 boats, power, mono and cats.

I am calling you on this. It is a yacht club with a great sailing history!! Lots of sail boats (privately owned) and some of us yucky stink potters. But the bigger picture (to the OP) is that it will be difficult to convince someone to rent you a boat...

I meant it was not like Sailtime, where you can exchange usage privileges.

Only thing I know of that you could do for a day bareboat is a power boat. So if you must be the Captain, that would probably be the way to go. Given just a day, this would allow you to explore more as well - you could even go over to the BVI.

Maytrix, any recommendations?

Not a recommendation (I've never used them), but I see these guys all over the place:

http://www.nautinymph.com/

That's who we used. Worked out great.

Unfortunately they are only 6 pack boats and I have 10. 4 people may end up drawing short straws that day and have to shop in St Thomas. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duel.gif" alt="" />

Check with See and Ski . Their power cats are big enough to handle your 10 folks. The owner is pretty flexible if you call ask for Mathias and speak directly to him. They are out of Red Hook which will be a 30 minute taxi from your cruise ship. You may just have time to head to St. John and not the BVI but there is plenty to do and see over there.
Chip

Thanks Chip. St John is where we wanted to go. We will be bare boating a 40' cat in the BVI two months before and we will not get to the USVI on that trip, but hope to hit some of the nice spots on St John via small boat on or BIG boat trip in December. Their website said you need extensive knowledge of the local waters to bareboat, hopefully the BVI two months before will be enough.

Let them know about your BVI trip when you call. That should help your cause. Also tell them you only plan to hit St. John that will help as well. The north shore of St. John is pretty straight forward. Although refer to the other topic on this board about "USVI Grounding". That occured at Johnsons Reef off of St. John. It's a well marked off shore reef that you will want to be aware of.

Couple of suggestions:

1. Have your taxi stop on the way to get provisions. Drinks and food for the day. There are no beach bars on the north shore of St. John so you'll want to bring sandwiches or something. Also there is no real store in Red Hook any longer. Food Center is on the route you'll be taking so it's a good stop.

2. You can buy ice at the dock and I would recommend that over lugging it from the store/taxi.

3. There will be an ice chest on the boat so no need to worry about that.

4. If you have snorkel gear bring it. Otherwise you'll have to rent from the dive shop at American Yacht Harbor.

Have a blast.
Chip

We have only visited the bays on the North shore of St. John once in July but would hasten to point out that there is no anchoring anywhere and there seemed to be "eyes" everywhere to enforce the rules.

There is an abundance of NPS moorings available however -- free during the daytrip and cheap at $15 overnight.
The S. shore offers NPS moorings as well and anchoring in non-NPS bays like Rendezvous.

A useful read:
http://www.nps.gov/viis/planyourvisit/boater-information.htm

Wish we had the NPS info before we visited.
'til next time.

No luck, I just spoke to Mathias and he will not bareboat anymore unless " you've been out a million times with us". Only captained boats and didn't know anyone else that did bare boats anymore.

Sorry about that. I think that trend has happened due to damages received by the charter companies.

Okay so now I'm looking for a captained one full day charter on Xmas day from Charlotte Amalie to a St. John beach of our choosing . Hopefully a cat that all 14 of us from age 4-75 will enjoy, Recommendations?

Since most USCG Inspected Catamarans are licensed to carry 49 passengers a private charter for only 14, especially on Christmas Day could be quite costly.
If a beautiful wooden monohull 1956 yawl is an option I stongly recommend looking at S/V Nightwind https://www.stjohndaysail.com/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Re...in_Islands.html

it is comfortable for group of your size - includes food, drink and snorkel gear and has been doing daysails a long time with a stellar reputation. I realize it is a monohull but it is well sailed and a good alternative if you can't find a cost effective catamaran available.
I am sure you would have a great trip.

What he said, It's a nice boat. Also if you want to do St John you are going to have to leave out of the east end. From the main harbor around to St John could be a two to three hour slog straight into the wind that time of year. You would have to turn around as soon as you go there to make it back to the ship.
Jay

CaptJay - how about Island Girl, the huge blue catamaran tied up on the dock next to CYOA?
Looks like you could get 20 people or more on that thing.

Hi Twanger. That boat is Castaway Girl and has about a $3000/day minimum. Jay is sitting next to me at Scrub and can confirm when he's finished devouring some ribs.

Thanks Kimber!
That's a little pricey for a day... Even for 10 people.