Hello all, love the forum even though I don't get on it much.

Question is: What is the best route to take to be able to eventually be able to bareboat charter?

WE are considering taking a sailing class next summer as we've never sailed before. Would this be a reasonable route? Or what would you guys suggest?

thanks in advance,
Justin

Since you're starting from scratch...

Recommend you take a few classes.

One thing that is underestimated, IMHO, is the amount you need to know about cruising boats. There are a lot of moving parts, subsystems. You will be the hotelier during your cruise. You will be responsible for fuel, water, electricity, and refrigeration for everyone, as well as keeping the mechanical systems running. You'll also be the weatherman and doctor. It's very helpful to be mechanically inclined, or take a course focused in this area. It's also helpful to know first aid. If you don't, a class would be good. It's also good to know weather. Again, there are classes.

Once you do a few courses the next step would be a cabin charter on a boat with a captain, and then next you should charter with a captain, ideally with the organization you would do a bareboat charter with the next year.

It all could take 3-4 years doing it part-time in 2-3 week stints per year.

If you have much more free time it could be done in 6-12 months.

Hey Justin-
I would start with some beginner sailing courses offered by a certified ASA instructor in your area (check out asa.com). You will need a lot of time on the water before you should captain a bareboat charter. Also, join your local yacht club or sailing organization to familiarize yourself with sailing. If you're anxious to go before your able to captain you can do a few things- Hire a captain or take a crewed charter (there are many great crewed boats and captains that post on this board). The other is to find someone who is a captain (maybe through your local clubs etc.) or heck on this board.
We usually head down with 3-5 boats with friends, family, and my father's ex-students (he is an ASA instructor) and have a blast. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />
good luck on your quest...
Capt Jay

I took several sailing classes and spent as much time sailing as I could for the year leading up to my first charter. As you might expect, most of that sailing was in small boats -- Sunfish, Deisgner's Choice, and Flying Scot. Twanger's point is right on - the big difference with a big boat is learning how the systems work. I took a class from Annapolis Sailing School - I think it was called "Preparation for Bareboat Chartering" that focused on the various systems and how they work. I also took another course from them just to get some more time on a big (30+ foot) boat. That also provided some "credible" documentation to back up my kind of slim sailing resume.

My first charter, (a Beneteau Idylle 43) The Moorings put a captain on board with us. The deal was that if he felt comfortable that we knew what we were doing, we could drop him off before the end of the first day. We sailed out of Road Harbor and got under sail. The Captain threw a cushion overboard and we had to do a man overboard drill. We succeeded and he felt comfortable that we were relatively competent (I don't believe any of the crew had any sailing experience at the time so I had to direct them through the man overboard drill). We dropped him off at the Peter Island ferry dock and gave him a few cold beers for his ride back.

We had an awesome time and went back 4 more times.

I managed to get myself invited to the BVI to sail a couple of times, and loved it so much that I took "Colgate Learn to Sail" and "Colgate Learn to Bareboat." I also took a local Coast Guard safety course. Next time I came to the BVI, my friend listed me as a co-charterer. When I sought to charter on my own the fifth time, I literally submitted a sailing resume which included prior sails, copies of my certificates, and copies of my previous invoices with that company. Sailing a 45 foot monohull is not a lot different than sailing a 18' learning sailboat, but as others have noted, it's all the other stuff - anchoring (although not as common in the BVI now), diesel engines, marine radios, marine heads, etc). But if you can find somebody to sail with once in the BVI, you will learn more than you can imagine just by doing so under supervision. And you will be hooked!