Thinking about chartering in Grenadines

Hi,

We are thinking about chartering a monohull with a captain, to cruise around the Grenadines in June. Just me and my husband. We have done this several times but only in the BVIs and with other couples and on a cat. We have done numerous land based trips to Grenadines and love them. I was reading up on sailing the Grenadines and have questions

1. Boat Boys! what should we expect from either leaving from St. Vincent or Bequia and cruising no further south than Mayreau? What is it exactly that they do and why do we have to "use" them? Do they go ahead and secure moorings, bring you food what? What is the deal with these boat boys? We actually would not mind if they had food to sell as we don't full provision, only breakfasts and we usually eat out the rest of the time at little beach bars, etc. but other than that we don't want to be annoyed they can ask no problem but when we say no thank you . . . . .

2. We will be doing a 6 night charter and was wondering if leaving St.Vincent we would have a comfortable time making it down to Mayreau with stops at bequia, mustique, canouan and/or anything the captian thinks we would like to see. We have been to the Tobago Cays and can take or leave it. How many hours of sailing is it usually from Mayreau back to St. Vincent in one sail without stopping if we choose to stay in Salt Whistle Bay for our last night. Or Visa Versa if we decided to make it from St. Vincent all the way to Mayreau and then make our way slowly back up to St. Vincent with stops in between.
Any itineraries would be appreciated.

3. We do not know how to sail but can and are certainly willing to help the captain. Will the captain be able to handle the boat with no help for this type of charter; do we offer? Will he want help or would be just be in the way?

4. Do you know of anyone anyone on here that has their own boat and does charters out of Bequia I know sometimes there are private people that do this service for people. Any advertisers on this board?

Thanks!

The boat boys offer services from delivering fresh bread and ice to selling tee shirts and other souvenirs and securing moorings. I certain bays it's best to tie the stern to a tree on shore, we always get one to do that for us. Leaving from St. Vincent you won't encounter the guys selling necklaces and such. They seem to take turns securing a mooring as you enter the harbor in Bequia. There are also boats that will approach you in the harbor with ice, bread, menus, laundry services and so on; a quick no thank you is all it takes and they are on their way.

You should have plenty of time to fulfill your itinerary; we do 10 days R/T from St. Lucia and make it as far as Petit Martinique. The Tobago Cays are a different experience when on a yacht than just making a day trip over. Enjoying fresh lobster and rum punch on the beach as the sun goes down is hard to beat. On Mystique you will be required to pay for 3 days on the mooring, even if you only stay overnight, last I knew it was $80 US.

The Captain will probably welcome your help, even if it's just "pull that piece of string" or steer for a bit. Sailing in itself isn't that hard once somebody sets the sails points you in the right direction. If you get a chance watch the movie Captain Ron.

There is a couple that charter the Grenadines out of Grenada, I believe it's S/V Venda, if I come across it I'll update.
My favorite, Skyelark, is in the Pacific this year and probably won't be back to the Caribbean until winter of 2021 at the earliest.

Hey thanks watch Captain Ron funny! Maybe skip mustique for the night anyway .

Since we have not sailed around on a boat in the Grenadines we are not familiar with coves and such to stay for the night, we prefer spots with a place(s) to eat where we will be for the night. Any recommendations for this. At this point all I know where to go is where we were land based and that is Bequia, Canouan (but only stayed at Tamarind) and Salt Whistle Bay.

I can't help with Mayreau or Canouan, except a lot of people mention Rightous Roberts on Mayreau. Union Island has plenty of good spots now that the kite surfing school has taken off. Bouganvilia is nice, the pizza shop near the fruit market, Sparrows on the north side of the island is a great place to spend the afternoon, great beach and good food.
Goaties on PSV, but it is expensive, we usually dingy over to PM and find something local.

ha ha ha i've stayed on Mayreau for several nights at dennis' place and have been to rightous roberts; although I think it was called something else back then. I remember Robert playing Dolly Parton every morning loud, it was funny. Thanks for the ideas. Just contacted sailgrenadines and hoping for some good news about chartering from Bequia.

Hi you and your husband will have a wonderful time. I have sailed twice in the Grenadines both times from Grenada. I have not been north of the Tobago Cays but was planning to go on another cruise out of St Vincent this spring so am familiar with a potential itinerary from St V. (ended up having a crew mutiny and am going back to the BVI this spring instead!) .

1) with a captain, i wouldn't worry about the boat boys he/she will have had lots of experience may be a local and will know the harbors and boat boys probably very well. One thing you will want is to chat with them and offer a beer or a coke. They will probably try to get you to go to an establishment -bar restaurant. Also keep in mind that the captain will not need to moor at all and should be able to anchor any place you go so will not need to pay for mooring balls - confirm this with your captain...

2) your itinerary is very doable. You can sail down to Mayreau your first day distance is not that bad and wind should be on the quarter or beam. It will be a great sail!. Also consider Petite St, Vincent with a stop at Mopion island. Then you can make your way back up the island chain, to TBC, Canaoun, then head to Mustique so that you are not sailing directly into wind, current and swells. Last night I would recommend staying at Bequia as it is a short sail back to St. Vincent for a morning return. As always confirm your intentions with the Captain, see what is doable based on weather and sail conditions! I would suggest highlighting the islands you want to see - stay at and not necessarily the order and day that you want to go...keep an open mind and be flexible as all sailors must when creating a sail plan.

3) I am sure the captain will not need your help but if you want to assist I am sure he will accommodate/appreciate. Again that is something that you can establish once you meet them. Anchoring assistance may be appreciated, or snagging a mooring ball....

The website for the charter yacht out of Grenada that I mentioned previously is
Syvendia.com