New to chartering!!

Hi everyone! This forum has been very helpful!! We are long time visitors to STJ and now have decided to pursue a long time bucket list dream! We just booked our first charter. We are so excited!! Wanted to see if anyone has checklists, pointers or any other great advice for us newbies? There will be 6 of us. Landing on STT and doing a sleep aboard the first day--any advice or taxis or should we just rent a car for the day and go do our provisioning at Cost U less or somewhere similar?

Congratulations! There are lots of checklists and tips in the forums if you do some searches... weather resources, what to bring on the charter, clearing customs, etc., etc.

I recommend having intentions not itineraries. Itineraries can be stressy for a new captain.

As far as provisioning, where are you chartering from?

We charter from CYOA and usually just get their provisions. I'm not into paying several hundred dollars a day in a tropical paradise to go food shopping. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

glad to hear. first question, do you know how to sail a boat? a big boat?

above mentions intentions, not itineraries...that is relevant

Sailors should have intentions, not plans!

If chartering with CYOA, Pueblo Supermarket is down the street. Walking distance there, but cab back with food.

Sounds like you will be picking up the boat on STT. We've chartered with CYOA several times and have found it very cost effective and convenient to pick up an Avis car at the airport. We then pick up provisions at Plaza Extra. You will pass Cost U Less on the way and could certainly stop there as well. Stick all the provisions on the boat and the next day return the rental car at the float plane dock and walk the 50 100 yards back to the charter base.

We have also provisioned at Pueblo which is a moderately long hot walk and a "taxi" coming back. The provisions you can get to with the rental car are in my opinion much better. And essentially for the cost of the taxi ride from the airport to the charter base plus the taxi cost from the Pueblo market back to base you will have paid for the rental car (I think in June the rental car including insurance was something like $85). So why not? Just make sure you think clearly at every intersection 'cause you're driving on the wrong (sorry my British friends...) side of the road. It's about the only place I ever pay for the optional insurance on the rental car just to make sure.

Hi there, good to see you on TTOL. There are some checklists in the Charter Boat Reviews & Questions forum http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/postlist.php?Cat=0&Board=charter

Cheers, RickG

Can anyone tell me about the water in the BVI? I am concerned about getting seasick as I have experienced this during any boating outings. We are chartering a catamaran end of May and would like to know your experience with sea sickness at that time of year. Thank you.

The roughest part of your trip will be the 90-minutes getting from the South side of St. Thomas into Pillsbury Sound. After that you can hide in the lee of the islands. Drake Channel is pretty moderate. May is a relatively calm time to sail there.

See your doctor. Get the patch. As you said, you experience it during any boating outings, so you will experience it in the BVI as well. Get the patch and you should be free of any seasickness. It's recommended to try it before you leave just to see if you have any side effects from it.

The patch (scopolamine) works! It may make you a bit drowsy, but you'll sleep we'll the first night and by the third day, you can take it off and you will find you probably have you're sea legs. Getting back on land after a week on board, that's another question....

WE have chartered over 20 x's and only had one experience with a member of our crew getting seasick. We sailed around the south side of St John on our way back to St Thomas and it was pretty rough. Other than that we have not had problems. Patch is a good idea.

On a trip to Grenada, we discovered Meclizine for seasickness. Trust me !!! One pill a day is all that is needed. This stuff works -- no drowsiness at all and it works fast !!! I have tried Dramamine in the past and it was ineffective on me and made me really drowsy to boot.

The leg that seems to always get someone in my crew sick is the run from Anegada to JVD. The following sea and rollers hitting on the beam while not necessarily rough create a motion that turns them green.

Seasickness
1) Watch what you eat; light breakfast, no grease.
2) Stay on deck, eyes on the horizon.
3) Drug of choice. I use meclizine.
4) Avoid sailing hung over (good luck with this!)

The key is use whatever you will use before getting seasick -- would recommend even starting during the sleep aboard -- there is a little motion just at the dock which helps acclimate and minimize the seasickness your first day out -- but if really prone to car-sickness may still have trouble the first few days. Have always recommended for crew and used myself the non-drowsy formula dramamine -- nonprescription -- works for us and no visual difficulties or possible urinary retention sometimes seen with scopolamine patch.
There is no person that has not/cannot have seasickness with big enough seas...

This is the hardest lesson for many crews to learn:

"I recommend having intentions not itineraries. Itineraries can be stressy for a new captain."

If you are going to use something for seasickness. Use it for a week at home first. Start using it again the night before you get on the airplane.

There is no magic instant pill or device. Find what works for you and start using it in advance of any motion.

The latest "magic" is an earplug in only one ear.

Bonine/Meclizine is good stuff. OTC Bonine has always worked for me.

Start using it 24-48 hours before you board your initial flight.

Take it every morning for the first 2 or 3 days of your charter, and if you have trouble with boat motion in your cabin, take it again at night. Eat SOMETHING for breakfast every morning, try to snack frequently, be sure to stay hydrated and that means keep a water bottle in reach all the time, 24/7.

You can get de-hydrated really easily early on a charter, with sun and wind , exposed skin, and in many cases warmer temperatures than you are used to. Alcohol makes you pee. De-hydration leads to electrolyte imbalance, which in itself leads to nausea , and thats pretty much a half-steppin, boot shufflin line dance right to Sea sick.
Being scared of being seasick is also halfway to being seasick. If you are scared of feeling ill, you can easily not eat, not stay hydrated, and put yourself right into the position you don't want.

Frankly, being sea-sick will be a lot easier, if you have something in your stomach to give up to Neptune. You will recover faster if you don't start from a position of weakness. Should you get to that point of "chumming over the rail," MAKE yourself keep sipping water, even if you keep tossing it. Have someone sit with you, and give them the responsibility of helping you remember to sip, sip sip. The absolute worst side effect of being seasick, is having no hydration to aid recovery.

It happens. It isn't anyone's idea of a good vacation experience, but one can actually do a lot to prevent it, and also to get over it.

Stay focusd on the things you can see and watch and participate in around you. Sit by the helmsperson, try to identify your course and your surroundings, get involved.

This is the main thing to realize. There is no magic pill. What works for one person may--or may not--work for another. Anyone who tells you "this is what I take and it is guaranteed to work" is simply wrong. It works for them. Great. Does not guarantee that it will work for you.

The good news is that pharmacies in the islands can generally sell you a variety of things that would require a prescription in the United States. Pick one of the suggestions here and try it out (meclizine works for me). If it works for you, wonderful. If it doesn't, stop in at a pharmacy and talk to the pharmacists. Tell them what you have tried and they will probably be able to suggest something else that might work better.

Good luck!