TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Long term charter

Thinking about a four to six week charter next winter. A sponsor, Seabattical advertises for 4 weeks, any intel on this company? Also any other companies out there that may provide this type of charter?
Thanks
David

I would contact any of the charter companies, particularly the mid size local companies (e.g. TMM). No doubt they will do it. Not sure about rates/discounts.

bareboat or prefer a captain?

bareboat

You can PM me. I have a 2018 owners version Lagoon 42 if that interests you??

Hi Windward,
Thanks for your reply, I should have been more clear in my initial post but I would be looking for a 40+ monohull.
Regards,

Winter is high season. Not sure you're going to find a charter company to give you a deal for a 4 to 6 week charter when they're all hoping to charter the boat at it's highest rates. So you might really be looking for a boat that is not in a charter fleet. They surely exist but I don't know where to point you. Keep in mind that the number of boats is in pretty short supply right now. That might improve a bit by next winter but it's still going to be a smaller fleet that last year. And likely demand is going to be better than it has been this year. You might find it way easier to charter a month time in the late spring to early summer.
I wish you luck!

You are right, my initial inquiries with the charter companies are they want weekly prices with a small discount for the multiple weeks. I'm hoping to find a boat that may typically not be in charter for that period of time. It's a long shot but will keep looking. My dates are a bit flexible but need to be between December and finish end of March.

Seabattical recently sold, so I cannot speak for new management, but long term charters is what they are doing. They used to have people out for 3 months. The issue is booking far enough in advance so you can get a big block of time. You basically could sail where ever you wanted, they would sort maintenance if needed, but I assume if you are doing a long term charter you can probably triage some items.

Thanks Mike,
I recently reached out to them and you are right on point. The right block of time is the key, and I'm not sure I can block that time out far enough in advance right now. I'm not that concerned with the routine stuff going wrong, I can handle most if not all of that. Thanks

I took my family on an 8 week sailing vacation in May-June 2017 which was reasonably well documented in these forums. So, I know the process well - possibly as well as or better than anyone honestly.

For what its worth, it took me the better part of 6 months of planning to pull the whole thing off, but it was well worth it. (And by planning, I mean near daily effort.) However, part of my complication was that I wanted to travel a fair distance - we ended up visiting 10 countries, 40 islands, and covering 1k miles - beginning/ending in Tortola.

I'm happy to discuss, in person, my process. It was a unique "partnership" direct with the owner of a charter company managed sailboat. That was just before Irma, so we were fortunate and the fleet was much larger, meaning significantly better availability. Frankly, unless you booked well in advance at near full retail rates, I can't see how you could pull it off for a December - March charter. Honestly, just getting any contiguous 6 week period during that season would seem nearly impossible, in my experience. Getting any significant "term discount" would seem extraordinarily challenging, as well. My opportunity worked out well for everyone - me, owner, and charter manager.

I did speak to Ron at Seabbatical but nothing in that fleet was appealing to me even though I liked Ron and the concept of Seabbatical. As information, in my very massive and very wide search for a "mid" term charter company or option, I found nothing other than Seabbatical in the Caribbean. That being said, one idea that was pitched to me was to take 8 weeks on a couple of boats "stitched together" - 2 weeks here, 2 weeks there, etc. That absolutely was a non-starter for me given my logistics and interest, but its worth throwing out to you.

Mike, I didn't know that Seabbatical was sold - if that's the case, I'm not surprised, but I am curious about that.

Kevin

Break...
You doing Bahamas next? Didn't I see you on Abacos forum?

Thanks Kevin,
Sounds like you had an extraordinary trip. Summer is a non starter as my wife and I run a business that is summer seasonal. Fortunately I know a few people in the charter biz and have delivered some boats for them as well, so I'm working a lot of angles. Nothing may work out but we'll see.
Thanks for the input and would certainly be interested in hearing how you worked the deal with the boat owner.
David

We had a boat with Seabbatical but sadly lost in Irma.. Are hunting for replacement and plan to go back with them. Great deal if they have a boat that suits your need. Many of their monos were lost so fleet is currently smaller. I have had lots of contact with new management but no personal experience. They offered a unique concept... Longer charter at much reduced price. As an owner we did ok as there was much reduced turn around and ( for the most part) experienced charterers. Charterers would get 'older boats' but often well equipped for longer charter. We would use 4-8 weeks and work around charter so really wanted to keep her in top condition. Made it more affordable for 1 couple ( plus/minus guests-family) to charters for longer periods. Some stayed around VI's and others explored many islands.

JP - yes, assume you're referring to me and I did ask some questions on the Abaco forum. We had planned to do a sail charter in Abacos, but elected instead to do a land based vacation for a week, with a 26' center console runabout at the dock - so, a surf & turf!

Honestly, at some level, my 2 month sail trip last year screwed me up a bit in that a weeklong sail charter which really ends up being about 4 - 5 good days with the way the charters work makes that a bit less appealing these days. Truthfully, I need at least 2 weeks for a sail charter - and extended area to really sail...

Regardless, I think sailing Abacos is certainly in my future!

Breck...sent you a pm

JP

Hi Windward2c, I’m potentially interested in your 42 Lagoon. We are in negotiations to buy a 40 Lagoon currently, but process is dragging out and we are planning to set sail May/June through beginning of August.

I'm new to the forum and am trying to put together a similar trip to what you did Breck. I'm looking for 4-6 weeks in June-July when school lets out and am looking to charter a mono or cat. I'd love any tips or leads if anyone has anything to offer. We are northwest sailors and this is our first visit to the Caribbean.

Any owners with charter availability please contact me.

Breck, I'd love to learn about your methods for putting this type of trip together.

Jared

http://www.longtermcharters.com. Seabbatical

I recall meeting a family while at Pirates a few years ago, towards the end of their three month adventure. Kids loved it, read books, no videos!

Dad said there were boat issues, but nothing they couldn’t handle, older boats for sure.

I've been away from this forum for a while, but decided to touch back in today. Jared/Oregon - feel free to give me a call on cell at 770-329-1915 if you'd like to discuss my trip in person. Planning was a bear and took months (longer than the actual trip itself), but was well worth it. Frankly, the biggest issue was simply finding a boat that could accommodate a 2 month trip at reasonable prices. In the end it was a win for both the boat's owner and my family. It remains the single greatest trip I've ever taken. (And, I'm now thinking about a replay...)