Hello everyone! Please recommend a captained charter for 4 or 5 nights starting on June 25th. We would need three cabins with A/c each with their own head.
We just want a captain and plan to eat all of our meals out- except coffee and cereal in the mornings. Is it possible for us to be picked up in St. Thomas and travel to Virgin Gorda and Jost Van Dyke? Please forgive the newbie questions, but this would be our first time not land based.

Thank you all so much- any and all recommendations are appreciated.

I would reach out to Capt. Jim on Blue Moon to see if he will do anything less than a week.

Also, he is a TTOL sponsor...

Have fun!

Hi Mary, you don't seem to be having much luck getting a response so I will jump in here.

What you are looking for is called a "captain only" charter and that means you are likely looking for a bareboat. Most bareboat companies require a minimum charter lasting 5 nights or longer.

Almost nobody will pick up in St. Thomas anymore because it just eats up too much time. Since 9/11, Homeland Security has not made the process easy. With that being said, you should plan to either charter out of St. Thomas or come to Tortola on the ferry if your flight is landing in St. Thomas.

June is a really busy month but there "may" still be some openings with various companies. It is a matter of searching on your favourite search engine for bareboat charters in either St. Thomas or BVI.

You didn't say whether you were looking for a monohull or a catamaran. If looking for a monohull, the smallest you will likely be able to find would be a Jeanneau 469. More than likely, you will have to go with something larger such as a Beneteau 50 or 523. I am assuming you don't want to share a head and shower with your captain.

There are not a lot of monohulls around with 4 cabins and 4 heads. If looking for a catamaran, you will probably have better luck. In that case, you can look for any 4 cabin cat with 4 heads. The smallest I know of (in the BVI) would be a Lagoon 440 or 450 or a Helia 44 or Orana 44.

I hope this helps! Good luck with your search. Keep in mind that most people book their charters at least 6 months to a year in advance, if you want to find the "perfect" yacht for your group. At this point, if you are able to find a yacht, you may have to compromise if you have your hearts sets on sailing in June.

Liane and Jason, thank you both! Very helpful