First bareboat charter.... charter companies

We are going to charter, our first bareboat, in January 2017. It's just the two of us so we are looking at a two cabin cat which limits our choices. I have attempted to research the charter companies and it appears they all have pros and cons. Could anyone advise on which companies are consistently reliable.... ?

We have used BVI Yacht Charters for the last 7 of our 15 BVI charters. Smaller, middle tier company with great boats and excellent staff. I like being a name not a booking number. You book a specific boat so you know what you are getting. They are Joma Marina, directly across the street for Riteway super market. Very easy to provision and get it to the boat.
They have added several new cat's to the fleet recently. We are mono peeps but looked at the new NautiCat they have for our next trip with newbie non sailors.

http://www.bviyachtcharters.com

We've only used Moorings/Sunsail. First charter was booked direct with them, second through and owner and then we bought a boat in their program.

Every charter from the first to the most recent have all been about the same and worked out great. Boats have overall been in good to great condition and we've always been treated well at the base.

Our main reason for choosing them in the first place was due to the large number of boats - Being our first charter I wanted to make sure there were other options available if there had been an issue with the boat we were on..etc.

Cecilia and Jim at ProValor Charters are great to work with. Service with a smile! Their boats are very well maintained and looked after. Not sure that they have a two cabin cataramaran (or anybody else for that matter) but prices are very competitive. In Fat Hogs Bay there is a Riteway next door (not as big as in Road Town, but still is very good) another supermarket and also a truly excellent launderette. Red Rock Restaurant is right there too. Well worth checking out.

You'll probably get good reviews for most charter companies used regularly by posters here.

On my first BVI charter I used a broker to sort through all the options. Here's a link to the one most recommended here:

http://data.ed-hamilton.com/detailed-gg-...MYyWxoC9jXw_wcB

In the Virgin Islands we charter out of the USVI (cheaper flights, shorter travel, no ferries, better chance bags will arrive).

Have chartered with CYOA for 31 years.
Will probably stick with them for a little while. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />

Welcome to the forums Katen,

There is so much competition they all seem to be pretty reliable. A lot of times it just comes down to your personal preferences. If you have any specific preferences (boat equipment, cruising grounds) there are a few restrictions so just ask.

I am not aware of any 2 cabin cats for charter.

TMM and CYOA each have a few Mahe 36, 2 cabin cats.

Yes we have two 36 foot Mahe at CYOA. Azzura and Flyer. Both have generator and air conditioning. Rare on a boat that size. Flyer is brand new and has a water maker, and ice maker as well. Azzura is a 2011 model. Both have seperate fridge and feezer. They are fun boats to sail and easy to handle.

More exciting news here at CYOA. Th...nd a separate fridge and freezer. Contac by captainjay, on Flickr

Jay

We did our first BBC with Moorings and it was selected because of all the guarantees about boat qualities and on-the-water service. Since then, we have used Sunsail and have been equally satisfied. The reviews for BVIYC sound intriguing. The option of having an ice maker in the post above is killer! If it were me, with just two aboard, I would opt for a monohull of at least 38 ft. In my opinion, they offer better sailing characteristics than a small cat, but then, you can't beat the spaciousness of a cat. Have fun selecting your ride and have a fun, safe trip.

For those that may not be aware, Moorings and Sunsail are basically the same. Slight differences in how the charges are listed, but operated by the same company with the same policies. Only big differences are the start times (6pm with Sunsail, noon with Moorings) and typically with mono's, moorings boats have at least shore power, while sunsail do not (although this seems to be changing)..

I'd highly recommend the Moorings 4000 or 3900 3 cabin version. Awesome boats - 4000 feels a little more spacious with its new layout. Finally got to see one a few weeks ago.

I know the OP was looking for a two cabin cat but I also recommend the Moorings 3900. Great owners cabin layout. We are down on one in December.

Katen,

I have no idea what your experience is. For the first charter my wife and I did we chartered a 32' mono from Sunsail. My thinking was that it would be easier for me to handle since my wife really didn't have any sailing experience then. Then we charter a Sunsail 444 with two more couples the year after. Honestly with the lay out on the 444 it was easier to manage than the 32' Everything was routed right to the helm and with the electric main winch it was very easy to handle.

I mention this because I wouldn't limit yourself to a 2 cabin boat. You might actually find a bigger boat that is less expensive and just as easy if not easier to manage. Just depends. And as others have stated, most any of the companies in the BVI are great to work with. We started with Sunsail and really haven't found a reason to try anyone else. Their rates are very competitive.

I bare a strong resemblance to the guy who picked that up from the French delivery skipper and completed the trip to St Thomas! With the 3-blade folding props that Mahe really is a flyer under power. Looking forward to sailing her after storm season.

BVI Yacht Charters will also have a new 2015 Mahe 36 available in December...

After having 10 people on a CYOA Helia 44 with 6 being brand new to cruising, I'm rather lusting after a water maker. Of course, stopping for water at Sopers, Leverick, Saba and Jost was pretty easy with two screws, even with the enormous windage of a cat vs. our monohull. We tried water conservation and deck showers, but ten people still use a lot of water. Yeah, water maker.

Cheers, RickG

Ok!!!! You are all fabulous!!! I am going to have ton more questions after I look back on pricing:)

We want to charter a cat because we are thinking of buying one for cruising in about 5 years. (retirement) We are currently sailing monohulls because our sailing club doesn't have a cat avail. But I will go back and look at the boats all of you are recommending.

Water maker...air conditioner (January) and ice maker.... what do you all think?? We enjoy our cocktails:)

With only two people a water maker and ice maker are not necessary. The AC not really needed in January but it sure is nice to have if it rains and you have to keep the hatches closed.

agreed - water maker and ice maker would be unnecessary luxuries when sailing with a small crew. On the other hand I would regret not having an AC on a still, warm night.

Most will recommend " their " charter company and that's OK. Just remember one thing, there are no free lunches in the BVI, you are going to get what you pay for.

We've had as many as 9 on a 4 cabin cat and never needed a water maker or ice maker. We simply top up on water every 2-3 days as needed and get ice at the same time.

Most cats we've been on have plenty of freezer and fridge space so we keep all our drinks in there and ice in the freezer. Some trips we've never even needed to get more than the 2 bags of ice we started with.

I love having A/C on the boat - not truly needed for the most part in January. Still, we've had it before and used it just for the added comfort and not having to worry about the hatch dance if there was a shower. But we've also been that time of year without and it was very comfortable.

A water maker would be wonderful! Never had one but it would make the week easier.
Ice, we would buy since it is available almost everywhere for the asking.
AC in January, first night at the dock would be nice but after that night, never needed it but the 2 minute shower at night does make one get up and close the hatches, only to open them again in a few minutes.

The Mahe is a nice cat for 2!

After 20 years chartering with Moorings we got a little better deal with Sun Sail at the Annapolis boat show last year.
They are owned by the same company but there are some differences. Some big some not so big.

1. Sunsail uses Jeanneau while Moorings Beneteau. Not sure if was the boat quality or boat maintenance ( probably a little of both), but the less than 2 year old 50.5 Jeanneau we chartered was in he worst condition of any we have chartered.

2. The sleep aboard policy for Sun Sail is a pain. Basically they have none. Because Sun Sail has a 6pm boarding policy, they just charge you for an extra day .

3. Because they add an extra day, If you are chartering for 7 days this kicks it up to 8 days. Even though you never leave the dock you are charged an extra week for all the weekly add-on park fees, fuel charge etc.

4. Flat rate fuel charge of $240 for the week. Don't see that at Moorings

Heading back in 2017....probably go back to Moorings but looking at CYOA as well.

Yeah, charges and start times are different, but I think the pricing end up being about the same when you compare apples to apples. Moorings doesn't list the fuel charge separately but you are still paying for it.

You just get less flexibility with sunsail having the single 6pm start time and moorings having both a noon start and sleep aboard at 6.

A shameless plug for CYOA...

First a disclaimer - I'm not professionally affiliated with CYOA and do not own a boat in charter with them. However, we have chartered from them for 31 years, so I might be a little biased... they are like family to me.

The two Mahe 36 cats from CYOA are perfect for two couples and are little speed demons.

Flying into St. Thomas is often cheaper and faster than flying into the BVI.

Flying into St. Thomas saves you time and aggravation of a ferry ride to the BVI.

CYOA has a great price-point on their boats, and you'll find that while most of their boats have Gen/AC and other expensive amenities that Moorings/Sunsail do not (as a rule).

CYOA has awesome staff willing to go the extra mile for you!