SVIs in April - Sail Caribe vs. DYC

Hi starting the initial planning for a week cruise in the SVIs. Have done USVI, BVIs twice and Grenada and the Grenadines twice so thinking about checking out the SVIs from Fajardo. Looking for feedback on Sail Caribe and the SVI base for DYC. I have been with DYC twice in Grenada and have been generally pretty happy. The Sail Caribe fleet looks a little more robust in PR compared to DYC but I have no experience with them. Have my eyes on a Lagoon 45F with water maker (I understand getting water in SVIs can be a pain). Will be sailing in the April 2020 time frame.

Thanks in advance!

Jeremy

Jim at Sail Caribe has been there the longest. You can also rent from us, CYOA in St Thomas and sail down to the SVI's all of our cats have watermakers. We have a brand new 450S that will be on display at Annapolis and available. We also have a less than a year old Bavaria 46 if you want a flybridge.

We've chartered through Sail Caribe twice in the past (both times on a 450F) and had positive experiences with them. They keep their boats in good condition and are responsive to any questions we had or any issues while on charter. On our first charter we did have a minor generator issue while in the SVIs and they were going to send a chase boat to us, but we figured it out before they got it dispatched. Also had an issue with the mainsail on St. John and they connected us with some local riggers and got it dealt with quickly. Both were things that could have happened with any charter company so I don't fault them. Second charter with them was flawless with no issues.

We have chartered several times with DYC, but not out of Puerto Rico so I can't comment on their base there. All else being equal it looks like SailCaribe's boats are newer and the prices are comparable.

I'll add that I do like the logistics of chartering out of Puerto Rico. We can easily get there in one day from the west coast, there are plenty of provisioning options (including a Costco near the airport and a couple large supermarkets near the marina), and we enjoy spending time in Puerto Rico before/after the charter. That said, a lot of people really like chartering with CYOA as well and they have a nice stable of boats to choose from. You just have to get the boat back to the USVI at the end of the charter which could potentially involve a few hours of grinding into the wind and swell. And you have to deal with customs upon entering the SVI from the USVI - but not on the return to the USVI.

thanks Captain Jay and Hanson. We are looking at flight logistics. Coming from Canada it is harder to get to St. Thomas than it is to San Juan. Having said that after getting a quote from the sail Caribe we may be looking at other options including monohulls to try to keep costs down. this is a guys trip and want to increase the WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor).... At this time all options are open. I'll look to see what boats could fit our needs.

Dream Machine and Fair Winds II are both monohulls in our fleet with watermakers. We also have two four-cabin Lucia 40's that have watermakers. They rent for a lot less money than a 45.

Not withstanding the more difficult travel to St Thomas, I would highly recommend you start there. We did the St Thomas ==> Culebra ==> Vieques ==> St Croix ==> St Thomas route in 2018. Only a little upwind sailing in St Croix.

Watermaker is mandatory. This is not BVI sailing. If you decide to go with a cat, make sure that the davits on the boat you choose will allow you to get the dinghy high enough to avoid bottoming out. We were on the newest version of the Helia 44, and spent a lot of time unsuccessfully figuring out how to re-rig the dinghy.

We did not use Captain Jay / CYOA, but would do so if we ever made this trip again.

aarpskier, how much time did you allow for that route? We're REALLY hoping to do this in the next few years but would have to start in Roadtown. I'm sure we could arrange 3 weeks but wonder if 4 would be needed.

Dave

I think that's a one week trip. You can of course take as long as you want by staying multiple days in each location. But surely not a requirement to do so.

We did this trip in 9 days. For what it may be worth, I would be happy to send you our fairly-detailed, but now 18 months-old, sail plan (I apparently can't attach a pdf to this post). Send me an email: mverwys@gmail.com.

Hi aarpSkier, wouldn't mind that sail plan as well. I will send you and email.

thanks
Jeremy