Bare boat or Crewed charter BVI??

[keets]

I want to do a cat trip with the mooring. Being our first charter should we go bare boat or crewed? Price seems pretty good with the crewed charter. Is the extra cost for the crew, food and drinks worth it?

 

[JeffM]

My opinion is not impartial, as my sister and brother-in-law own a charter yacht in the USVI, but I feel that with the right crew you will get more out of your trip. A good crew will be able to get a feel for your preferences and tailor the charter to you and your family. I don't know much about the Moorings crews, though, sorry.

 

[comsnark]

Are you comfortable running the catamaran by yourself?
Are you good with the sail handling?

If so. . then bareboating is the ONLY way to go.

I have done both bare boats and with a crew (of one!).

If you were uncomfortable with the boat. . .then I wouldn't hesitate to get a crew. At this point in my life, however, I would not think to have a crew.

BTW: on our trips, we always make sure we have at least two people knowledgable and savvy on the boat as a minimum. (1) It allows the knowledable one to get plastered once in a while (i.e. always have ONE knowledgable person sober!) and (2) Allows a margin if someone "knowledgable gets hurt.

 

[Pakmule]

Are you comfortable running the catamaran by yourself?
Are you good with the sail handling?

If so. . then bareboating is the ONLY way to go.

I have done both bare boats and with a crew (of one!).

If you were uncomfortable with the boat. . .then I wouldn't hesitate to get a crew. At this point in my life, however, I would not think to have a crew.

BTW: on our trips, we always make sure we have at least two people knowledgable and savvy on the boat as a minimum. (1) It allows the knowledable one to get plastered once in a while (i.e. always have ONE knowledgable person sober!) and (2) Allows a margin if someone "knowledgable gets hurt.

I think he may be talking about the power cats that the moorings rents. I am exploring do the power cat trip myself.

 

[SR400DB]

I've done the bareboat thing on a powerboat in the BVI a number of times. I highly recommend it and can't wait to go again.

 

[keets]

Yes, I'm looking at the power cats. I have no clue on how to sail. I take my family to the US Virgin islands every year. I would like to take this trip with my wife and I the first time (fall 09) and if all goes well make it a family trip the next time (spring 10). Thought maybe a crewed trip the first time to learn the ropes and bare back the rest of the time. I agree it would be nice to have a couple boaters on the trip.

 

[wetpaint]

I chareted two years ago a sailboat from moorigs in the BVI (Tortola) and had a captain for two days as it was a while since I sailed and I did not want to lie on the questionaire......He lived on Tortola and our first stop was came garden bay......we pulled a mooring and he went home until the next morning......We then sailed to Peter Island and he took the ferry home and I was on my own.....I was by myself so I enjoyed not having him on the boat....I would do a bareboat charter for that reason.....The moorings give you a great captains briefig of where to go and it is such a simple and boater friendly area....

 

[comsnark]

Hmmm. Power cat. I understand.
I naturally think about sailing in that area. . .sorry. Done it more than twice

It is indeed a very boater friendly area. Very enjoyable. I would opt for "bareboat".

 

[saltydogz]

When in the Fall are you thinking about going? Just keep in mind huricann season is wrapping up and I have found the some resturants and bars are closed during October to get ready for their high season between Nov - Apr.

I have done it a number of times sailing (monohull & catamarans), never the power cat, but do the bareboat. The Mooring has a great book on the achorages on th eislands and the captians brief is good. They have great service during you whole trip, even if you have problem out on the water they come out and help you. We have used the Mooring every time.

There is a a lot of good information on the web... http://www.bvipirate.com/ here is a good site.

We are heading back again in Nov '09. PM me and I can email you places to go for food, drink and snorkeling/diving.

 

[bport]

One more vote for bare-boat. We have gone several times (sailing) and it is an easy and fun area. All navigation is line-of-site, so no heavy lifting in that regard. Point to where you want to go today, and you are on your way. Enjoy, I am envious.

 

[Alex F]

I want to do a cat trip with the mooring. Being our first charter should we go bare boat or crewed? Price seems pretty good with the crewed charter. Is the extra cost for the crew, food and drinks worth it?

I'd say, it depends on number of things:
Having Captain and/or crew
- Do you want just sit back and relax while someone is at the helm (I guess, limo style)?
- What’s your expectation from the crew, making beds, cooking meals, cleaning, etc., is this one of the primary criteria’s?
- Are you not comfortable navigating in new waters?

Bare boating
- Is your primary goal just to have relaxing vacation with your wife and not looking for strangers on board?
- Are you comfortable to operate the CAT?
- Are you comfortable with navigation in new area using different equipment from what you have on your boat?
- Are you ok taking all on yourself, I mean things like cooking few meals, cleaning, unless you’re always plan on eating out?
- Are you prepared to find your own nightly entertainment?

We (two couples with kids, 6 people total) did bare boat chartering in BVI (with Sunsail) two years ago, we took sailboat, just b/c my friend in to sail boating, but I thought it would be cool to try. Even though I knew nothing about sailboats I was comfortable that I’ll handle it if I need to and will get us wherever we need to get (sails don’t scare me, if anything I' put them away and run on the engine). We did just fine and it turned out to be a piece of cake for me and my friend. We were very comfortable despite the fact that all electronics were inside the cabin (this fr..n design you can only see in sailboats). Navigation was very simple and you can do just fine even if there was no GPS, but it’s nice to have it anyway.

Our plans were to have mixture of things, day stops in between points A and B where we would do some fun activities, exploring, snorkeling, scuba diving, etc. Night entertainment was our dancing parties after dinner at restaurants or cooked on board. We had mixed cooking on board and eating out. We were totally fine doing everything ourselves (we’re not too spoiled). We had a great time and I’ll never forget this vacation.

Few points to keep in mind:
- The food is expensive in the stores and restaurants. Stores have very limited selection. If you need to get something to cook a meal get as much as possible in Tortola, the rest of the islands have a fraction of that.
- There’s no night entertainment (in comparison with all inclusive resorts or to a cruise). We’re outgoing people so this is something we wish there were some resorts with shows and clubs.
- When booking, make sure to pay a little extra for newer model vs. 3-5 yrs old boats. My 2001 240DA looked as brand new compare to the boat we had and exchange was not an option regardless how much we complained (and our wifes know how to complain).
- I never had to deal with Moorings, but Sunsail’s service was less than satisfying. :smt009

Do your homework and come up with fun itinerary and you’ll have fun.

Good luck,
Alex.

 

[keets]

Thanks for all the info. My wife, Tammie, wants to have a capt and chef for our first trip on a cat. After reading all the post I would rather do this trip bare boat. She will prob win this battle but that's ok we will have fun. She gets along with everybody so having other people on board will be no big deal. We went on a trip last summer with 10 adults. We planned on (2) 260DAs but one backed out last min so we had 10 adults on our 260 and everyone got along. We had a condo that slept 8 and our boat. We just putted out tied up to a raft and everyone did thier own thing. 10 adults, 7 days, (1) 260Da, towing a boat 12 hours one way and no fighting, now thats unreal.

 

[Sweet Dreams]

We did the chartered Moorings 48ft cat sail in BVI last spring. Got married on Cane Garden Bay Tortola. The Moorings, captian and our planner worked wonderfully together to make things happen as it had to wait until our day of departure to determine day, time and place for the wedding. The crew ware good but I think becuase they were european, their perception of medium size meal portions were SMALL. Just make a note on your preferences for lg portions when you fill out all the paperwork. Also, our boat was in the Moorings program where the owner can contract it out to Moorings for chartered sails. It had all the Moorings names on the mast n all and by contract, was sussposed to be completely kept up by Moorings, but that program is a 5 yr contract. Our boat unfortunately ended up being at the 4.5 yr mark and guess what...Moorings had basically REALLY slacked off on upkeep. Towards the end of out trip, our crew talked badly of Moorings. Not ugly or blatently, but realistically. Our crew were seasoned in the field and also contracted themselves to Moorings so they were not completely loyal when it came to keeping their opinions to themselves. Moorings has problems! Problems on our boat had been reported and still not fixed prior to out departure. Yes if you have a prob, they say they come to you on the water where you are, but our captian knew the reality of where the mechanics were and we would be sitting still loosing 1-2 days waiting on repairs. So we sucked it up. The freezer went out so half way through the trip beer was not real cold. Ice did not last in the cooler because it was being used too fast for mixed drinks. So by the end, no ice for mixed and only hot beer! NOT GOOD! Something was wrong with the wiring on board and that is what cau;se the freezer to go out. There was supposed to be water sports equip on board, but it was not and the wind surfer that was on board, kite was broken. Capt said there was not another avail. The grill mount was worn and we had to keep the grill tied to the boat to keep it from falling in the water. Water had to be conserved because the tank was not the largest and 2 ports would not let us dock for water unless we were going to eat at thier resteraunt or stay there. We were A/C capable, but did not get to use because of the wiring prob. Thankfully, we did fine without it. Really dont need it. Woulda been nice when getting my wedding dress onthough! LOL

We found another company that we would definately use if we are fortunate enough to go back again. Boarded the boats and talked with the owners. Much smaller US based and started out kinda like Moorings. They are called Voyage Charters. Have a base in BVI. The boats are incredible. New, kept up, on board water system chages salt to potable. Two freezers, Constant air. The 58 ft has its own wet bar. Cabins ea hve tv and cd players. Much more room with layouts. And since they are smaller company, they keep up withtheir boats better. I think The Moorings have gotten so big, they have outgrown their ability to keep up with their reputation they use to have. They bought Sunsail and I understand they got even worse after that. check out voyagecharters.com

And if anyone wants to share a charter...pm us. We would love to!

 

[Alex F]

Sweet Dreams,

Thanks for sharing your inside on Moorings, it's good to know b/c after very similar experience with Sunsail we had considered Moorings. But, sounds like it's the same crap. It's frustrating that these companies charging top dollar and provide poor equipment and service.

 

[Hampton]

Bareboat. Be the first one up in the morning and the first one to the next mooring. That is the biggest key to having a great trip. Get there past 2 or 3 and you will be left out in the cold - or in this case - wind and deep waters. Mooring on pre-set anchors costs $20/night extra, but can help you sleep a lot better. You pay cash as you go.

 

[estebanj]

I've done 2 bareboats, one with VIP out of STT and the other with Virgin Traders in Tortola. I had zero issues with both companies and both boats (Tarquin 48 with VIP and PowerCat 52 with VT).

I'm not necessarily recommending them over the Moorings, but want to offer their names as available options at a lower price than the Moorings.

There are pros and cons chartering out of STT (instead of Tortola), but that's another subject.

Esteban

 

[Boatingnut]

I vote for bareboat. I have done multiple trips to the BVI and Abacos and would not have it any other way. Last time was with Virgin Traders. Very professional outlet. Had a 48 Horizon. Boat was in excellent condition and had no problems. I have used the Moorings in the Abacos and no issues either.