Chartering, the Better Way

(Note: The following article was kindly provided to us by our very good friend, Pam Juryn, ex-commodore of The World Cruising Club, and founder of Harbourside Sailing School in Toronto).

Think about this:
You know that the British Virgin Islands are the most perfect cruising grounds in the world. You know that getting there can be a pain, but worth it. You are a sailor and want to take your girlfriend, family, or group of friends cruising there this winter, so what next? Most people think only of “bareboating”, or renting a boat that will sleep everyone, flying there and taking off. Okay, but you will find that there is more to it than that!

You fly to San Juan, and take the shuttle to Beef Island. You are there! If your luggage didn’t make it, you know it will be on the next shuttle an hour later, so you wander down the road, cross to the beach, order beer and sit under a palm tree for an hour. Not too shabby, but then comes getting a taxi to your boat which costs – ouch!
You are shown to your boat, and there it is – your bare boat – bare! Depending on the time of day, you either settle down to enjoy the heat, or go to the local store to start provisioning. Remember, all the food you are used to had to come by plane, so the prices are high, but what did you expect? You forget about some of the little luxuries you had planned on. Buying booze, you know, is going to cost, and it does.

Did you study the cruising guide before you came? Do you know where you want to go first? How long will that take? Boy, that’s a big wind! Hopefully you chose a harbour for the night that is not too far away. It will take you a couple of days to get used to this. Where was that good place to snorkel again? Better tie to a mooring ball at night so you don’t have to worry about your anchor dragging. I know, more money!

Okay, there is another way. Bare boating is not the only, or even the best way to cruise the British Virgin Islands. How about a crewed yacht? Don’t want to share your holiday with people you don’t know? That is an advantage, actually, as they KNOW the best places, they KNOW the secret anchorages, they know the best restaurants, and the best snorkeling, and they really like having people enjoy the islands with them.

Not only that, they fix things that go wrong, they can help with everything from showing you the best snorkeling to making sure there is a cold beer when you want one, to doing the dishes, and providing you with anything your heart desires.

This was brought home to me once when my friends Dave and Ida Warren were using their lovely Beneteau 51 for crewed charters, and I was down with a friend, and we bare boated because Dave & Ida were busy that week. Well, it turned out their charter fell through, so in our bare boat we followed them over to Peter Island, Great Harbour, where bare boaters were not allowed to anchor as the holding is so difficult. They invited us to dinner, which was marvelous as usual.

After dinner we were sitting in the cockpit on a perfect night, with the wind blowing gently, feeling that life was just about perfect, and I said as much, and then said, “the only thing that would make it more perfect would be some brandy”. Dave disappeared down below and a few minutes later handed my some Courvoisier in a brandy snifter. I couldn’t believe it! How perfect can you get?

If you are planning to go cruising in the British Virgin Islands, think about doing a “crewed” charter. It is the MOST luxurious way to go! It is a little bit more expensive than bare boating, but very much worth it!