Island Charters?

Hi Guys!!

Today is September 15th, it was 90 degrees in NC.* Tomorrow it will be 63.* Summer is over.* I know I know, there is alot of fine sweatshirt boating weather to come....but I'm preparing for the dead of winter cold assed get me outta here weather.(don't judge me)*

My question is, where are the best and cheapest charters?* Do we shoot for the USVI or BVI where flights are more frequent, or do we shoot for the Bahamas?* One week, Christmas holidays...just us. (unless we invite people - and yes, as a former travel agent I know the holidays are not cheap)* Are sailboats cheaper than power charters down there?* We can motor a sailboat as easily as a trawler.*We have sailed with a friend in Jamaica twice.

*<a></a>What are your opinions....I'm just looking for a warm weather, clear water, winter cruising vacation that is on this side of the world.* Or...do we go to Sandals Emerald Bay and just watch the cruisers in the marina?

Thanks!

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I did a sail charter in BVI some time ago. It's really a great place to sail, as most of the popular destinations are within the protected waters of Sir Francis Drake Channel. Most of the navigation is line of sight, and it's usually a short jog between destinations. Provisioning is quite easy as most of the charter bases are located fairly close to large supermarkets. Also, BVI has lots of landside activities (Foxy's on Jost van Dyke, the Baths, Sopers Hole, etc.), and lots of great local eateries.

The water is warm and clear. *The mooring balls at the more popular locations tend to get taken up pretty fast so plan on getting to your destinations early in the day.

*I don't know what the availability of trawler or powerboat charters is in this location. There was a thread on this question posted quite recently; you might get some info there.

*If you are planning to go there around Christmas time, expect to pay top dollar as that the absolute peak season for most charter companies.

*If you dont have much sailing experience yourself, they might require you to hire a captain on a daily basis, at least until you can demonstrate competency.* They will ask you for a boating resume and take you out on a quick run to demonstrate your skills.* Yes, you can motor a sailboat to where you want to go, but with 15-20 knots of wind and flat water, it would be a shame not to let her fly down the channel, drop the hook at The Bitter End, and have a toast to a beautiful sunset.

*I've been to the Bahamas twice on dive trips.* Really a beautiful bunch of islands. They do a lot of sail chartering in the Abacos.* Again, I dont know too much about power chartering there. The water can be somewhat chilly in the Bahamas during the winter. *Also, you might have some open water when running between the islands.*

*It takes quite a bit of time to plan a good charter, so you might want to get into high gear now if you want to charter this Christmas.

*Good luck.************************ KJ

My son, blasting down Sir Francis Drake Channel, BVI. Driving a 42ft. sloop.**

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-- Edited by KJ on Friday 16th of September 2011 02:41:08 AM

Yeah,** I might be too late for a charter this Holiday.* And, it would mean Skinny Dippin' would miss the Christmas Parade of Lights in New Bern too.*

Just dreaming I guess.

Then consider this you guys: If you, as a future cruiser. wanted to just go to a cruising destination for a vacation and "fact finding" mission, where would you go? If, instead of chartering, we wanted to go have a mostly land-based vacation but be surrounded by cruisers/boaters and possibly shop for a charter company for our next visit, where should we look?

GonzoF1 wrote:
Then consider this you guys: If you, as a future cruiser. wanted to just go to a cruising destination for a vacation and "fact finding" mission, where would you go? If, instead of chartering, we wanted to go have a mostly land-based vacation but be surrounded by cruisers/boaters and possibly shop for a charter company for our next visit, where should we look?

Click to expand...

*Tom, try these two on Captiva Island.

http://www.southseas.com/?src=ppc_google_brand(phrase)&s_kwcid=TC|18933|southseas%20resort||S||6650745889&gclid=CI3o8NqXo6sCFQFS7AodOkiO0A

http://tweenwaters.com/

Southseas is the most upscale by far'

You can drive there and have your car for day trips.* I love Captiva.

Besslb wrote:
Yeah,** I might be too late for a charter this Holiday.* And, it would mean Skinny Dippin' would miss the Christmas Parade of Lights in New Bern too.*

Just dreaming I guess.

Click to expand...

Besslb, if cruising in your off-season is your desire, might it not make good sense to look to the other hemishere...?* The GFC has prompted many really competitive flight and holiday packages, and I'm sure you could get a good deal here in the Whitsunday Islands for example, acknowledged widely as one of the cruising destinations of the world.

http://www.whitsundayescape.com/?gclid=CLaCgtzNo6sCFWpU4godFB3Mzg

http://www.sailfree.com.au/?_kk=whitsunday%20boat%20charters&_kt=a649ea16-d61e-40ce-8ff3-b7f085bdca59&gclid=CL2xnfLNo6sCFQOFpAodKSFV2w

http://www.yachtcharters.com.au/specials.php

*

Why dont you come to Belize?

Peter, While I would love to see your part of the world, from the east coast the flights aren't cheap and are just too long. Given the huge PITA it is to fly these days, the last thing we want to do is spend two days in the process, be stuffed into a coach seat for 16 hours, and spend more in airfare than the charter itself. Besides, we still have jobs. with four days dedicated to travel alone. the time at our destination would be severely limited. Trust me, I looked into Fiji for our 20th anniversary. Thanks, but maybe some other time.

Bill, again, it's not that we don't want to see Belize, but the reason for asking is to go explore possible cruising grounds in the near future. We look at the BVI's, as much more of a realistic goal for a cruising destination. Belize is out of reach for us right now.

We want to find a place were lots of cruisers from this area go.