28E’s British Virgin Islands trip 2.0

[28Eliminator]

Made long 10 minute voyage up to Bitter End Yacht Club yesterday. Some of our crew decided to do a hike.. wife and I opted to hold bar stools down instead . Went to Saba Rock for dinner, all 18 of us.. it was fantastic!!

 

[28Eliminator]

Beermaker’s boat had a water maker issue, so Marine Max came all the way out here with parts and got it fixed.

 

[28Eliminator]

All 3 of our boats had generators overheating from clogged water intakes.. so that was fun

 

[28Eliminator]

View attachment 1374366

 

[28Eliminator]

 

[28Eliminator]

Heading to Norman island and the Willie T this morning.

 

[jet496]

Huge shout out to @DaytonaBabe for the 12 painkillers at Soggy Dollar Bar

Thanks Mel!!
View attachment 1373293 View attachment 1373296

 

[jet496]

Huge shout out to @DaytonaBabe for the 12 painkillers at Soggy Dollar Bar

Thanks Mel!!
View attachment 1373293 View attachment 1373296

I've made many a Pain Killers at Soggy Dollar. I jumped off the boat to swim in & sure enough my dollars were soggy. They put them on close pins, gave me a bottle, nutmeg & scraper and said here, make 'em how you like, LOL.

Is Foxy still alive & playing at his bar on the other side?

 

[DaveH]

Ball park on a cost 2 yrs ago?

its a chunk of change. id say by the time it was all said and done, 10k for a 10 day trip.

but there are a bunch of ways to shave this down. airfare is a big piece of it, i wont preach to you about how to save on that. then there are ways to save on the boat, we chartered a deluxe 42, with "owners cabin" where one entire side of the cat is a salon with nice big bathroom, walk in shower etc etc plus this boat had AC and was only a couple years old. if i was going in the winter you would not need AC, even when i went in August, we barely used the air, mostly before going to bed to cool everything down then opened the windows. various charter companies have various age hulls and that does impact the price. you can save a considerable amount if you get mono hull and not a cat (which i would never do for this type of trip). time of year makes a big difference, winter being the most expensive and CROWDED. If you like boating in the 70's then you will love winter. but for me a grew up at the river in hot weather boating, last time we went in august (yes you roll the dice with hurricanes) but had really nice weather. my favorite time to go would be NOW...anywhere from mid april to about june. warmer weather and low chance of a hurricane.


al that being said a one week charter isnt enought as a 7 day trip is really 5 when you loose a day provisioning and getting checked out in the boat, then a day back in and unloading. it will go by so fast its unbelievable.

 

[DaveH]

wow i just looked at some bar boat pricing and OMG have they gone up.

 

[steamin rice]

I don't want to side track this thread too much, but what's the preferred outfit to book these through? I assume it's Marine Max, but to be honest I have not really done any research in to this. I'd love do do a trip like this sometime with the right group of friends.

 

[BUDMAN]

I have no idea why Paul didn’t go but it had to be for good reason. Your group is always together. Was Ductape invited as well?

Was all set to go and would love to be on this adventure. We had it all paid for and was ready. Just had something come up that prevented us to go. So ducktape and I planned something else for later in the year. Nothing as sweet as this but still a nice trip.

 

[DaveH]

I don't want to side track this thread too much, but what's the preferred outfit to book these through? I assume it's Marine Max, but to be honest I have not really done any research in to this. I'd love do do a trip like this sometime with the right group of friends.

there a a slew of charter outfits, with different pricing, quality of boats and requiements

https://www.sunsail.com/sailing-vac...tm_source=google,utm_medium=ppc,utm_campaign={utmcampaign},hsa_cam=20086017022,hsa_grp=154403269568,hsa_mt=p,hsa_src=g,hsa_ad=697432358130,hsa_acc={2392874032},hsa_net=adwords,hsa_kw=sun%20sail%20bvi,hsa_tgt=kwd-330326754466&infinity=ict2~net~gaw~cmp~SSUS%20-%20BVI%20campaign_generic%26brand~ag~BVI%20Search~ar~697432358130~kw~sun%20sail%20bvi~mt~p&utm_feeditemid=&utm_device=c&utm_term=sun%20sail%20bvi&utm_source=google&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign={utmcampaign}&hsa_cam=20086017022&hsa_grp=154403269568&hsa_mt=p&hsa_src=g&hsa_ad=697432358130&hsa_acc=2392874032&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_kw=sun%20sail%20bvi&hsa_tgt=kwd-330326754466&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIn-DwgMeQhgMVZxCtBh3bigFcEAAYASAAEgJ-6vD_BwE

https://www.moorings.com/british-vi...tm_source=google,utm_medium=ppc,utm_campaign={utmcampaign},hsa_cam=11894855234,hsa_grp=115610905876,hsa_mt=e,hsa_src=g,hsa_ad=487613632512,hsa_acc={8896580285},hsa_net=adwords,hsa_kw=moorings%20bvi,hsa_tgt=kwd-2862303465&utm_device=c&utm_term=moorings%20bvi&utm_source=google&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign={utmcampaign}

Conch Charters - Home

The premier affordable yacht charter company in the Virgin Islands. Provide bareboat charters and inclusive charters for catamarans, monohulls and powercats

conchcharters.com

BVI Yacht Charter Vacation

Do You Want a BVI Crewed Yacht or Bareboat Charter? BAREBOAT YACHT CHARTER RATES >>By Charter Company & Destination REQUEST YOUR CUSTOMIZED

virginislandsailing.com

and a long list more......

 

[Instigator]

Virgin Charter Yachts is who we booked our 2nd boat with. They are in the same marina as Marine Max too. We chartered the 3 Cabin Aquila 44 from Marine Max for the 1st 9 days and it is much roomier and nicer than most other powercats. The 2nd week my wife and I chartered a 37' 4 Cabin MY-37 Power Cat by ourselves and it is alot cheaper than the Marine Max 443. We actually booked the MY-37 called Another Perfect Season through a broker out of Spain called Amwax and it was actually cheaper than booking direct through VCY's which makes no sense.
Marine Max is in my opinion the best but as stated there are several companies that charter in the BVI as it is considered the Sailing Capital of the world.
Here is the contact info for VCY. They offer pricing right on their website as does Moorings.
Most others you have to email for pricing.

Harella
Customer Service Concierge
Virgin Charter Yachts
"G" Dock, Nanny Cay Marina
Tortola B.V.I. VG1110
1-284-495-2526
www.virgincharteryachts.com
Awarded the Certificate of Excellence in 2016, 2017 & 2018 - Tripadvisor

 

[C-Ya]

FWIW…………

For those that are interested in doing a trip like this, their are other ways to do it.

There are companies that sell charter vacations by the cabin. Worldwide

As somebody already pointed out, there are timeshare type charter companies.

There are the privately owned charters. These are not super yachts. Usually it’s a husband/wife team that also own the boat. These can be a lot cheaper than the brokerages, plus there is already a captain and chef/cook, onboard. This is the “easy button”. lol

Here is an example of an interesting charter company. I gave what is below to my daughter as a college graduation gift. I sent her best friend too! This is for the UNDER 25 crowd. Yacht Week. I wish they had this when I was 22.

https://www.theyachtweek.com/

I can probably think of more stuff, but I would be here all night.

Last thing……… Sure these trips can be expensive. However, since you, the reader, have decided to spend the first amount, why not spend a little more and ad an accoutrement to the trip, such as a 30’ twin engine center console for a week or a much larger RIB that seats a lot more people, that can be used to go exploring. At the very least, get an additional tender from the charter company. Having a single 12’ rib for 8 people just doesn’t cut it for me. I always rent additional ribs or boats. This gives you the opportunity to take a fun ride with just your spouse, while not stranding anyone.

Sorry for the hijack.

 

[28Eliminator]

A couple pics from Norman island.. we all went to to the Willie T after a great steak dinner…
I don’t have any pics there, as I’m not sure what really happened, it’s all kind of a blur

 

[28Eliminator]

I've made many a Pain Killers at Soggy Dollar. I jumped off the boat to swim in & sure enough my dollars were soggy. They put them on close pins, gave me a bottle, nutmeg & scraper and said here, make 'em how you like, LOL.

Is Foxy still alive & playing at his bar on the other side?

I heard he’s still around.. last time we went there they ignored us, this time (Sunday) same exact deal. I’m over that place.

 

[HallettBill]

Lunch time view of Great Harbor. FYI all the Boaty Ball morning balls were gone by 7:01.

 

[240Hallett]

Lunch time view of Great Harbor. FYI all the Boaty Ball morning balls were gone by 7:01. View attachment 1374927

YV fn D

 

[28Eliminator]

Heading to Hendo’s for some nachos and drinks

 

[baja-chris]

In February we did a 7 day fully crewed Aquila 545 through Marine Max out of Nanny Cay. 4 couples split it. $40k total plus tip. Not including transportation to Beef Island. Boat has a 5th stateroom for captain and chef. We all thought it was a great vacation and a great value. The chef prepared meals were outstanding. And it was great not to be responsible for motoring, mooring, or work of any kind. We used a handheld radio to tell the captain when to come fetch us from bars like Soggy Dollar in the tender, a small center console dinghy. I wish I could find a similar charter for the Exumas. BVI was great but like to see other areas this way.

 

[Instigator]

Lunch time view of Great Harbor. FYI all the Boaty Ball morning balls were gone by 7:01. View attachment 1374927

That is what I am afraid of. Not being able to get ANY mooring ball and end up spending the whole trip chasing a mooring ball for the night. I just don't feel comfortable enough with the constantly changing winds, currents and tides to drop the hook for the night as I don't want to end up like The Wandering Hillbilly. Besides, I can't afford that mistake.

 

[mbrown2]

I don't want to side track this thread too much, but what's the preferred outfit to book these through? I assume it's Marine Max, but to be honest I have not really done any research in to this. I'd love do do a trip like this sometime with the right group of friends.

We have done the moorings for 3 trips and always had a good time. Always got an upgrade to a larger dinghy (17' center console type) out of Nanny Cay so we could cover larger distances to explore while moored.

I just priced a 50' cat sailboat 4 cabin 7 nights... its like 10k for a 3yo or older boat and 12k for for newer boat....we would likely have 7 to 8 on this boat... would be 3 couples and a single guy... initial provisions will be about a 1500 split amongs the group and the upgraded dingy is like 2k. ...12+1.5+2K = 2200 a person... not including travel and all the spending you will do off the boat... I think it is totally worth it...

Also I see this trip is power cats... try sailing even if you don't know how. Take a lesson near you; you need the basics... The sailboats are not that much slower then the powercats even if you want to power around... but if you want to sail its just a different feeling, no engine and just waves and wind off the sail...The cats make it easy and foregiving to sail as they don't keel over... just keep beam to wind and read your tale tails on which way the wind is blowing and its pretty easy to get it going... Take sail down before coming into coves/bays same time you bring your dingy in close....everybody takes a shot at the helm and winches which control the sail during sail stints..... No captain or cook for us... we all have jobs when we need to do something on the boat......For mooring or docking, person on the hook and two on the mooring ropes, anchor watch person to drop in the event of issues (running over or wrapping a line cause you overshoot something and back into your dingy rope which the dingy captain forgot to bring in ), dingy captain, and me driving the big floating motorhome, and a poop captain who is responsible for opening valves when we are clear to and closing them before coming into port/bay/cove.......so manyfun times and so many memories...

 

[240Hallett]

Shitty cell phone picture of a bitchin view.

 

[HNL2LHC]

View attachment 1375252
Shitty cell phone picture of a bitchin view.

Looks like a total blast!!!! Keep the pictures coming!!!!

 

[DaveH]

We have done the moorings for 3 trips and always had a good time. Always got an upgrade to a larger dinghy (17' center console type) out of Nanny Cay so we could cover larger distances to explore while moored.

I just priced a 50' cat sailboat 4 cabin 7 nights... its like 10k for a 3yo or older boat and 12k for for newer boat....we would likely have 7 to 8 on this boat... would be 3 couples and a single guy... initial provisions will be about a 1500 split amongs the group and the upgraded dingy is like 2k. ...12+1.5+2K = 2200 a person... not including travel and all the spending you will do off the boat... I think it is totally worth it...

Also I see this trip is power cats... try sailing even if you don't know how. Take a lesson near you; you need the basics... The sailboats are not that much slower then the powercats even if you want to power around... but if you want to sail its just a different feeling, no engine and just waves and wind off the sail...The cats make it easy and foregiving to sail as they don't keel over... just keep beam to wind and read your tale tails on which way the wind is blowing and its pretty easy to get it going... Take sail down before coming into coves/bays same time you bring your dingy in close....everybody takes a shot at the helm and winches which control the sail during sail stints..... No captain or cook for us... we all have jobs when we need to do something on the boat......For mooring or docking, person on the hook and two on the mooring ropes, anchor watch person to drop in the event of issues (running over or wrapping a line cause you overshoot something and back into your dingy rope which the dingy captain forgot to bring in ), dingy captain, and me driving the big floating motorhome, and a poop captain who is responsible for opening valves when we are clear to and closing them before coming into port/bay/cove.......so manyfun times and so many memories...

totally agree. sailing isnt a big deal if you have been around boats and it takes the trip to a different "level" if that makes sense. i look forward to the sailing aspect of the trip as part of the challenge. even better there is something magical of shutting the engine off and riding the wind to your destination. come to think of it i do the same thing in my sailplane.

 

[rivrrts429]

RDBBP = River Dave’s Blow Boat Place

 

[28Eliminator]

We have done the moorings for 3 trips and always had a good time. Always got an upgrade to a larger dinghy (17' center console type) out of Nanny Cay so we could cover larger distances to explore while moored.

I just priced a 50' cat sailboat 4 cabin 7 nights... its like 10k for a 3yo or older boat and 12k for for newer boat....we would likely have 7 to 8 on this boat... would be 3 couples and a single guy... initial provisions will be about a 1500 split amongs the group and the upgraded dingy is like 2k. ...12+1.5+2K = 2200 a person... not including travel and all the spending you will do off the boat... I think it is totally worth it...

Also I see this trip is power cats... try sailing even if you don't know how. Take a lesson near you; you need the basics... The sailboats are not that much slower then the powercats even if you want to power around... but if you want to sail its just a different feeling, no engine and just waves and wind off the sail...The cats make it easy and foregiving to sail as they don't keel over... just keep beam to wind and read your tale tails on which way the wind is blowing and its pretty easy to get it going... Take sail down before coming into coves/bays same time you bring your dingy in close....everybody takes a shot at the helm and winches which control the sail during sail stints..... No captain or cook for us... we all have jobs when we need to do something on the boat......For mooring or docking, person on the hook and two on the mooring ropes, anchor watch person to drop in the event of issues (running over or wrapping a line cause you overshoot something and back into your dingy rope which the dingy captain forgot to bring in ), dingy captain, and me driving the big floating motorhome, and a poop captain who is responsible for opening valves when we are clear to and closing them before coming into port/bay/cove.......so manyfun times and so many memories...

I’ve sailed 34 - 48’ monohull snail boats lots of times. I have ZERO interest in doing it here. We all agree we don’t want to work on Vacation

 

[28Eliminator]

From yesterday..

 

[28Eliminator]

 

[28Eliminator]

 

[28Eliminator]

 

[240Hallett]

We have done the moorings for 3 trips and always had a good time. Always got an upgrade to a larger dinghy (17' center console type) out of Nanny Cay so we could cover larger distances to explore while moored.

I just priced a 50' cat sailboat 4 cabin 7 nights... its like 10k for a 3yo or older boat and 12k for for newer boat....we would likely have 7 to 8 on this boat... would be 3 couples and a single guy... initial provisions will be about a 1500 split amongs the group and the upgraded dingy is like 2k. ...12+1.5+2K = 2200 a person... not including travel and all the spending you will do off the boat... I think it is totally worth it...

Also I see this trip is power cats... try sailing even if you don't know how. Take a lesson near you; you need the basics... The sailboats are not that much slower then the powercats even if you want to power around... but if you want to sail its just a different feeling, no engine and just waves and wind off the sail...The cats make it easy and foregiving to sail as they don't keel over... just keep beam to wind and read your tale tails on which way the wind is blowing and its pretty easy to get it going... Take sail down before coming into coves/bays same time you bring your dingy in close....everybody takes a shot at the helm and winches which control the sail during sail stints..... No captain or cook for us... we all have jobs when we need to do something on the boat......For mooring or docking, person on the hook and two on the mooring ropes, anchor watch person to drop in the event of issues (running over or wrapping a line cause you overshoot something and back into your dingy rope which the dingy captain forgot to bring in ), dingy captain, and me driving the big floating motorhome, and a poop captain who is responsible for opening valves when we are clear to and closing them before coming into port/bay/cove.......so manyfun times and so many memories...

I have sailed a little bit and I am in the sailboat business. I prefer this down here.

 

[BUDMAN]

Looks like an amazing trip. Thanks for all the pics. Cant wait to hear about it.

 

[Ziggy]

Looks like an amazing trip. Thanks for all the pics. Cant wait to hear about it.

The Vegas rule may apply...