Skipper’s Tips & Sailor Talk: 5 Reasons Why Bareboating is Best
There was a time when the only way you could come and cruise the Caribbean was to learn to sail, learn to navigate, buy a boat capable of offshore passage making, prepare yourself and your family, then make a long ocean trip to arrive in the Caribbean; this time wasn’t long ago.
Now, being a yacht broker myself, I would prefer if this was still the case, but there are other options today. When it became possible to travel by air to the Caribbean at a reasonable cost, and enjoy a sailing holiday on a yacht, a new opportunity emerged and led the way to the huge bareboat charter industry in place today with the BVI at the centre of it all.
While enjoying a vacation on a crewed charter yacht can be pleasant, for many sailors, the allure of independence in commanding your own vessel might steer you away from falling under the guidance of another captain sailing his way.
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Following are five reasons to consider bare-boating for your next Holiday in the BVI.
- You are the captain of your ship
When you spend months in advance of your BVI charter, actively avoiding any real work by cruising the internet and Google Earth, looking for great bars, new restaurants, dive spots, and anchorages, plotting your path, you get far more out of the vacation. In this, being the captain has great benefits such as not having to stick to the agenda that you took weeks to plan; being able to change your mind at a whim or a wind shift is what sailing is all about. You might meet some other ‘cruisers’ at the bar and hear about a great snorkel spot – just go there instead with the luxury of doing things your way. When you are in full control of the vessel and crew, everything you do is all through your skills, your mistakes and your accomplishments. There is a lot of growth a couple or family can experience in making a plan, operating a complex boat, and getting it fast and safe from point A to point B. The bonds made between family and partners in doing this will last a lifetime.
- Low cost relative to ownership
If you are only able to get away from the real world—mortgages, credit payments, school and work schedules, dentist visits and club commitments—for only a week or two a year, then owning a boat in the BVI is very expensive relative to the use you get. Our research shows that it takes 8-13 weeks a year of use to make a purchase smarter than a charter, financially speaking.
- Obscure anchorages all to yourself for pure peace
As crowded as the BVI might seem when you visit anchorages like Cane Garden Bay, The Bight, North Sound or Trellis Bay, you can also find many secluded gems. When you run your own bare boat, you have the opportunity to discover some ‘off the beaten path’ cove to anchor in for the night all to yourself – and they don’t call the BVI Natures Little Secrets for nothing. There are many of these hidden hotspots where there is no one running noisy generators, no screaming kids on the boat next door, no ‘whooo-hooo-ing’ American girls at the bar. Just pure peace and the beauty of nature with no one else around.
- Sailing Naked
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Of course this is the most beneficial reason to charter your boat in a Bare Boat format – no captain, no crew, no boat payment or yard bills; you can really cut loose and let go. Sailing pure and naked in the Caribbean sun is about the happiest place any sailor could find themselves and not having to worry about anything at all except where to find the next rum drink or hiking trail.
- Yelling at your crew
This point depends on your perspective on yelling, but better to be doing it than on the receiving end and as captain, you are the one that gets to yell at your crew.
No matter which budget range you are in, you can always find a good deal on a boat to charter as captain in the BVI. There is no better place in the world to have this experience than right here – the sailing capital of the world. See you here soon.
Brian Duff, Broker - BVI Yacht Sales
Latest posts by Brian Duff, Broker - BVI Yacht Sales (see all)
- 5 Reasons Why Bareboating is Best - October 31, 2014
- The Best Season for Sailing - June 2, 2014
- You think it’s all over? - May 1, 2014
- Ideas for Sailing Season’s End - May 1, 2014
- BVI’s 5 Most Expensive Yachts Sold this Season - March 18, 2014
