A Sail for all Seasons – Tuesday, February 11 – We awoke to the clearest blue skies and the most amazing coloured water. It was like living in a postcard – in that place you thought you’d never see in person. Hot coffee, warm muffins, fresh fruit and juice were set out on the table for breakfast. I am so glad we did this! Jerry is so relaxed. And he wanted us to do this alone! Jerry wouldn’t be able to truly enjoy himself. Sure, he loves it out on the water, but it’s so nice to have a reliable captain who will take us anywhere we like, let Jerry help with the sails and lines or just let him snooze on the trampoline all afternoon. We don’t feel cramped on the boat, either. It’s like doing it ourselves, but doing only the fun part and none of the work.
So often the romantic images of life on a sail boat cruising from island to island can be so enticing that one can quickly overlook the realities of going it alone. The provisioning, monitoring the weather, raising and lowering the anchor, keeping an eye on the amount of water in the tank and maintaining the dinghy, just to name a few. If a postcard vacation of a lifetime is what you’re after, chartering a crewed yacht is the way to go.
Thursday, March 17
I saw a shark! Way Cool! They’re not as scary as in the movies. Mike said that it was a nurse shark. He was under a big mound of coral and I didn’t see him at first. Mike pointed him out to me and then I saw his eyes and I could follow his body all the way to his tail. He was huge! I thought he was hiding so he could catch some fish but Mike said he was sleeping and that lots of nurse sharks sleep under big pieces of coral during the day. He showed me how to look up fish in a book and read more about them. I think I will write a report about sharks for school.
In addition to first-class food and service, crewed charter yachts offer a wide variety of water sports. A vacation is all about having fun in the sun. So, take a turn waterskiing or wakeboarding and show the kids that you’re a kid at heart. Find your inner captain and set a course in a Hobie. Kayak to the beach and take a stroll on the white sand before dinner. Diving and snorkeling can be found at or near every anchorage. If full SCUBA instruction isn’t offered, rendez vous diving can be easily arranged through a local dive operator. Get in, the water is great!
Girls’ Weekend ‘06
We didn’t know what to expect and it’s turning out better than anything we could have dreamed. The crew is so attentive, ready with anything we need and ideas for a rainy day. We’re having a hard time being “waited on” but somehow the crew makes it feel like they’ll miss some fun if we don’t let them make our drinks and our beds, our gourmet dinners and take us anywhere we want to go. The captain has stories about all of the islands and let us dance the night away on the back deck last night. I was worried that our all-girl vacation on a boat might get a little cramped, but we’ve so far found a nice mix of sailing, sun-bathing, and trips to the beach to make everyone happy. I’m not sure we would be doing so many things together if we had stayed at a resort.
A crewed charter yacht vacation combines the advantages of a luxury cruise and an exclusive island resort into a most memorable experience that puts you in charge of your every move without the pressure and stress of doing it all yourself. In fact you can do it all or do nothing at all. A week on a crewed charter yacht runs about $1,200 to $2,500 per person. Considering the costs in time and money and hassle and aggravation, it’s quite comparable to a bareboat charter and, more often than not, is a better overall value.
The Charter Yacht Society is a not for profit association of independently owned crewed charter yachts based in the BVI. The Society was formed twenty five years ago to promote the interests of crewed yachting, and is now recognized by the BVI Government as the trusted voice of the industry. The member yachts include monohulls, catamarans and trimarans, each with a unique set of amenities but all dedicated to providing a world-class vacation on the water. Boats and crews adhere to a strict set of operating standards to ensure a safe as well as fun time on charter. A list of member yachts and a brief description of each can be found on the Charter Yacht Society website. The Society cannot book a specific yacht for your vacation, however, using the CYS website, you may contact the yacht direct or work through a broker – a list can be found on our home page. Dream a little, find some dates, talk to your travel companions, and pack your bags – for a vacation you’ll not soon forget on board a crewed charter yacht in the BVI. You set the pace, we set the sails.
The Charter Yacht Society website: www.bvicrewedyachts.com
