Why sailing with crew versus chartering bareboat?
Full Service Crew: the ultimate luxury of having a professional Captain & Chef on board
We understand that some sailors have a hard time imagine the many advantages of sailing with a professional captain and crew, but here are some of the advantages of having a local pro on board as part of your crew:
Maximize Sailing & Relaxing
Having a Captain and Crew does not mean that you cannot sail the boat on your own. Of course you can sail as much as you like, be involved as much as you choose to, set and trim sails, chart courses, navigate, be at the helm, do anchoring maneuvers – however much you want. You and your guests can sail as actively and as much as you like, and relax whenever you want to. Or: don’t lift a finger and let the crew do everything. It’s always your choice, every moment, every day.
Maximize Sailing Time & Itinerary
As you arrive, your Captain and Crew has your yacht ready to sail. Just step on board and drive off. No more tedious and time-consuming check-in, sailing permit scrutiny, chart briefings, boat walk throughs, extensive walks to supermarkets for provisioning. All of that has already been long taken care of. Just step out of the taxi, walk down the pier, step on board and sail off. That is true luxury. And upon your return at the end of your charter: just step off the boat and leave. Your crew takes care of everything. Under sail your Captain can do all of the sailing, or sit back while you take over. Your Captain can also prolong your days by sailing after dark for you. All of these factors mean: more time sailing and more possibilities for an extended itinerary, reaching islands and places you otherwise may have to skip.
Increase your Knowledge
Learning from the best of the best is an added luxury only few get to enjoy. Leverage the knowledge and experience of your Skipper on board to try new sailing experiences and increase your knowledge about sailing in general, or the sailing area of the Grenadines and the Caribbean in particular.
Trouble-free means Stress-free
You did not come all the way to the Grenadines to stress about little things, maintenance items, weather or watersports gear. You can be involved in everything as much as you like, but you can also lean back knowing that your Skipper takes care of it.
Gain Miles Certificates
Your Captain will be able to certify your experience and miles which counts towards licenses such as the Yacht Master and more.
The Luxury of your personal Concierge
Your Captain also acts as your Concierge who can make things happen, some which you might not experience otherwise. Your Captain is a local expert, knows everyone and everything on every island. He has every bar, restaurant, store, car bike and scooter rental, dock, mooring field, diving and kitesurf base on speed dial for you. This alone can make all the difference in what, and how much get to see, do and experience, and simply squeezes a lot more fun out of every vacation day.
Safety & Nature Preservation
Every sailing area is unique and one or two weeks on charter are often not enough to become highly familiarized with a new sailing area. Different winds, unique shallows, reefs, tides and currents, demanding anchorages – all require prior experience with the area and knowledge of numerous details around every reef and island. In addition, the Virgin Islands has some of the strictest marine laws, sailing regulations, anchoring restrictions, and many experienced sailors have learned expensive lessons with local officials which heavily patrol the area for safety of lives, vessels and marine protection. It is just an additional stress factor your Crew relieves you off entirely, and it is better for the environment as well.
The true costs of a crewed Charter
When budgeting for a yacht charter vacation, most charter guests focus on the charter fee for the boat. Seasoned charter sailors know very well that total costs can easily double after expensive island provisioning, fuelingl, water charges, mooring fees, sports toys and extra equipment rental fees and much more is all added up. And then you still have to work for it, you still have to cook, serve, wash dishes, clean the galley, tidy up your cabins and heads, monitor weather, worry about mooring and anchoring space availabilities at your next destination, and always keep one eye (and sometimes both eyes) on safety, laws and regulations, on-board electrics and boat systems. Sure, some of it is part of the fun, experience and what you enjoy, why you go sailing in the first place. But why not pick out the cherries, do what you love, be involved as much or as little as you like, and leave the rest of the chores to the crew?
To summarize: having your personal Captain on board does not mean that you cannot sail as actively and as much as you like, but it ensures that you get the most out of every vacation day, while completely relaxing and enjoying only the fun of sailing.