Competence to charter

[studiobill]

Am interested in chartering in BVI. Have taken US Power Squadron boating course & owned & sailed a: 20'' ''57 Chris Craft Sportsman, 19'' ''47 Lightning & a Compac 19''. Is it too ambitious to attempt bareboating a 30'' to 40'' sailboat? The cost of a bareboat course is about 1/2 of a charter but doing both may be too much.

My wife & daughter have sailed with me, but have only a mild interest in sailing(at this point) A learn to sail cruise may be the ticket, but i don''t want sailing to get in the way of them having an enjoyable vacation. Any tips from prior experience or ideas would be helpful.
kind regards,
bill

[halyardz]

Bill, I''ve been in your situation, wife with
middling interest and kids who would rather
be elsewhere...but they had been on the family boat. I chartered. It was 68%
successful. For your crew''s first major outing, I''d take the learn to sail route. You''ll have a bigger boat, new faces, and generally they plan several nights on shore.

I think anybody who charters needs some time
on bigger boats 27''+ before going it alone.
The BVI''s is so forgiving because you have
good water and land all around.

[studiobill]

thanks for the advice, halyardz.
I probably knew that(separate L.to Sail program) would be the way to go but wanted to hear from others. When you did charter were you able to manage boat with minimal help from crew (if anything like my crew!) what size boat did you charter & any comments on size of boat if you did it again? When i finally do charter i need to decide if to go w/my family (3) or w/another couple & child.
thanks again
bill

[hamiam]

I know that it is more expensive than a bareboat charter, but why not consider taking on a captain for at least the first few days. Often charter companies with put a captain on your boat for free the first day.

[jwbrooks]

We started with the "cabin" from Moorings & Sunsail. You get a double & head with others & a full crew. Good news----you can be as much crew/captain as you want; bad news---unless you bring a "full - read 6 people" boat with you, you will meet strangers (good & bad). We have been lucky & have met some very nice people on our voyages (Tahiti, BVI, Windwards, Greneda).
good luck....Joe.

[segerson]

One more thought studiobill- There''s a charter agent company at www.ed-hamilton.com who will take your sailing/boating resume online and give you feedback regarding how well your experience meets the expectations of charter companies. It''s free and I found their input helpful.