New to chartering?

[Datashared]

Hopefully this winter we will have our 40'' yacht in the Caribbean to cherter through UK agencies. Does any one know of a good source of information regarding legal requirements of chartering in the Caribbean. The boat will be UK Flaged and conform to MCA Code of safety, and I am a commercial yachtmaster.
I''ve cruised there before but havn''t run a business. Any help I''d be gratefull
Neil & Lynne

[allen19644]

You can check out the moorings site they have some useful information and can help a lot.

[randy249]

Neil & Lynne,
Are you bareboating your boat or will it be skippered or crewed since you mentioned some ''UK agencies''? If you and your other half are doing crewed charters, you should sign up for the BVI Charterboat Show in November and possibly Antigua in December.

Usually, crewed charter boat owners hire a clearing house to communicate with brokers, keep your schedule, provide assitance, etc..In addition, hopefully you will have a website.

Having been a charter broker for 29 years and even having my own crewed boat in the BVI for a year, there really are NO legal requirements.

The only problems you might have is chartering in French islands. The most active charter destination in the world is the British Virgin Islands and you can peruse their government website for more info.

Drop me a note if you have other questions and good luck.

Randy Schweitzer
Island Yacht Charter