Tradewind Yacht Charter-BVI?

Billk130 · #1 (**permalink**) 02-16-2001

Has anyone chartered with Tradewind Yacht Charters out of Tortola? Have tentatively booked an Admiral 38 Catamaran with them....price is really good but wonder if company is o.k. Also, anyone ever sailed this boat before? thanks.

sailor45 · #2 (**permalink**) 03-05-2001

No, but I have just done the same @ moorings
40cc the third week of May. I have never sailed a cat. I thought about it, I want to buy a 40CC. This gives me a chance to check her out.

lkomita · #3 (**permalink**) 03-05-2001

We are also looking at Tradewind Yacht Charters so I''ll be looking at feedback. Thanks.

penltbox · #4 (**permalink**) 03-21-2001

Tradewinds is an excellent company (with their logo you have to know they are a fun bunch). Their boats are in great shape and well equiped. I''d opt for the Island Spirit Cat instead of the admiral. Better built, better equiped, more reliable and a similar spacious layout.

Redbud · #5 (**permalink**) 07-29-2001

Am also thinking of Trade Wind in the BVI. Would appreciate an update if you ever took that trip.

jonsalisbury · #6 (**permalink**) 08-27-2001

I have used Tradewind on two occasions. I''ve found them to be friendly and helpful and a great bargain. I''ve chartered a 94 Beneteau 38 which was in very good condition and a group recently chartered a 52'' cat that had a few problems with the generator flipping the circuit breaker. I don''t know anything about their "Premier" fleet, but I''m sure they maintain them as beautifully as their older fleet. Overall you get alot for your dollar. I''m chartering a Ben 40.5 with them in the Grenadines in Sept. and I''ll report back my experience at that base.

cptsail · #7 (**permalink**) 09-19-2001

to bilk130
I HAVE CHARTERED WITH TRADE WINDS 3 TIMES. YOU WILL HAVE NO PROBLEMS WITH YOUR CHARTER. THE 0WNERS HAVE REALLY IMPROVED THE BOATS AND THE DOCK AREA OF THE CHARTER. NEED MORE INFO E MAIL ME. YOU HAVE REASON TO BE APPREHENSIVE YOU WILL HAVE A GREAT TIME. CPTSAIL

wannasail · #8 (**permalink**) 09-22-2001

Chartered a 50'' monohaul with TRADEWINDS over the millennium for two weeks in the BVI''s. No major problems. Several minor problems such as broken pin at the base of the jib furler, the electric windless button not secured properly and malfunctioning, other small problem that after the first several days we addressed rather then request their sssistance. These were minor problems that they attempted to address without success. We jury-rigged ourselves after their attempts. Also we had to sail to where they wanted to meet us vs them coming to us.
We would charter with them again although we do prefer SUNSAIL.

GeorgeC1 · #9 (**permalink**) 11-20-2001

Bill, I chartered with Tradewinds out of Tortola in oct of 99. I would like to tell you it was a good experience because I had high hopes for them. It was however the worst Charter I ever had. We arrived to find the boat had just arrived at the dock from hurricane storage. It was a filthy mess and unrigged. The boat was Whisper a Kennex 44.

They tried to clean the boat up for our sleepaboard however the boat literly stunk down below. The next day instead of leaving at our planned time in the morning most of the day was spent with them trying to rig the boat. When we left the dock we had a Main missing 3 battons, a bimini held up with screwdriver handles, stereo with one speaker, jib leads rigged wrong. I could go on and on with small problems. The boat also still stunk and had mice and roaches. We did however get to be friends with two of the mice and they did not eat much!

During the trip we had numerous problems including a complete loss of steering and a port engine very hard to start. The steering had been jury rigged in a previous repair and was a mess.

I know this sounds bad but I will say the new owners seem motivated and they did give us a large cash incentive to charter in the future. I just won''t risk them again. They also had no base manager there when we were there which made it hard to get anything done. I think my experience was not the norm with tradewinds but regardless it was my only bad Charter experience in 10 trips to the BVI. I do have friends who have used them since and had a good charter. George

felixg · #10 (**permalink**) 11-30-2001

Bill and others, We (my wife and twin teen- age sons) chartered a Benneteau 463 from Tradewinds back in April of 2001. We had a great time, one of our best vacations ever. The folks at Tradewinds were great, from the reservations, to booking our flights (at lower cost than anything else via the internet) to handling our arrival and departure from the docks. Scotty and his crew at Tortola were very helpful, friendly, etc. The boat was tip top, easy to handle. Orientation session was very helpful and info on moorings, anchorages, other stops great too. We are planning on using Tradewinds again with no apprehension. Have a great time!