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Looking to bring a 45'schooner down to the islands as a liveaboard/charter vessel. Plan our first scouting mission to the VI in May. Looking for any and all advice from yachties familiar with the day-sail charter trade.
Any recommendations on good liveaboard bays (St John, St Thomas) with available moorings where there is reasonble access to public docks for loading passengers would be most appreciated.
Any recommendations on good liveaboard marinas that would allow a commecial vessel to run would also be most appreciated.
Or, if this strikes one as a stupid venture, I would like to here why. At present I run a charter vessel in Maine, which is wonderful, but the winters....
Posted : April 7, 2005 2:43 pm
E-mail my MIL, Camille, at cvickers@juno.com. She lives on her sailboat here, and is a charter captain. Maybe she can help.
Posted : April 7, 2005 3:52 pm
Good morning, Steve,
I can help. To give you some general information, most marinas allow live aboards - with some conditions as to the "stuff" lying about on deck. But if you are a day sail boat you would meet 95% of the requirements with no problem. I can give you some exact details if you would like to email me - pamela@vicl.org.
As manager of a professional not for profit agency whose mission is promoting tourism on our charter yachts, we have wealth of information on how to set up and manage day sail operations. Again, contact me and ask specific questions. It is a very doable dream. There is alot of competition but a great deal of success as well.
One route is to start with the cruise lines and get on thier lists of adventures. The same with the hotels. Next step is contact private villas, advertise in the right publications, etc. We would be happy to help. One new idea that noone is really promoting down here is geo caching. It might be a new niche market for day sails or term charters.
So your are not alone in this dream. Call me if you would like in May or come by our boat show May 13 - 14- 15 at American Yacht Harbor and look around for Pamela. I'll be happy to show you the ropes.
By the way, legally moorings can not be sold. In order to obtain a mooring permit you must contact DPNR with exact Lat/Long of where you want to put a mooring. They will visit the site and issue a permit. Mooring fees are $5 per foot per year plus obviously whatever the cost of your ground tackle. There are plenty of public docks from which to pick up your guests.
Hope this helps.
Fair Winds,
Pamela
Posted : April 8, 2005 3:24 pm
Hi Steve:
Looks like you might need a crew upon your arrival to the islands. We are 3 college age students looking for summer jobs and have experience with resort scuba and tons of snorkeling in Aruba, Grand Cayman, Cozumel & Stt. Hard working and athletic are we... looking for work in 3's...money is what we could help make Thee!
Exams are first of May, we are scheduled to be in stt mid May through mid August.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Sean
Posted : April 14, 2005 12:49 am
