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On a recent crewed yacht charter aboard the Lagoon 620 Luxury Crewed Catamaran Foxy Lady, in the British Virgin Islands, Captain Rob and Chef/Mate Becky Willows proved to be a perfect match for an all adult group of 8 close Friends.

When it comes to a crewed yacht charter, selecting the right crew is often more important than the boat itself. Who you spend your much-anticipated vacation with can make or break it. That’s why matching guests to the right crew is so key to a successful crewed yacht charter vacation.

Our Clients said, “The description of the boat was extremely accurate, but what we appreciated was Steve’s understanding of who we are and what crew we would match with best. The crew worked with us to ensure we got to do every single thing we wanted to do. The meals were unbelievable, exquisite, gorgeous, delicious, colorful, varied – greatly exceeded expectations.”

A successful crew match is no stroke of luck. Our brokers regularly attend Crewed Yacht Charter shows where they personally inspect the yachts and meet the crews and they also spend a lot of time reviewing client feedback from previous charters which are invaluable in matching clients to the right crew.

Captain Rob and Chef/Mate Becky hail from South Africa and are avid travelers but their 8 years of chartering in the BVI makes their deep knowledge and experience of the area invaluable. While Rob is an astute Captain and grew up racing dinghies and sailing bigger yachts, he loves to be in the water too showing guests the incredible beauty that lies beneath he waves. Becky, a food lover her whole life, is adept in the kitchen where she produces varied and exciting cuisine bur is also a quite capable sailor herself. Together, Rob and Becky are a super team.

Foxy Lady is a very spacious and comfortable sailing catamaran with ample areas around the deck to enjoy the sun or shade including a large aft cockpit where you can enjoy al fresco dining. Inside, there is a large salon with luxury seating to relax in the cool A/C along with 4 spacious and comfortable cabins that include private on-suite heads with separate showers and can accommodate up to 8 guests on an all-inclusive luxury yacht charter vacation in the BVI.

BVI Yacht Charters 2024 Lagoon 40 Bareboat Catamaran, Bubbles Up, provided an excellent platform for our Clients’ Family of 4 to explore the British Virgin Islands on their first 10 day bareboat charter.

Our Clients’ post charter note said, “Hi Lynne – just wanted to express our gratitude for your help with our first bareboat charter. We had a fantastic trip with perfect weather. With 10 days, we were able to explore so much of the BVI, but also take our time in a few places, including 2 nights in North Sound (Bitter End Yacht Club and Deep Bay / Oil Nut Marina), 2 nights in Anegada and 2 nights at Jost Van Dyke and Little Jost Van Dyke. I brought my kitesurfing gear and got in 3 excellent sessions, including at a deserted island (Sandy Spit new Green Cay / Little JVD) and some wave riding on a reef break at Cow Wreck Beach, Anegada. Best trip ever! Everyone loved it and we’re already thinking about what’s next”

This Family is hooked on bareboat charters just after their first one as they are already thinking about Croatia in 2026.

Bubbles Up offers 4 cabins, all with on-suite heads. With a spacious aft cockpit and large forward sun deck, there is ample outdoor space to relax on the water. This yacht is ideal for families, couples with guests or a group of Friends. It would be perfect to celebrate a milestone occasion or just a much needed vacation getaway in the BVI.

Another great crewed charter aboard the Foutaine-Pajot Allegria 67 Colibri. Captain Graham, Chef Kristiann, and Stewardess/Dive Instructor Matilda took great care of our many time repeat clients, providing them with an all new view of the British Virgin Islands on a luxury crewed catamaran.

Our Clients said, “We have been to the BVI many, many times, however, somehow you managed to make it a whole new experience. You made every day special, fun, and exciting. Every meal was a beautiful presentation, and 5 star level experience. Getting to know you all has been a real treat. We loved our beach time, playing games, and sharing laughs.” – Ken & Sherree

Captain Graham and Chef Kristiann have lived on four continents and visited over fifty countries. Their experiences have taught them that great vacations are made up of many small details. They find great pleasure in working as a team and creating lasting memories for their guests. Stewardess and Dive Instructor Matilda, is the newest addition to Team Colibri and loves sharing her knowledge of diving and marine life as well as inspiring guests to try new activities.

Colibri is one of the few crewed sailing catamarans that has a small jacuzzi on the foredeck, an expansive covered flybridge area for outdoor lounging with 360 views along with 4 spacious and comfortable cabins that include private on-suite heads and can accommodate up to 8 guests on an all-inclusive luxury yacht charter vacation in the BVI.

As of Friday, July 15, 2022, travelers to the BVI will no longer be required to present a negative covid test to enter the country as part of the BVI covid testing requirements. The government passed an amendment to the regulations on July 13th, announcing the move on July 14th.

Full details of the BVI announcement can be read here: Virgin Islands Dropping Covid Test Entry Requirements

A little background…
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when travel was severely impacted across the globe and basically shutdown tourism completely, countries around the world have slowly gone from complete border closures (remember those days?) to allowing tourists to return, requiring additional entry requirements including completing online portals, proof of multiple negative Covid tests and instituting mandatory quarantines. All of which have either been frustrating obstacles many people have chosen to endure and take a much needed vacation to a beautiful destination anyway or have just simply decided to forego a vacation outside their own country’s borders and keep it local.

Even though a private yacht charter vacation is one of the most socially distant vacations you could enjoy, traveling to the destination has required more planning, preparation and coordination than pre-pandemic. However, our clients that have braved the travel protocols have made it clear that once you get through the travel on the front end and back end, that precious time in between, where your in the private space of a charter yacht with friends and family, surrounded by clear blue water and beautiful island scenery was well worth the extra steps to get there, especially after being cooped up for so long during the height of the pandemic.

Just in the past few months, many countries have begun to lift their Covid-induced entry protocols, making travel to those beautiful destinations much easier and a more pleasant travel experience for tourists. And finally, the British Virgin Islands, one of the most popular bareboat and crewed yacht charter destinations in the world, has joined those countries by lifting the protocol that requires the most prep and planning and is probably the number one factor when deciding to travel, their BVI covid testing requirements. With this protocol change, the BVI will surely again become the most sought after yacht charter vacation destination, bringing its tourism back to pre-pandemic levels.

Here we are in late February, with spring a mere 3 weeks away, and as the days grow longer thoughts inevitably start turning to warm weather plans, it reminds me of a common misconception about Caribbean sailing seasons: the best time to sail is the winter.

The truth is that it’s not that the Caribbean sailing weather is particularly perfect in winter, it’s just that winter happens to be a great time to evacuate the upper half of North America whenever and however possible! The Caribbean is truly a year-round sailing destination. There are certainly better and worse times to go, but since the summers of 2004 and 2005, with their very active hurricane seasons, the perception that one should not go to the Caribbean in the summer has become more entrenched.

Yes, that’s right, the “H” word – I said it. You don’t often encounter the word hurricane in charter operators’ marketing material. Unfortunately, the risk associated with tropical storm systems has been greatly hyped by the media outlets who are given incentive to do so by way of ratings; and major networks have far, far more penetration into consumers’ attention span than do charter companies, and therefore the bareboat charter companies, and those who operate crewed yacht charters, safest strategy is to hope to avoid the subject altogether.

Hurricane season technically runs June 1 – November 30. So this means don’t book a Caribbean yacht charter then, right? I don’t think so. In fact, if I could pick any time to sail, (notwithstanding any desire I have to escape snow and ice), it would be April – June. While the Hurricane Season is technically on, a quick look at statistics shows you that early season storms typically form in the Caribbean Sea or Gulf of Mexico. Tropical storm systems almost always move east to west, (with the exception of Lenny the contrary, who moved west to east in the late ’90s); thus early season storms stand a very, very slim chance of impacting the majority of the Caribbean cruising grounds. It’s not until mid to late August that sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic rise high enough to be conducive to tropical storm formation.

So why would I choose April to June as my preferred of the Caribbean sailing seasons? Well, in the winter months it’s firstly much windier. Sure, 25 knots is a blast for an afternoon’s sail, but for for a whole week of bouncing around? That starts to become work, and isn’t why I go on vacation. Also, by April the North Atlantic storm activity is greatly reduced, and with it the likelihood of the ground swell it produces which makes north-facing anchorages uncomfortable at best and untenable at worst. The other big benefit? Spring and summer can often be notably less expensive than winter.

So by spring, you have more sunny days than Winter, 12-15 knots instead of 18-25, calmer seas and more anchorages to explore. I often like to charter from late April to the first week in June, as you get all of the aforementioned benefits, plus you’re between seasons so you’ll also find the cruising areas to be far less crowded.

By pointing these features of summer Caribbean sailing out, do I worry that less people might ultimately sail in the winter? Nope. A check of the weather tells me it’s 16 degrees out, and up to a foot of snow predicted for the weekend. The reasons vary, but sailing the Caribbean sounds good to me pretty much any time.

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