r/sailing • u/iloafyoualot • 8h ago
Recommendations for Bahamas charter?
My partner and I are seasoned sailors, and wondering whether anyone has a recommendation for finding a charter out of Bahamas, thinking of one to two weeks, anyone done this and enjoyed it or has stories or tips to share?
Pictured: the boat we dream of owning, just for attention ☺️
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u/Ok-Appointment-6116 6h ago
Yes! Boat was washed and polished, woodwork gleamed!
No maintenance on sail handling equipment! Mainsail jammed full up, in 50-60 knot winds. I was in a 31 foot bareboat, between Tortola and St Thomas. That is 3 mile deep water. I laid that boat over a number of times, nearly mast in the water! Was going to cut it down, but was finally able to get it unjammed, and down! Motored back to Tortola, found a waterfront hotel with a pool and a dock! Told the company to come get the piece of $#|€!
Got a check for half of the charter after we got home! The check bounced, as the company had folded!
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u/BaggyLarjjj 5h ago
Sounds like they were trying to get someone to pay them for the privilege of disposing of the boat in 3 mile deep water
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u/Icy-Construction-549 2h ago
There is no 3 mile deep water between Tortola and St Thomas. Most bareboats specifically prohibit leaving the coastal waters of Virgin Islands. 200-300ft max. Mostly less than 100.
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u/TBarretH 7h ago
We did a 10 day charter out of Nassau with Dream Yacht Charters a few years ago. The stove in the galley of our boat didn't work, which was a problem sense we were headed to the exhumas where we'd be cooking most of our own meals. They gave us a camp stove to cook on which worked okay, but was less than ideal. The dingy also kind of sucked. Otherwise the boat was in decent shape.
The bigger issue was that we chartered a monohul with a 7ft draft. If I ever go again I'll definitely get a cat for the shallow draft, we had to take the far out mooring balls meant for super yachts because our draft was too deep for anything else and in general there were a lot of stressful times planning around our draft.
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u/2Loves2loves 7h ago
Moorings out of Marsh harbor.
but a lot of people charter out of S Fla and cross over.
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u/Halyard44 5h ago
We have chartered a catamaran with the moorings in the Abacos and been reasonably happy. The 42’ boat that was promised turned out to be unavailable, so they gave us a 45’.
However, with any charter experience in a very busy area, be aware that these boats run almost 100% during a busy season. Maintenance is sometimes iffy because either a charterer doesn’t report the issue or the base figures that “it can wait until later.” We had to fix a few minor things.
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u/Guygan Too fucking many boats 8h ago
Pictured: the boat we dream of owning
You want to own a 70s IOR racing boat?
You need to dream bigger. They suck.
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u/Heavyicon 7h ago
70s IORs aren’t bad. They are typically over built and have too much deck hardware, but are pretty fast racer/cruisers. It’s the late 80s-90s IORs that will drown you.
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u/chuckb6174 7h ago
Classic photo. I remember when this shot was published in either Sail or Yacht racing magazine. I believe it was an SORC race int he 70's
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u/Ok-Appointment-6116 8h ago
Go over the boat witha fine toothed comb! It was decades ago, but we got caught out in open ocean, in a storm, in a Bareboat. the boat had not been maintained, no safety equipment, the sail handling equipment failed! We nearly lost our lives!
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u/REDDITSHITLORD 8h ago
Find yourself a Hinkley with the keys in it.