8-Day Charter: St Barts / British and US Virgin Islands

WEDNESDAY – 09 JANUARY 2011

We are docked in Gustavia, St Barts, and now half way through our 3rd trip of the season.  We have been docked here since Sunday morning, and a view of the dock is what I have been seeing for 80% of the day, standing watch at the Passeralle. It’s basically just for security reasons while the guests are on board, and to keep an eye out for deliveries, and guests walking on and off the boat. Pretty much the most exciting thing that goes during these periods is trying out a new flavor of gum. Aside from the view of the dock, the sound of generators and stench of diesel and discharging grey and black water (sewage) are loud and strong, but it’s one of those things you just get used to overtime.

This afternoon, we head out of port and drop the anchor in the bay, and once the guests have had dinner and their fill of Jetskiing, we’ll pick up the hook and begin an unexpected cruise overnight back to the British and US Virgin Islands for the 2nd half of the charter.

SATURDAY – 12 JANUARY 2011

We’re now 3 days into the British Virgin Islands, and have already knocked out Tortola, Peter Island, Virgin Gorda, and North Sound. It’s great to finally see these islands from a daytime perspective.. The guys are loving the watersports and snorkeling, while the women complain about the lack of shopping, and wish they had never left St Barts. The amount of amazing leftover guest food is shocking, and I’m pretty sure that all the crew will be putting on a few pounds before this is all over, as if we didn’t have enough chocolate, candy, and snacks in the crew mess as it is…

Tomorrow, we drop off the guests in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, and then we’re home free! It’s only a 10 hour trip back to Saint Martin, where we’ll be heading through the first bridge opening on Monday morning, into the lagoon and straight back into the swing of island life.

MONDAY – 14 FEBRUARY 2011

Its 01:00am on Monday morning, and we’ve just dropped anchor in Simpson bay, St Maarten, awaiting the bridge opening in 8 hours from now. The guests departed happily in St Thomas, on there chartered Gulfstream G4 Private jet. I was sent with the guests to the airport, with their seemingly hundreds of pieces of luggage between the 10 of them. I have never in my life seen so many bags on a boat before, it took an entire van packed to the brim, 4 tender runs, our 12 crew, and 2 taxi drivers to get the luggage to and from the boat and the airport. They definitely broke a few records with that trip.

We’re now ready for another 10 days of beach time and cocktails here in SXM before our next trip. We’re not sure where we’ll be going, but there are whispers of Antigua, the other big yachting hub in the Caribbean. Those that aren’t based here in Saint Martin are based there. To be honest, anywhere that’s not St Barts or the BVI’s will make me happy, and I’ll be looking forward to getting back here as soon as possible. I think I’ve become somewhat addicted to this island, and I’ll be pretty sad to leave here and head back over to Europe in a month from now.

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Roots in the Sand

It has been a week since the first (and possibly last) 2 weeks of guest trips for the Caribbean season. With the weather turning for the better, the rest of the charter was spent Snorkelling, fishing and skiing with the guests all over the BVI’s, on the islands of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyk, Peter Island, Norman Island, Salt Island, Prickly Pear Island, and Richard Branson’s Necker Island. We couldn’t have asked for a better charter; The guests were friendly and down to earth, getting the crew involved in pretty much everything they did, which is definitely not the norm, and nothing went horribly wrong with the boat or its crew during the trip, which was a daily occurence in the Mediterranean.

We are now back in our usual spot in Palapa Marina, Saint Martin. We have no trips planned for the rest of the season, so for now we’ll be standing by to stand by, working 8am – 4pm with weekends off. It will be good to plant our roots here in the sand for a while and soak in the Caribbean lifestyle. I’m looking forward to lazy Pina Colada beach days, a bit of scuba-diving, spending far too much money on the shopping street and the bars, and weekends away on nearby islands.

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That Caribbean Feeling

The first trip of the season ended well, with the guests happy. Spending  a sober New Years anchored in the bay in St Barts while on the clock was nothing to write home (or blog) about, except maybe for all the hundreds of yachts sounding their foghorns at the stroke of midnight, and the fireworks over Gustavia in the distance. My room-mate, the other deckhand, escorted the family to probably one of the most exclusive New Year’s parties in the world in a certain someone’s private villa in Gustavia, with the rest of Hollywood’s elite. That night would definitely be one for the books for him, and the good news is that yachting is filled with these kinds of stories.

It’s Day 2 of our second trip of the Caribbean season. We picked the guests up yesterday in St Maarten, and made the 8 hour trip overnight to the British Virgin Islands where we plan on spending the week, before dropping the guests off back in St. Maarten on Monday. We cleared customs and immigration this morning in Road Town, Tortola Island, and are now anchored in a bay on the South side of Peter Island where we spent the day tubing, fishing and snorkeling with the guests, and will stay here overnight.

The gloomy grey skies and choppy sea’s definitely take away that “Caribbean feeling” I was looking forward to. Its something you don’t get it in St Martin and St Barts. Those islands, where most of the yachts spend most of their time, are now built up and commercialized for the tourists and cruise ship passengers, and unfortunately, they just don’t feel like the Caribbean anymore.

If the weather is good tomorrow, we may do some watersports and island hopping, but where we end up is ultimately up to the charter guests so your guess is as good as mine.

Here are some photos that I took of the herd in St. Barts on New Years Eve and New Years Day:

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