As a small-boat racer and occasional coastal cruiser, its been a long-time dream of mine to charter a sailboat in the Virgin Islands with my wife and daughters - but I didn't think my dinghy racing and limited cruising experience were adequate to charter a large sailboat in unknown waters. So this summer, while our kids were off at summer camp, my wife and I spent our vacation taking an ASA Bareboat Chartering Course through Blue Water Sailing School.
The class was a 7-day live aboard course onboard a Beneteau 44 out of St. Thomas, USVI. We spent the week with our instructor Capt. Bill, and fellow classmates Jeff &Linda from Cincinnati - who we didn't meet until we boarded the boat. They were charter boat newbies as well, and the five of us hit it right off and got along very well - which was actually our biggest concern going into the week - spending 7 days with strangers in a fairly close space.
The class was actually broken into 3 parts - Basic Keelboat, Coastal Cruising and Bareboat Chartering. Each section had its own text book, sailing skills test and 100 question written test. Fortunately Blue Water sent us the ASA textbooks in advance so we were able to study beforehand, which made the written tests much easier. In fact I highly recommend studying the materials before the trip, because even for a past sailing instructor, there was a lot that I had forgotten.
Although the week was a bit more structured than a typical sailing vacation, what a great way to spend a week going to school! Each morning after we shared breakfast duties, we went over a day plan, sailing skills we would practice for the day, navigation, boat systems and basic nomenclature, then spent a few hours sailing through the Virgin Islands, each taking turns practicing boat handling under the considerate instruction of Capt. Bill. Since handling a 44' boat was new to most of us, we each made plenty of tacks, jibes, MOB drills and other maneuvers while the other crew handled the sails. We also spent quite a bit of time practicing mooring and anchoring, since that is really your goal in the Islands - finding the perfect spot to each lunch, snorkel or spend the night - often in crowded harbors.
In the evenings we again shared cooking and cleanup duties, and even went ashore 3 of the nights to sample the local food and drink. My wife was very interested in learning about provisioning and preparing food for the trip, and the hands-on, do as you learn approach of the course taught us both how fun and easy meal planning and prep could be onboard.
After dinner we retired to the cockpit, deck, salon or cabins to read and study for the following day's test. Having the instructor right on board with us was an ideal situation since we could ask questions and he could demonstrate with a line, open up the engine compartment to point out a filter, or pull out the chart and explain a navigational aid.
As far as the sailing and the islands - it was absolutely perfect. Line of sight navigation, ideal winds and temps in the 80s everyday made for perfect conditions to learn to handle the boat without being overwhelmed with high winds and seas. There are literally hundreds of anchorages throughout the islands to stop for the night and anchor or pick up a mooring - and after dong so several times a day for 7 days, we all felt comfortable steering the boat through an anchorage, finding a nice spot and securely anchoring for the night.
And that is where the fun begins - especially after a day of school work! Whether it be the Willy T in Norman Island, Pusser's Landing in Soper's Hole, Sydney's on Jost or Sandy Key, each spot was more incredible than the last. And the satisfaction of sailing a boat by yourself into unfamiliar waters and settling in for the night was tremendous. Add a delicious local dinner ashore and your've just had the perfect day.
By weeks end, we had all passed our tests, learned and demonstrated a full range of boat handling skills, and all felt fairly comfortable that we could handle a charter boat by ourselves - or at least as a husband-wife team. I think the teamwork aspect was probably the most important thing actually - by taking the course together my wife and I now both feel that we can handle all the duties on board a boat - and compliment each other if we have any particular areas that we don't feel comfortable.
Overall, it was one of the best weeks of our lives. We now plan on chartering in the BVI next winter with our children and another family - and hopefully make it an annual trip that will inspire our kids to try new things, seek adventure and push their comfort levels as well.
So if you've ever wanted to expand your cruising grounds, increase your sailing skills, or gain confidence to bareboat charter, find an ASA Sailing School and take a course - you won't regret it!
Todd Little
Edson Marketing Dept.
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