British Virgin Islands

Sailing Credentials

You will be asked to submit a sailing resume outlining your experience as you prepare to skipper a Navigare vessel. No formal sailing license is required. Please note that the Navigare base staff reserves the right to place a professional skipper on your boat, at your expense, should the proposed skipper not demonstrate the necessary skills to charter the boat.

Fill out our sailing resume after you've booked your charter.

Crew for Hire

• Skipper: A hired skipper is responsible for the safety of the guests and the vessel, helming the boat, and assisting with the proper operation of all systems, as well as monitoring fuel and water consumption.

• Checkout skipper: A checkout skipper can be booked to help a charterer get more comfortable with an unfamiliar vessel and get to know the local waters. They may also assist with itinerary planning. The checkout skipper does not sleep on the vessel; he or she will typically get on board the first morning and get off in the afternoon. The guest must take the skipper to a location where he or she can take a taxi or ferry back to Tortola and the guest is responsible for that cost as well. Guests do not have to feed the skipper.

• Cook: The cook will prepare three meals per day and serve snacks/drinks as needed. The cook will ensure the galley remains tidy but is not responsible for cleaning any other area of the vessel during the charter. The minimum charter duration to hire a cook is five days. Shopping and planning menus are not included in the job responsibilities of a hired cook on a bareboat charter. Once the crew is assigned, the base may connect the cook with the guest to discuss the menu. However, since the cook is compensated for their service from 4:00 pm on embarkation day to 10:00 am on disembarkation day, additional assistance outside of these hours will require additional compensation and should be arranged directly by the charterer with the cook.

It is recommended that you book your crew from Navigare at the time you confirm your booking to ensure availability and no later than 30 days before departure as we cannot guarantee crew assignments on short notice. When booking your charter and hiring crew, you must reserve one berth for each crew member and provide them with access to a head if not available in the dedicated crew berth. Please remember that you are also responsible for providing meals or the cost of food ashore for your crew. Gratuity is encouraged for excellent service and ranges from 10-15% of the crew fee per bareboat crew, and 18-20% of the crew fee for crewed yachts (all-inclusive).

Provisioning

With a bareboat charter, it is the responsibility of the charterer to take care of provisioning for their guests and crew (skipper and/or cook) through a local supermarket or dedicated provision service. The majority of cooks welcome the opportunity to shop or place the order for you as a client so they can pick the produce themselves. If the client requests this service of the crew, the client acknowledges that this service is beyond the scope of their responsibility; any assistance outside of the charter time should be discussed with the cook.

The two BVI options below will deliver your provisions to your charter vessel. It is the responsibility of the provision market to put away all frozen and cold items. The base does not get involved in provisions, unless the market is running late or the client has missing items and they ask for assistance.

Option 1 in BVI: Bobby’s Marketplace
We recommended Bobby's Marketplace and are happy to provide the order forms upon request. Bobby's asks that orders be submitted at least one week prior to delivery, but the earlier the better to allow sufficient processing time.

Delivery time: The delivery may be scheduled any time before the guest's arrival. The market always contacts the base to verify the vessel name and to check if the boat is ready to accept delivery.

There are two ways to order:

• a la carte: pick the items one by one, using the Excel form personalized for Navigare’s clients
• pre-packaged with built-in menus, and the option to add one-off items at the end (Word Doc)

Option 2 in BVI: Riteway Food Markets

USVI option: Some of our clients and yacht owners choose a provision in the USVI; meat, fish, and alcohol are much more affordable in St Thomas compared to BVI; options include Cost-U-Less or PriceSmart.

Other provisions & costs.

Fishing Permits

Guests who wish to fish from a Navigare boat may do so by requesting a personal fishing license. Most of our vessels are registered to fish. Please verify with your charter specialist that your vessel has a valid fishing permit if you intend to fish.