Chartering a Catamaran in the BVI

[@toddmichael81]

both of you have great narrating tone of voices (voices) and are so well spoken. its so pleasant to watch your videos and listen to the commentary.

[@robertobarattolo]

I have been to all the places you guys visited!

[@steveclark5043]

Hi there! I could have sworn I’ve been to your yt channel just today and after browsing through some of the videos I realized it’s new to me. Regardless, I’m definitely happy I stumbled upon it and I’ll be subscribing it and checking back frequently!

[@realulli]

Three weeks ago, I was on a two week charter in the windward islands. We were 9 people on a Lagoon 450. Very nice boat! With well trimmed sails, we could get her to 50-55 true wind angle, doing 8 knots in 18 knots of wind... What's also great about that model is the fly bridge - great overview for the helmsman and a nice place to lounge for about four people...

[@DistantShoresTV]

That sounds like fun sailing! 50-55 True wind angle is quite good for a cruising cat I think. With our recent Voyage 50 charter we made barely 55-56 true or 40 degrees apparent.

[@MrVocalBaby]

you make amazing videos, well done!

[@Rudinski88]

Always enjoy your films, and the cat is amazing, very informative thank you .

[@johnnyllooddte3415]

wow we used to live in st croix..great sailing..love yall

[@gerryyellowlees1953]

We enjoyed the surprise of meeting you while cruising in the BVI's a couple of years ago. We were on a monohull and I think that we'll try a catamaran next time. :)

[@chipsellarole267]

Cool at 7:46 the boat behind you is Blue Guitar, Eric Clapton's boat

[@fmaz1952]

The closest one, the one to the left or the big ass far one?

[@jcregal3456]

I'm new to this channel so I didn't know what to expect. I was a little disappointed, it seemed to me that the video was more "sightseeing" than is was "how to". A more complete tour of the "Cat" would have been nice. An explanation of the rental process and some insight into the costs would have been nice too.

[@SOLDOZER]

This not a "how to" video you idiot.

[@Jakfilm]

I keep Road Town, Tortola as a location on my weather app. I don't really need to check it though - the weather is mid '80s, the wind is 15 kt from the east. And tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that...

[@paulweubbe3314]

im a fan and hope to follow suit soon

[@andrewbalcombe1338]

Thanks for great 'how too', I've watched all of your older vids and really enjoyed them. Let me know if you are in Tasmania around December 2016 :-), or the Netherlands any other month than Dec this year. I'd be happy to be your cameraman for a few days ! Thanks again for all of the hard work. Much appreciated.

[@DistantShoresTV]

Glad you have enjoyed our movies!

[@jandradventures]

Good video, Catamarans are awesome! :)

[@p.b.2554]

Good job ☺

[@svroundabout]

We just chartered (a monohull) this month. When was this recorded? We may have just missed you! I agree, sailing in the BVI is easy, flat, 15 knts of wind most of the time. Even with the chop from the Caribbean and the swell from Hurricane Nicole, we were well protected in the Sir Frances Drake Channel and way to protected while moored at Peter Island as our winds were out of the south due to the hurricane. We own a monohull in Monterey, CA, but will be purchasing a catamaran for cruising this summer. So many more anchorages are available to cats that don't roll! Thanks for the video!

[@z4u68]

how much for that one week in dollars for the boat?

[@DistantShoresTV]

Here's a link to their site - looks like this year its $4200-$6700/week www.catamarans.com/portal/charter/bareboat-charters-listings-search.aspx?Model=Lagoon%20380&ExactModel=required

[@LoanwordEggcorn]

Thanks for the video, but it hurts when a cleat hitch is done incorrectly: 8:24 ;(

[@DistantShoresTV]

I agree and do not tie a hitch that way. We should have mentioned our crew was out of practice :-)

[@toddpreisler8963]

nice video...why the stock footage from a Pacific reef for your snorkeling footage? some can't tell the difference but some can...

[@DistantShoresTV]

There is no stock footage... we shoot ALL footage we use and we have never filmed in the Pacific!

[@toddpreisler8963]

Distant Shores TV that's good to hear but those corals and fish are Indo Pacific unless there was some serious current spawn

[@toddpreisler8963]

I would post a screen shot if I could but there's a grab of a sarcophytum and an Acropora humilus which both are only in the Indo Pacific. I've snorkeled and dove in both oceans and keep reef aquariums. not meaning to create an argument your vids are great but underwater not so much

[@DistantShoresTV]

I think we might have mixed up footage we shot in the Red Sea sailing the previous Season off the coast of Egypt. We do work hard on underwater but didn't have much time to film on the charter... good spotting

[@toddpreisler8963]

Distant Shores TV that sounds correct. may corals, soft and hard, are similar in the Red Sea as the Pacific

[@michaelkraft6018]

Can you share what charter company you used? Looks like they took very good care of you and provided a very well-equipped boat. Do you have other episodes discussing more of your travels in the BVIs? I am thinking about chartering for my first time and would need to know more about provisioning, what to bring and also how to address food allergies (sadly, one of my family is allergic to fish, eggs and tree nuts, but loves to travel and sail.)

[@DistantShoresTV]

We were well looked after by www.catamarans.com/the-catamaran-company/bvi/ You can provision yourself at the very excellent Riteway store in Roadtown close to the charter base. Have fun!! We did do another episode on "Voyage" cats but didn't like the boat so much. Service was pretty good though!

[@jcf6597]

Great Video, I'm looking at buying a cat and was wondering if you experienced much bridge deck slamming like you did in the video of 50 ft Cat you just posted? Thanks in advance.

[@Blazerade13]

Hi. We recently bought a Lagoon 380 like this, and one of the reasons was the bridgedeck clearance. Sailing down the Australian East Coast we had no slamming, more like gentle water slopping on rare occasions. Some other designs slam mercilessly but good designs are plentiful. I can tell you from experience that slamming sucks any fun out of sailing a cat.

[@jwrappuhn71]

Great vid ya'll, so Wich do you prefer, mono hull or catamaran?

[@Grace-tu7hy]

how busy is it usually at the baths i want to make sure i can get good photos

[@DistantShoresTV]

Hi Grace. It can get busy in season... especially if a tour shows up. We found its often quieter later in the day closer to closing time when we shot the segment in this show.

[@CS-iu3pz]

So how about a budget on costs that were incurred during your days?

[@DistantShoresTV]

We didn't spend much. we ate out a few times, then we rented a car to drive to the Baths. most nights we paid for a mooring.

[@sailingsyfie4713]

Thanks for video :) Is a cat so bad upwind, as everybody says.? IMO a cat is not a Real sailboat, but to be honest... i have never try a cat and my opinion is not build on experience, but just one what I Think :)

[@DistantShoresTV]

For vacations, cats are excellent, so much space!

[@markmuller8829]

Sailing S/Y FIE, every vessel ever built has limitations, compromises, good and bad design/engineering. Hopefully, whichever vessel you choose to own and especially if you plan to cruise the seven seas and live aboard for many years, your boat will have more good points than bad. Certainly, many monohulls can point higher than most heavy production cats. However, there are many cruising monohulls that also do not sail to windward very well and some cats that are surprisingly close winded. If you are cruising and not racing, most sailors look for weather windows that allow reaching if possible - nobody enjoys bashing to windward in 20 knots with green water coming over the bow for days on end in any vessel! There is a reason that many cruisers and circumnavigators are choosing modern cats over monos, including died in the wool monohull sailors like myself. Certainly, after sailing all over the world and being a professional Captain and sailing instructor for over 30 years, I was surprised how well my first cat, a Lagoon 440, sailed to windward. Considering that it's a heavy, fat, production cat with a lot of windage, we actually got her sailing pretty tight when closed hauled. At the end of the day, I love all sailing boats from traditional wooden long keelers right through to the high tech, composite rocket ships racing these days..... Really, the single most important factor that most people overlook is not about the boat at all; it's about the skipper, their competence, their seamanship, their preparation (whether for a day sail or crossing an ocean), their planning and their ability to go to plan B (or C) quickly and competently without all the electronic gadgets that dumb down the basic skills that every voyaging skipper should have..... don't get me wrong, I love technology as an aid (I love the simplicity and portability of using my ipad cellular with Navionics anywhere) but the most reliable safety devices on the boat belong to the skipper and crew - their 5 senses and developing the seamanship skills to use them. If you're relying on radar, AIS and digital chartplotters to avoid collision or grounding, then you are not a skipper I want to go sailing with. What caught my attention about your comment was the classic "a cat (or insert any other type of sailboat) is not a real sailboat..." Remember, that sailors have crossed the 7 seas safely in all manner of craft for 1000's of years - the Polynesians in outrigger canoes, the Chinese in Junks, the Vikings and even sailboats made from reeds. And guess which often maligned production monohull has more circumnavigations under their collective keels than any other sailboat (by far) - Beneteau! I love sailboats, any sailboats..... I hope you love yours :)

[@markmuller8829]

I'll cut you some slack because you only got a 5 min tutorial on how to split the throttles and manoeuvre the cat - when approaching a mooring buoy (or any close quarters manoeuvres), the helmsman should be able to hold the cat 'in station' with good communication from the bow crew while trying to hook the mooring line and not fall off like in a mono. This is one of the best things about cats. You can literally spin the boat about it's axis, even fighting the breeze. We lived on our Lagoon 440 in the Caribbean for 18 mths and forward visibility is even better because of the fly bridge. Good video; I know where I'd rather be......

[@DistantShoresTV]

Glad you liked it Mark, and that it reminded you of your cruise. Certainly the maneuverability was excellent!

[@ph5832]

Thinking of trading up to a cat?

[@cicco1838]

😂awesome

[@shaunp4trick]

cheezy intro is cheezy. ps why did u charter it if u have ur own boat

[@DistantShoresTV]

Cheezy??? We do our best... this was filmed when we were waiting for our boat to be delivered.

[@shaunp4trick]

oh ok.. and yes. cheezy. especially the romance part lol

[@mikewomack4088]

NICE..... ;~D.....Rrrrrr

[@cicco1838]

🦆

[@MsRandiCook]

So Craig wants a cat and you are still going to stay monohull. You two are such opposites for boat choice.