FAQs

Please check Rates & Availability on this site with particular attention to when the calendar was last updated. To confirm current availability, make reservations, or if you have questions not answered here, please complete the Book Now/Contact Us form. Holidays, spring break and early summer dates are often booked  9 -12 months in advance.  Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram @sailabsolutely.

 We highly recommend adding a Sleep Aboard night, available with a minimum 7-night charter to follow. The Sleep Aboard option will allow you to arrive at the charter base and board Absolutely at 5PM the afternoon before the official start of your term charter. Your provisions can be delivered and stored before your arrival. Given when flights arrive from the mainland, this is a terrific option as you will only need to transfer yourself and belongings once - no need for a hotel for that first night. In addition, you will have the opportunity to unpack, settle in and take care of any final provisioning you might want to do.  Finally, the extra time onboard will give you the opportunity to familiarize yourself with Absolutely and her systems and you should be able to leave the dock by mid-morning on your first day.  The fee for the Sleep Aboard night is 1/2 of the nightly rate (divide weekly rate by 7, divide by 2).   

 Many guests charter for 7-nights starting with a Sleep Aboard the night before when they arrive from the mainland. Because there are so many wonderful islands and anchorages to visit in the BVI, 7 nights really isn’t enough time - you don’t want to be in a rush! For example, Anegada is very different from the other islands and super special. We love spending two nights at that anchorage to enjoy a long and relaxing lobster dinner and at least one full day on the other side of the island visiting Cow Wreck and Loblolly beaches. Visiting Anegada can be a challenge with only a 7-night charter. Before owning Absolutely, we always booked charters of at least 10 nights with a flexible itinerary so we could spend an extra night in a favorite anchorage. 

You may fly to Tortola, BVI (Beef Island, “EIS”) from San Juan, Puerto Rico as well as the one flight a day from Miami. Or, you may opt to fly into St Thomas, USVI (“STT”), take a 10 minute taxi ride to connect to the public ferry to Road Town, Tortola. Upon arrival in Tortola, we will arrange for transportation to meet you at the Beef Island airport or at the Road Town ferry terminal. You may also opt to take a private water taxi from St. Thomas to the charter base. With 10-12 people, that may end up being the easiest and perhaps as economical. 

A bareboat catamaran charter is a private yacht for you and your guests. If qualified, you may sail the yacht yourself, or hire a captain to sail her for you. The bareboat rate does not include any additional crew (captain or chef).  

No. You will be responsible for providing your own food and beverages which will be ordered separately through a provisioning company or purchased directly at a grocery store on Tortola. One of the many advantages of a bareboat charter is you can pick and choose your itinerary, when and where to go onshore for meals and when to cook. The closest grocery store is a satellite Riteway with the main Riteway just a short taxi ride away. Both will deliver to Absolutely and the TMM Base. 

We require an up-to-date sailing resume before approving you to bareboat skipper Absolutely. Feel free to submit your resume anytime for pre-approval.  For resume approval, we will be looking for previous experience, ideally in the last 3 years, skippering a sailboat of similar-size and displacement. Boat ownership, prior charter experience, and certifications such as ASA and RYA are also taken into consideration. If you have not skippered a yacht similar to Absolutely, or have limited experience, we offer a Check-Out Skipper service. Our Check-Out Skipper will join you on Day 1 and stay on board until late afternoon, giving you extra practice and orientation specific to Absolutely. There is an additional fee of $175.00 for this service. This is a great opportunity to not only become comfortable with Absolutely but also to tap into the captain’s vast knowledge of the islands and fine tuning of your itinerary given current weather and sea state.  

Yes! For an additional fee, we can arrange for an experienced captain to sail Absolutely for you. If you’d like a captain for just a few hours or a few days, that’s also possible as well. 

 Refer to our About page  for a detailed list on what is included onboard Absolutely. 

Kayaks, stand up paddleboards, and guitars are available for rental at the charter base. You may also wish to browse rental equipment and toys at bviwatertoys.com, offering free delivery and pickup to the charter base. Absolutely comes equipped with a storage rack for 2 SUPS or 1 kayak. 

 Absolutely is fully equipped to prepare gourmet meals or to eat very casually. There are excellent restaurants and fun beach bars throughout the BVI. You might choose to eat a few lunches and dinners ashore or you may decide to enjoy the simplicity of eating most meals onboard Absolutely. On our trips, we generally prepare a menu of meals ahead of time. From this, we provision everything that is needed, bringing some specialty items from home such as meats which we hard freeze in marinade, cheeses, cold cuts, spices and lightweight items such as Ziplock bags, garbage bags, etc. We pack and check a large soft sided cooler filled with hard frozen marinated meat on the bottom and cheeses and cold cuts on top. With a good cooler, everything stays frozen and cold for well over 24 hours. We have had no issue bringing food into the BVI, occasionally paying a nominal fee (<$20) based on what we declared.  Please check current regulations before making final plans. 

Keep in mind this is a bareboat charter, so no consumables will be onboard when you arrive. Whether you are looking for a simple supermarket or gourmet services, there are several options for provisioning. For food items, we recommend using Rite Way Food markets, and for alcohol/beverages, we recommend Caribbean Cellars. Both provide the option to order in advance with available delivery to the boat. For last minute items, there is also a small market adjacent to the marina. 

Yes. Most anchorages will have public mooring balls which run $40-$50 per night. It’s best to have cash to pay those fees. Once you have picked up a mooring ball, someone will swing by within minutes, sometimes hours to collect the fee. Depending on the particular anchorage, you may be able to pay through BoatyBall. If you’d like to reserve a ball in advance, you may do so for a premium price through BoatyBall. 

Pack lightly, beach wear is acceptable almost everywhere in the BVI but please always be respectful of the locals and wear coverups over bathing suits when in restaurants, stores, etc. Please consider soft sided luggage or duffel bags which will be easier to store on the boat.   

Yes, you need a passport to enter the British Virgin Islands. 

Yes, a 50 % deposit is required within 7 days of confirmation of booking. The remaining expenses are due 45 days prior to charter start date. All fees can be paid by ACH transfer, wire, Venmo or check. 

You may cancel a HOLD without penalty. Charterers may cancel a confirmed charter subject to the following:

• $300 cancellation fee if 90 days or more before charter start date
• 50% of the charter fee if 45-90 days before charter start date
• 100% of the charter fee if under 45 days before charter start date.

We strongly encourage Trip Insurance.  Please visit https://www.squaremouth.com for various options.

The US dollar is the official currency of the BVI. Mastercard and Visa are accepted by most retail establishments. American Express is not as widely accepted. Cash is needed for taxis, gratuities, mooring balls and some vendors. We recommend you bring an assortment of denominations. ATMs can be found on the islands of Tortola and Virgin Gorda in a few locations. 

Your skipper will be with you 24 hours a day, staying each night on board in one of the berths. Your charter skipper is a skilled professional hired to drive the boat, show you how to operate the equipment on board, provide information regarding destinations and anchorages, and ensure the safety of the yacht as well as his/her charter guests. 

Your charter skipper is more than a tour guide or chauffeur. Most all charter captains are very people-oriented types and have a sixth sense about when to interact with your group and when to make himself scarce. There is little need to be concerned about having a stranger aboard. More often than not, we get glowing reports from charter guests saying that their captain made their sailing vacation a dream come true. 

Once your charter is confirmed, and you have requested a skipper during the reservation process, we will contact freelance skippers from our private TMM list to check availability. If your charter is to have a check-out skipper only, then we will also book and confirm for you and let you know. 

TMM maintains a list of skippers we know personally. Many of these skippers have been with TMM so long that they have become good friends! Thus we will be able to vouch for your skipper’s sailing expertise, reputation, experience, knowledge of the local waters, honesty, integrity, and service record with TMM. We think we have the best skippers in the BVI working for our clients and they, in turn, enjoy working on behalf of TMM for our clients. 

No, sorry, it is necessary for TMM to schedule the captain for you. This process has worked well for many years and we receive excellent reviews on all our skippers. Last minute changes are rare but do happen from time-to-time; therefore, it is possible you could be assigned a different skipper. Again, we think we attract and retain the best skippers in the BVI! 

Skippers’ fees are $175/day. A day is defined exactly the same as your charter day which is 24-hours, noon-to-noon. This does not include his or her meals, beverages, and optional gratuity. Skippers receive 100% of the fees paid by you. 

A check-out skipper (COS) is a professional captain that boards with you on day 1, and is dropped off late afternoon the same day. A COS may be requested by you or may be required by TMM after review of your sailing resume. 

The purpose of hiring a COS is to 1) practice and learn how to handle your particular yacht, and 2) prove your competence to continue on your own. You will take the helm from the moment you leave the dock and your COS will be near at hand, assisting you with the skills checklist, while heading to your first mooring or anchorage. Your COS will be knowledgeable about all things local in the BVI's which is another benefit of having one! 

Your check-out skipper will meet you at base on the morning of day 1. After your TMM briefings, your COS will board and sail with you for the afternoon -- from approximately 12:00pm to 4:30pm. There is a written checklist of skills to practice which you will complete and sign at the end of the day. 

You may drop the COS anywhere you agree on Tortola or another nearby island, depending on your itinerary. Soper’s Hole and Trellis Bay are convenient drop off points. Or, if you want to overnight near Norman island or one of the southern islands, there are daily ferries from Peter Island and Cooper Island. We kindly request that you provide taxi fare and/or a ferry ticket for the skipper to return to TMM or home. The taxi fare or ferry ticket will be $5.00 - $15.00, depending on the drop point and the COS’s final destination. 

Typically charterers will simply include their skipper when they buy, prepare, and serve meals on the boat. We encourage you to communicate with your skipper so both of you will have a general understanding of how you are going to manage mealtimes during your charter. 

Many clients invite the skipper at least once to join them for a meal ashore. After that it is not an expectation. Skippers will fend quite well for themselves with the food already aboard. 

Skippers work hard to provide the best possible service to their clients. If they have done a good job for you, they will appreciate a gratuity at the conclusion of the charter. A rule of thumb is $350-$500 for a one week charter. A one-day check-out skipper (cos) gratuity would be a percentage of the fee of $175. Twenty-five dollars tip for a cos would be a good rule of thumb. All gratuities are optional. 

If you want your skipper to formally teach you or any crew members how to sail, or you wish to take an ASA class aboard for certification, then the skipper fee increases to $200/day. If you wish to become ASA “certified” in one of the ASA courses, you will need to obtain your ASA membership, ASA course materials, and ASA exam fees, which are all extra. Check out TMM's website under Booking Info> ASA courses for more information. Please note: ASA instructor/skippers are more difficult to book because there are just not that many ASA certified instructors in the BVIs .Therefore, book well in advance (6 – 12 months) if you wish to have an ASA skipper. If you simply want sailing instruction without any official certification at the conclusion of your charter, no extra fees are applicable (as outlined above for ASA certifications). 

If you want to occasionally take the helm or assist with anchoring, mooring, docking, raising the sails, etc., that is absolutely fine with a regular skipper, in fact they appreciate the assistance and you will also develop some valuable skills during your sailing holiday. Just ask! 

Skippers arrive at the TMM base mid-morning of your first day. You will be introduced in the office or out on the dock depending on where you are at the time of his or her arrival. 

Skippers typically bunk in a single berth on the boat. Occasionally, there will be a charter with a double berth free for the captain. Skippers appreciate comfort and privacy, just like anyone. If it is possible to offer your skipper a double cabin, by all means do so, and he or she will be most grateful! 

If you cancel a confirmed charter more than 90 days prior to your charter start date, you will incur a $300 cancellation fee; however, there will be no charge for cancelling the skipper. If you cancel your skipper close to your start date, some clients in the past have paid the skipper his fee or a portion thereof anyway. They understand the skipper may not have time to find other work to replace the lost wages. We appreciate your consideration of this matter should it occur.