MacGregorSailors.com

I'm a 2.5 year M26 owner that keeps my boat at Greers Ferry Lake in AR. Use there is about 25 days per year. I've also taken two long trips. One to the North Channel of Lake Huron and the other to Destin, FL area. I'd like to take my family to the BVI this spring and rent a 35ish ft bareboat for a week. Does my type of experience qualify me at the off the beaten path companies? I'd like to know what to expect before I send off an app.

Dan

I have not done this yet but I did talk with a couple people at the Strictly Sail Chicago Show..
Consensus was, worse case scenario. They would take me out and observe may abilities for a day. If I wasn't up to the task I would have to hire a captain or rent a room.. . . . seems fair enough.
Now a friend of mine who used to rent a couple Catalina's down on Coz always said his biggest fear was when a couple with one or more sailing school certificates would show up and it would come out they didn't own their own boat..
I saw that with Scuba Divers on Coz as well. People show up with a jacket and lots of patches and with equipment that was just too numerous and too new or both or better yet, the opposite just Mask Snorkel Fins and want to do one of the extreme dives... Often we would say No for today lets see how good you dive.
I had a guy walk in from Texas doing a referral. He was supposed to be all but done. Just there to do a couple open water dives make it back to the boat alive and done... But he really Couldn't swim, couldn't put his gear together couldn't run the dive tables for me. But he wanted to dive Punta Sur tomorrow! Deep dive Very Long Swim Thru. It starts at 103 fsw exits at 135 fsw. . .
So give em a call or an e-mail Most folks are pretty happy to help you spend your money at their business.

Qualifiers for bareboat are pretty generous. I have sailed my 26M for a couple of seasons,and did some occasional sailing on a 28,and 35 O'Day for several years,and I was immediately qualified for any cat or monohull to 41ft.
Footloose and Moorings have an online resume you can fill out to see what they will approve. As Divecoz mentioned,if you don't,or they don't feel comfortable with you abilities,you can hire a captain for a day to get you up to speed.

Try to get one before you go out. Any damage that you do will be your $$$ and you will have to pay the rental while it is being repaired. An X or M is different that other boats. You have so much more hp at the dock and mooring it may supprise how slow to respond these boats can be.

Better safe that sorry. Takeing one from the dock and putting it back will be the hardest thing. Trying to do to much is the other. I learned on these boats first before my M. You should be able to handle all else if you know how to read the charts and know the local area when you want to rent. Know this before you take the test.

Dan,

You'll love the BVIs. Went there about 5 years ago. One of the best vacations I ever took. Wished I was on a sailboat though. Did a charter through Moorings to the Greek isles last year. It's fairly easy to get your captain's license. I would strongly recommend buying the insurance from them. As for your experience.... ocean sailing is a different animal from lake sailing. If you have an opportunity, you may want to get yourself out on salt water, preferably not a bay. Ocean swells and waves present some new challanges. A 35 footer will handle somewhat differently from a Mac, but surprisingly, not that much differently. The biggest thing is the mainsheet is typically run to a winch near the companionway, so it makes single-handing more difficult w/o autopilot. If you rent from Moorings, virtually all their boats have AP.

Hope this helps.

Have fun,
L.

I walked off the street for a day sail into Long Beach and got the keys to a Cat 36 - concur that owning your boat pretty much will get you the test drive for sure, if not an outright rental.

While at the Vancouver Int'l boat show I stopped to chat with one of the reps from SunSail Charters who not only have charters in PNW and BVI but many other world destinations. So I casually asked about qualifications and told him we own a Macgregor and have been sailing the PNW for 5 seasons and have the basic Power Squadron certificates and boaters card. Surprisingly his response was positive and he emphasized that they have more confidence in customers from the PNW due to their experience in navigating the more challenging PNW with its' strong currents, tide fluctuations, commercial traffic, underwater obstructions, passes and many obstacles. I sensed they attach more credibility to experience than certificates. Now all I have to do is budget for a BVI cruise!

Terry wrote:While at the Vancouver Int'l boat show I stopped to chat with one of the reps from SunSail Charters who not only have charters in PNW and BVI but many other world destinations. So I casually asked about qualifications and told him we own a Macgregor and have been sailing the PNW for 5 seasons and have the basic Power Squadron certificates and boaters card. Surprisingly his response was positive and he emphasized that they have more confidence in customers from the PNW due to their experience in navigating the more challenging PNW with its' strong currents, tide fluctuations, commercial traffic, underwater obstructions, passes and many obstacles. I sensed they attach more credibility to experience than certificates. Now all I have to do is budget for a BVI cruise!

I suspect that the areas that I sail may have been considered on the resume also. Buzzards Bay seems to count pretty high,as well as Penobscot Bay in Maine for many of the same reasons. I think they are looking more at sailing experience,than the size of the boat sailed.

Tortola in three weeks!