OceanCityGirl wrote:What about Conch Charters
http://www.conchcharters.com/ or Horizon or TMM, which I've heard mentioned on these boards before. Their prices are much less then moorings.
Our first sailing trip to the BVI was with a less-costly, lesser-known charter company. (Note: It was not any of the ones you mention howver.)
The boat was old, not as clean as I like (we spent the first day under sail cleaning it ourselves), and had numerous pieces of equipment on board break during our week's sailing that required we wait until the company sent a mechanic each time which delayed our travel plans. Many of these "discount" companies take used boats from firms like the Moorings and Sunsail (the 2 biggest). Both Moorings and Sunsail (
http://www.sunsail.com) generally maintain their yachts very well, but remove boats from the primary fleet after 5 years or so.
Moorings and Sunsail both are first class operations and, unfortunately, you pay for that. We've used the Moorings twice in the BVI and Sunsail numerous times while chatering the Chesapeake Bay. We've never been disappointed with the boats, the service, or the experience.
That said, we all have to make vacation decisions within our own family budget. Just keep in mind that, when chartering in the BVI, like most things, you usually get what you pay for.......