Get Crewed | British Virgin Islands
A crewed catamaran is a five-star hotel that happens to be a working vessel in open water. Knowing how the week runs, and what your crew needs from you, is the difference between a good charter and the best one of your life.
The one rule that explains every other rule
The boat comes first, the crew second, and you come third
That sounds backwards for a vacation you are paying for, so here is why every professional crew runs their yacht this way. It is not about status. It is the order that keeps you safe, and it is the reason your week feels effortless.
The boat
If the yacht is not sound, nobody aboard is safe. Anchors, engines, weather, water and power come before everything else, every hour of the day. When the captain says we move anchorages now, or we are not going to Anegada today, that is the boat coming first.
The crew
Two people run your floating home for seven days: cooking, cleaning, navigating, diving on the anchor, driving the tender and standing watch on the weather. A crew that is rested, fed and respected is a crew that can look after you properly.
You
With a sound boat and a sharp crew, the rest of the week is built entirely around you: your menu, your itinerary, your pace. Third in the safety order means first in everything else, and that is exactly how it should feel.
Both sides of the deal
What you can expect from your crew, and what they expect from you
From your crew
What you can expect
- A real welcome. Cold towels or champagne at the dock, a tour of the boat and a safety briefing before the lines come off.
- Your preference sheet, honored. The menu, the bar and the itinerary are built from what you told them. Allergies flagged on the sheet never come aboard.
- Hotel-standard housekeeping. Cabins made daily, heads cleaned, towels changed, and a boat that is spotless every time you come back from the beach.
- Local knowledge you cannot buy. Which snorkel site is best at 9am, which beach bar to skip, where the turtles are. Ask them anything.
- Discretion and space. A good crew knows when to be present and when to disappear. Your conversations stay yours.
- Honesty about the weather. They will tell you when the plan has to change, and they will have a better one ready.
From you
What your crew expects
- Show up on time. Boarding is usually at noon, departure by 4pm. Your first afternoon of sailing depends on your arrival time, so plan flights and ferries to arrive before noon.
- An honest preference sheet. Send it back early, be specific, and list everyone. The crew shops for the week before you land. (See a sample sheet.)
- Respect for the captain’s call. Weather, anchorages, routes and swim conditions are not up for a vote. That is what you are paying a professional for.
- Care for the boat. Bare feet or boat shoes on deck, nothing but toilet paper in the heads, sunscreen rubbed in before you sit on the white cushions, and no glass on the trampolines.
- Respect for crew downtime. After the dinner service is cleared, the crew are off until breakfast unless it is a safety matter. The galley and fridges are the chef’s domain, so every boat leaves grab-and-go snacks, fruit and the bar out for the taking.
- A kind word. They work 14-hour days so your week is perfect. Please and thank you go a very long way at sea.
The short version
Do’s and don’ts aboard a crewed charter yacht
Do
Please do
- Ask questions. How the heads work, how the sails work, how the crew got into this life. They love talking about it.
- Tell the crew early if something is not right: a cabin too warm, a dish you did not love, a stop you want to skip. They can only fix what they know about.
- Keep drinks in cups on deck and let the crew carry glass. Pack light, in soft bags; hard suitcases do not fit anywhere on a boat.
- Supervise your children in the water and on deck. Life jackets for small kids underway are non-negotiable, and the tender is not a toy.
- Say yes to the odd early start. The best snorkel sites and the emptiest beaches belong to the boats that get there first.
- Rinse off before coming below, and hang wet gear where the crew show you. Salt water and teak interiors are not friends.
- Read the itinerary as a plan, not a promise. Wind and swell decide the order of the week, and your captain will always find you a better anchorage than the one you lost.
Do not
Please do not
- Bring guests aboard who are not on the contract. Everyone sleeping, dining or sailing on the yacht must be on the charter agreement and the customs paperwork. Day visitors need the captain’s OK.
- Swim after drinking, or jump in after dark without the crew knowing. A planned night snorkel or dive, sober and with the captain in the tender, is a different thing entirely: the reef comes alive after sunset, and it was one of Cory’s favorite parts of the week to share.
- Flush anything but toilet paper. A blocked head can take a crew member half a day to clear, and that is half a day they are not looking after you.
- Run the water like you are at home. Tanks are finite and watermakers are slow; navy showers keep the whole boat happy.
- Move the boat, the tender or any line without the crew, even if you sail at home. Insurance and the captain’s license both depend on it.
- Smoke or vape below deck, drop cigarette butts overboard, or bring anything illegal on board. See the policies below; these are the ones that end charters.
- Treat the crew as invisible. They are two people living a few feet from you for a week. The best charters we ever ran were the ones where guests and crew genuinely enjoyed each other.
The non-negotiables
Smoking, drugs and drinking
Three policies that are the same on every yacht we book. They exist because a boat is a small, shared space with fuel, open flame, deep water and a licensed captain who is legally responsible for everything that happens aboard.
Outside, downwind, and only where the captain shows you
Never below deck, in the cabins or in the saloon. Most yachts allow smoking and vaping in one spot on the aft deck or at the transom, at anchor, with the captain’s OK and an ashtray in hand. Nothing goes overboard. Cigars follow the same rule.
If you or a guest smoke, tell your broker at booking, because a few owners do not allow it on board at all and we will match you with a boat that does.
Zero tolerance, no exceptions
Cannabis and all recreational drugs are illegal in the British Virgin Islands and prohibited on every yacht we represent, regardless of where they are legal at home. Customs and marine police board and search boats. A find puts the yacht, the owner’s business and the captain’s license at risk.
Drugs aboard end the charter immediately, with the group put ashore at the nearest port and no refund. We would rather say this plainly here than have it be a surprise.
The bar is open. The captain decides when it closes.
Craft cocktails, wine with dinner and a cold beer at the beach are what you are here for, and your crew will keep them coming. But a boat is not a bar on land. A guest who cannot move safely around a moving deck is a danger to themselves and to the crew who will have to go in after them.
Your crew can and will stop serving anyone, and nobody swims after drinking. Underway days with a long sail may start dry until the anchor is down.
Good to know before you board
Questions guests ask us before their first crewed charter
Can I help sail the boat?
Usually, yes, and most captains love it. Say so on your preference sheet and you can take the helm under supervision, help trim sails and learn the anchoring routine. What you cannot do is handle lines, the tender or the boat without the crew present.
Will the crew eat and hang out with us?
That is up to you and the crew, and it varies. Some groups want the crew at the table every night; others prefer privacy. Tell your broker which you would like, and the crew will read the room from day one.
Do we have to follow the itinerary exactly?
No. The itinerary is a plan, and the captain will adjust it daily around the wind, the swell and what your group is enjoying. If the forecast closes Anegada, you will get a better day somewhere else. Flexibility is what makes the week great.
How much water and power can we use?
Yachts make their own water and power, so they are finite. Short showers, lights off in empty cabins and air conditioning on the schedule the crew set (usually evenings and overnight) keep everyone comfortable for the whole week.
What about the crew gratuity?
Crew gratuity is ±20% of your charter rate, scaled up or down for the level of service received. It is not included in the rate and is paid directly to the crew on the last day. Cash is king: ask the crew on your pre-charter call how they prefer to receive it, since not all crew are US citizens with US bank accounts. Details are on our payment schedule page.
What if we are not happy with something?
Tell the crew first, early and kindly. Almost everything is fixable on the spot. If it is not, call your broker. We placed you on this boat, we know the crew, and we will sort it out.
Written by Cory and Emily Busichio, who captained and cheffed crewed catamarans in the Virgin Islands and the Bahamas from 2019 to 2024 and now broker them. See what a day aboard looks like and how paying for a charter works.