A power catamaran in the British Virgin Islands is the choice of crews who want the islands rather than the sailing. It covers the Sir Francis Drake Channel faster, gets to the good mooring balls earlier, and asks nothing of anybody's sailing experience. What it costs is fuel and a certain amount of the point.
When it is the right boat
When the party wants to swim, eat and see the islands rather than to sail; when nobody aboard has the experience or the appetite to handle a 45-foot sailing catamaran; and when getting to the Bight or Cane Garden Bay before the moorings fill matters more than how you got there. It also suits mixed groups where half want to be at anchor by two o'clock.
What it costs
Fuel, mostly, and it is a real line rather than a rounding error over a week of moving. The Moorings publishes power charters from $6,655 in the Bahamas against a sail range starting at $5,579, which is the only published side-by-side on power versus sail in this record. For the BVI it publishes $3,284 to $49,584 for a 7 day charter for 2 people across the fleet, and Sunsail publishes about $3,500 for a low-season bareboat monohull rising to about $10,000 for a high-season catamaran.
What you give up
The sailing, which in the BVI is the easiest and most pleasant in the Caribbean, and a certain amount of the quiet. Under power you arrive earlier and hear the engines; under sail you arrive later having had the better afternoon. Which of those is the holiday is a question worth settling with the whole party before booking.
Questions people ask about power catamaran charter bvi
Is a power catamaran better in the BVI?
For crews who want the islands rather than the sailing, and for getting to moorings early. You pay for it in fuel.
What does it cost?
The Moorings publishes power charters from $6,655 in the Bahamas against a sail range from $5,579, the only published power-versus-sail pair in this record.
Do I need sailing experience?
Less than for a sailing catamaran, but the base will still assess handling, and the BVI's moorings and channels have their own demands.