Barefoot Yachts

A CRUISING GROUND THAT’S SOMEWHERE BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH (BUT A LITTLE CLOSER TO HEAVEN)

The leading charter company in the Caribbean islands of St.Vincent and the Grenadines, we offer a wide range of well-maintained, well-equipped bareboat charter yachts in the 32 to 50-foot range, both monohulls and catamarans.

The Barefoot Lifestyle – No Shoes, No Stress, No Mess.

We also offer luxury fully crewed yachts, an American Sailing Association (ASA) Sailing School, our own charter and scheduled airlines and an in-house travel agency and tour operator.

BAREFOOT YACHT CHARTERS, St Vincent’s premier yacht charter company, is owned and operated by the Barnard family who have been sailing the waters of the Grenadines for 7 generations. This background gives us the distinct and unusual advantage of insight and local knowledge that most charter companies, no matter how experienced, simply cannot offer.

Barefoot Yacht Charters is not a large charter company. We don’t have a hundred yachts in our fleet (we’ve actually limited our bareboat fleet size to 25 yachts), we don’t have 60-page glossy brochures and you won’t see our full-page color advertisements in all the yachting magazines.

The fact is that most of our guests hear about us by word of mouth, or are repeat customers who have already sailed with us or are people who have been recommended to us by others.

We insist on a highly personalized service – and many of our guests are surprised to discover that such a “small” charter outfit offers facilities normally associated with so-called “premium companies” – including a satellite weather service, waterfront restaurant and bar, gourmet customized provisioning service, private jeep rental, travel agency and villa rental service. Oh, and by the way – no, we don’t have a chase boat – we have 9 private aircraft (so much quicker to respond to our guests’ needs in the event that they have a problem down island).

Our full-service charter base, just a 10-minute drive from St Vincent’s airport, is at Blue Lagoon, the best protected harbor on St Vincent’s south coast. Bequia, northernmost of the Grenadines, is just 5 miles over the water and the islands of Battowia, Baliceaux and Mustique are visible from the surrounding hills.

How to Get Here – Most guests arrive by international flight landing in St Lucia or Barbados, and then take an inter-island connection (about 35 minutes) to St Vincent. LIAT, the regional airline, runs several scheduled connections each day, and we can also arrange for charter connections on our private airline, SVG Air. LIAT also offers daily, non-stop flights from San Juan to St Vincent and these can be booked on line at http://www.liatairline.com

Where we are – We’re located at Blue Lagoon, a beautiful, well-protected anchorage on St Vincent’s southeast coast. The main anchorage is home to several cruising yachts and our marina is on the north shores of the lagoon, close to the town of Calliaqua. Our facility offers:

• Permanent dockage & Storm moorings
• Mediterranean water-front restaurant and air-conditioned lounge bar
• Gourmet provisioning service
• Workshops and repair facility
• Hotel & Villa Booking Agency
• Phone, fax and e-mail service
• Satellite Weather service
• Inter-island Travel Agency
• Jeep Rental & Island Tours
• Air Charter Service
• Ice & Water
• Boutique
• Full-service sail loft and canvas shop
• On-site ocean-view suites
• Surf Shop and water-sports centre

Our restaurant with stunning views across to Bequia & Young Island

Starting your charter – Bareboat charter guests will commence a check-out at their convenience on the morning after their arrival (perhaps after taking breakfast at our water-side restaurant). The check-out will take around 2 hours and will include an inventory check, a thorough familiarization with all the yacht’s systems and a detailed navigation and chart briefing.

We carry a selection of house-keeping materials and drinks at our marina. For full provisioning, the best choices are either the Sunrise Supermarket, close to the airport and around 15 minutes’ drive from our marina, or Aunt Jobe’s supermarket in Kingstown, a 25-minute cab ride.

Most guests have completed all pre-charter checks and provisioning by noon – and are then ready to set off on their cruise.

WHY YOU SHOULD START YOUR CHARTER FROM ST.VINCENT AND NOT FROM GRENADA OR ST.LUCIA

We’re right on the doorstep of the Grenadines

Whilst international air access is easier to Grenada or St Lucia than it is to St Vincent, there are several reasons why choosing to start your charter from one of these locations is going to cause you loss of valuable vacation time and considerable additional expense and hassle.

Starting from St Lucia to the north means that you’re going to have to start your charter with a 68-mile sail, including a 5-hour open-ocean passage, in order to reach the Grenadines. Similarly, starting from Grenada will entail a 6 or 7 hour sail, including a 3 hour open-ocean passage – and usually hard on the wind – in order to reach Carriacou, first of the Grenadines north of Grenada. It’s really not a great way to start a charter, particularly if you have inexperienced guests in your party.

Starting from Grenada or St Lucia also means that you are going to have to go through Customs and Immigration clearance procedures when entering or leaving St Vincent & The Grenadines. These procedures can be expensive and time-consuming and will also force you to stop at a specific Port of Entry when entering or leaving the St Vincent Grenadines.

Starting from St Vincent puts you right on the doorstep of the Grenadines. Bequia is only an hour’s sail over the channel. You’ve worked hard for your vacation, and every day counts. There are no Customs and Immigration clearance requirements when sailing within St Vincent & The Grenadines, no clearance fees to pay, and no forms to fill out and e-mail.

St Vincent’s natural beauty is unparalleled

St Vincent lies about 80 miles west of Barbados and about 25 miles south of St Lucia. It’s at the lower end of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, roughly halfway between Antigua and Venezuela. The island has spectacular mountain scenery, with dramatic gorges and precipices, and thick, lush rain forest. Originally, the island was inhabited by Carib Indians who called it “Hairoun” – “Home of the Blessed”.

The Northern end of the island is dominated by Soufriere, a 3,000 foot active volcano which last erupted on Friday 13th April 1979. It was the third eruption of this century but the residents were evacuated in time and there were no casualties.

St Vincent is a most beautiful island, unspoiled and with almost theatrical scenery. The Botanical Gardens are the oldest in the Western hemisphere and it was here that Captain Bligh brought the breadfruit after the mutiny on the Bounty incident. A direct descendant of the original tree is on display.