USVI-On-Line

We have a group of 6 adults and one 6 year old. We'd like to do a day trip to the BVIs. Lion in da Sun and Flyaway Charters have a 6 person cap on their captained boats. We do like the catamaran boats for their smooth ride. Does anyone know of another boat that can accommodate 7 passengers?

Thanks for your help!

I highly recommend Born to Rhumb and Captain Kevin (borntorhumb.com). We have used him for the last two years and will do so again this Monday (yeah!!).

Paula, you must be so excited! Monday will be here before you know it.

Thank you for the recommendation. I will check them out. As always, I appreciate the help of this forum!

Nancy

We have used Ocean Runners many times---they will supply a captain. Pete, the owner, is great to work with. Because they have different size boats that accomodate 6, 8 or 10, they will find the right size boats for your needs.

Nancy,
I hate to say it but the seventh person will severely limit your options. The problem isn't the captains and their boats but the law. Most of the day trip boats fall under the OUPV statute (Operator Uninspected Passenger Vessel, commonly called a six pak. The really ironic thing about the law is that companies like Ocean Runner and Nauti Nymph have boats that can handle ten passengers for recreational purposes, which means if you rent one bare boat without a captain you can legally put ten people on board and go. But when you hire a captain to run the same boat then the number is cut off at six paying passengers plus the crew to a maximum of ten. So a drunken amateur boater can run ten people up on a reef but a qualified skipper can't run the same boat legally. This is one of those really ironic little wholes in the systems.
Basically once you start carrying more than six paying passengers for hire your vessel has to be built as and inspected vessel and under go much more stringent inspections to stay certified. This obviously makes the boats bigger more expensive, etc. So once an operator goes over the magic six number they might as well go to 20, 30 etc. because the economy of scale kicks in. Born To Rumb is one of those options as it is coast guard approved for twelve, according to their web page.
Hope this helps.
Jay

Nancy - I second the Born to Rhumb suggestion. We were a group of nine (included 5 kids) and Captain Kevin was great. Such a pleasant man, entertaining, and very laid back. He treated us well.

p.s. If you book with Born to Rhumb, tell Kevin the banker and the surgeon said hello. We ran into him in Cruz Bay this past Feb and that's how he remembered us from last year, not to mention the 5 daughters we had in tow. What a great guy he is.

Thanks, Jim, MartiniGirl and Capt Jay! I will check out Born to Rhumb and Ocean Runner. Our one friend is a boat captain but since he's on vacation too, I'd rather hire one so he can relax (plus, he's the one with the 6 year old so better for him to spend the day having fun with her!).

As always, you are all the best!
Nancy

I will throw out another thumbs up for Born to Rhumb. Our group of six adults was very comfortably lounged-about.

We didn't have Capt. Kevin (he had family on the island according to the crew) and his replacement and first mate were very professional and a pleasure to be around.

Thank you everyone for your help! We are booked with Cpt Kevin of Born to Rhumb. Martinigirl, I will tell him the banker and surgeon said hi.