Promenade Sail Dive Charters Blog - Charter Life

Charter Yacht Promenade's St Patricks Day Charter

nospam@example.com ( Kerry) — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 14:00:20 -0700

..So we have another group of contented guests!

We have to apologize to our no meat eater and say "YOU SHOULD HAVE SPOKEN UP IMMEDIATELY!" That was plain and simply because we switched the way our preference sheets were put in online for the boat to read and between that and they not reading properly what "7 out of 8 eat beef" meant... So in future, we are happy to cook alternatives, and please let us know right away, we hate to see anyone starve! I assume since the yacht got great stellar reviews otherwise it did not hamper their trip

Thanks to the Bostonians for a fun filled big activity week!

And a late coming email that was sent to us today Thank you!

What a great trip we had. Crew was all we could have expected, as was the boat. We would like to thank everyone involved for a fantastic vacation. We will be recommending the Promenade to anyone that wants a BVI sail vacation.

Comments & Feedback from March Charters

nospam@example.com ( Kerry) — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 12:41:53 -0700

The yacht had a great group on board, all good looking people as you can see from the picture here..

I would say we definitely owe Bob a discount on his next charter for the great referrals!

Thank you to all ! I know the crew loved the charter and the guests...

April is chartering away full stream...

nospam@example.com ( Kerry) — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 05:47:52 -0700

I can't believe it is April already! In January when I looked at the charters I had to do for Feb and March it looked, well, very tiring. They went quick though. Having Lindsey here to help on the boat made a big difference.
We are all cleaned and ready and waiting for the next set of guests who come in this afternoon from St Thomas. Tucked into our little spot in Inner Harbour for turn around one more time. I seem to have spent a lot of time here and at Trellis Bay lately. So many guests leaving early arriving late...

These are a couple pictures I took at Trellis Bay dropping off a couple weeks ago...

Using your tripod is not that helpful on the boat on the water I have surely found out...

Letting the dive gear dry off for a day or so....

"the little one" from Swim Vacation hides notes everywhere when she leaves. We find them for months! Here I am collecting a few of them! Cute!

Todays guests are from North Carolina and we have 4 preteens and 4 adults...LOVING totally this dry weather we have been having lately. Almost makes up for the months that we have rain non stop...

Of course I did put up video's of the last couple charter weeks. Here is the one that ended yesterday...

and here is the second week of Swim Vacation...

Is it Swim Vacation? Or Photo Vacation? Maybe Salt Vacation or Anegada Vacation? Any way you cut it, the shooting for this past week of Swim Vacation was spectacular with great guests, and great days... In the British Virgin Islands on Yacht Promenade

Music by Adele, Rolling in the Deep, Set Fire to the Rain

Swim Vacation has opened up their registration for their charters next year: We have a week in early December and then two weeks straddling the end of March and early April... those are all too far away for me to think about yet! I only have 15 sleeps until some time off

Oh yes, a calendar of what we have coming up for openings is probably a good thing to add. Next season is already half full...

Off on another charter adventure..

nospam@example.com ( Kerry) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 12:12:04 -0700

After an all too brief three hour turnaround yesterday, our new guests from the cold weather of Chicago came happily down the dock..Saying that they had seen all of Roadtown, and it took about 5 minutes!

They had dropped their luggage and off they went...

They were pretty good on the bags!

Riteway thought we should only have half our order today, so we hung around on dock and had lunch waiting for the driver who promised to bring the second half......

Of course they didn't, nor did the phone do anything other then go to voicemail..so eventually we gave up and Princess Captain Lou Lou took us off the dock..She needs to get her helming skills topped up!

Although I swear she is looking at it wondering which way is forward or backwards!

Yes...you are cute!

These guys had the worlds worst theme song they played on leaving harbour which was from an old Russian TV show. Believe me, it was bad, but Dan sung along anyways...

Bazza came up with Lou Lou's advent calendar accusing her of eating more chocolates then days had gone by in December but he was wrong! Lisa would not cheat that way!!!!

4 divers finishing off their open water certification this week so off to Little Harbour we go!

First Annual Rhone Ball, SCRUB Island, BVI to support Underwater Sculpture Gardens

nospam@example.com ( Kerry) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 06:28:53 -0700

For more information please contact Casey at DiveBVI or BVISO

AMA's on Charter Yacht Promenade

nospam@example.com ( Kerry) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 06:43:17 -0700

AMA's...most don't understand that term. You can also call them the hulls, the wings, the pontoons...but we have two on the outside with a trimaran and each side has a cabin or two in them.

Lets start with the port side. At the very front is the washroom. This is very large. You are going to have the most privacy in the ama's, although also the smallest beds, both of them being somewhere between a double and a queen size...

The port ama also has a luggage room, linen cupboard and luggage storage area.

The starboard ama is a mirror image of the port side with a couple exceptions...

Bazza's electronic room is also over here. It used to be the chart table. How it became the electronic room I have no idea! I don't go in there much...The guests also use this table to put extra "things" they have...

Also on this side of the yacht in the very aft is one of the former crew cabins on the yacht. First of all, I want to say that I did not paint this terrible blue in there. Chad did. This is a great single spot, but hardly palatial...

We have on occasion set up an air mattress in the saloon for extra sleeping that can be rolled out at night. Here is a picture of what that looks like...

And just pray that if you are sleeping in the salon the rest of us don't have a messy table and computer wire station on top of your bed that looks something like this!

So, there you have it. My truth in advertising pictures so you know exactly what the yacht looks like. Now, as promised, is a link to the FAQ manual that i have done up for the yacht so guests don't have to listen to me speak for hours on end and, has so much information that if I fell overboard...the guests could run the yacht themselves!

I have printed up copies for each cabin and I am sure that Sydney will be including it in the final information we give to guests before they come on board. I figure by doing this I have taking off at least a week of work a year on charters from everyone having to listen to me talk..I can be sure they will read them in the bathrooms if nothing else!

Contact Kerry for more information

Moving onto the aft of Yacht Promenade

nospam@example.com ( Kerry) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 06:14:36 -0700

This is in the middle ama of the yacht...3 cabins share two heads. These cabins are the ones you want to choose if you have any claustrophobia at all! They all measure king sized or larger in bed size, and have more moving around and standing room.

This picture is taking looking up the hall into the cockpit...

We have two cabins that can either be set up into twins or kings. This picture shows the king sized beds...No, we don't normally put the champagne on your bed

The two heads in the aft of the boat are electric flush, and the showers pull out of the sink units. Most people find it more comfortable to shower on the aft of the boat! More room...AND you can sit down on the platform to shave your legs

This is the floor level bed in the very aft of the yacht... This one has half a dozen hatches and windows in it, including looking out the back of the boat to the water. This is the room that is best for guests with limited mobility. Truly we have had guests in wheelchairs on board, we stow the wheel chair and they found it fairly easy to navigate by walls and hand holds from the cockpit, to the heads and the aft cabin.

Here is our king cabin which has been changed into a twin cabin when we require it...

So, that is your tour of the boat today... We are half way through changing all our sinks, faucets, and lights in the yacht to something more modern then 1980's RV theme! They look good and oh, another year, we might actually have them all done...

Next entry I do will be the cabins in the ama's of the yacht and to also put up the FAQ book I have had done to give you more details on the yacht then you could ever need...

Contact Kerry for more information

Moving on to the saloon on the yacht..

nospam@example.com ( Kerry) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 09:26:46 -0700

I love the saloon on our yacht. Since Promenade was built in 1979, she has lots of wood and varnish. It is comfortable and cozy and if you close it up it stays quite cool in there.

Some don't care for the trimarans which do not have the large coach house type saloon, which tends to be quite light ( and hot) There is good ups and downs for both ways. The one thing I like very much is with having the saloon down, our cockpit has tons of breeze through it and a view all the way around without having to go to the side to look forward and peer around the coach house.

After all, who comes to the islands to stay shut up inside? We have lots of room for computers, and our saloon has even doubled as overflow and slept up to three people in it at various times!

Now you have seen it from every angle..

There are a few things that really stand out as far as making Promenade a comfortable yet. Her flat decks with being 34 feet wide, there is plenty of room to layout in the sun. Bar none, the best feature of Promenade is its cockpit. It is wide, and completely covered with an awning from the sun. We can sit a couple dozen people in it, and there is plenty of room for people to nap. Top that off with a fridge for drinks, an ice machine, and a cold water fountain, not to mention music and i am not sure why you would venture too far.

The only downside is if and when it rains...it is work rolling down and putting back up the awning curtains!

This is an old old picture of the boat. awning at all, no cushions in the cockpit and the main sail came right down to the top of the deck so you had to duck underneath it to get to the other side of the cockpit while sailing. It has come a long way since then!

Picture tour of the pantry and galley on Yacht Promenade

nospam@example.com ( Kerry) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:46:58 -0700

I took many pictures of the boat over the last few months with my new fish eye lens. I had wanted to do a FAQ manual on the boat for the longest time with pictures and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to actually get it done. When I was home in the spring I did the bulk of the work and bought a couple copies of the book from Apple to see what it look like.

It was actually pretty good, but I needed a few more pictures for it that I took this summer and now I have just had copies for all the rooms delivered to the house.

I really enjoyed making it and I think it turned out halfway between a "manual" and a "picture book"

There are always so many quirks and information about the yacht and "how things work on it" to give to guests when they get on board that I can find myself rattling on for an hour with details when really, the guests just want to get out sailing and don't remember 10% of what was said. Then I spend days repeating the information over and over again to each person that asks, or waking up worrying in the middle of the night that they won't know where to get something they want.

I figured if I did a book, and put it in the rooms, at least some people would read it in the bathrooms and I would feel better. Seriously, after this many years, I was sick of hearing myself say the same old jokes on it...

Secondly, with us switching more to a "share the sail" format and expecting a lot more help from our guests, they NEEDED to know more.

These are some pictures that I had taken with the new lens for the manual...

All these pictures fit in with my "truth in advertising" kick that i have been on as well, and show parts of the boat that normally are not shown as much. I will try and post a few occasionally while I am off the boat over the next couple months.

First up, who ever displays the pantry? Well this is my pantry. The fish curtains go up to where Baz and I sleep. Most people think we have a "captains suite". Believe me, it is a small V berth.
I do however, have great shelves in here, and lots of storage. This is the area that usually everything gets thrown that we cannot figure out what to do with about 2 minutes before guests arrive!

The galley. It is pretty good for a boat. I have a full size oven on the counter. I don't know how boats live with the tiny little ones they have. I would die. We also have a 5 burner cooktop, and, as you can see, everything that can hang, does hang.

The other side of the galley. We have great large sinks, with a garbage disposal and our fridges are behind the sink. I have shown pictures of them before on the blog. I can fit a weeks worth of food for 16 people in our sinks and freezer.

I am a bit of a kitchen gadget nut. I buy them all. Then I use most of them faithfully for a few weeks, then don't use it for awhile, then decide it is just taking up space and off it goes to the workshop. I have many gadgets in the workshop that I have not even used yet. And probably never will, if you are looking for something! This view is from the saloon.

So, there you go, todays pictures of my pantry and galley....

SCUBA dive on the Blinders

nospam@example.com ( Kerry) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 16:02:09 -0700

Well the internet here in Roadtown lost my blog entry one more time. How unusual! Our service is usually so reliable here (voice dripping with sarcasm...)
And this was in between the time I was typing and went to hit control C to save it before it went away it happened...

Moving on.. in a total "once in a blue moon" experience we were able to do a dive on the Blinders. Fitting for the last day of this charter. Not only able, but no current and flat calm!

They did it like pro's!

We saw 3-4 Nurse Sharks sitting around on the bottom and had crystal clear water.

The boulders...

Some interesting coral...

Large schools of horse eyed jacks...

We made our way over to Trellis Bay then as the group had 8 AM flights (yeek..)

The dive gear was rinsed and put away...

The shoes were laid out for the morning so as not to be forgotten (we acquire way too many, and NO, I will NOT mail them back any more)

And they look way too perky for it being this early in the AM!

We managed to get them and all their dive gear weighed down in the tender and back on shore...

Take a close look at this sunrise as I do not see too many and if I am seeing them it is not by choice. I don't care how many people say it is the best part of the day. There is a perfectly good sunset each and every night...

Bazza and I had a good time with our guests, and I received a compliment from one, that quite touched me. I was told that we have the unique ability to make guests feel comfortable and at home, and it is something that does not come easily to him.

Amazing what getting my guests to work does hey

I think I slept most of the next day...we need a few days off I think...

SCUBA diving on Grand Central Station and the Vagabond

nospam@example.com ( Kerry) — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 04:28:53 -0700

The seas have been getting flatter and we have been doing more SCUBA diving. It works. We went for a dive on Grand Central. It was so flat we could actually anchor off of it and did not have to do it live.
My divers are getting much more comfortable in the water as you can see...

It was their first cave dive...

We did a lot of water skiing and tubing at Muskmelon Bay...

Had some dinner..

And made our way to the Vagabond off of Fallen Jerusaleum, where the guests climbed over and under the wreck..

Frigate made his home on the mast....

There is starting to be some nice life on this wreck. I saw some nice larger fish balls as well...

Pretty coral...

We were finished the dive about 6 PM or so, perfect time for taking some pictures of the boat and divers at the surface...

Another successful mission accomplished and onto Virgin Gorda for the night...

The last couple days in the BVI...

nospam@example.com ( Kerry) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 08:09:57 -0700

You will see some of these pictures have a theme...Between that, SCUBA diving and Kayaking they have been busy though...

Motoring up by Necker Island..

We stopped at the Invisibles for a SCUBA dive. I think my guests look like they are lining up for a mug shot here!

We had great viz, fair bit of current and lots of life...Trumpet Fish...

Lots of moon jelly fish around...

And some of my favorite fish, Spadefish!

The women snorkeled over top of the mound to see the large schools, although it was a bit rough for snorkelers there (and even less condusive to snorkelers when we made them sit on the Chikuzen the next day while we did two dives!)

Then it was off into North Sound for some more fun filled activities....As you can see. Actually, this group has used the kayaks more then any group has in ten years. The week after Bazza and I were saying that we were not going to replace them when they wore out as no one used them!!

The guests made their way around to Saba, Bitter End and Leverick Bay for shopping. I was impressed. The boys were absolutely drenched when they had to take the garbage to Gun Creek!

We had a birthday. With a birthday sized glass of Bushwackers and Promenade attire for the birthday boy...

Seafood Scampi, for birthday dinner...

And of course, birthday cake...

I believe tonights entertainment was a rousing watching of the Godfather on the large screen. The first time that screen has been used in about 4 years I think too!

We wanted to do the Rocus but the seas were not right, so off we went to the Chikuzen. David taking video of every single minute....

We had 5 eagle rays, barracuda, a couple proper sharks....amberjack, permits, and more schools of fish then we could count. Apparently I missed Bazza with his knife out taking barnacles off the humongous turtle who asked him too!!!!

Sunsets, Turtles, Laundry and Divers...

nospam@example.com ( Kerry) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 14:26:16 -0700

Pretty much perfect days in the BVI right now. I am sitting at North Sound typing this on my new zippy internet antennae. It is 533 PM and some of the guests just decided to go walking and some just decided to go fishing and snorkeling. It does bear the question what time dinner will be tonight but all my prep work is done and Bushwackers are mixed as we have a birthday celebration tonight so...
I thought I could start and finish this entry with the wonderful sunset last night. Mountain Point Virgin Gorda....

But backing up, first thing we only have 5 divers on board, but they have enough gear for double that...

We went for a dive on Angelfish Reef..or I think that is what I call it!

Sting Rays...

Big Jacks...

Turtles...

Followed by lunch..

and then the decision to do a massive motor from Norman Island ALL the way up to the other end of Virgin Gorda....some assumed the positions...

We stopped at the Chimney for a dive and I had to laugh at the Odyssey Expedition Boats.....all their laundry on the line, they looked more like a laundry ship then we do...

See the close up?

Our fishing action has been many, but our land count is quite low. I think they have caught more out of the tender!

Our group this week...

The photographer looking for the sunset. Going to big steps when you are even getting into the dinghy to snap it!

And the teenagers? Well the evening was the eternal search for an internet signal..They are always hopeful!

Start of charter week

nospam@example.com ( Kerry) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 17:20:41 -0700

We are out chartering again! Been a busy thirty hours...A few of these guests were on the boat a half dozen years ago...when we had 5 crew Yep, they are doing a lot more nowadays than then!
I told Bazza it is usually a bad idea to soak the guests before they even get to the boat... But then again when they are repeats

These guys have bags! Yes they all brought dive gear, but believe me they did not pack just carry on. Ross, one of the men took over one of the spare crew rooms JUST for the photography gear he brought ! (yep, he shoots Nikon!)

We ate, I loved that we had lots of young strong men...

To learn the important things like pulling sails!

Ross was smart enough to sit back and let the younger ones do it...

And we had a nice sail down to the Caves this PM...

Where it was time to go for a late afternoon dive...

I would love to say that these pictures were my wonderful photography skills, but it was PERFECT light and PERECT things to shoot..Then Aperture took care of the rest!

I just liked the effect on this picture. I am still editing pictures from this dive, so I may bore you with more yet...

Sunset over St John with one of the many large camera wearers as well...

Night time on the back deck where we lost all our bait and hooks to BIG things...

First dinner on board. Tuna, bbq'ed by Bill, we all loved it...(I love anything that I do not cook..go figure!)

And then for some reason we made penises out of balloons after dinner. I suggested to my teenagers that I could get out the pipe cleaners and pink sparkly paper for tonights entertainment!

When we were at the caves, saw Jerry from Braveheart with a lionfish he had caught, Dawn right beside him with barbecue tongs in hand!!!

Skies of Road Harbour, Tortola

nospam@example.com ( Kerry) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 07:12:25 -0700

We have had some very nice skies here this week. Today looks like it is going to be sunny, hot and humid and well, which will be a nice change from wet dog smell all over the boat.

I took these pictures at night from Promenade this week.... still playing with my new fisheye.