Canadian Yachting October 2016 - 26

STEP 2. Be Prepared. Our trip started before it even began. My trip began at the Dollar Store to stock up on party supplies. Armed with inflatable beach volleyballs, a Frisbee, body paint and pirate supplies (don't worry, I'll get back to that later) we headed for the BVIs. Music was the other thing we planned for. When we did the math, 7 days (and assuming we sleep at least 5 hours each of those nights) that allows for approximately 130 hours of music and believe me, we had it covered. Between our expertly crafted playlists and endless music libraries, anyone would know how to find the Canadians when you pulled into a harbour. STEP 3. Become a provisioning master. One main selling feature of chartering is that you get to travel around with your very own personal kitchen and bar! The best tip that I can pass along is that boarding your boat the night before your charter is the best decision you will ever make. Since the majority of charters start and end on the same boat, if you board early, you will run into people who are spending their last The "A" Team at The Bitter End Yacht Club. Photo: Clarity Nicol night on the boat before their flight home. Five points if you can figure out what that means...It means free food and rum! There will always You also say, "Yes." be left over provisions so why not pass that along to a boat in This is the premise for what will inevitably be one of need? We met a great group of people from Texas who the most incredible experiences of your life. Now, let me tell bequeathed to us their leftover stock of rum, vodka, bourbon, you why. beer, Bloody Mary mix, salsa, crackers, bread, cold cuts, cheese, We began our charter at the beautiful Footloose base in mangoes ... you name it! We even were given a strand of flamin- Tortola. Remember to rent any water toys you might need go lights to decorate our boat. Ours was a pretty easy going crew before heading out. A SUP board doubles as a floating water so we stocked up on yogurt, hot cereal and fruit for breakfast.... bar and definitely comes in handy when you want to go out we even did a traditional British fry-up breakfast one day. Lunch and mingle with other boats. We left the base in the morning was usually sandwiches, which are easy to assemble while and set sail for Indians for what would be the first of our underway. For dinners, we grabbed enough burgers, chicken and almost daily snorkels. Next, we headed for the infamous Willypork chops to feed us for a few nights. Another great tip is to let T's, a 2-storey schooner that parties 24/7. We set the tone for your best Tetris player pack, because fridge and storage space the night by starting with a few rounds of shot-skis, which is a are limited. water ski with four holes cut into it filled with shot glasses so four people can do shots simultaneously. What could possibly Now that you know the steps that go into planning a millennial go wrong? Since a majority of boats follow a similar course charter, the rest is really up to you. My advice is to be a "Yes while in the BVIs, its common to run into the same boats over Man". When someone says, "Hey, want to build a catapult off and over again. So on our first night, we made sure that everythe side of that boat?" one would know who we were for the rest of the week. We You say, "Yes." showed up to Willy T's with body paint and painted every sinWhen another person walks up to you and says, "Think we gle person in the bar, claiming to be Picasso and the crowd was can surf those waves on stand up paddle boards?" our canvas. 26 Canadian Yachting OCTOBER 2016

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