Glenn Ashmore wrote:
snip
and when you are sheparding 4 or 5 college boys who scatter to the four
winds everytime they get off the plane looking for the bar or smoking
area the extra stop overs can be a nightmare for the skipper.

Got that. My June '03 trip with 4 adult couples was a nightmare in
transit. Two people disappeared towards bars and one toward shopping at
every opportunity. Plus we had one person who needed a wheelchair and
American was poor at providing for her. I needed a vacation by the time
we got to the boat.

Your bags do come off the ferry at West End to clear customs but they
are reloaded and make the run up to Road Town with you. You are in sight
of them all the time.

What bothers me is that the bags are "inside" between immigration and
customs and everyone ahead of me is milling around while I'm stuck
behind some tourista with a screaming kid who didn't think to dig out
her passports until she was standing in front of the immigration officer.

snip it is fun to watch the Saturday and Sunday afternoon stampeed
of Moorings boats. Everybody sets sail in mid harbor with the wind just
off the port bow and then the Trades hit them beam on just past Scotch
Bank and everybody gets knocked on their side. You see some real
interesting sail handling. :-) I think a lot of them motor from that
point on, especially in the "Christmas Winds".

You will see a lot of motoring down there. grin Incidentally, my
suggested itinerary is at http://www.skolnick.org/sail2.shtml. YMMV, but
I try to avoid Norman Island on the first night to avoid the crowds and
so day two has less beating.

For a first timer the Moorings may be worth the premium but I prefer to
travel my own path. Moorings boats are always in first class condition.
Even the old ones I crew on to bring back to Ft. Lauderdale are in good
shape but while the second market boats are a usually little older, with
only a few very notable exceptions are well maintained and generally run
20 to 25% less.

You do have to be a little more careful about checking out the current
situation in the second market. A few years back North South had a big
problem with maintenance but seems to have corrected the situation. Our
charter with Conch in '96 was a real adventure. BVIYC and TMM have been
most consistent IMHO.

And that is what makes a market.

dave