Horizon Yacht Charters

In Depth

Horizon Yacht Charters is a small, top end BVI yacht charter company known for its high standards and good level of service. It has a number of good quality yachts on its books, but the thing that sets it apart is the additional service that the company offers. In addition to the simple charter, they draw on their extensive knowledge of the BVI to tailor-make your holiday to your exact requirements, whether it be restaurant bookings or wedding arrangements. Horizon Yacht Charters are also an authorised dealer for Bavaria Yachts and approved agents for Fountaine Pajot catamarans and offer yachts for private purchase or for charter management placement.

Based in Nanny Cay Marina, a few miles west of Road Town, the company is owned and operated by Andrew Thompson and Sylvia Driver, who between them bring together around 30 years of experience of the yachting business in the BVI. In their time they have seen the industry grow from modest beginnings into a multi-million dollar business dominated by a number of international players. They have chosen to break the mould by staying small and offering a personal service that can’t be matched by the bigger companies.

Horizon feels that sailors get more out of a charter with a company that is operated by people with genuine enthusiasm and they use their knowledge in all sorts of areas of the BVI to tailor things specifically to your requirements. From the first time you contact them until the moment you return from your charter, one member of staff will be dedicated to your arrangements. In addition to all the aspects of the charter they are able to help with air travel and hotel accommodation. Their aim is to ensure that you will never be made to feel one of the crowd.

Your briefing will be personalised, rather than in a crowd with other sailors, and they will provision according to your detailed preferences. Horizon Yacht Charters’ good quality fleet has been purposefully structured in line with this, in order to offer a quality of service that larger companies cannot match. They can arrange extras such as scuba or windsurfing equipment and they can also help you with other additional requests. You might want to get married on a deserted beach, learn to dive or go parasailing. They can tailor-make it for you.

Sylvia has been in the hotel and yacht charter business in the BVI since the mid Eighties. She and her husband Will owned a successful charter company previously in the BVI some years ago. After a break working in the financial department of a large charter company, Sylvia decided it was time to get back to the hands on of yacht charter again.

Andrew has a diverse background in the marine industry. After several years on large, private yachts in the Mediterranean and then having his own boat business in the UK, Andrew moved to the BVI in 1995. For a while he worked for well-known charter companies in both the technical and customer service departments. Gradually he realised that he wanted to offer charter guests something more, but found that he was confined by procedures and systems of the larger companies. Andrew has a particular interest in racing and can talk for hours (given half a chance!) on the pros and cons of racing boats, rigs and sails… It is this enthusiasm and their local knowledge which mean that he and the rest of the staff at Horizon are able to make sure that their yachts are in first-class condition for each charter and that the customer is happy.

Horizon Yacht Charters is a small but trusty BVI yacht charter company, right up there among the best in the wide choice on offer. It does not have the international profile of the companies with their worldwide fleets, but as a BVI based specialist they can offer more a more tailored service. Interestingly, many of their yachts are smarter than the production-line yachts of the larger fleets, but HYC are not more expensive than the big operators.