Sip Sip - Crewed Motor Yacht Charter

Wow, wow wow! Some of us have sailed more than others, but as a whole, this was our first extended multi-day sailing. As a group of land locked Canadians, we had very little in terms of sailing expectations. But that really didn’t matter much in the context of this review. In the end, the sailing, incredible as it was, ended up being only a small portion of the overall experiences that we enjoyed.

TO DAVID AND NAOMI
First and foremost, you are two of the most incredible people that we have had the pleasure of meeting. During our holiday, our group continually commented on how diversely accomplished and professional the two of them were. To achieve this at their young age, is only more impressive.

David skillfully navigated the boat allowing us to enjoy the pleasures of the wind, but also safely placing us in coves and harbours, and along island edges for snorkelling right off the back of the boat. We have never before enjoyed so much time in the water on any previous vacation, of any type. David also provided morning briefings and lectures on the surrounding areas, and meticulously maintained the boat when not at the helm. And let’s not forget Davids’s bartending skills! We could hardly wait for 5:00pm to approach, when we would be introduced to Davids’s concoction of the day! Delicious, beautifully prepared, and even topical to the day’s ventures.

Naomi, simply, is one of the most accomplished chefs that we have ever come across. All of us in the group have been fortunate enough to travel the world, and Naomi is definitely of a world class! The food was beyond delicious, used many fresh local ingredients, and had a presentation fitting of a red seal chef in a posh 5-star establishment. The fact that she created these mostly “scratch” dishes in a very small kitchen with limited tools, counter space, and ingredients that had to be procured a week in advance is a marvel on its own. Including a 5:00pm appetizer, Naomi was creating up to 4 unique and intriguing dishes a day. Everything about our trip was perfect, but if we were to identify the one item that surprised and impressed us the most, it would have been Naomi’s meals. We are not the type to take pictures of our food as it is served, but in Naomi’s case, that is exactly what happened.

David and Naomi worked together to keep the boat clean, organized, and safe. With all of their incredible skills, it is easy to overlook the most appreciated offering of the two, their hospitality. Much younger than us of course, but we truly admired the way the two of them interacted and shared stories with us about sailing in the British Virgin Islands as well as their previous encounters. They were friendly and caring to our needs, they joined us in evening conversation and joyful banter, and in only seven days formed a friendship that we hope will continue well beyond this sailing. There is so much more that can be said of David and Naomi, but I think this last sentence will be a good summation…. You are very lucky that we can’t think of anything to do with a boat crew, in the rural prairies of Canada, where the water is only liquid for part of the year, or we would have already stolen them!!!

You listened to our desires and put together a trip that far, far exceeded our expectations. The initial forms were simple to fill out, and now we understand just how carefully you used our information to customize our destinations, menus, and even our cocktails into a holiday that catered to our most whimsical fantasy’s. We originally thought that “& Beyond” was just a catchy little name, but upon completing our sailing, we now fully understand everything that your name implies. You are “way beyond” being a simple chartering company. You create custom tailored dreams and memories, unique to each client’s desires. Good on ya! What an incredibly well executed business plan!


TO OUR BROKER
You listened to our desires and put together a trip that far, far exceeded our expectations. The initial forms were simple to fill out, and now we understand just how carefully you used our information to customize our destinations, menus, and even our cocktails into a holiday that catered to our most whimsical fantasy’s.

To &BEYOND YACHT CHARTERS
We originally thought that “& Beyond” was just a catchy little name, but upon completing our sailing, we now fully understand everything that your name implies. You are “way beyond” being a simple chartering company. You create custom tailored dreams and memories, unique to each client’s desires. Good on ya! What an incredibly well executed business plan!

TO ALL OF YOU
Thank you so much for offering us a unique experience that has created life long memories and friendships.

Canada, Britain, South Africa, US and British Virgin isles.
Bringing worlds together!
Till we meet again!

To say this was a trip of a lifetime would be an understatement. From your smiles each day to the amazing drink, snack and meals - all total perfection!

Life has been good to us to let us take this trip with you, but luck also played it´s hand at putting us together.

I´m hopeful our paths will cross again with many cold drinks!
God bless you both

God bless you both!
This was exactly the relaxing kid free girls trip I needed. I´m glad we all experienced a bunch of firsts this trip.
Dave makes better painkillers than Soggy Dollar!
Thank you for the wonderful food Naomi - it was all fantastic.

The memories from this trip will last a lifetime and are irreplaceable.

Thank you so much for making this trip incredible in so many ways. I never imagined I would get
to experience a trip like this and your kindness and hospitality made it extra special! I wish you two the best in all your future adventures.

From the moment we first boarded we knew we were in for a treat. Dave and Naomi are warm and welcoming. Their knowledge of BVI took us to some incredible sites. Dave´s Yachtmanship was evident from the start and his stories kept us captivated. The meals Naomi prepared were better than anything we have ever had at a restaurant. We were able to experience all this with our children and grandkids. This made our adventure even more special.
Thank you to the owne and especially to Dave and Naomi.

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This has been the best trip I have ever been on. You guys are the best. You made this trip!

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Best time ever! Wonderful time with family and new friends Naomi and David.

This has been the trip of a lifetime for our family. To be able to ´unplug´, explore, laugh, experience so many ´firsts´ for our kids.... is something we will cherish for a lifetime!

Dave, thanks for keeping us safe and for facilitating all the fun on the water! Naomi, your meals are better than we have ever had in a 5 star restaurant.

Thank you both for serving our family - we so appreciate that gift to us.

Comments from guests that have chartered with Chris and Lida

From the very beginning Painkiller and conference about the trip, Chris and Lida were superb hosts to our family on our anniversary trip. Chris was attentive to our input on where we wanted to go in the BVIs and also made suggestions that were special and not stops we had otherwise considered. Lida was amazing in her delivery of three extraordinary and different meals every day along with beautiful tasty appetizers each late afternoon before amazing dinners. We had a birthday while on board and Chris and Lida went out of their way to make that day special complete with a freshly baked birthday cake, birthday banners and music and an amazing sea bass dinner. Have already talked up the trip with a number of landlubbers back home.

We had high hopes that this trip would be a great experience - and honestly the trip exceeded anything we could have imagined. The boat was immaculate and very comfortable, and the crew quickly felt like dear friends (shout out to Chris and Lida - twenty somethings from S. Africa who were fun and energetic - providing some of the best meals we´ve ever had, were engaging and so attentive to whatever we wanted to try and do, and took us to many great locations throughout the Virgin Islands). With kids from 18 to 25 - we did plenty of water sports, from tubing and wake boarding - to riding on Sea Bobs and Efoils - and were having so much fun we even booked an extra night while on board - truly the best family vacation we´ve ever taken.

Our family had the trip of a lifetime on Sip Sip this past June. We arrived by dingy to rum punches on the stern, served with a smile by Lida. Our luggage was immediately whisked away. Captain Chris took us all on a tour of the boat. The boat has a sleek and modern vibe that makes it feel like a floating, spa oasis. We slept in a queen cabin and it was the most comfortable charter bed I’ve ever slept on. The bathrooms are enormous and there is plenty of storage for a weeks worth of clothes and necessities. Our son slept in the bunk room with a friend and it was perfect for them.

Lida served up a gourmet breakfast every morning and incredible dinners each evening. Most of our lunches were spent at beach restaurants on the different islands. We had some complicated food requests on this trip and Leda made sure that my husband had the correct food for each meal and made them delicious.

Chris and Lida are expert sailors, hosts and staff (staff wrong word?). They made the vacation by offering suggestions as to locations to stop and explore and providing us with the space we needed to relax when under sail. The boat itself has many areas to spread out and read, sunbathe, or even work ( if you have to!).

The highlight for the parents and the kids were the “toys” on board. Each day we would find a place to snorkel, SeaBob, hydrofoil, paddle board and dingy. We know from experience that some yacht charters charge extra for these perks but they are included on Sip Sip which is fantastic.

The BVI’s are the best family vacation destination and when you explore it on Sip Sip you’re going to make memories for a lifetime!

Dana, Ben and Charlie Grunow

The cruise was really top-notch: the boat was very well maintained, spotless, and you couldn´t tell it was old enough.
As for the crew, as you said, they were fantastic.
They´re lovely, very professional, very keen to do well and make sure everyone has a good time. We will be. Delighted to see them again if we return to the region!