Our History
The Moorings Heritage
From junior high school sweethearts to University of Maryland graduates, from serving in the U.S. Navy during WWII to cruising the Caribbean aboard their 44-foot yawl, and eventually following their dream to make a living doing what they loved, Charlie and Ginny Cary were a remarkable pair. The defining moment for our founders came on the verge of Charlie’s 50th birthday, when he turned down a promotion so the couple could relocate to the British Virgin Islands and begin building their legacy.
Starting with just six Pearson yachts in 1969, The Moorings offered travellers a unique way to explore the islands and experience the thrill of sailing.
From that moment on, the quality of yachts in the charter fleet was meticulously maintained and The Moorings began to make a name for itself. Living out of a small hotel right next to their marina in Road Town, the couple cared for each customer like family and, in turn, earned their longstanding loyalty. Soon enough, The Moorings started to grow. Charlie and Ginny expanded their fleet, offering larger yachts and Crewed charters while hiring staff from the local community to help carry the company into the future.
Today, after more than 50 years at sea, The Moorings has established its reputation as the world’s premier yacht charter company. Our award-winning charter fleet now includes sailing monohulls, sailing catamarans and power catamarans available in 20+ dream destinations all over the World.
“When we look back over the years and remember the exotic places we have sailed, the new boat designs we have launched, the services we have introduced and the cruising grounds we have opened to vacationing sailors, we realize that through all of it runs a common thread — a real and abiding passion for sailing.”
Charlie Cary
Founder, The Moorings
Our Journey
Setting Sail in the BVI (1969):
On Fourth of July weekend, we set sail in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. With just six 35-foot Pearson yachts, Charlie and Ginny Cary pioneered yacht chartering in the BVI.
1971
The Moorings invented the concept of charter yacht ownership and have been perfecting it ever since. Many charter management programs exist, but The Moorings’, and sister company Sunsail’s, core programs now result in 90% of all yacht ownership contracts executed worldwide.
1976-1979
1976: Fueled by continued expansion across the Caribbean, The Moorings invested in custom-designed facilities to keep pace with their growing business. This commitment to infrastructure ensured they could continue to provide exceptional service to their clientele.
1979: Marking another milestone for The Moorings expanded into the lower Caribbean with the opening of a base in Marigot Bay, St. Lucia. This strategic move broadened reach and offered customers even more options to explore the beauty of the islands.
In recognition of their significant contributions to the region, Charlie and Ginny Cary, the founders of The Moorings, were awarded “Honorary Belongers” status by the BVI government.
1981-1992
1984: The Moorings ventured further, establishing bases in Tahiti and the Kingdom of Tonga.
1989: Introducion of yacht charters in Greece and the eastern Mediterranean, catering to a wider audience.
1992: The Bahamas welcomed The Moorings with a new base in the Abacos, boasting an initial fleet of 10 yachts.
1993
The Moorings Yacht Sales division opens a brokerage office in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
1995
The Moorings approaches Robertson and Caine with a specific request: design and build catamarans specifically designed for their growing charter fleet. This marks the beginning of a long-lasting partnership that would shape the future of catamaran design.
Over the next six years, Robertson and Caine deliver a total of 100 Leopard Catamarans exclusively for The Moorings.
1997
Significant investments in our fleet with the addition of nine Moorings 4500 catamarans and launch of the Moorings 3800.
1998
Cruising World Magazine recognizes the Moorings 4500 as the “Best Charter Boat” in it’s Boat of the Year competition
2000
The Moorings diversified its fleet further with new monohulls like the Moorings 474 and 473 yachts.
A focus on comfort and performance continued as the Moorings 433 was named “Boat of the Year” by Cruising World Magazine.
Global expansion continued with a new base opening in Skiathos, Greece, plus expansion of Crewed Yacht Vacations in the Abacos, Bahamas.
2001
First powercats: The Moorings launches a new power yacht division, NauticBlue.
A new sailing base opens in Belize and Turkey.
New Moorings 4700 catamarans are introduced to the fleet.
Crewed yachts expand to Belize.
2002
The largest yacht to date joins the Crewed BVI fleet—the Moorings 6200.
The Moorings opens a new Grenadines base in Canouan and announces new bases in the Seychelles and Lefkas, Greece.
2003
The Moorings announces opening of new bases in Trogir and Dubrovnik, Croatia.
The Moorings 494 monohull is added to fleets in the Caribbean and Mediterranean.
The Moorings 6200, 554 and 494 yachts are finalists for Cruising World Magazine’s “Boat of the Year” award.
2004
The Moorings celebrates 35 years of sailing vacations with the introduction of The Moorings BVI Spring Regatta Sailing Festival Cup, sponsorship of the 2004 HIHO event, and other celebrations throughout the year.
2005
Achievements continued with multiple accolades, including “Boat of the Year 2005 (Moorings 4000/Leopard 40),” “Best Monohull 40′ and under,” and “Best Overall Import.”
Two new monohulls joined the fleet – the Moorings 51.5 and Moorings 39.3.
NauticBlue Power Yacht Vacations was awarded “Best of the Year” by Motorboating Magazine.
Sunsail’s parent company First Choice Holidays, aquires Grand Expeditions, parent company of The Moorings and the two brands become sister-companies.
2006
Launch of the Moorings 4600 catamaran, one of the most popular Leopard catamarans ever produced (190 units) and recognized by Sail magazine as one of the Best Boats 2007 and a finalist in the 2007 Cruising World magazine Boat of The Year awards.
2007
The Moorings founder Charlie Cary sadly passes away.
The Moorings 41.3 monohull wins “Boat of the Year” from Cruising World magazine. The Moorings is named as one of the Top Tour Operators according to Travel & Leisure’s World’s Best Awards 2007 readers’ survey.
The Moorings relocates its base in La Paz, Mexico to Costa Baja Resort. The Moorings moves into new facilities in St. Lucia and Gocek, Turkey.
NauticBlue is rebranded as The Moorings Power Yachts and launches its newest powercat, The Moorings 474PC.
2008
The Moorings celebrates the base grand-reopening in Tortola upon completion of a $15 million expansion.
The Moorings headquarters move into new LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified building.
The Moorings 43.3 monohull is recognized as “2009 Boat of The Year” by Cruising World Magazine.
The Moorings begins marketing charters through Master Yachting GmbH in Germany. New fleet purchases of more than $40 million in new catamarans and monohulls.
The new Moorings 372 Powercat enters the Power Yacht charter fleet.
2009
The addition of more new bases to The Moorings portfolio – Agana in Croatia, Orhaniye in Turkey and Phuket in Thailand.
The Belize base relocated to a resort in Placencia.
2010
The Carys are named one of “SAIL’s Top 40 Who Made a Difference”.
The Moorings 54.5, the new flagship of the monohull fleet, arrives in Tortola. The new Moorings 50.5 monohull is announced.
A new sailing charter base in Grenada opens at the first-class Port Louis Marina.
The year also brought The Moorings regional sponsorship of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Leukemia Cup Regatta, as well as Expedition Biosphere, a marine mammal research initiative in Tahiti’s Fakarava region, classed by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve.
2011
The Moorings introduces the new Moorings 3900 catamaran.
The Moorings Power opens a charter base in Tonga.
In June, The Moorings opens in Athens- Lavrion and opens 3 new Mediterranean bases.
The Moorings Power introduces the new 393 Powercat,
The Moorings 3800 wins “Best Multihull Cruiser” and is named one of Sail Magazine’s “Best Boats”
2012
New bases are opened in Corfu, Greece and Annapolis, Maryland.
The new 12 berth, Moorings 5800 catamaran arrives in the BVI – Flagship of the luxury crewed.
The Moorings 4400 wins Cruising World’s “Best Multihull Cruiser” and “Import Boat of the Year”, and is named one of SAIL magazine’s “Best Boats”.
2013
The Moorings 4800 wins Cruising World’s “Best Multihull” award and the Moorings 5800 earns the Progressive Strictly Sail Consumer Choice Award.
The Moorings opens a new base in Miami, Florida.
2014
The Moorings debuts the new 514 Power Catamaran in the BVI and Bahamas.
New bases open in Turgutreis, Kremik and Vounaki.
First Choice Holiday, merges with the tourism branch of TUI AG to form TUI Travel PLC. Its “Specialist” Group is renamed “Travelopia”.
2015
The Moorings 4000 Sail Catamaran debuts in the BVI and St. Martin, the Bahamas and St. Lucia.
Power yacht charters come to bases in St. Lucia, St. Martin, Grenada and Croatia.
The Vounaki base in Greece has been moved to Lefkas to allow for better travel plans and bases have been added in Zea and Corfu, Greece.
2016
The Moorings 433 power catamaran debuts in the BVI and the Bahamas. A four-cabin model, The Moorings 434PC debuts in Thailand.
New monohulls including The Moorings 38.2, 45.3 and 51.4 debut in the BVI alongside new Crewed charters aboard the 514PC.
Puerto Rico’s Spanish Virgin Islands also join the menu of premier charter destinations in the Caribbean.
2017
Partnerships and social responsibility remained important for The Moorings. In 2017, they partnered with the 35th America’s Cup as an official charter supplier in Bermuda.
Following the devastation of Hurricane Irma, The Moorings joined forces with sister company Sunsail to launch the #CaribbeanComeback campaign, raising funds for recovery efforts.
Additionally, the Moorings 4500 secured the title of “Best Charter Boat 2017.” (Over 380 Moorings/Leopard 4500’s have been produced)
“Travelopia” (www.travelopia.com) was sold to KKR (www.kkr.com) in May 2017, arguably one of the world’s largest and most powerful private equity group.
2018
New charter destinations are introduced in the Exumas, Bahamas, Antigua, and Sicily; and the Moorings 4500 and 5000 Sail catamarans debut in the BVI as Bareboat and Crewed yachts.
2019
2019 marked a significant milestone with the celebration of the 50th anniversary.
This year also saw further recognition with the Moorings 5000 winning the “Cruising World Boat of the Year Award.”
2020
Moorings 534PC launches and wins wins Multihull of the Year 2020 and Reader’s Chocie Award. By 2024 over 100 units had been produced.
2021
The Moorings 4200 launched.
The Moorings wins Trip Advisor Traveler’s Choice Award for first time since Covid pandemic began.
2022
The Moorings 464PC is launched in the Moorings Power fleet and wins “Best of Boats” award.
The Moorings wins second consecutive Trip Advisor Traveler’s Choice Award and The Moorings 4200 wins Boat of the Year Award.
2023
The Moorings Wins third consecutive Trip Advisor Traveler’s Choice Award.
The Moorings 403PC joins her big sisters, the Moorings 464PC and Moorings 534PC
2024
The Moorings 403PC wins the prestigious European Powerboat of the Year award.
New partnership with Dufour Yachts as exclusive monohull yacht builder
The Moorings partners with Blue Marine Foundation as part of new OCEAN Promise sustainability initiative.