This page contains affiliate and referral links. If you charter, book, or buy through them we earn a referral fee, paid by the broker or platform, at no cost to you. We have not adjusted our rankings for the referral rate. Full breakdown on our how-we-make-money page.
A 40 to 50m yacht the US Virgin Islands in winter 2026 (December through April) runs $145,000 to $230,000 per week plus 30 percent APA, takes 8 to 12 guests, and runs primarily as the western half of a paired USVI to BVI charter rather than a standalone week. The active 40 to 50m fleet based at Yacht Haven Grande and Crown Bay in central winter is estimated at 12 to 20 yachts, the majority of which are foreign-flag commercial yachts operating under the USCG cruising license regime that allows commercial charter to US-resident clients. The regulatory architecture is materially different from the Mediterranean and that difference is the most important variable on the corridor.
Why the bracket fits the USVI specifically
The USVI is the deep-water and infrastructure-heavy end of the eastern Caribbean. The 40 to 50m bracket fits because Yacht Haven Grande at Charlotte Amalie is one of the few Caribbean marinas with both the depth and the length capacity for the bracket on the main quay, with a fuel and provisioning base that approaches Mediterranean standards. St John's protected north-shore anchorages at Maho Bay, Francis Bay, and the Caneel Bay roads take the bracket on long anchor scope inside the Virgin Islands National Park mooring regime.
The corridor case is the USVI-BVI run. Drake Channel, the Sir Francis Drake Channel between Tortola and the southern BVI chain, is the densest concentration of charter-friendly anchorages in the Caribbean and the 7-night standard charter spends two to four nights on the BVI side. The USVI base is the embarkation and provisioning end; the BVI side is the cruising-experience end. For corridor context see the 40-50m BVI bracket and the 40-50m Caribbean overview.
Weekly rate map for winter 2026
Rates below are high season (mid-December through mid-April) for winter 2025-26 and winter 2026-27, before APA at 30 percent and crew gratuity at 10 to 15 percent. APA convention in the Caribbean runs higher than the Mediterranean because of fuel and provisioning cost. There is no equivalent of the European VAT structuring; charter tax in the USVI runs through the USCG cruising license and the local 5 percent gross receipts framework that applies to certain charter arrangements.
| LOA bracket | Motor yacht (low to high) | Sailing yacht and motor-sailor (low to high) |
|---|---|---|
| 40 to 43m | $145K to $175K per week | $120K to $150K per week |
| 43 to 47m | $170K to $200K per week | $145K to $180K per week |
| 47 to 50m | $195K to $230K per week | $170K to $210K per week |
The Christmas and New Year weeks (typically 21 December through 5 January) price at a 35 to 60 percent premium against the central January and February rate. The shoulder weeks at the start of December and the second half of April drop the figure by 20 to 30 percent, with the May repositioning week to the Mediterranean running at a delivery-leg discount worth negotiating.
What the bracket buys you in this bracket
Cabins. Five to six. The Caribbean motor yacht fleet at 40 to 50m runs a more conservative cabin layout than the Mediterranean equivalent; the five-cabin master-VIP-three-double layout dominates.
Crew. Nine to thirteen. The Caribbean crew bench draws heavily from the South African, Eastern European, and Filipino labor pools. The captain bench is strong on Drake Channel pilotage and the USCG cruising license compliance routine. The chef bench is strong on Caribbean and American expectations; the European fine-dining bench is thinner than the Mediterranean equivalent and should be specified at inquiry.
Tenders. A primary 9 to 11m fast tender plus a 6 to 7m beach tender. The St John mooring fields and the BVI mooring fields are tender-heavy programs because the yacht stays on the mooring while guests transfer to multiple landing sites per day.
At-rest stabilizers. Required. The St Thomas and St John north-shore anchorages take winter northern swell episodes 5 to 8 times per season and the at-rest stabilizer spec is the difference between a workable and a non-workable charter night during a north-swell episode.
Beach club. Standard. Heavily used in the BVI anchorage program and the St John daytime stops.
Helipad. Touch-and-go pad on the upper end. Cyril E. King Airport at St Thomas is 8 kilometres from Yacht Haven Grande; helicopter transfer is rare on USVI embarkation because the road transfer is 15 minutes.
The standard weekly itinerary
The seven-night USVI-titled charter at this bracket is almost always paired with a BVI leg. The standard week runs Yacht Haven Grande embarkation on Saturday, St John Maho or Francis Bay overnight Sunday, Drake Channel crossing to the BVI side at Norman Island or Peter Island on Monday, three to four nights on the BVI side at the Baths, Cooper Island, Anegada outer or Jost Van Dyke, and a return run to USVI for Friday or Saturday disembarkation. The Customs clearance at West End or Soper's Hole on the BVI side and Cruz Bay or Charlotte Amalie on the USVI side costs roughly 90 minutes per crossing.
A standalone USVI 7-night charter at this bracket reads as 3 nights on St John's north shore, 1 night at Christmas Cove, 1 night at Magens Bay or Honeymoon Bay, and 2 nights at the southern St Croix run via Buck Island. The standalone USVI charter is a thinner experience than the paired week and is most commonly chosen by clients with USVI shore-based commitments at the embarkation and disembarkation ends.
Embarkation logistics
Yacht Haven Grande at Charlotte Amalie is the dominant 40 to 50m commercial base and handles the bracket on the main quay. Crown Bay Marina is the alternative on the south side of St Thomas and handles the bracket on the main quay with notice. Cyril E. King Airport handles the dominant share of embarkation arrivals at 8 kilometres from Yacht Haven Grande. The Customs clearance for foreign-flag yachts at the USVI port of entry runs through Charlotte Amalie and is a standard part of the embarkation routine.
What we said no to
Yachts marketed for the USVI corridor that do not hold a current USCG cruising license. The license is the regulatory mechanism that allows a foreign-flag commercial yacht to charter to US-resident clients in US waters; without it, the charter is technically operating outside the Coast Guard framework and the broker risk on the contract is material. Ask for the cruising license effective date at inquiry. Also pass on yachts that have not refit their air-conditioning or watermaker systems since 2020; the Caribbean charter load runs the systems harder than the Mediterranean load and the failure modes show up in week three of the season, not week one. And pass on the standalone USVI 7-night charter at the top end of the bracket unless the BVI corridor is operationally blocked; the paired week is the genuine value of the corridor.
Inventory
The live 40 to 50m USVI and Caribbean corridor inventory updates weekly through the winter season.. For broker-side inquiry, see the brokers pillar and the Caribbean charter weekly rates report.