The Moorings Company Journey

1969 – On Fourth of July weekend, The Moorings begins operations in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. With six 35-foot Pearson yachts, Charlie and Ginny Cary pioneer yacht chartering in the BVI.

1978 – The Moorings moves into new custom-designed facilities.

1981 – The Moorings expands into the lower Caribbean with a base in Marigot Bay, St. Lucia.

1984 – The Moorings opens in Tahiti and Kingdom of Tonga.

1989 – The company begins to market charters in Greece and in the eastern Mediterranean.

1992 – The Moorings opens a Bahamas base in the Abacos with an initial fleet of 10 yachts.

1993 – The yacht sales division opens a brokerage office in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

1997 – Nine Moorings 4500 catamarans are added to the fleet. The Moorings takes delivery of the first M3800 catamaran while the Moorings 4500 is named “Best Charter Boat” by Cruising World Magazine.

2000 – The Moorings adds new monohulls to its fleet including the Moorings 474 and 473 yachts. The Moorings 433 is named “Boat of the Year” by Cruising World Magazine. A new base is opened in Skiathos, Greece and the company expands Crewed Yacht Vacations in The Abacos, Bahamas.

2001 – The Moorings opens bases in Belize and Turkey. New Moorings 4700 catamarans are introduced to the fleet. Crewed yachts expand to Belize. The Moorings launches a new power yacht division, NauticBlue.

2002 – The Moorings opens a new Grenadines base in Canouan and announces new bases in the Seychelles and Lefkas, Greece. The company announces new 62-foot luxury catamarans and 55-foot monohulls for Crewed yacht charters. The first Moorings 6200 arrives in Tortola, BVI.

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 special anniversary savings in the BVI, the introduction of The Moorings BVI Spring Regatta Sailing Festival Cup, sponsorship of the 2004 HIHO event, and other celebrations throughout the year.

2005 – The Moorings announces new Preferred Partnership with Sailitalia in Italy providing five Italian bases. Two new monohulls, the 51.5 and 39.3 enter the fleet. The Moorings 4000 wins “Boat of the Year 2005”, “Best Monohull 40’ and under,” and “Best Overall Import.” The Moorings website honored by Boats.com and the NMMA. NauticBlue Power Yacht Vacations awarded “Best of the Year” by Motorboating Magazine.

2006 – The Moorings launches the new Moorings 4600 catamaran and 51.5 monohull. A new website is launched and provides booking online.

2007 – The Moorings 41.3 monohull wins “Boat of the Year” from Cruising World magazine. The Moorings founder Charlie Cary sadly passes away. 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 Moorings 474.

2008 – 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. New interactive Moorings website launches with helpful innovative tools and online booking options.

2010 – 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. The Moorings Power introduces the new 393 Powercat, and opens 3 new Mediterranean bases.

2012 – New bases are opened in Corfu, Greece and Annapolis, Maryland and a new 12 berth 5800 Catamaran arrives in the BVI – Flagship of the luxury crewed fleet.

2013 – The Moorings 4800 Catamaran becomes available for bareboat charters and is named “Boat of the Year” by Cruising World Magazine. 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. A rebranding initiative is launched to pay homage to The Moorings’ heritage of more than 40 years providing yacht charters.

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. The Moorings website is redesigned with easier search and book functionality as well as enhanced mobile responsiveness. 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 – The Moorings partners with the 35th America’s Cup as an official charter supplier in Bermuda. Following September’s record-breaking Hurricane Irma, The Moorings teams up with sister company Sunsail to launch the #CaribbeanComeback campaign, which included a fundraiser event in St. Petersburg, Florida that raised over $87,000; The Moorings 4500 Wins Best Charter Boat 2017.

2018 – The flagship 514 Powercat makes a cameo appearance on Live with Kelly; 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 – The Moorings turns 50! Moorings 5000 Wins Cruising World Boat of the Year Award.

2020 – The Moorings 534PC Wins Multihull of the Year 2020.

2021 – The Moorings wins Trip Advisor Traveler’s Choice Award for first time since Covid pandemic began.

2022 – The Moorings Wins second consecutive Trip Advisor Traveler’s Choice Award; The Moorings 4200 wins Boat of the Year Award.

2023 – The Moorings Wins third consecutive Trip Advisor Traveler’s Choice Award; The Moorings 464PC is launched in the Moorings Power fleet.

2024 – The Moorings 403PC wins European Powerboat of the Year award; The Moorings launches Dubrovnik, Croatia as newest charter destination; The Moorings partners with Blue Marine Foundation as part of new OCEAN Promise sustainability initiative.

Thank you for letting us be a part of your lives for the last five decades. We look forward to sharing our unique on-the-water culture with you for years to come. Continue following our journey on The Moorings Mainsheet blog.