Samuel Barnard was the first of The Barnards to seek adventure in the wilds of the Caribbean back in 1797. Many colorful characters following the 1902 eruption of the La Soufriere Volcano located in the north of ST Vincent. Walter Barnard, grandson of Samuel took a huge gamble and bought some of the devastated tracks of land around the volcano and started what would become the Orange Hills Estate. Walter would be the first of the Barnards to make regular sailing trips down the Grenadines almost two hundred and fifty years ago! Back in his day it really was sailing and later generations were brought up on stories of him being stuck for days, becalmed, only miles from shore or battling raging storms in a day when weather forecasting was more myth than science in the islands. Walter’s son Cyril would become an avid yachtsman who enjoyed both racing and cruising. He read any and everything he could get his hands on on the topic of sailing and through that, and practice on the water on his own boat Nyala, became a very solid offshore sailor.
His son Martin would be the next Barnard to sail, having spent most of his holidays as a boy on Nyala with his farther Cyril. Martin developed an intimate knowledge of the islands, its anchorages and the local weather conditions and also enjoyed his holidays with his wife Mary sailing the Grenadines and beyond to the wider Caribbean. Martin and Mary then passed that all onto their son Philip who also grew up sailing the Grenadines. Philip went on to become an RYA Yachtmaster offshore at age 19 and later was selected for the VI Americas Cup Challenge headed by the then world match racing champion Peter Holmberg from the United Stated. He represented the United States in Americas cup regattas in New Zealand for the 2000 Americas Cup. He continued to race professionally and was part of many very successful racing programs before returning to ST Vincent to join Barefoot.
While Philip was in high school, Martin and Mary Barnard were asked to open a base in ST Vincent for the Canadian company Bimini Yacht Charters. Bimini opened its doors in St Vincent in 1984 and was very successful for many years. Bimini sold and eventually started to fail under the new owners. Mary, recognizing that the outstanding accounts left by the company when it closed were attached to the Barnard family name bargained with the boat owners to stay on so she could work off the company’s debt. It was a struggle, but she eventually succeeded. After careful thought and with an absolute love for sharing the Grenadines with fellow sailors from around the world Martin and Mary started Barefoot Yacht Charters in 1992. Mary was the driving force, owner and manager of the new sailing venture while Martin started his own company SVG air, a small air charter service catering to the rich and famous who frequent the Grenadines.
Barefoot has since grown into one of the premier boutique yacht charter companies in the world. The only charter company in the entire Caribbean which is 100% owned by Caribbean nationals. They take great pride in the fact that every dollar earned by the company stays in the local economy, benefiting the islands and its people.
Philip Barnard took over from Mary in 2017 as managing director of what has now grown into “The Barefoot Companies” which comprises of Barefoot Yacht Charters, Barefoot Offshore Sailing School, Barefoot Performance Sailing and Five Oceans Luxury Yacht Charters. Moving away from the second tear business model and becoming a first tear charter company with yachts in our fleet now ranging in age from new to 5 years old. Barefoot does plan to continue to operate a fleet of boats which are over 5 years old primarily for use in the sailing school but also available for charter.
Barefoot’s testimonials speak for themselves.

This was one of our best-ever vacations, it always felt like we were in safe hands with you. We will definitely charter with you again, we were very happy both with the yacht and with Barefoot
- Best-ever vacation!
Im a repeat customer but I just wanted to drop you a line and tell you how pleased I was (again) with the way Phillip and the staff at Barefoot handled our charter.
I was pleasantly surprised how Barefoot Yacht Charters treated us and got us on our way. As a result our vacation was fantastic and went smoothly for the duration of our charte .....

From the moment we arrived, everyone at Barefoot extended themselves to provide the warmest welcome possible. The wonderful personal attention is unique in the bareboat charter world and we are already looking forward to our return for our 13th charter with you.
Pat Clarke & Peg Nelson - New York

A charter company with soul. A refreshing relief from ****** who were either too busy or too under-staffed to return my phone calls. The check-out process and chart briefing were exceptional - the best in my 25 years of chartering

I’ve chartered elsewhere, including the British Virgin Islands and Newport, Rhode Island. Since first coming to Barefoot in1994, I’ve never gone elsewhere. They have the best boats, best people, best weather and are, without question, the best charter company.
- Vermont, USA

You guys have always been the best which is why I keep coming back.
Chuck Paine - International Yacht Designer, California, USA

In over twenty charters all over the world, this ranked with the top few. - California, USA

By far the best charter we’ve had in the Caribbean.
- Norway

You are the best company we’ve ever chartered with - on all counts.
- Washington, USA

I’ve chartered seven years in a row - this was by far the best.
Connecticut, USA

One of the best - if not THE best - boats we’ve ever chartered. And the service was excellent.
Vermont USA

Well once again Barefoot Yacht Charters exceed my expectations. This is our second charter with Barefoot and it was even better than the first.
Philip Barnard (one of the owners) has been sailing these waters his whole life and he let us in on a few honey spots that were amazing.
The boat (La Mouette) a 38ft owners version Cat was in ti .....

To all the folks at Barefoot,
Thanks to everyone for a great charter last week. We really enjoyed our 10 days on Inordinate, and really appreciate all the help from your office and dock staff to get the boat ready and make our trip carefree. The boat checkout was by far the most thorough we’ve experienced in our eight charters thus far. Th .....

Phillip, Me & Kate didn't have a chance to thank you in person as we were hustling off to catch our 11:25am Liat flight (that departed E.T. Joshua at 12:30pm).
Wanted to let you know that the entire Barefoot charter operation from start to finish was seamless & pleasant, which allowed our trip to exceed our expectations & imagination.
.....

This is the best charter operation we have used. Better than 4 other very well-known charter companies we have used in other locations around the world. We received the best briefing and check-out EVER. Our kind of operation.

Outstanding value for money and attentive staff made for a very stress-free holiday. The best chart briefing I've received in 20 years and the yacht, whilst older, was in good order. - Outstanding!
Adam Lilley - 9th February 2015

From our initial inquiry with Barefoot, through our sailing adventure and accommodations provided ashore, it was exceptional service. Communications and service were superb, friendly, helpful and informative. Thank you for the adventures you helped provide us with in St Vincent. We will be back!
Exceptional Service! - Beneteau 362 "Mugari"

Barefoot clearly takes great care in looking after all the important details needed for a great charter experience. Will we be back? Absolutely! - We had a GREAT time!!
Jim & Cheri Fletcher - 17 February 2015

The staff are outstanding - overall, a very professional company, we thoroughly enjoyed our holiday. - Overall satisfaction - EXCELLENT! - 20th March 2015

All the Barefoot staff were extraordinarily helpful, friendly and courteous - wonderful people, beautiful cruising ground - excellent overall satisfaction and value for money - WONDERFUL!
- Beneteau 411, March 2015

Arriving at barefoot at Blue Lagoon your staff whisked us on to our catamaran the inordinate the first day our afternoon was very pleasurable snorkeling on the backside of Palm Island. The next day we set sail 4 Mustique... Mystique is a gorgeous Island we spent the day on a tour and went to Macaroni Beach one of the top rated beaches in the .....

"Wonderful, beautiful and relaxing holiday - excellent!" - Jeanneau 39i,
William & Stephanie Mills, Newly-weds- July 2016

"Fabulous! Was awesome, will charter with you again"
Jeanneau 34- July 2016

"We had a WONDERFUL time on board "Mugari". Excellent chart briefing, staff were great, we loved it" - Beneteau 362, July 2016

"Excellent - exactly what we expected and needed!" - April 2016
Robert Bradley - Jeanneau 34

"The service provided by Barefoot is superb and congratulations in particular to the staff involved in the preparation of the yacht and the check-out process and also the restaurant staff. Thank you all."
Annie & Jean-Claude Lainé
Owners of Lagoon 450 Cat, "French Kiss"
Chartered a Barefoot Lagoon 380 Cat, December 2016
_______________ .....

This is my favorite room at the Driftwood Suites in the world. I have a framed snapshot of the shutters open with the bay & boats in my home. I could live there forever. Sitting on the patio arguing with the cockatiels. I can't wait to be back. Just want to be sure #1 is this room.
Cheers, Rose Anna

"Thank you and all of your staff for what has been one of the best vacations I've ever taken - an opinion agreed upon by the whole group"
Bill Schaff

Took my wife and 19 yr old son on a trip of a life time. Had a few days before the course and where made to feel very welcome by Chris and her staff. Sailed on Betty Blue with Capt Richard. Awesome seven days. Chris, photos of the pirates are coming soon.
Rob McConnell - Alberta Canada

"My friend and I had the opportunity to sail for a week in July on Betty Blue. It was our first time and wee had a fantastic time. Charkie was our captain and he made it a thoroughly enjoyable trip. He was extremely knowledgable, an outstanding sailer and boatsman, and apparently can fix anything. If I am able to get down there again I defini .....

Barefoot yacht charters was a fabulous experience for our whole family. They were thorough in their prep before our trip and Mark provided us with a full itinerary that filled our family with a lifetime of wonderful memories to hold on to.

Having enjoyed Satyrus previously she looked after us again last month.
A great cruising yacht easily handled by the three of us.
To have her stored and with full tanks as we arrived was, as ever, an instant relaxation. After a night on board we were ready to slip away to the comfort of the Grenadines with the confidence that all was ship s .....