Daily Herald Article

Pretty sad.

I was going to post a link to that story later. The government of SXM is screwing up everything, in my opinion. Arrogance and defiance, in the face of a true emergency.

On the surface, it sure appears that way.

I would suggest the word ‘unbelievable’ as the appropriate word to describe this article, but realizing we’re talking about SXM, perhaps ‘typical’ instead?

This is so very sad - are there any other ways the government can find to get in the way of a healthy and rapid Island recovery? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

And to top it off ships that were planning to come in December have now decided to pass on St. Martin. Obviously because the government will not accept the terms of the aid and refuses to speed up the removal of the polluting wrecks.

Wow is all I can say. Seems to me it's time change the elected officials. Either the current administration is totally corrupt, unbelievably arrogant or just plain stupid

Or perhaps, all of the above! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Bob--not sure if you meant only cruise ships, but obviously the yachting community brings in big bucks to SXM and they cannot safely navigate the lagoon currently, OR use the marinas, because of wrecks. Way to go, government.

Just saw on Below Deck that a 3 day charter tip was $21,000. I can just imagine the cost of the charter! I have mixed emotions when I watch this season because it reminds me of what I saw there on previous cruise stops and the current photos. But yes the private charter/yachting community brings in many dollars and along with the money, jobs. It is a real shame that such a buffoon is in charge of such a beautiful place.

What do you expect when you give little people big power? They use it regardless of the consequences. This is the epitome of the bureaucratic mindset - make yourself feel important at the expense of common sense or its effect on others individually or on the community as a whole.

That's a huge WOW, and a loose loose situation. Is Somebody gaining something from this positioning? Hmmmm.......

Honestly surprised BVI could get their stuff together to make it happen. I think the difference is that the forward thinking BVI made hairdressers a priority for emergency generators. BVI News

Sometimes Local decisions are the best decisions.

I don't know about the yachting community but common sense would say the same thing for them. November is when the yachts start to show up. Time will tell.

I hope you understand that this show, and most others, are pretty far from reality. Those guest aren't paying a typical fee to be followed all week, and have to reshoot every interaction. That being said, the $21k tip for a charter boat is normal. 10-20% of charter fee. A 150' charter boat would charter for anywhere from 150-200 k ++ for the week. Several boats that visit cost closer to $500k
per week for charter.

The yacht crew spend plenty of their money on Front St., Jimbo's, Karakter, and the beach clubs of the island.

Now, the real crime here is that a charter boat will spend a minimum of $25k per week for crew and guest food and provisioning. An average boat stays busy 6-8 weeks a season. There are 100+ boats that make St. Maarten their winter home.
Do the math just on that.

Add to that the businesses that keep those boats in supplies, the little guys that polish and clean, and all of the other services.

These guests rarely spend any time on St. Maarten, other than boarding and disembarking. But the money flows and flows strong.

I really feel sorry for Michael, the boat cleaner; for Junior, the laundry pickup guy, for the florists, my Carrefour checkout lady, the bagger that I tip, et al.

St Kitts has no facilities other than a brand new yacht harbor, but they are going to get some boats this winter.

Sailbynight, you hit it correctly. The spending of the rich people does trickle down. When Florida exempted visiting yachts from the 6% sales tax the yacht business boomed.

The letter to the editor from the Bahamas Salvage company further shows to local gov't to be a bunch of useless lumps. As others have said in this thread, it's time for some replacin' of leadership.

I do not think it is arrogance. It is dirty politicians again. This is why the Dutch are demanding integrity Board. This is why William et.al. are against the integrity board. Also, locals want to control immigration, to keep the steady supply of traffic'd victims to supply their brothels.

I am finally at a loss of words for what Marlin iIs doing - it is byond my comprehension. I e-mailed him some time ago re Lee’s and he responded within hours but he never responded to the salvage helpers!!!

Maritime Affairs says tug, barge going back to Bahamas, not BVI - Looks Like work on the island will be moving forward.

https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/70...bahamas-not-bvi

I saw that. I wonder whether it will in fact show up in the BVI or not.

Regardless, according to the author of the previous article the equipment which is still COMING to SXM, not yet arrived, is not large enough to do the job.

Parliamentary session set for 4 PM today on cleaning up the lagoon. Daily Herald story Wonder how long this one will last??

Carol, read the article, it has it all in there. Looks like the first writer/article didn't have their facts straight.

Well, since the author of the article is a government official, I have a tendency to discount a lot of their comments. We'll see where it goes from here.

Just saw on a BVI FB post that 2 salvage barges have arrived from SXM as of 11/2. I guess this answers the question of will they leave.

Thanks. I knew that story that they were going back to the Bahamas was BS..