Not to be a Debbie Downer but the way I see it, 4 things have to all come together for BVI Charters to become an option for sailors again.

1. Obviously the islands have to re-open. The lack of a 'second wave' in the fall will help but people will need to know they can visit and not have to quarantine for 2 weeks upon arrival. I usually arrive a day or two before my charter starts, not two weeks.

2. Airlines have to be up and running. I think they will kick start the most profitable routes first. To me the good news is any February flight to the Caribbean I have been on has always been packed so those must be money making routes. The risks I see here is the talk that airlines will have the ability to deny boarding if you have a fever (COVID related or not). That leads into the question of what happens to your vacation package if the airline denies you boarding. Will you get reimbursed for your cruise, sailboat, resort, etc (and by who?)? Insurance rates I suspect will be brutal for this type of coverage. Airfare prices will still have to be reasonable as well and there has been a lot of talk on this point as well.

3. Which charter companies will survive not having charters for 9-10 months? I guess this depends on who is leveraged the most right now. The big 3 (Dream Yacht, Moorings and Sunsail) bring brand new factory boats into their fleets most years so I wonder how long they can carry them with no revenue. Anybody hearing anything on this? We've seen a few owner's postings on this board about the guaranteed income programs.

4. Does your home country, state or province have a mandatory quarantine when you return? I'm from Canada and you are currently expected to stay home for 2 weeks when you arrive back home from outside the country. The extra time off from work to go into self quarantine at the end of the trip may not be an option for some. Taking 5 weeks off for a one week charter???? (2 weeks quarantine at the start, 1 week of sailing and 2 weeks self quarantine at the end???) Nah...not an option for me right now...

I think we're still a long way from everything being settled. I've read some tour operators are expecting 2021 to be a dismal year as well. I'm hoping (more like dreaming) that my 2021 may include a BVI charter but I wouldn't even label myself "cautiously optimistic" yet.

And I must say that making a Painkiller in my back yard pales substantially to spending an afternoon at the Soggy Dollar!!!! Even with Jimmy Buffett's new CD blasting in the background.....

D