Nov.10th trip

OK experts I have a trip begining Nov10th.Am I gonna make it

Yes 99.9%

I sure hope so ... We're heading down Nov 10 too.

All my fingers and toes are crossed!

Nov 4th for me so I too hope to make it and if I do then you are in!!!

That trip is rescheduled from July....headed to St John thursday as I could not wait .......

I am also 10 Nov! Let’s hope we can have a boat party in CGB and invite the shore based people!
G

We are hoping to take our May trip on Dec 6.

Our May trip was postponed to November 14th, however we are chartering out of St Thomas so we are making an alternate USVI only itinerary.

We have our boat reserved for November 10 as well.

I'm glad y'all or so optimistic! I have a trip planned in mid-October and November. I'm just not convinced that the BVI is going to let US tourists into their territory given how guarded they have been. Or it will take a negative pre-flight test and a repeat test upon arrival and some other crazy restrictions. I very much hope that I am wrong.

We will be down Nov 4-22

And the possibility exists for a negative PCR test before departure followed by a false positive rapid test on arrival. Then what happens?

2 weeks quarantine?

What is a false positive test???

Exactly Warren. That is my fear as well.

WInterstale, all of the medical tests we use (aside from a select few) have the possibility of giving you a positive result even though you are not positive or a negative result even when you are actually positive for the disease and this depends on the test you are using. We have a couple of different types of tests for COVID. Fortunately the specificity is very high for COVID tests and therefore most positive tests are pretty accurate. However, negative tests have only been about 80-85% sensitive so a negative test is by no means a guaranteed negative. I think the specificity is as high as 96-98% though.

Hopefully that is not too technical an answer but Warren's concern is valid. It would stink to get there with a negative test, get another required test that is falsely positive and not be able to go on your charter.

A false positive is when a test indicates "positive" i.e.YES, you have whatever they're testing for. When you actually DON"T. It happens VERY frequently and not just with this virus. I witnessed two last week.
A false negative is the reverse.

A false positive is what the lady from Jost got when she arrived in SVG. Put all of Jost on lockdown. They redid the test and it turned out she was negative.

I suspect Cruzdoc is correct: tests before you go and when you arrive. What would really annoy me is having to pay for two weeks in some Tortola hotel. We are on 5+ acres on an out island - perfect place to quarantine. But I get the feeling the paid quarantine is as much about keeping some local hotels afloat as it is about quarantine.

There is no possible way we could take that much time off or afford to pay for both our charter and two weeks of hotel....

Winterstale,

There are immediate tests available in the Orlando area. My daughter lives there, had very mild symptoms for two days, got tested, waited a week for the results, came back positive. By then she felt fine. She got a test a week later came back negative. As I understand the results were within 30 minutes. PM me if you want more info on the testing site. The incremental cost may not be covered by insurance but who cares if you have a vacation in the balance.

We are actually flying out of Orlando for the November trip!

What was crazy about the false positive from JVD is they contact traced and tested everyone who was in close close contact with the woman early on. On our second day of lockdown they started testing and we all knew that all of her contacts were negative-- we called on the government to request SVG health authority to retest the woman - they did but it took them til the end of the week after 400 tests in the BVI. But they got to turn an island of people into a bunch of lab rats and help ensure that most people booking 'staycations' for festival week would go to Virgin Gorda and Anegada instead.

I would hope and assume if the BVI goes to a rapid test on entry that anyone testing positive would be retested immediately. If negative perhaps a third test to confirm.

Don't hold your breath. They're not even letting in work permit holders:

https://bvinews.com/work-permit-holders-exemption-holders-barred-from-entering-indefinitely/

Yeah....that is not a good sign

down to 75%

Do you think not letting in permit holders could be because they have so many people /belongers who are out of work ? By not letting in others to work is their thought maybe that belongers will fill those jobs? Maybe I am just being optimistic and hoping to get back there late this year.

Ahoy Captains,

Please consider, the BVI Gov deliberately and specifically did NOT say anything about restricting Tourists.
This May be about Domestic Politics, not Travel or Medicine.

The BVI Gov has recently and very aggressively limited the renewal of Labor Permits, perhaps to address the recent increase in unemployment among the ‘Belonger’ population, since the emergence of the Pandemic.
https://bvi.gov.vg/media-centre/labour-department-covid-19-update-work-permit-renewals
https://bvi.org/labour-department-n...ermit-applications-till-july-31-bvi-news
https://bvinews.com/effective-immed...quirements-needed-to-renew-work-permits/
https://caribbeanbusinessreport.com/news/bvi-govt-urges-foreigners-without-jobs-to-leave/

Many countries have reacted to the financial effects of the Pandemic to put limits on Immigration, Work Permits, Student Visas, etc., to improve employment, education, and economic opportunities for voting ‘Belongers’.

And –
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-53632043

Fair Winds, Brent from The Captains Compass

Not sure if you're sailing or land based but keep an eye out for Tortuga and say hi!

Dave

What are your November dates Dave??

Dave, this trip I am land based but will be snorkeling every chance i get. Francis and turtles are one of my favorite spots.

Hoping to make it out for the 5th December. We had 3 trips to the BVI scheduled for 2020, before the world changed, 2 of which have been cancelled. We are currently going on a motorhome vacation in France, which should be fun, but it's not a yacht, and it's not the BVI's......

And Brent makes a fair point about parsing government announcements carefully.

Stay well everyone.

Keep in mind if you are coming from the US a quarantine is in effect in France and they recommend essential travel only even for locals. A surprising number of US arrivals are not aware of this.

Thanks George. I am not US-based.

Ahoy Captains,

If you are traveling out of the UK then this may be Very Good News –
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...KBN24Y0T7?il=0&utm_source=reddit.com
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/03/health/90-minute-covid-19-testing-gbr-intl/index.html

5000 Testing machines to do tests within 90 minutes in the UK.
Within - Months this Year - we all may be able to arrive at any International Airport, do a PCR Test, Check in and drop the Bags and get a Boarding pass, work through Security and Passport Control, pick up a Starbucks and a cookie, find the departure gate, and receive a Test Result - All within 90 minutes.

Fair Winds, Brent from The Captains Compass

This is going to get more and more interesting as we go....

We have flights booked in/out of STT, where we can actually GO with a negative COVID test. However.....our rescheduled May trip for November is on a boat out of Tortola....chances are pretty good I'm not going to be able to change the flights yet AGAIN without it costing....

I feel like by the time we're actually able to get on a boat out of the BVI? We'll have moved our own boat to St. Thomas....

I am, however, going to change my signature to reflect my sense of hope

And now my challenge is trying to get the rest of the crew to cough up the balance of our charter by September 20 with no confirmed entry date in sight. Quality problems, I know....

I seem to be seeing advertising that there are licensed captains that will re-locate a boat, say from Road Town to Red Hook, or to Cruz Bay. Might be a paperwork PITA, but you are hardly a charter company newbie, Bridget.

I think it is quite pricey....

One of the Captains that does this service is coming in tonight for dinner I can ask him for a quote if you want a ball park figure?

That would be great SleepyChef...

Yes please - and I am not sure if this would apply to non-owners of charter boats....

He said his price is the best at $1050.00 if you need his contcat info.

+1 284-340-1228

Tendertoo@hotmail.com

$1050 one way?
or Roundtrip?

Includes government fees?

But also saves about $1000 on ferry fees and other savings.

I was only thinking that a charter boat in the BVI doesn't do much for anyone if it's tied to the company dock.

Couple that with a very happy lunchtime listening to some hilarious stories from a couple guys who deliver cars all over the northeast for profit. Buy the car online, it gets delivered to your driveway, just sign the paperwork and make sure the payment goes through.

Hmm, charter the boat online......

Breeze

I wish it was as simple as that.

Only a few companies have obtained permission from government to ferry boats in/out of the territory. Thus prices are not cheap. No "just a couple guys" enjoying the delivery.

Does anyone know if BVI Yacht Charters and Virgin Island Yacht Charters have some sort of partnership? VIYC is based in Compass Point...maybe if we are lucky.....we could get our charter boat moved to their St. Thomas partner base....she said....hopefully......LOL

Winterstale, I just looked at my charter contract for January 2021 from BVI Yacht Charters and it indicates you can take the boat out of stt. 600.00 each way. Could just be boilerplate, hope I don’t need to.
Doug

Thanks Capt Doug - that is really good news.

Capt. Doug - am sending you a PM....

Winterstale,

Virgin Islands Yacht Charters has formed a partnership with Dream Yacht, and from what I could tell, they are getting more supply than aniticipated. While they have their own fleet, they are also managing many Dream Yacht boats moved their from other locations (which makes sense given the USVI is the only open destination around).

They are very nice folks, but we all had an unfortunate week when we were there a couple of weeks ago. After a sleep aboard, we woke up at 6 am to a Bali, 3 boats down completely in flames. Fortunately, it was at the end of the dock and the wind was blowing off which may have saved other boats (inlcuding the one we were on). Most importantly, the family sleeping aboard made it off safely, but the boat was a total loss (sad sight).

This was Monday before Isaias and we were anticipating returning to the dock for a night mid-week. But 10 minutes into our boat briefing that AM, our briefer received a call that they were bringing all boats in for storm prep. No one could leave and best case, we get out by Friday. We changed our Delta flights to leave Tuesday evening, went to Magens Bay for the day and worked hard to consume what we could on our fully provisioned boat - left plenty for the folks at the base and our cab driver.

My wife and I plan to try it again (in the USVI) in October, and have a larger crew scheduled for BVI for Thanksgiving week (who knows). Maybe I am just trying to hard. On a side note, the flying experience (Delta from Atlanta) and the St. Thomas Airport was actually a delight, and no issues changing flights.

Rush--Wow, what an unfortunate trip. Hope your next one is better!!

Holy wow! I remember seeing video of that fire on my St Thomas FB page! Glad you guys are okay and hope both your October and November trips are a success!

I have reached out to BVIYC as they have offered some the option of a St Thomas departure with a fee that does not seem unreasonable - hopefully they will extend the same option to us since we have been with them for over 10 years.

I am still hoping we leave out of Tortola but I am having a heck of a time convincing everyone to fork over the balance due on 9/20 with no definite re-entry date in sight - they have all agreed to the St Thomas idea since we will likely have a tough time changing flights and will not have to pay for ferries, cruising tax, National Park Permits, etc if we just sail USVI.

I think by 9/20 we'll have a better idea of what's going on with tourist entry.

LOl Bridget, I hope things work out through BVIYC. Sometimes an idea grows wings.

Jason - I absolutely think you are correct!! I also hope it is good news - but the friends I am chartering with don’t seem to grasp the fact that they still have to pay for the contract, whether we know or not. We will be in breech otherwise and will have no move/change option if the BVI is closed to us in November...hence the idea of offering the St Thomas departure.

Breeze - it is a no-go for us for the St. Thomas option. Oh well - doesn’t hurt to try! Back to hoping for the best....

Is the $600 St. Thomas option just something that's offered in normal non-Covid times in case you want to start or end there? It's a pretty cool option!

They apparently used to offer it when they had a base there but do not any longer....

I spoke with Dream last week. They said all their cat charters in STT were "crewed only charters". Maybe just their bigger cats moved to STT.
This was in part due to the limited resupply options for H2O, ice, etc Winterstate has mentioned.
They were not doing "Bare Boat" in anticipation of returning all operations back to Scrub in September.
That was last week...

I am remaining hopeful :-)

Chuck,
That is strange. I was chartering (bareboat) through Dream Yacht in STT. We had a Lagoon 450, and as I indicated on my post, they had a lot of other boats at Compass Point Marina (unfortunately one less Bali now). Perhaps they were over burdening the base (and Virgin Island Yacht Charters), so now changed their strategy there.
Rush

the rest of their fleet are in the hurricane hole in the BVI waiting out there till next season.

Is that the same location that Irene made tossed boat salad out of?

if you mean Irma then yes

There were no locations safe from Irma nor will there ever be from that type of intensity. For your average hurricane it’s a great location.
G

For Hurricane Maria Cat 5 right after Irma in Puerto Del Rey Marina in Ceiba PR only about 6 boats sunk at the docks and about 4 fell on the hard with hurricane tie downs.
The marina has 1,000 wet slip about 80% full.

Maria hit PR with 155 MPH winds. Irma hit the BVI with 185 sustained. That’s almost 50% more energy. Nothing like IRMA has ever made landfall in the Caribbean. In addition it was a absolute direct hit on Tortola. Even 20 miles can make a huge difference in damage.

Regardless two terrible storms,

00001
Hurricane Irma
Aug 30, 2017 – Sep 12, 2017

Description
Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread destruction across its path in September 2017. Irma was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record, followed by Maria two weeks later. Wikipedia
Total fatalities: 134
Highest wind speed: 177 mph
Date: August 30, 2017 – September 14, 2017


What category was Maria when it hit Puerto Rico?
Category 5

Maria made landfall at 21:15 AST that day (1:15 UTC, September 19) as a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph (270 km/h).

Great Pic GeorgeC1!! The entire island of Virgin Gorda is in the eye!

OK, so what is your point?

Wind speed difference of 11 not 30 mph

I am not quite sure the point either but different sources have the speeds different. In addition the Marina he mentions as doing so well was not where the storm made landfall and probably saw winds in the 100 to 110 mph range. Vastly different than what the BVI saw. 20 miles can mean everything in storms like this. It made a huge difference with Maria when it passed through the Virgins.

After sweeping across the Virgin Islands as a Category 5 storm, Hurricane Maria on Wednesday morning plowed into Puerto Rico on the southeast shore as a barely diminished Category 4 storm, with winds of 155 miles per hour. The storm’s hurricane-force winds spanned the island, and all residents lost electricity.

On the good news side tropical depression 11 now looks to pass well north of the BVI!

Basically the point is there is a safe haven for a major storm

Tell that to Nick and Monica....and to everyone else who found it so easy to find a “safe haven” during Irma...

Another Wikipedia page shows "Early on September 6, Irma peaked with 1-minute sustained winds of 180 mph (285 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 914 hPa (27.0 inHg)." so I wouldn't put much faith in an online source that anyone can edit.

weather.gov lists Irma at 185
NOAA published an update on Sept. 05 11pm showing 185
NPR also showed 185

Regardless, it was bad and Tortola still shows lots of damage 2 years and 11 months later.

My first VI charter vacation was late April of 1990. Hurricane Hugo had chewed a murderous path through the VI's and right up the east coast of the US in September, previous. I know I'll never forget St. Thomas in that April, so tattered and broken: the telephone and electric service wires were strung up on forked branches barely head high, and the entirety of Charlotte Amalie residential neighborhoods were roofed over with blue tarps.

The entire week of the charter, I didn't see a tree or a bush that wasn't completely defoliated, between STT and North Sound VG, up the SFD channel and back down the north side. There were some brave Century Plants blooming in sulfur yellow on decimated hillsides, and some Flamboyants throwing fiery orange blossoms as if to spite their nakedness, but that was the extent of tropical vegetation. I knew it wasn't normal, but I had not ever seen " normal". It would be another couple years before I saw the full throated tropical beauty healing the scars.

Point being, there is no point in arguing the strength of a storm when the destruction in any one place is as total as can be inflicted. Heck, I live in far western Maine, maybe 8 miles from the NH border, and up here there is still trail, bridge, and road rehab happening in the National Forest and around the Appalachian Trail from Irene, August 2011, never more than a Cat 3 and not more than a TS by the time it got here. There was massive de-forestation, vicious flash flooding driving whole trees as battering rams, and the State of VT was nearly wiped off the map as far as roads in, out, around or about. Stories are legion about farmers, both alone and in loose bands of tractor mounted first responders, saving the National Guard and USACE weeks of work by restoring dirt and gravel ways for ( wet tire) vehicle passage and facilitating the movement of people and goods.

We are stronger together.

Very nicely put!

https://southernboating.com/destinations/caribbean/hurricane-prep-at-puerto-del-ray/

The USVI just went back to a stay at home order.

Presumably that means no tourists also?

Tourists can technically still travel there but after Wednesday, 19 August they aren't allowed to check into any hotels, Airbnb, etc... Restaurants back to takeout and delivery.

Hoefully that will get them back on track