Hang on....Just got this email from Horizon Yacht Charters.
Quote
The protocols outlined by the Premier last night were not what we had anticipated.
However, Deputy Premier Vincent Wheatley, Minister for Natural resources, Labour and Immigration has offered an olive branch. He has stated that protocols specific to the yachting industry are still to be announced. We are lobbying for direct transfers (after the test on arrival) from the airport to the yacht (which can be pre provisioned through Horizon) and designated quarantine anchorages, where visitors can moor and swim and enjoy life aboard. We are hopeful for several such anchorages, and after day 4, (and test 2) we anticipate additional liberties (to be defined) until the test ( no. 3) on day 8 ( if this remains the requirement), after which you are free to move as you wish. Potentially, some bars and restaurants will be accessible after day 4.
Yes, but why would people still choose to do that when there are other places to charter? Don't get me wrong, I love the BVI's but I wouldn't sign up for 4 covid tests over a week's time span. Maybe if they would have announced something specific to the charter industry at the same time some would have stayed, or if you had a 2-3 week charter trip planned? Too little too late.
I heard the BVI is somewhat surprised by the volume of cancelations day one after their announcement. I really don’t understand the charter side. Some out sailing on a boat is about as quarantined as you can get. Should have been simple to have a safe protocol for charterboats.
This seems to be the best distillation I have found.
GPS tracking & multiple COVID-19 tests for VI tourists - when tourist arrivals commence December 1, 2020 ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI – Tourists who arrive in the Virgin Islands (VI) from December 1, 2020, will be required to meet strict requirements, including GPS tracking and multiple instances of COVID-19 testing, before they are allowed unrestricted access to the territory. The measures were announced tonight, Monday, October 26, 2020, by Premier and Minister of Finance, Hon Andrew A. Fahie (R1) in a statement broadcasted across radio, television and social media. COVID-19 PCR test before arrival to territory The Premier said that to come to the territory, persons would have to agree to the terms and conditions before boarding their flight and will have to obtain a negative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test at least 5 days ahead of travelling. “These terms and conditions include periods of quarantine at approved accommodation, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing, medical travel insurance that includes COVID-19 coverage, subscription to a contact tracing system through their mobile phone, and in some cases using a wearable device, and bearing the costs associated with these measures,” Premier Fahie said. He said approval for the travel will first have to be done via an online portal called BVI Gateway as entry into the VI will be exclusive to air travel via the Terrence B Lettsome International Airport from December 1, 2020. GPS software & second COVID-19 test on arrival “On arrival at the Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport, the traveller will do a PCR test and we will ensure that the visitors have installed the contact tracing software on their mobile phones.” Following that step, the Premier said tourists would then be directed to approved transportation which will take them to their approved accommodation for isolation. According to Premier Fahie, in the first four days, travellers would be required to remain within the compound of their accommodation and to avoid or minimise contact with others outside of their party, as well as to keep their movement to a minimum. Third COVID-19 test after brief quarantine Following that initial quarantine, on the fourth day, the traveller would be required to take another PCR test and once the result is negative, they would be allowed isolated movement to designated places. These would be locations that are not high traffic or high risk.” He said the locations are being coordinated by the Environmental Health Department and other Government agencies and the establishments will be notified. Fourth COVID-19 test for free movement A final PCR test would be administered on Day 8 and once this test also returns negative, the traveller would be able to move within the Territory without limitation, the leader of Government Business detailed.
This seems like a pretend opening for tourism. If the intent is to have zero risk, I would do the following if I ran the zoo:
* Tourists coming to the territory must present (a) a negative PCR test taken within five days of travel, and (b) a positive anti-body test. No other requirements.
In other words, only allow tourists in that have either had the covid or have had a vaccine. No Q, no testing, no tracking of people yada yada yada. And what would this mean? Virtually noone would be coming for now. Just like the number of people that will jump through the many hoops announced. But in a few months there will start to be a trickle. That's what I would do if I ran the zoo. But noone asked me. Thankfully.
Wow! I have been following TTOL for many years. First - Thank you for all your contributions to this forum. So many wonderful people on this forum and so many wonderful people and friends in the BVI. I hurt for all those affected by this pandemic in the BVI.
I watched the Facebook video and was left speechless. It reminded me of the President of Vietnam creating a law that everyone driving a scooter needed a helmet. Law enforcement handing out tickets. Folks pushing back because the country couldn't deliver 3 million helmets. The President quickly changed the law..
SNL could create a great skit with the "Honestly Speaking" plastered in the background and what transpired in that video.
What I got from last night after listening for over 2 hours is that homeowners and boat owners can come in qnd quarantine without security at their own place after paying for tests and a tracking band so $150 insteadof $3500 .
This is what these protocols are meant for , long term guests.
I believe it is more like $500/person for the tests and the band. I am a homeowner and this is too expensive for me. I will wait until I get the vaccine and then get an immunity passport to indicate that I am covid free
With all of these conditions I really wonder whether those making the decisions realize how fickle their target audience is and how easy it will be for most to change destinations to other locations which offer less hurdles. I cannot believe that they are not aware that the revenue stream will shift away; and if the goal is to keep then BVI safe from potential contagion then they are doing the right thing and kudos to them. But announcing a "re-opening" of the island with big fanfare and giving hope to the constituents that the tourist dollars will soon start pouring in is a great disservice. But if they truly believe that this new protocol will (a) work and (b) result in an influx of tourists and much needed income then they are going to be in for a surprise; and as civil servants they will continue earning an income while the populace suffers.
If one is going to be quarantined anyway, and has the funds, you can go to Anguilla and stay at Cuisinart. Mandatory quarantine at the resort for two full weeks. If you're independently wealthy, sure would be more attractive than going to the BVI and staying at some 'government approved housing'.
Several people I have talked with are stating they are done with the BVI forever. They don’t mind if the BVI wants to lock down their country. That choice lies with the Government and Citizens. What they are outraged about is the big we are opening announcement. They booked boats, shore accommodations and airline tickets only to find the government had no intention of opening. G
284 media released a story with the Premier stating it wasn’t their fault and everyone should have waited for protocols before booking....but you just have to love the recent video on the BVI FB page that states “only 35 more days” — not your fault???? SERIOUSLY???
Look how far we have come. Great Advances Internationally in the Medical Testing and Treatment and Vaccines the past few months. Some Vaccines only weeks away now. An Opening Date with a Framework for Testing and Tracking. Multiple entry ports including the airport and ferry terminals. A Testing system based on +95% accuracy within 90 minutes. The overhead expense of the hardware will quickly simplify that issue. The BVI Gov is already reconsidering the 8th day test. ‘Quarantine’ from 2 weeks at a BVI Gov Hotel to a few days on your Yacht. Guards at $6000 a person to no guards and no guard costs and a ‘geofence’. ‘Quarantine’ based on a cell phone app. Possibly bracelets, but the overhead expense and reliability of the hardware will quickly simplify that issue. More constructive Stakeholder Consultations over the next week to consider ‘remote quarantine’. There has never been any written policy or protocol requiring quarantine on the yacht on the dock. This issue has not yet been finalized and most of the conversation has been based on worst case InterWeb rumors.
“Quarantine” – The ‘quarantine’ is a tracking app on your phone. Probably less intrusive then your Google tracking or your Facebook tracking. ‘Geo-fencing’. You are expected to leave your phone on the chart table while you swim and scuba and windsurf and paddle board and then snorkel all your favorite reefs. Why pay $150 for a BVI Gov Bracelet when you can buy and keep an unlocked cell phone from Walmart for $50? Log in your body temp. Body temp is 98.7, that is 37 in Celsius. Everyday. And all the time on the Yacht it is No Mask and No Distancing and No Politics.
Testing – At worst a nasal swab. A lot less intrusive than the Vaccine injections we will all be begging for in a few months. Less than every Diabetic does every day. We could all use a little Empathy and Honesty these days so Everybody gets tested so Everybody is safe. And it sets a standard a few weeks before to protect the Time and Money you all have invested in the trip. And you come home Healthy. Maybe Healthier? After 4 days you get retested. Everybody passes and celebrates at the nearest beach bar. Or celebrate on the Yacht as it is No Mask and No Distancing and No Politics.
Multiple Testing Locations - JVD Great Harbor and then drinks at Foxy’s, Virgin Gorda and then dinner at The Restaurant at Leverick, West End Ferry Terminal and painkillers at Sopher’s Hole Pussers, the Beef Island Airport and cocktails in Trellis at the New Loose Mongoose. All these locations have docks with water/fuel/ice and more. Not to get all ‘Zen’ and seeing the Forest and the Trees. Has it dawned on anyone that if you have a Negative test on day 4 then you will have that PCR test in hand and Not have to Quarantine when you return to the Real World after a week of relaxing in paradise? Another problem solved. This is as about as complicated as renting a car for a few days. Logistically, going in for the tests should be about the same as checking into BVI Customs and Immigration at West End or JVD or VG. And all the time on the Yacht it is No Mask and No Distancing and No Politics.
After 2020 - You need to leave your Bucket List at home this time. For the first few days you need to Relax. And enjoy your favorite author and favorite singer and cook your favorite meals and drink your favorite wines and mix your favorite cocktails. All that food and liquor you had delivered gets BBQd and baked and diced and iced and enjoyed while it is fresh. With your Family and Friends, hopefully some are both. And sleep 10 hours a day. The Protocol for a chase call is ‘Everybody bugger off to the foredeck while I fix this without your advice’. A mechanics dream come true. There has never been any documented BVI Gov policy or protocol that Guests will be required to quarantine on any yacht at any dock. In fact, based on the Draft Protocols for Bareboat charter companies, they can’t get you off the dock fast enough. And all the time on the Yacht it is No Mask and No Distancing and No Politics.
Options - Where else can you go this Winter. Paris? Vegas with some guy with a chin diaper trying to cough up his lung at the blackjack table next to you? The Thunderdome of Florida? Enjoy the 14 day Quarantine in New York? Mexico to use your kids to troll for the Virus in the hotel pool, but don’t worry, all the counterfeit medication you can buy, and a little narco-terrorism to spice things up? Please, correct me if I am wrong, and this is the InterWebs so correct me if I am right and then quote your favorite alt-reality source and get the thread locked. All the same few posting the same bad attitude based on the same bad rumors. Look at all the past pessimism on the SXM Board and now all the very good reports coming in. You can spend all Winter in your basement getting lathered up in your Aunt Karens essential oils, or, come on down and get lathered up in sunscreen and rum. And all the time on the Yacht it is No Mask and No Distancing and No Politics.
Hopefully - We can get a Neutral Territory. More discussions over the Halloween weekend between the BVI Gov and the Charter businesses. With all the cancellations overshadowing the original Protocols the BVI Gov would be wise to be a little flexible. Marina Cay is nothing open (deserted). Peter Island is nothing open (with Perter Island Resort close to all tourism). Cooper Island has one dock. Pirates Bight has one dock. Willy T has one Floating Dock. Each business with a dock hires a Dockmaster to check Phones and Face Masks for compliance. None of those businesses want to get closed as a ‘Hot Spot’. IF we can get those 4 Islands as Neutral Territory for Yachts under a ‘Remote Quarantine’ then Everybody Wins. The BVI Gov makes money off the Cruising and Park permits and Port Taxes. The BVI People get Employment and Income. And all the time on the Yacht it is No Mask and No Distancing and No Politics.
On a 2017 Leopard 45 with 4 Doubles and 1 Single and 5 Bathrooms and AirCon and a GenSet from Dec 19 to Jan 2 for 14 Nights for $14k.
Please consider that All these Health and Safety precautions work Both ways to protect You and your Family and Friends. Please suggest a Better Sunny Vacation this Winter with the same level of Health Security and No Mask and No Distancing and No Politics?
Just got my Cruising World in the mail yesterday which happens to be the Charter Issue chock full of advertisements from BVI charter companies. There's also a full page advertisement for the British Virgin Islands from the tourism board. No mention of closures or restricted access. If I didn't know any better and was going just by the magazine, I'd say the BVI's were fully open for business.
All I can say is that BVI is protecting its population from Covid which is what any government should be doing - it comes at a cost for all.
this, and like it or not, as a homeowner, this was a choice I knew was a possibility when we purchased a home in a foreign country.
I am dealing with Covid and healthcare redesign on a daily basis.
The announcement made in late September by the government was an opening date not the entire plan to operationalize something so fluid and incredibly hard to manage.
I get that you all want it tied up neatly in a package with a bow, sadly COVID doesn't work that way.
disclaimer: not making excuses or liking the way this has been handled by the BVI government but at the same time...……….really not interested in doing their jobs, are you?
Very optimistic summary Brent. Thank You. But for someone with a 7 night charter (including sleep aboard) in December, not 14, spending 4 in Q anchorage, plus one day dedicated to testing, doesn't leave much time for sailing or enjoying the islands. In addition to testing and surveillance costs as well as "insurance". We cancelled. We still have our February charter on the books, but again, with only 8 days booked, and the inability to take extra vacation time, if protocols don't change before then we'll need to cancel that too. We've been to the USVI recently, likely we'll be returning there.
Look how far we have come. Great Advances Internationally in the Medical Testing and Treatment and Vaccines the past few months. Some Vaccines only weeks away now. An Opening Date with a Framework for Testing and Tracking. Multiple entry ports including the airport and ferry terminals. A Testing system based on +95% accuracy within 90 minutes. The overhead expense of the hardware will quickly simplify that issue. The BVI Gov is already reconsidering the 8th day test. ‘Quarantine’ from 2 weeks at a BVI Gov Hotel to a few days on your Yacht. Guards at $6000 a person to no guards and no guard costs and a ‘geofence’. ‘Quarantine’ based on a cell phone app. Possibly bracelets, but the overhead expense and reliability of the hardware will quickly simplify that issue. More constructive Stakeholder Consultations over the next week to consider ‘remote quarantine’. There has never been any written policy or protocol requiring quarantine on the yacht on the dock. This issue has not yet been finalized and most of the conversation has been based on worst case InterWeb rumors.
“Quarantine” – The ‘quarantine’ is a tracking app on your phone. Probably less intrusive then your Google tracking or your Facebook tracking. ‘Geo-fencing’. You are expected to leave your phone on the chart table while you swim and scuba and windsurf and paddle board and then snorkel all your favorite reefs. Why pay $150 for a BVI Gov Bracelet when you can get buy and keep an unlocked cell phone from Walmart for $50? Log in your body temp. Body temp is 98.7, that is 37 in Celsius. Everyday. And all the time on the Yacht it is No Mask and No Distancing and No Politics.
Testing – At worst a nasal swab. A lot less intrusive than the Vaccine injections we will all be begging for in a few months. Less than every Diabetic does every day. We could all use a little Empathy and Honesty these days so Everybody gets tested so everybody is safe. And it sets a standard a few weeks before to protect the Time and Money you all have invested in the trip. And you come home Healthy. Maybe Healthier? After 4 days you get retested. Everybody passes and celebrates at the nearest beach bar. Or celebrate on the Yacht as it is No Mask and No Distancing and No Politics.
Multiple Testing Locations - JVD Great Harbor and then drinks at Foxy’s, Virgin Gorda and then dinner at The Restaurant at Leverick, West End Ferry Terminal and painkillers at Sopher’s Hole Pussers, the Beef Island Airport and cocktails in Trellis at the New Loose Mongoose. All these locations have docks with water/fuel/ice and more. Not to get all ‘Zen’ and seeing the Forest and the Trees. Has it dawned on anyone that if you have a Negative test on day 4 then you will have that PCR test in hand and Not have to Quarantine when you return to the Real World after a week of relaxing in paradise? Another problem solved. This is as about as complicated as renting a car for a few days. Logistically, going in for the tests should be about the same as checking into BVI Customs and Immigration at West End or JVD or VG. And all the time on the Yacht it is No Mask and No Distancing and No Politics.
After 2020 - You need to leave your Bucket List at home this time. For the first few days you need to Relax. And enjoy your favorite author and favorite singer and cook your favorite meals and drink your favorite wines and mix your favorite cocktails. All that food and liquor you had delivered gets BBQd and baked and diced and iced and enjoyed while it is fresh. With your Family and Friends, hopefully some are both. And sleep 10 hours a day. The Protocol for a chase call is ‘Everybody bugger off to the foredeck while I fix this without your advice’. A mechanics dream come true. There has never been any documented BVI Gov policy or protocol that Guests will be required to quarantine on any yacht at any dock. In fact, based on the Draft Protocols for Bareboat charter companies, they can’t get you off the dock fast enough. And all the time on the Yacht it is No Mask and No Distancing and No Politics.
Options - Where else can you go this Winter. Paris? Vegas with some guy with a chin diaper trying to cough up his lung at the blackjack table next to you? The Thunderdome of Florida? Enjoy the 14 day Quarantine in New York? Mexico to use your kids to troll for the Virus in the hotel pool, but don’t worry, all the counterfeit medication you can buy, and a little narco-terrorism to spice things up? Please, correct me if I am wrong, and this is the InterWebs so correct me if I am right and then quote your favorite alt-reality source and get the thread locked. All the same few posting the same bad attitude based on the same bad rumors. Look at all the past pessimism on the SXM Board and now all the very good reports coming in. You can spend all Winter in your basement getting lathered up in your Aunt Karens essential oils, or, come on down and get lathered up in sunscreen and rum. And all the time on the Yacht it is No Mask and No Distancing and No Politics.
Hopefully - We can get a Neutral Territory. Marina Cay is nothing open (deserted). Peter Island is nothing open (with Perter Island Resort close to all tourism). Cooper Island has one dock. Pirates Bight has one dock. Willy T has one Floating Dock. Each business with a dock hires a Dockmaster to check Phones and Face Masks for compliance. None of those businesses want to get closed as a ‘Hot Spot’. IF we can get those 4 Islands as Neutral Territory for Yachts under a ‘Remote Quarantine’ then Everybody Wins. The BVI Gov makes money off the Cruising and Park permits and Port Taxes. The BVI People get Employment and Income. And all the time on the Yacht it is No Mask and No Distancing and No Politics.
On a 2017 Leopard 45 with 4 Doubles and 1 Single and 5 Bathrooms and AirCon and a GenSet from Dec 19 to Jan 2 for 14 Nights for $14k.
Please consider that All these Health and Safety precautions work Both ways to protect You and your Family and Friends. Please suggest a Better Sunny Vacation this Winter with the same level of Health Security and No Mask and No Distancing and No Politics?
Fair Winds, Brent from The Captains Compass
I appreciate the optimism Brent. Sadly, I don't think many tourists are seeing it the same way. Already getting cancellations on cancellations
I like your optimism Brent, but there are other places to go. USVI for one. Aruba for another..etc.
I think if the requirements were a test prior to arrival, maybe another when you arrive and then you can head to your boat and isolate on your boat staying away from others in any anchorage you want, but avoiding shore activities, I'd go. 4th day if it was easy to get a test in multiple locations (say a stop at Trellis or Soper's) then I think that would be fine. Beyond that, I think its too much hassle for a week or even 10 day vacation.
I like the optimistic spin, Brent. We are hanging on to our booking for the first two weeks in Dec. I get that it may not be worth it for a 1-week charter. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. We'll know more by January. Fingers crossed it will be in a positive direction. And all the time on the Yacht it is No Mask and No Distancing and No Politics. Cheers, Chris
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