TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands BVI Impounding boats

In the case of Innocent Passage it really doesn’t matter whether they’re crossing the line for a pleasure cruise or commercially.
It means they’re cruising past without the intent of entering the country

To answer a couple of questions it certainly appears the boaters played by the rules. I have seen nothing about a fly by of the soggy dollar and don’t believe they entered white bay or even within a mile of Jost. Sailboats are allowed to tack and transit as a right of innocent passage under UNCLOS. The BVI has the right even under UNCLOS to restrict passage. There are however procedures such as publishing a notice to Mariners they failed to follow.
When the first boat was seized it was published by several sources they snorkeled at the Indians and were heading for the WillyT. I even suspected that was true because it made sense. Why else would the BVI stop and detain them? As it turns out what makes no sense is the actions of BVI customs. A little bit of common sense goes a long way. The big loser in this is the BVI. It has become worldwide news. I was texted by a friend in Europe who read the story in a local newspaper.

Here you go George in the Captain of Blue Skies' (of the 20k boat) own words:

"At a point about 1 mile south of White Bay, Jost Van Dyke...."

Source:
https://sailinganarchy.com/2020/12/02/detained-and-fined/

And it looks as though he is going to pursue legal means to get the money back so assuming he is going to follow through we should all have our "legal answer". I do think when he retains counsel and determines the cost and time to pursue this he will cut his losses however

His quote from source above...

"I am now engaged in attempt to vacate my guilty plea and litigate the validity of the fines."

I fail to see your point here? Being 1 mi south of White Bay is not a fly by of Soggy Dollar, and still within a boater'r right of innocent passage. If he entered White Bay I would br more inclined to agree but no evidence of that at all. Add the fact that according to the captain he was outside the exclusion zone as well then the actions of the BVI govt were egregious and in clear violation of UNCLOS.

For the uninformed (me), can someone clarify innocent passage under UNCLOS regulations? Does it allow you to sail anywhere you like in another country's waters or does your route need to be appropriate for a required tack based on wind/sea conditions? Could they have gone on a slow cruise all the way around Tortola based on innocent passage?

I was responding to George who indicated he didn't see anything that showed they "were within a mile from Jost..."

We can all be barnyard barristers here and hopefully Captain Gregory will continue his legal efforts and we will have our answer. Until then probably not a good idea to hop bays in STJ by tacking across the BVI boundary. A PR disaster for sure but a clear shot across the bow in terms of messing with their borders at this time.

That is at least the point I get...

The captain claimed he was intercepted at 18 25.629 N 64 46.096 W on their way to St. Francis Bay on St. John. I 'Googled' the coordinates to view his position as he claimed, which appears to be about a mile off White Bay, Jost Van Dyke. This point is well within BVI territorial waters and if not within the 'Exclusion Zone', it was a 'rock's throw'. What were his intentions if he had not been intercepted? It is clearly not a route from St. Thomas to St. Francis Bay. Does the definition of 'innocent passage' mean free reign to sail in the territorial waters of a foreign country, or does it imply a necessary passage to travel from point 'A' to point 'B'?

I would say a cruise around Tortola would not be acceptable. Here is a simple explanation.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) enshrines the concept of innocent passage through a coastal state’s territorial sea. Passage is innocent so long as it is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal state. A vessel in innocent passage may traverse the coastal state’s territorial sea continuously and expeditiously, not stopping or anchoring except in force majeure situations.

PASSAGE (common definition) - the act or process of moving through, under, over, or past something on the way from one place to another. 'Innocent Passage' per the subject UNCLOS definition - a traverse continuously and expeditiously. In looking at a map of the USVI and BVI, no way does a sail from St. Thomas to St. John necessarily include a traverse into BVI territorial waters. I have to make some assumptions here, but I'm thinking making a tack of 8 miles from Hawksnest Point to Jost Van Dyke and 8 miles back to St. Francis Bay, in order to cover the 4 miles between the two doesn't meet any definition of expeditious passage, and certainly not innocent. Apparently the 'life long sailor' and ten year resident of the USVI (his words) didn't see any problem with this itinerary.

I think it's also safe to assume he would have had to cross the exclusion zone to get to the position he was stopped. This seems problematic too...

The exclsion zone was not set up to keep boaters out of BVI waters but to keep them in and monitored. The BVI territorial water boundries did not change vessels wanting to go directly to JVD needed permission to take that route or else where required to go round the back of Tortola.

Exclusion zone BVI boaters June till Dec 1st

Right or wrong, the fact that they took them ashore (with no instant Covid test I assume) defies logic. And the $20K fine is overkill considering they had no drugs, weapons, cash...or suitcases onboard. It's bad PR for the BVI....

I'm afraid it's another example of BVIslanders biting their nose(s) off to spite their face (s). So many examples: business regs, routinely lost paperwork and remember the airport customs fusses years ago?
Paradise roses aren't supposed to have thorns!

You forgot to mention this!
https://bvinews.com/fahie-details-158m-improvement-plan-for-beef-island-airport/

If the runway is extended the large jets coming in to land will have to approach the runway from West End and traverse the south shore of Tortola and north shores of Norman, Peter and Cooper islands to land.
I’m sure the tourists who come to vacation will enjoy the sounds of jet engines while they’re sipping their Pina Coladas.