Charter destinations post-Irma

[brownoarsman]

Apologies if this is in poor taste when the scale of the human and property disaster in the Leeward Islands is so massive, including the personal losses of many on this forum; and Irma's impact on the Bahamas and Atlantic Seaboard is still to come.

However, we are two months away from when Caribbean charter season begins in earnest, and I'm sure many forum members had plans to charter in the Leewards this winter. While Moorings' BVI site is still selling 7-day packages beginning Sept 9, 2017, given the scale of infrastructure and boat damage, it's hard to believe any of the charter bases will be back to 100% in the near-term.

Any suggestions on alternative destinations for November-April 2017/2018 that may come through hurricane-season unscathed? Or, do you think the Leeward Islands charter season will return business-as-usual in the later months of the season?

On my alternatives short list currently, I have:

Belize: though the drawback is that, I, at least, would almost certainly want to include a charter-supplied captain as part of the trip, given others' past experience with coral damage

Puerto Rico: With PR being closer to the US mainland and a bigger island overall, I figure it may bounce back sooner.

[Snore]

IMHO,

These places need you now more than ever. Tourism drives the local economies of these islands Nd much of Florida. Why not wait 3-4 days and see where things stand. They are going to exist, although with less boats.

If they cannot accommodate you, why not St. Pete? Good boats, explore SW coast of Fl, the uninhabited Key and Dry Tortuga.

[brownoarsman]

Originally Posted by Snore

IMHO,

These places need you now more than ever. Tourism drives the local economies of these islands Nd much of Florida. Why not wait 3-4 days and see where things stand. They are going to exist, although with less boats.

If they cannot accommodate you, why not St. Pete? Good boats, explore SW coast of Fl, the uninhabited Key and Dry Tortuga.

Yup, definitely. Not making any decisions until after the boat show">Annapolis boat show, and definitely want to support people and places that have given my family a lot of joy. Just wanted to start researching alternatives as I have no idea how quickly some of these operations will bounce back.

As context, I take my dad on these, and don't want him to miss another trip he's been looking forward to. Thanks for the suggestion re: St. Pete's. I did the dry tortugas on my own boat and agree that would be an awesome experience for him!

[puffcard]

Agree give them some time, maybe more than a few days. Let them get power back and assess the damage, maybe a few weeks. The charter companies can move boats around very easily. You could also charter down islands, in the Windward Islands. Tobago Cays is a very special place and one of my favorite. We used to charter with a large group and requiring up to 8 cats for two weeks and most of the time thru smaller companies. They could move and positions boats for us, it seemed to be pretty seamless.

[Pete7]

At that time of year you should be able to get a good deal from these folk:

Yacht Charter Scotland, Bareboat Charter Scotland - SailAway Scotland


Pete

[brownoarsman]

Originally Posted by Pete7

At that time of year you should be able to get a good deal from these folk:

Yacht Charter Scotland, Bareboat Charter Scotland - SailAway Scotland


Pete

Do they follow the Caribbean rule of having to anchor by sunset? If so, I think in terms of sailing cost per hour, it might be more expensive with only six hours of sunlight each day!

[Pete7]

Nah, we don't really do rules, hence telling the EU to stick it were the sun don't shine.

Anyway you will need some time to spend in the distilleries on route so after 6 hours of sailing a wee dram as the sun sets couldn't be better.

The food is interesting too, remember Haggis (very tasty) have longer legs on their left hand side so they can walk about on Scottish mountains without falling over.



Pete

[sck5]

I read the story linked above from the charterer in Belize with a bit of amusement. I am sorry he had such a bad time - But anyone who goes to Belize thinking the chartplotter is going to be any help really shouldnt go there at all. I got the Admiralty charts (best available paper charts) and the notes said that large parts of them were based on hand line surveys conducted in the 1840's (yes, 1840's) and updated with satellites. The charts in your plotter are based on those paper charts. That means your best navigational tools are a good hand bearing compass and a good pair of polarized sunglasses. If you anchor without going for a swim around the boat to see what reefs and rocks are there it is YOUR mistake, not navionics or Garmin. We found Capt. Freya's guide to be spot on everywhere we went, which included Ranguana Cay, the site of the unfortunate events in the linked account.

Also, and this goes for most places outside of the USA and the BVI's, you need to be prepared to take care of any issues yourself. Involving the authorities rarely gets you a better outcome. If the charter base tells you groundings will involve the authorities then you radio them to say you need their chase boat ASAP to resolve a mechanical problem. You DONT invite the authorities to come check you out unless you enjoy spending your vacation bribing bureaucrats. Our chart briefing with Renee Brown left us without any doubt whatever that we should not report groundings over the radio. Sure, we had to read between the lines a bit but it wasnt hard to figure out what she meant. I cant imagine she said anything different to those guys since she has doubtless given the same chart briefing hundreds (if not thousands) of times. Fortunately, we didnt touch bottom. The charter base sent divers down to verify that on our return, but it really wasnt all that hard.

Some free advice to the sailor in the link. You really dont want to go to the Bahamas either. They too have shallow water and reefs. They also have very few navigational aids. Navionics is similarly useless in many areas. Reliance on chart plotters is an excellent way to run aground.

But both the Bahamas and Belize have truly spectacular diving and snorkeling. Excellent sailing too. I highly recommend them. Friendly people too. Yes, the bureaucracy is maddening but they have no monopoly on that. I avoid it whenever possible right here in the USA. I have lived in several states and think that state level governments in the USA are about the worst - Too far from the actual people they serve to care (county officials are our neighbors, state officials arent) and too entrenched to worry about their jobs.

Or you can stick to the BVI's. Lots of aids to navigation. Nothing left unmarked. Hard to screw up. No place even to anchor a lot of the time since they have filled every available spot with mooring buoys.

[brownoarsman]

Heh, fixed it for you:

Originally Posted by Pete7

Anyway you will need some time to spend in the distilleries on route so after 6 hours of sailing a wee dram as the sun sets at 4 PM couldn't be better.

Haha, I do fondly remember the year I spent in Scotland. Nothing like a deep-fried haggis after a late night piss-up. Strangely, they always removed the legs before frying - I always figured they would be good eating!

[brownoarsman]

Originally Posted by sck5

Some free advice to the sailor in the link. You really dont want to go to the Bahamas either. They too have shallow water and reefs. They also have very few navigational aids. Navionics is similarly useless in many areas. Reliance on chart plotters is an excellent way to run aground.

But both the Bahamas and Belize have truly spectacular diving and snorkeling. Excellent sailing too. I highly recommend them. Friendly people too.

I have no personal experience with Belize, but after years spent living in the Middle East, try very hard to make sure there's a local buffer between me and 'the authorities' anywhere there may be trouble

Agreed on the Bahamas, beautiful diving/snorkeling on the coral heads. I spent a couple of months in the Berries/Abacos and loved it. And navigation inside the Abacos chain is fairly line-of-sight with no coral; the areas with coral heads that I remember were usually outside the chain exposed to the ocean, rather than on the line between popular anchorage/mooring spots, and often best accessed by dinghy. I'm currently assuming the Abacos will probably suffer similarly to the Leewards so may not be an option, but hoping I'm wrong!

[caradow]

The Windwards are still there.....for now.
But agree that if there are any operating charter companies open in the hurricane ravaged areas PLEASE consider them seriously.
It is quite depressing to sail to some of these places after a storm and witness the people struggling to live. Have witnessed it first hand and it is quite sad.
The beauty of the islands will continue to ultimately withstand the power of nature with some help.
St. Pete will survive without your dollar these people may not.

[breweraz]

Whereas I fully agree that many of the areas count on tourist and cruising dollars I think that the devastation is so great that the basics of food, water, fuel, electricity will take some time to catch up.

There is a bit of a paradox in needing the money that tourist and cruising can bring but also the burden of additional people consuming what may be very limited basic supplies adding stress to a recovering system.

Going to help, volunteer and offer assistance in rebuilding as part of a trip is probably more needed for sometime. Maybe even more rewarding....Finding ways to provide donations that actually get to the people that need it the worst is always a risky thing in these times.

The great thing about the cruising community is that there always seems to be someone there with a helping hand. There are many areas outside of the TV cameras that were devastated we have all sought out and enjoyed. Things will get rebuilt, maybe even better but not without a helping hand.

[Snore]

I assure you that the areas used by tourists will be normalized in a few weeks.

Contact the Island's tourism board--- they want/need you back

[Suijin]

Don't forget that the majority of these charter boats are owned by individuals, not the charter companies themselves. It's going to take time to sort out insurance issues, and then once that is done there is the supply issue. Most of these boats are built on order and delivered on the water across the Atlantic. It's not like Leopard or Lagoon has extra stock laying around. It's going to take quite some time to rebuild these fleets.

As for charter companies being able to move boats around, again, not many owners are going to want to move their boats to some hurricane-ravaged destination.

I'm with everyone else who has urged you to call and support them with your business if possible, but I think this season is shattered and done. There's just not enough time to rebuild infrastructure and supply.

As an alternative the Windwards are gorgeous, with significantly more scenic landforms, and the sailing is superb. And then there is the Adriatic, probably the best cruising grounds in the world. No it's not all rum punches, it's a different experience. And it's just a longer plane ride away.