Advice needed: Locations for unvaccinated delivery crew drop in Caribbean?

[hathorne]

Hello all - first post on Cruiser's Forum and certainly wish it were on happier topic!

Well, at least the good news is that we are taking delivery of our sailing catamaran in Cape Town in October and plans to immediately sail her across the S. Atlantic. We have a South African skipper and crew member engaged to help us with the journey - neither of them are vaccinated. I will also be joined by another US citizen and both of us are vaccinated.

Our initial plan was to land in Grenada and off-load the South African crew members. I understand now, mainly through resources on Noonsite, that Grenada is closed to the unvaccinated and that there is an extensive quarantine period with little to account for time at sea.

We are now looking at Antigua which has a more generous credit for time at sea against the 14-day quarantine, which would avail an opportunity to off-load the crew with less delay. Of course the entire crew will need negative COVID tests before being allowed ashore.

I wanted to ask this forum if there are other options we might consider or pointers to better, more up-to-date information as we navigate this tricky situation. I expect we'll arrive into the Caribbean around early-to-mid November and insurance wants us staying south until the end of November - so further complication!

As a new owner / cruiser - learning it's never easy and plans will change. The adage about adjust sails, etc. rings so very true! Thanks all in advance.

Scott
SV Zephyr
Balance 482 - Hull #2

[bensolomon]

Congratulations on your new boat, and what a great trip you planned!!! Off topic, you might consider a short day or two shake out sail before you head out.

Back to topic...... I have no specifics about the Caribbean countries. Also, things are going to change between now and when you make your trip. Best to check ministry of health web pages for the country or countries where you plan to make landfall.

If you have a sat com like In reach or iridium, you can ask someone to check and email you requirements for entry.

Good luck,
Ben

[hathorne]

Indeed, Ben...the old adage about adjusting sails, etc. certainly rings true once again. Constant plan adjustment has been our calling over the past months with build delays due to COVID, shipping schedules gone bust, etc.

We're a bit resigned to the approach of just casting off and having a few plans for the landing / off-loading. The agent for Balance is helping to manage and we'll be in contact w/him throughout our voyage via Iridium / InReach, so we'll get the ground work done via him during the voyage knowing how fluid the situation is with the Delta variant at the moment. Also making a last ditch effort to get the SA crew vaccinated...that may or may not pan out given access concerns there.

And, yes, we have lots of test sails planned during the 3-weeks we'll be in Cape Town ahead of our departure dates, including some crew preparation sails for safety drills and general crew orientation. We have a great skipper lined up and we'll all learn alot from him. Should be the adventure it's setup to be...

Thanks again.
Scott