Bahamas - EMERGENCY POWERS (COVID 19)(NO. 1) ORDER, 2020 ???

[svshonto]

Does anyone have more information on the restrictions laid out by the Bahamas PM.

The "EMERGENCY POWERS (COVID 19)(NO. 1) ORDER,
2020" states:

3. Imposition of orders.
For every island and cay of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, for a period of eleven days commencing the 20th day of March, 2020 —

(6) Subject to the provisions of this Order, every person shall remain in
the confines of their dwelling home, inclusive of their yard space.

We're a US flagged SV in the Bahamas, currently in a marina. Does this mean we can, or can not move our boat to another island? Its not clear on cruising vessels.

Thanks,
Brian

[kcj]

Per Bahamas land and sea Facebook page...
Does not apply to us private vessels....
Just Bahamians

[Group9]

Originally Posted by kcj

Per Bahamas land and sea Facebook page...
Does not apply to us private vessels....
Just Bahamians

Which makes zero sense. What would be the logic in only wanting to stop the spread of the virus by some people instead of by everyone?

[Brian guthrie]

This does need some clarification.
My wife interprets the inter island to mean we cannot leave the present Island Eleuthera. As commercial private meaning all non-essential vessels

Sunny Skye L42

[kcj]

[
The Facebook excerpt....
The reader can judge the credibility for themselves

[Woodland Hills]

Just up on Facebook: all marinas in Bahamas are closed until March 31, 2020, effective 9:00am this morning.

Here is the full emergency order: https://opmbahamas.com/wp-content/up...Order-2020.pdf

[Realize]

We’re interpreting it as we can’t travel between the islands.

We’re in the Middle Bight of Andros and plan to set sail now for Fort Lauderdale. Fear of lack of food here and the possibility that the Bahamas will close down like Honduras (no one in or out) is causing us to go and risk being in FL.

[Woodland Hills]

Read the order: it refers to “private commercial” vessels not “private, commercial “ or “private or Commercial” vessels. They mean privately owned commercial boats carrying tourists or locals between the islands. If you are a foreigner and are leaving the country they will not stop you. But if you try to put it off too long and the Bahamas begins to run out of food due to disruptions in Florida don’t be surprised if you are boarded and your supplies are confiscated. The order also allows for the requisitioning of buildings, ships and airplanes.

We have another month on our visa, but we are leaving for Middle Bluff and then Cat Cay as soon as the wind dies early next week. If not sooner. Our big hang up is finding a slip in Florida......

[GordMay]

The Emergency Powers (COVID-19) Order, 2020, include a nightly curfew (9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m) and shutdown of all non-essential businesses and organizations, public transportation and commercial sailing; and all events, parties or gatherings. Airports will remain open, non-essential intl. and domestic travel discouraged.
“EMERGENCY POWERS (COVID 19)(NO. 1) ORDER, 2020"
➥ http://www.thebahamasweekly.com/uplo...r__2020_1_.pdf

[a64pilot]

I can’t imagine them coming and stealing your food, that’s just too way out there.
However I do expect a stay in place order, or you can leave, but do not touch ground on your way out.
If your cruising in an inter island ferry Or fuel barge, well then maybe they could Nationalize it, but what would they do with an average cruising boat?
I can’t imagine stopping food and fuel shipments to the settlements either, people have or eat.

We are staying for the time being, we have 3 months of food on board at least, we think, make our own water etc.
US has to have better medical facilities, but can you imagine those Megapolis's with a high infection rate?

[Woodland Hills]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I can’t imagine them coming and stealing your food, that’s just too way out there.
However I do expect a stay in place order, or you can leave, but do not touch ground on your way out.
If your cruising in an inter island ferry Or fuel barge, well then maybe they could Nationalize it, but what would they do with an average cruising boat?
I can’t imagine stopping food and fuel shipments to the settlements either, people have or eat.

We are staying for the time being, we have 3 months of food on board at least, we think, make our own water etc.
US has to have better medical facilities, but can you imagine those Megapolis's with a high infection rate?

I can’t either, but I can imagine the police requisitioning it and pooling all supplies for rationing. It just depends on if the food keeps arriving in Nassau from Florida. And yes, people do have to eat, so what happens if the ports and warehouses in Florida are shut for a few weeks? What if the boat crews are sick? I’m not talking about people all dying, but just being too sick to work for several weeks.

The Bahamas are NOT food self-sufficient and I have no idea how many days surplus is stored on New Providence for there and the other islands. How many days of food are on the other smaller islands? All it would take is a few days of panic buying to empty the stores: we see that now all over the US. What happens then?

For that matter how long before the 60% of Bahamians who work in the tourist business run out of money to buy groceries? Atlantis, the biggest employer in the Bahamas, just laid off most of their staff. Recreational travel won’t be back this year, that’s nearly a sure thing. The Bahamas government is granting $200 every 2 weeks, is that going to be enough?

People here are going to be pretty poor in a month or so and you (any boater) are going to be looking pretty wealthy in comparison. That’s a recipe for for social unrest.

[a64pilot]

I think so long as you stay in the “family islands” there will be no crime or social unrest, but if it does start to look that way, sail away.
So far as the Bahamas not being food self sufficient, do you think Fl is? Or any Megaololis in the US? Even farming country isn’t, could be, but isn’t now.
Short food, I’d much rather be in a Family Island than Downtown Atlanta or any city in the US. At least they have chickens and eggs.

However do what you are most comfortable with, if that’s go home, then by all means do so, because it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that may not be allowed in the future.

[chris mac]

We are in the exumas, and watched a conch boat come in pretty loaded up. They apparently have too many(restaurants aren't buying of course) so they are keeping them alive in the bay. Food shortages don't seem to be a problem. Plus the mail boats are deemed essential service, and will continue. Just as grocery and fuel is.
Now, if the workers decide to self quarantine that will cause problems. So far though the locals aren't as concerned as people back home.
Our plan is to stock up food, and fuel, and stick to the out of the way places. Secluded beaches and uninhabited islands where I can hone my lobstering skills.

[svshonto]

It seems 50/50 out there. Our minds are changing by the minute. We feel healthy atm and have had very limited contact with ppl over the last two weeks. I think we’ll head south from Lucaya as soon as the wind permits. Saving fuel is important. Should we have any symptoms we’ll head back to the US to be near the hospital.

We’re staying on the boat except to fish. We have plenty of food but our biggest worrie regarding eating is propane atm. Fingers crossed, hope all goes well over the next few weeks.

[ahoymon]

We called customs in Long Island and asked if private yachts could sail island to island. We were told yes provided they had already cleared Bahamian customs and had a valid cruising permit.