The Virgin Island's are open for business!!

[sailmontana]

Hello all
Just getting back from our second trip on Fly Bye our Lagoon 440.
These last three weeks were about as perfect as it gets. My wife and I have been sailing in the VI’s since 2005 and this was absolutely the best fall weather we have ever seen. Full moon diving with no wind swells or current. Absolutely absurd.
Spent three weeks adding new rubber mesh trampolines, bought a new dinghy and outboard, house batteries, jib-oh yes. It was a spendy trip but far worth it. We also went over to the USVI and shockingly it was pretty easy. We tested in JVD, by midnight they had an email sent, checked out at the West End after signing in through the BVI portal. Customs could not have been more helpful. Got our approval through the USVI portal and off to Charlette Amalie we went. It would have been easier to taxi over from a close anchorage but we decided to steal a mooring ball for a bit and check in at the CA ferry dock. Not recommended. Way to much ferry traffic and rough water. I’m told we could have done all this through the ROAM app but we aren’t that smart so please add what you know. Saved a bunch of $$$ on the USVI side on some things but also got a crazy deal on the outboard in BVI. Checking out was super easy and back in more of a process but very doable.
The Virgin Islands are open for business!! They are even accepting vaccinations on both sides with no quarantine. Now you can submit your vaccination docs when applying to the US and not have to get a pretest. The BVI tests upon arrival at the West End for private, Road Town ferry, and at EIS airport. They now have the new nasal swabs not the pick the back of the brain tests.
Thanks to Brent at The Captains Compass for taking care of our baby. He tells me he’s preparing for the busiest year in decades.
www.captainscompass.com
So, get you asses back down for some fun in the sun this winter. I’ll have to wait till May myself but also have to save up some more money…
Next trip, wind generators and solar!!! TBC
stay healthy
J-
www.sailingscubaadventures.com

[Rackman]

I used Captains Compass a few years ago...loved it!!

[longjonsilver]

What about the unvaxxed?

[dhenline]

wow you must be on a different trip the n me. I am currently here and I found the whole process ridiculous. I am fully vaccinated and I still needed a pretest for the BVI and needed to pre register for both the USVI portal and the BVI testing, which everyone needs to do on arrival. I am also trying to guide my 80 yr old parents through the process.
Personally, I would not travel here currently and I will not travel here again as long as they continue to have all these restrictions in place.
The flight to St. Thomas, is a hassle,
the Ferry to Road Town is a hassle
The customs and immigration is a hassle
Not sure any of it is worth all the effort.
Masking is mandatory which is fine by me, but no one follows the rules just like back in the states. (which is also fine by me).
So in short "the BVI may be open" but they have a long way to go before it is fun again.

[Nicholson58]

We will never willingly submit to the S-show that is the BVI. Never know what it will cost, how long you can stay, what BS they may toss your way.

[ol1970]

Man, I hope the previous two comments are correct and all the pain in the ass stuff keeps the riff raff factor down. I agree for a week it’s definitely not worth the hassle until Covid restrictions are over. Thankfully we have lots more time and are seasoned travelers in this crazy new world we live in.

[jim King]

I hope it's not the pain some people say. I'm headed to the BVI next week through St Thomas. I hear they have made it easier by not requiring the BVI Portal paperwork if you are fully vaccinated. But I also hear you need to reserve a seat on the Roadtown ferry and reserve a Covid test for arrival in Roadtown. I am also worried about getting a Covid test for return to the US at one of the limited sites for testing in the BVI. Does anyone else have any answers to these requirements and how easy or hard it was. Especially the return test to get back to the US?
thanks,
jim

[Nickodemus]

Not going back to the BVI’s after they fined our friends for crossing their bogus imaginary line in the water while they were out for a day sail.

[CatNewBee]

Not visiting before all restrictions and testing has ended.

They were ridiculously harsh with fining yachts passing by in transit and sailing through their region, even without approaching the BVI.

[sailcrazy]

Sailmontana....very interesting observation. I've been following some of the VI Blogs on FB, trying to understand the changing entry requirements for the BVI (and the USVI). While the paperwork BS is a fact of life, and won't likely go away any time soon, our big concern in the REQUIRED Special Covid-19 insurance the BVI requires! Where did you buy your Covid-19 insurance, and what did it cost you? Was the policy date-specific? Was it per person, or your family, or the whole boat, or?? How far in advance did you purchase it?

[Piscis]

Originally Posted by CatNewBee

Not visiting before all restrictions and testing has ended.

They were ridiculously harsh with fining yachts passing by in transit and sailing through their region, even without approaching the BVI.

Isn´t that kind of passage covered by the United Nations "right of innocent passage"?

[sailcrazy]

sailmontana.....please reply. Your glowing report of sailing the BVI is most encouraging...but you did not mention the insurance requirement. We're seriously planning a sailing trip to the Caribbean, including the BVI. But this insurance requirement, recently laid on by the BVI government, has us concerned. What insurance did you buy, from whom, and what was the cost? The only company I've seen mentioned, GeoBlu, has crazy expensive prices, ie, per their website the cheapest coverage showed 1 week-$111/person, 2 weeks-$208/person, and 4 weeks-$403/person!!! Is that really the costs involved? Standing By...

[fservaty]

My 2 cents: For sailing your own boat to Tortola, I learned one should enter credentials in the Sailclear app and consult bvi.gov.vg. This webpage refers you to a "concierge" service. This bvi service claims to have facilitated entry of private boats into the bvi's. Personally I find the whole screening process too daunting to even contemplate

[Group9]

Originally Posted by Piscis

Isn´t that kind of passage covered by the United Nations "right of innocent passage"?

One thing we have learned from all of this is that “emergency “ COVID rules supersede any other laws, traditions, treaties, or constitutions, and common sense.

There finally seems to be some pushback growing, so the next few months should be interesting.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Piscis

Isn´t that kind of passage covered by the United Nations "right of innocent passage"?

Not where public health applies