The Charter Connection Blog

We have talked to many friends in the islands and most of the news is positive. Power is gradually being restored and things are getting back to normal. There is however little news coming from Anegada which seems to have been affected the most, with flooding, several damaged buildings and many docks unusable. On Tortola, quite a few trees are down and vegetation damaged, but with all that sunshine everything grows back quickly and the island will look much the same in a few weeks. Bomba’s Shack will need to be rebuilt again, but being largely built of driftwood, he is used to doing this and it won’t be long before the full moon parties resume.

Thank you Tanya for permission to use your photographs. I particularly liked the one of Paraquita Bay. Few people know what goes into safeguarding all those bareboats when a storm threatens. Paraquita Bay has a narrow entrance and is not a popular charter destination but it has long been a hurricane refuge. The entrance has since been dredged, but in the early days we sometimes had to heel the boats over to get them in and then each bareboat company would try to anchor their yachts to avoid them hitting others.

As the top picture shows, much has changed. The companies have permanent storm moorings bow and stern, so more boats can be accommodated and damage between boats (always the biggest problem) is minimized. Companies often leave much of their fleet here through late August, September and October, which are traditionally slow, but once they move out, Paraquita is filled with empty rows of white mooring balls!

The first time we used Paraquita Bay in 1973, I remember a white knuckled Charley Carey, with his entire Moorings fleet safely inside, hoping that the heavy storm surge didn’t permanently seal up the entrance!

The second picture is of Maya Cove and the third of Beef Island, during the hurricane. To see more pictures and larger copies of these, visit our Facebook page.

Earl hasn’t finished quite yet and we are getting ready for him all the way up in Wiscasset, Maine! He’s due here Friday night and Saturday morning!

New customs clearance procedures will be implemented from this Friday, in The British Virgin Island Government’s ongoing quest to strengthen its effort to mitigate the impact of the dreaded Swine Flu (H1N1) virus on the Territory.

The advisory states that all customs clearance procedures for charter yachts will only be processed through three designated ports of entry. They are the Road Town and West End Ferry Terminals in Tortola and the Spanish Town Ferry Dock in Virgin Gorda.

Yachts wishing to dock on Jost Van Dyke, Anegada, or any other sister island are advised that they must clear customs at one of the designated locations. Comptroller of Her Majesty’s Customs Mr. Wade Smith said those precautionary measures will be in place until further notice.

Bareboat or crewed yacht charter visitors coming from St. Thomas or The US Virgin Islands to check in correctly to avoid be charged with illegal entry into the Territory.

For more information, call us at 800 621 7855, or email us. For charter information, contact us through the Ed Hamilton & Co site and tell us about your plans.

Hurricane Omar tracked slightly east of his projected path, passing through The Anegada Passage between The British Virgin Islands and St Martin last night. Thankful residents and crews in The Virgins billed it as a relative ‘non event’ - more rain than wind. If anything, St Martin was more affected, as the storm was not expected to pass this close and less preparation was done. From the people we have heard from this morning, St. Croix had closed roads and trees down, St. Thomas lost power, Tortola is still without power as of this writing and St. Maarten lost some roofs and trees, although we understand there might be more damage in the marinas in Simpson Bay. The storm came from the ‘wrong’ direction, so much of the southwest of the island was less protected. Some small tornadoes were reported in this area.

One reason for the lack of more wide spread damage was that the storm moved very quickly through the area. After stalling for days further south, it raced past the Virgins at 25 knots and is expected to decrease in intensity as it meets cooler water. Judging from the relatively few precautions some private boat owners took in The Virgins, this is a good thing. The Virgins haven’t had a direct hit from a major hurricane for many years and I wonder if this has made people take them less seriously.

The weather is already back to normal, with light winds and lovely sunshine. Email or call Ed Hamilton & Co at 800 621 7855 if you have any questions about Caribbean weather or bareboat charter bargains during these low season months.

A big thank you to our friends in The Caribbean, for letting us know. Glad you’re all OK.