The Charter Connection Blog

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.

Fidelity, a 46′ Jeanneau based in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, has two guests interested in a ‘per cabin’ charter and are looking for another couple to fill the boat. Dates are very flexible and could be in May/June or November/early December.

Per couple, 7 night prices are $2999 for the aft cabin or $3999 for the larger forward cabin. This price includes all meals, wine and open bar. The other party is a couple in their 60’s.

If you feel this could work for you, call us at 800 621 7855, email us, or contact us through the Ed Hamilton & Co site, and tell us about your plans.

Most catamarans available for charter have three or four guest cabins and can be expensive for a two person charter, so many couples will charter a monohull instead. Alexis is a nice 3 cabin Admiral and is one of the few cats that are economic for two. The two guest cabins are aft, one in each hull and feature small queens.

The head for the port cabin is forward and generous in size, so this couple has the port hull to themselves.

For four person charters, the starboard cabin shares an amidships head with the crew.  The salon is lovely, with light upholstery and Nicaraguan wood accents.  Bambi and Geoff, a delightful couple from Cape Town, South Africa, are the hosts and also the owners.

Even at her regular price of $3250 per person for two and $1975 for four, Alexis represented incredible value for one or two couples, but between March 13th and April 4th, 2009 she is lowering her rate to $2925 and $1777 per person respectively. Remember these prices include meals and open bar, captain and cook. The only additions are flights and a gratuity for the crew. By the time you have added the food, most comparable BAREBOATS cost more than this!

In addition, she is not charging the normal 10% surcharge for charters of 5 days or less, so a five day get-away is just $2089pp for 2 and $1270pp for 4. As ice storms grip the US, how can anyone stay at home!

She will be in The US and British Virgin Islands this winter but plans to head south to The Grenadines in June, for the summer.

We’ve had 15 successful charters on this boat! If you are interested in more information, call us at 800 621 7855, email us, or contact us through the Ed Hamilton & Co site, and tell us about your plans.

There is some good news for travelers arriving in the USVI too late to make the last 4 pm ferry across to Tortola. The Premier and Minister for Tourism have announced a late ferry from Red Hook, St. Thomas to Road Town, Tortola. The ferry will be offered Thursdays through Sundays at 9 pm with the actual time of departure from Red Hook subject to the arrival time of the last flights out of the US mainland. This action has been taken in an effort to welcome more yacht charter and hotel guests to the BVI in light of the recent cancellation of service by many airline carriers.

The service is offered on a trial basis, but is expected to continue through the duration of high tourism season.

You can view the regular ferry schedule on the Ed Hamilton & Co website.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Looking for a private yacht charter but don’t have a full week to spare? Amaryllis is offering a mini crewed sailing charter around St. John, in The US Virgin Islands. This 45′ Privilege Catamaran with crew, Bruce and Laura Masterson, is offering a 2-5 day USVI package with no short charter surcharge. Staying in US waters avoids clearing in and out of customs. The boat can pick up in St. Thomas or St. John so if you are looking to pair a charter with a villa or hotel stay, this is an ideal offering! St. John is 2/3 National Park and is studded with secluded anchorages, gorgeous beaches and wonderful snorkeling. Check out some of the less frequented bays on the south side, such as Great and Little Lameshur, and Salt Pond Bays (old personal favorites). There are also amazing hikes to historical ruins and the only petroglyphs found in the Virgin Islands.

Contact us today to check available dates for this great getaway! Call us at 800 621 7855, email us, or contact us through the Ed Hamilton & Co site, and tell us about your plans.

With American Airlines cutting flights to The Caribbean, yacht charter guests are often having to find alternative carriers. Small companies, such as Cape Air, are becoming popular for short inter-island flights. In a trip to St Thomas and The British Virgin Islands last week, we decided to try them out.

Cape Air uses 9 passenger, Cessna 402s. These are small planes, so anyone particularly afraid of flying, even in the larger jets, might consider staying with the major airlines. Having said that, the pilots are personable and the flight can indeed be a fun experience - a great start to your Caribbean vacation.

When arriving in San Juan, the transfer is not quite as convenient as using the larger airlines, as Cape Air’s desk is hidden away and quite a hike from the AA terminal. The gate number is not marked on the AA monitors, so just ask.

When the plane is full, it often cannot carry all the heavier luggage, so try to travel light. Both Emily (flying the previous day) and myself lost bags, but they were delivered to the boat show the next day at no charge.

Avoid tight connections because, like most Caribbean carriers, things run on island time and flights can be delayed, sometimes through no fault of the airline. Smaller planes are also more effected by weather, which can also cause delays.

Seats are assigned as you board the plane, to distribute the weight evenly. If you are tall, as I am, the best seat is by the door. One lucky passenger gets to sit by the pilot.

The plane often flies lower than a jet so the views are spectacular.

If you need advice on getting to your yacht charter, email or call Ed Hamilton & Co at 800 621 7855. It’s all part of the service when you charter through us.

A big thanks to everyone who sent us pictures of Hurricane Omar. While this storm was thankfully somewhat of an anticlimax in the US and British Virgin Islands, The Leeward Islands certainly had some damage and we received several pictures of flooded cars and downed trees, both in St. Martin and in Antigua (Jolly Harbour was particularly hard hit).

Rather than showing photographs of flood damage, which is rapidly being cleaned up, the pictures featured here were taken of the entrance to Marigot Bay, St. Lucia, many miles further south. Though Omar was miles away, the storm surge was impressive, particularly considering this is the leeward side of the island. No damage, just great pictures. Thank you Dick and crewed charter yacht ‘Frangines’ (she’s the catamaran in the foreground) for sending them to us.

Hurricanes affect The Eastern Caribbean far less than Florida and islands further west, though we certainly cannot say they don’t happen. So a storm like Omar, even though it had relatively little effect on the Caribbean Yacht Charter Industry, is news. This is the slow season, so we only had a few charters affected.

Most trip cancellation insurance covers weather interruptions, but for full coverage, it is important to select the right company. We can give you lots of advice with this.

If you don’t mind taking a chance of your charter being cut short, there are all kinds of bareboat charter bargains to be had. Email or call Ed Hamilton & Co at 800 621 7855.

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.