FLORIDA TO THE BAHAMAS BY BOAT

It's amazing how many people still refuse to fly these days. I get calls and emails every day from desperate vacationers wanting to take a boat from, say, Miami to Nassau. The conversation goes something like this:

" Hey Tony, we have a reservation at the Atlantis on Paradise Island next week and I'd like to take a boat from Miami because my wife doesn't like to fly."

" Sir?, it's 177 miles from Miami, it could get expensive; would you like the boat to wait for you and then bring you back?"

" How expensive could it be?" asks the victim.

" Well depending on the boat and the fuel consumption - er, maybe 50 to 80 gallons an hour, by 10 hours, there and 10 back, hmm, with fuel at $3 bucks in Miami and $5 bucks in Nassau, well, perhaps $10,000 to $15,000 without the wait time." "Oh, I forgot, and there's always the cruising tax...."

Silence at the other end of the phone. I distinctly hear someone gasp and fall off a chair.

"Wow, have you got anything cheaper?"

"It's cheaper to fly"

All of which brings me to the point of this blog, at some point in time, someone has to figure out how to make the idea of a regular scheduled ferry between Miami and Nassau into a viable business proposition. I know it's been tried, but I suspect, not with the the right vessels. I think someone needs to explore the Russian Hydrofoil technologies that are arguably the most advanced ferry technologies available. Either that or try the larger air cushion hovercraft that zip across the English Channel to France and back with regular schedules on really nasty seas.

Is there a market? Hey, to judge by the number of calls we get, there's gotta be a pony in there somewhere.....

Here's a beauty..!! 

FIRE DESTROYS HEMINGWAY MUSEUM IN BIMINI

I was horrified to hear that a fire destroyed the Ernest Hemingway museum and The Compleat Angler bar on Friday on the Bahamian island of Bimini, one of the American novelist's 1930s haunts during the days he stalked big game fish. The early morning blaze leveled the wooden inn in Alice Town and destroyed photographs and Hemingway memorabilia, police said. They also said the caretaker of The Compleat Angler, Julian Brown, was presumed dead. Brown, said to be in his 60s, alerted the inn's sole guest, who escaped though a window, but then disappeared. A neighbor, Katherine Weech, said Brown's remains were found in the debris. Brown's father, Harcourt Brown, built the inn. The destruction of the tiny island's biggest tourist attraction was the second major blow to hit Bimini in a month. On December 19, 11 residents were among 20 people killed when a Chalk's Ocean Airways seaplane plunged into the sea in Miami's shipping channel. Hemingway drank at The Compleat Angler between fishing trips in his vessel Pilar in search of marlin, wahoo and sailfish in the pristine waters around Bimini. His novel "The Old Man and The Sea" was said to be inspired by his fishing exploits in the Bahamas and Cuba, and he worked on "To Have and Have Not" in Bimini. The Hemingway legend became a major draw and The Compleat Angler created a museum which included hundreds of photographs and artifacts of the author. --

CLARIFICATION OF RULES REGARDING CHARTER YACHT OPERATION IN US WATERS

As usual, the new year brought many questions regarding US policies for crewed charter yachts operating in US waters.  Below is a synopsis of our questions to the Department of Homeland Security/Customs and Border Protection with their answers.  

1. If the vessel is US flagged with a US crew they only need US passports or other valid proof of citizenship.  After 12-31-2006 all US travelers must have valid machine readable passports.

2. If the vessel is Foreign flagged with a US crew they only need US passports or other valid proof of citizenship.  After 12-31-2006 all US travelers must have valid machine readable passports.

3. If the vessel is US flagged with a Foreign crew they require green cards and passports or other valid proof of citizenship. After 12-31-2006 all US travelers must have valid machine readable passports; non-US citizens may not operate a US flagged vessel in US waters.
4. If the vessel is Foreign Flagged with a Foreign crew they must have C1/D visas (work
visa) to charter; This visa allows the vessel; unlimited entries into
the US for periods not to exceed 29 days at one time; It is recommended
that crews ALSO have a B visa (tourist visa) in order to allow more time in the
US waters in the event of vacation, vessel maintenance. etc.; For example,
if the foreign flagged vessel enters US waters on the B visa they cannot legally
charter but could put the boat in storage for hurricane season.
Hope this continues to clarify some of the new regs.

CHARTER AGREEMENTS AND NON-PERFORMANCE

We've come across a couple of party charter boat non-performance issues recently. Most of them have to do with mechanical break-downs during or before the charter. For "Term Charters" or vacation or overnight charters, most contracts adhere to the Standard Caribbean (CYBA), Mediterranean (MYBA) or Demise agreement formats which are pretty clear. Not nearly so clear are the Party Boat agreements that are in most cases proprietary to the boats themselves or to the locations where they are based. We had a case the other day of a party boat that broke down before the charter and the parties agreed to do their charter "dockside" so the boat didn't actually go out on charter, however a good time was had by all with the boat tied up at the dock. Obviously the charter boat did not meet the expectation of the charterer who hired the boat to spend a nice evening on Biscayne Bay; nevertheless, the party went on and the guests had a good time and consumed the food and the beverages while tied up. The question arises as to what, if any, compensation is due to the charterer? Given the wide range of interpretations of each charter contract, this becomes almost a issue to be resolved by the parties themselves or a mediator. In our view some compensation is in line. Not a complete refund but, arguably, some monies need to be refunded. We would appreciate any feedback from clients, brokers and the boats themselves. Thank you.

BARE-BOATING IN THE BVI

Yes we finally put our money where our mouth is and rented a bareboat from Footloose in Tortola, BVI. Actually the experience was excellent and I would recommend it to anyone who is not in the racing business because, of course, after 5 high seasons, any boat will have sails that are as baggy as my aunt Agatha's knickers. Nevertheless this is not a story about my aunt Agatha; it's about the BVI and specifically about anchorages. Now, I'm not trying to adopt a holier than thou attitude about operating a bareboat, only that, my goodness, don't they ever actually VERIFY the credentials of people that rent boats? Sitting at the anchorage in Marina Cay, for example, here are a few of the amazing feats happening around us: boats with no nav lights sailing through the mooring area at dusk looking for mooring balls; power boats trying (and failing) to pick up moorings after 5 or 6 passes; half the boats have anchor lights on and the other half without a glimmer; 3 or 4 boats, obviously part of a group shouting and carrying on all night with a REAL TRUMPET blowing rousing pieces suitable for a football or hockey game; dinghies traveling at 150 miles an hour between anchored and moored boats. Wow, we were amazed. OK, but none of this really detracts from the sheer beauty of the place and, by the way, you can actually escape all this during the day because everyone starts to leave, silently and hung-over, thank goodness, fairly early in the morning and you can always take the dinghy and escape to a secluded beach. Actually we had our own little escapade after losing our boat-hook overboard on the way to St. Thomas; eventually, we wound up at Maho Bay, one of our favorite places in St. John, with no way to pick up a mooring. We tried everything including the use of a long handled blue cleaning brush (we must have looked REALLY stupid). We tried backing up to the ball but as we all know, Beneteau 362's don't reverse very well, we finally anchored along side the mooring ball and used the dinghy to run a line out...!! Everybody's got a story. Good time had by all.

COLUMBUS DAY REGATTA SHENANIGANS IN MIAMI

We can hardly wait for this grand occasion to be over and done with; used to be when we actually looked forward to it. Now we can only hope it goes by with a minimum of accidents, arrests, etc. Seems like the whole Miami population and then some, will be on Biscayne Bay and all the way down to Elliott Key on an assortment of floating contraptions blasting loud music.
This is one of the most dangerous weekends to be out on the water. Boats of all sizes at anchor in the most incredible places, boats rafting up, people jumping in the water and floating around from raft to raft; accidents waiting to happen. Too much alcohol and stuff to smoke and sniff. Boats don't mix well in this explosive environment. Let's hope the authorities will exercise some degree of control over the whole mess.
Now I like a good party as much as the next guy, OK? And I know this sounds like we're all a bunch of sanctimonious party poopers here. I don't care; being in the business I know that boats and alcohol don't mix. Please help us to keep Miami's Columbus Day celebration safe and fun for everyone.

FLORIDA'S NEW MARINA CONSTRUCTION REGULATIONS

We love them; there is already a serious lack of marina dockage in South Florida. PLUS many marinas are becoming "Docominiums" and selling dockage on long term leases. Hopefully the new regs will ease the pressure and allow existing marinas to expand and new ones to be built.
The down-side of course is more boats, more pollution, more crowded boating areas on weekends. Wow, is this possible? Ever been out on Biscayne Bay on a Holiday Weekend? Nevertheless we support the regs but sincerely hope that some kind of Boater's Operating License is introduced so that at least, every boating person is reading off the same sheet of music in regards, to the do's and don'ts of safety and pollution.
Doesn't need to be a fully fledged Captain's License, but basic boater education should be compulsory like a driver's license or a pilot's license. Why hasn't this happened before? Start by asking the boat builders..!!

NEW HOMELAND SECURITY ARRIVAL/DEPARTURE REGULATIONS

I learned that as of October 4th, 2005, Homeland Security is requiring all vessels with paying passengers to file an electronic notice of Departure and Arrival. This, of course, means that CHARTER yachts departing to and arriving from foreign locations need to do this as well. Information required includes name of passenger, date of birth, nationality and passport or visa number. Each charter yacht's clearing house will require this information now together with the food and beverage preference sheets. For those paying customers who do not have passports, a State issued ID will be OK, such as a Driver's license number.

Please note that this is a US requirement and does not affect any destination country's separate requirements, for example you can use a birth certificate to enter the Bahamas and Tortola in the Caribbean but NOT a Driver's License.
These regulations fill a gap in the effective policing of our borders but have a downside as well. They will continue to drive many charter boats to operate from locations outside the US. In the past, other regulations have had a similar effect on the Charter Industry and this will be no exception. In the US Virgin Islands, for example, the pick-ups from St. Thomas will diminish in favor of pick-ups in the British Virgin Islands; passengers will simply fly into Tortola instead of St. Thomas; the charter boat support infrastructure will also move.
In the Florida Bahamas area, these regulations will no doubt have an effect on the day traffic and fishing boat excursions to Bimini. i.e. the boats will move to Bimini or other locations and passengers will simply fly in to the Bahamas to pick up their boats. Oh well, I suppose progress is progress, let's hope that Ozzie doesn't blow up the BVI next.