Ep 162 Exploring the Hotspots of the BVIs - Then Getting Thrown Out

[@dancundiff3316]

Wonderful content as always! And varied! Docking, snorkling, Gov't hassles. Just epic goodness.

[@SailingTalisman]

Thanks Dan. Great hearing from you again!

[@robertgranafei2781]

Having lived, and owned a business, in the BVI for 14 years before Irma in 2017, and recently retuning with a private yacht I can only say you've hit just one of many "stupid" ideas the government has regarding yachts and visitors in general. For example, their website states that if you are an American citizen you have a 6 month vista. However, in practice they will only give you 30 days. When you point this out to them, their official response is a shrug. Recently I entered and got 30 days. But after a week I had to return to the US for a family emergency . I cleared out, and my passport was duly stamped. After about 3 weeks I returned. The immigration officer would not give me a fresh 30 days as she claimed I had 3 days left on the last entry, even though I had left the territory for over 22 days. When I tried to get a fresh 30 days I was told to leave and come back. By that they meant to wait to the last day (day 3) , take the ferry to St. Thomas in the morning and return the next day. The cost with the hotel was about $500. Naturally, this makes no sense. But making sense is not a forte of the people who populate the BVI government. They are all "Belongs" and everyone else is not. They resent just about everyone who is not a born here Belonger. I have friends who are Belongers by marriage and they get jerked like us non-Belongers. They see visitors as the enemy even though the tourist industry is the number 2 source of revenue, and of that, people chartering or bring private yachts into the BVI produce many jobs, leave a ton of money on the table, and take no social services away form the citizens of the BVI. The islands are beautiful, the sailing is great, but the government is a mess.

[@SailingTalisman]

As you see with many islands in the Caribbean, government jobs are "good" jobs. You work indoors in air conditioned rooms, and get to wear nice cloths. But after a point you've got 30-40% of the population working in government, and the rest of the island is expected to pay for it. So they get a lot of pushback about reducing staff. But wait, a new idea comes to mind. We'll take the money from the tourists and yachties. And this is all well until the tourists and yachties go somewhere else. At least the charter companies have formed a lobbying group and have some juice. I do agree that the BVIs are exceptional, but there are other options, and one of the rules of business (immutable) is that the highest price you can charge for something is rarely the most profitable. This is because profit is margin times volume. And volume is the driver. Lose the volume, and your business will slowly fail. Finally, I believe (and I could be wrong) you're conflating the person and the boat. It's the boat they were giving us 30 days on. We would have had 90 days if we flew in and put 90 days on our immigration ticket. They would have stamped us in and all would be well. But another rule of dealing with officials is never ask questions or interact with them more than necessary. The second you start telling them about your boat and health issues, red flags are raised with them. it only goes downhill from there.

[@robertgranafei2781]

@@SailingTalisman My boat is imported to the BVI. 30 days is the max for a person as they currently apply "their" rules. My mistake was landing in Tortola other than Virgin Gorda, where they are much more relaxed.

[@SailingTalisman]

@@robertgranafei2781 Indeed, Robert. We find that Soper's Hole is more relaxed as well. We've heard about people getting abused at Road Harbour for anchoring out and then walking over from the marina area (accusing the person of having entered the island before clearing in), and also have been personally threatened with fines for tying up, out of the way of ferries, at the ferry dock where immigration and customs offices are. We were twice charged $50 "Harbor Fee" there, even though we were obviously in-and-out. I hate that place. But on the plus side, for people reading, once you're past these gatekeepers, everything chills on the islands. The issue I feel the BVI officials should address is how bad your first and last touch can be when visiting. The negative experiences follow the guests home, and that is never good.

[@RichardSwinton]

good to see u guys relaxing as opposed to having mainsail issues with the in mast furling. stay safe

[@SailingTalisman]

Hi Richard. It's odd to say, but there's something especially rewarding about the work that goes into getting to the fun.

[@chester1167]

Hello to brother David, who is up for the rough ride on a beautiful day.

[@taterhater7419]

love watching your videos. you and wendy have such a great partnership.

[@SailingTalisman]

That's the truth. We just celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary a couple of days ago, and I'd marry her again in a heartbeat. And thanks so much for watching and being with us!

[@ricksimpson1543]

Nice video, again! Thanks

[@SailingTalisman]

Thanks again!

[@christianjiancc]

Well done

[@SailingTalisman]

Thanks Christian!

[@normanboyes4983]

A belated Happy 21st Wedding Anniversary.😉😀⛵️👍

[@SailingTalisman]

Thanks Norman. Hope all is well.

[@peebeedee6757]

Kevin, 12:33, camera is on wrong side to admire your technique!

[@SailingTalisman]

Yep. I'm half idjit when it comes to setting things up. I get so focused on the moment that often enough we miss filming entirely (even after having cameras in place). And that's actually the problem here. We had a port and starboard camera, and one died before the action started. Next time we'll do better, I hope.

[@peebeedee6757]

@@SailingTalisman It happens. In all a great Ep. Some sailing, some berthing, some eating, some snorkelling, some sea life and great music

[@catspaw3815]

We LIKE rough rides! 3rd-world bureaucracy is the worst. #BoycottTheBVIs

[@SailingTalisman]

We'll see what we can do.