# Where to ***** cat? Open destinations. Good news thread.



## hpeer

(((Apparently SAILNET does not like Tom Jones - Whats new p.u.ss.ey cat. Dirty minds, tsk, tsk.

As we head into this new year, still unsure of the rules and regs, I thought it might be interesting to start a thread about places that are OPEN, places where we can actually go.

I just wanted a HOPEFUL thread as opposed to all the depressing
THOU SHALT NOT!!!! threads

Dominican Republic - COME ON DOWN!

Coronavirus Information



> All international tourists arriving on commercial flights and staying at a hotel will be granted during the check-in process a temporary, free health coverage plan that provides coverage for emergencies in the event of an infection or exposure to COVID-19 while in-country.


We spent 3 weeks in Luperon and really enjoyed it. Would be a whole lot better if they stuffed mufflers inside the motor hikes. Oh my ears. But that was only a problem in cities. We found Luperon delightful. Took a couple of days and a bus to SantonDoming, great historic town. And rented a car and went up into the mountains, where you need a jacket at night.

I think we could spend another couple of months there pretty easily.*as*


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## Minnewaska

I’ve seen a few cruising vlogs, from the Bahamas. Other than wearing masks, it looks as beautiful as last I was there. If by open, you mean no border restrictions, that‘s going to be short list. In this case, they’re tricky, but can be overcome with private testing, before you depart FL (I understand).


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## MarkofSeaLife

hpeer said:


> (((Apparently SAILNET does not like Tom Jones - Whats new p.u.ss.ey cat. Dirty minds,


Omg! You shocked the whole system!

*****!


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## hpeer

I just got some info on USVI and Puerto Rico. It sounds like you get a PCR test before leavng, but mail it to the officials, they send you back a QR code or something that you present to officials upon arrival. 

So that would olen up the USVI and PR to US citizen cruisers.


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## cthoops

We’ve been in the Bahamas for six weeks now and plan to be here until early May before heading to New England for the summer. 

We had to get a COVID PCR test and apply for a health visa with uploaded test results, then check in within five days of taking the test (test day being day zero). After that we only needed a follow up Covid test on day 5 and we filled out a short emailed health questionnaire for the first 14 days. The whole thing was easy, and so worth it.


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## hpeer

Thanks for the update.


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## hpeer

Doninica (NOT the DR) is making some headway towards reopening. This is their first protocol, I dont think many will rush to accept it. The approved dock at Cabrits is not really suitable. But it will s a good start.









Dominica government approves protocols for reopening of yachting sector - Dominica News Online


Parliamentary Representative for the Portsmouth Constituency, Ian Douglas has said that measures are being put in place for the reopening of the yachting sector due to an increase in interest and inquiries being received. He said the reopening of the...



dominicanewsonline.com


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## hpeer

2021 Caribbean economic outlook not good, ug!









The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) outlook for 2021: “not so good”


By Aaron Humes: Elizabeth Morgan, a specialist in international trade policy and international politics, has written an analysis of the year ahead in trade and the economy in the Caribbean. In short, she told CARICOM Today, it doesn’t look good for the regional grouping thus far.




www.breakingbelizenews.com


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## hpeer

Moorings claim he BVI's are now open. They have provided a guide for navigating the process. Ugh!









British Virgin Islands | COVID-19 Travel Restrictions | The Moorings


Learn more about what to do before your charter, during your stay and before you depart The British Virgin Islands.




www.moorings.com


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## Minnewaska

hpeer said:


> Moorings claim he BVI's are now open. They have provided a guide for navigating the process. Ugh!


Good to see progress, but ugh is right. You must essentially stay aboard your boat for 4 days, then go to Nanny Cay for a test. That test and one you took before you arrived must both be negative. If either is positive, one's vacation is over. If you can handle the longer quarantine, in order to cruise there for the duration, that may be more tolerable. There are still plenty of asymptomatic positive tests out there. No way to know for sure.


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## MarkofSeaLife

One of my friends, yesterday, paid $150 for his Covid test in Ft Lauderdale.


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## hpeer

Canada is getting MORE restrictive on travel. Air travel now requires a 3 day stay in a government sanctioned hotel at $2,000 Canadian. Not at all sure if that is per person or per room. Land travel seems to require a 2 week at home quarantine. 

I have been told they have shut down some maritime entrance ports, Shelbourne, NS for example. Now you must go to either Yarmouth or Halifax. We kick around the idea of sailing to Newfoundland for the summer. No clue how they would react to me, a citizen, showing up in St Johns, NL after a 2 week passage from the USA. Logically we would have completed our 2 week quarantine, as if logic.Has anything to do with anything. 
Just talked to some friends in Antigua. They say they are sailing around and around the island. 

Also just heard that in Trinidad the yard owners have taken to doing on air interviews to get their message out that the government needs to open up. As far as I know Trinidad is still shut hard.


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## Minnewaska

hpeer said:


> Canada is getting MORE restrictive on travel.


Could be reflective of recent articles on their vaccine rollout being behind most. Half the rate of the US, which isn't setting world records by a long shot either. I haven't seen an update in the last week or two, hopefully it's picking up, but this isn't a good sign.


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## SchockT

Minnewaska said:


> Could be reflective of recent articles on their vaccine rollout being behind most. Half the rate of the US, which isn't setting world records by a long shot either. I haven't seen an update in the last week or two, hopefully it's picking up, but this isn't a good sign.


It will be many months before any country has vaccinated enough of their citizens to be able to open up. Canada is behind because years ago a conservative government decided it was a good idea to privatize our national vaccine production facilities, and once that happened, they up and left seeking more profit in cheaper jurisdictions, leaving Canada with no domestic vaccine production capacity. We are at the mercy of other countries for our vaccines...

The reason travel restrictions are tightening up is because of the new variants that are coming out of the world hotspots. Many Canadians can't seem to follow travel advice voluntarily and still insist on travelling, so the stricter procedures for re-entering the country are meant to further discourage those people.

Sent from my SM-G981W using Tapatalk


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## Minnewaska

Let's not venture into the political. I don't believe Israel is producing any of their own vaccine and they lead the world in distribution. I was just stating the fact that CA is not getting their citizens vaccinated very quickly, ergo travel restrictions stay tight. 

This hodge podge of world wide experience is going to affect international travel for some time to come. On the bright side, it's not just how many citizens are vaccinated, it's how many actually contracted the disease as well that will affect herd immunity and drive down new cases, hospitalizations and death. The irony is, those places that did the worst job of containing the virus will mathematically get to herd immunity the fastest.


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## SchockT

Minnewaska said:


> Let's not venture into the political. I don't believe Israel is producing any of their own vaccine and they lead the world in distribution. I was just stating the fact that CA is not getting their citizens vaccinated very quickly, ergo travel restrictions stay tight.
> 
> This hodge podge of world wide experience is going to affect international travel for some time to come. On the bright side, it's not just how many citizens are vaccinated, it's how many actually contracted the disease as well that will affect herd immunity and drive down new cases, hospitalizations and death. The irony is, those places that did the worst job of containing the virus will mathematically get to herd immunity the fastest.


I'm not sure where Israel is getting their vaccines but Canada is distributing vaccines as fast as we can get them. There have been delays as Phizer's Belgian plant tools up to higher production. Canada was collaborating with China to develop a vaccine, and then China took that work and refused to export the product of that collaboration. (Shame on us for trusting them I guess)

Regardless, my point is that vaccines alone are not going to fix this mess any time soon. There is already evidence that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are not as effective against some of the more contagious and more deadly variants that are starting to emerge. That may very well extend travel restrictions.

You may be right, the jurisdictions that let covid get away on them could develop herd immunity first. Ironically it is those same jurisdictions that are producing the more dangerous mutations that are going to drag this pandemic out.

That's not political, that's just reality.

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## Minnewaska

SchockT said:


> There is already evidence that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are not as effective against some of the more contagious and more deadly variants


Need to be careful here. Efficacy is measured against a vaccine's ability to provide asymptomatic infection. You still upload the virus, it just causes no symptoms, because one's immune system identifies it early enough to knock it down. However, low to moderate symptoms, or symptoms that avoid severe disease, hospitalization and fatality are still considered a fail, when measured against efficacy. If these vaccines simply provide protection against death or severe disease, they'll be good enough to reopen. We never closed borders for the seasonal flu and effectively a post vaccinated disease on that scale may be the outcome. This one is not likely to be like wiping out smallpox, that wouldn't be rational knowing how coronaviruses mutate. It's only going to be getting the impact into a tolerable range.


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## Don L

MarkofSeaLife said:


> One of my friends, yesterday, paid $150 for his Covid test in Ft Lauderdale.


well that was a good deal if it was a fast result place, I paid $179/ea 2 weeks ago

There are cruisers coming to the Bahamas, but it does seem empty compared to last year. Right now in the anchorage I am at in Nassau there is just me and 2 others (1 one of those 200' boats). Last year I arrived on the first day of the quarantine starting and there were lots here. Morgan's Bluff in Andros there were 2 boats and last year at least 6.

When I get over to the smaller islands here I will see if their attitude has changed from "those cruisers who bring the virus" back last March to the "those cruisers who bring money" this year.


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## Minnewaska

Don L said:


> When I get over to the smaller islands here I will see if their attitude has changed


Attitude on the small islands has always been a little variable, even in the best of times. Most love to see visitors, some hold some deep seeded stuff. When anything less than positive, I think it's usually economic. You're viewed as having so much more and it's upsetting. Once, I walked into a makeshift hardware/general store, thinking it was something else. There was a young girl inside (est 5 yr old) that saw me come in, stopped in her tracks and looked like she saw a ghost. She pointed at me and said, "mama, it's a white person". Mama had no use for us.

This has not been my dominant experience, the vast majority are very friendly and welcoming. But, it's there, like it is in all cultures.


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## hpeer

Yup.

A lady at the tourism office in St Pierre, Martinique told our friends to “Learn a civilized language.”

This couple collectively spoke English, Finnish, and Hebrew - at least.


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## hpeer

Just heard from a local in Dominca that he hot his first shot. That would be great if the islands got vaccinated and would welcome us back.


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## hpeer

Copied from the recent Noonsite news letter.

Kinda a little bit of good news, maybe.



Just as many of the boats arriving in the Caribbean last Autumn were Covid-grounded, those planning to exit this Spring will face many of the same challenges. Quarantine on arrival as you move up the island chain has to be taken into consideration - in some islands as much as 14 days - plus the cost of testing in each new country. Careful tracking of the changing protocols is vital.​





























Puerto Rico as a staging post on the way north should not be overlooked. Its western and southern coastline offers lovely cruising as described by Joan Conover (SSCA) and José Mendez (Marina Pescaderia) in this round up of options for boats migrating north this hurricane season.

Heading south, Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname are all outside the hurricane zone and offer simple entry protocols.
To the west, Guatemala's Rio Dulce is another popular choice for hurricane season, with a wide range of marinas to choose from and straightforward protocols. Honduras Bay Islands can be accessed with some patience and advance paperwork.​





























For the Caribbean remainers, options are limited. Grenada, always a popular choice because of its great cruising community and for insurance reasons, is filling up. Trinidad and Tobago remain closed. The ABCs are situated to the south of most paths of recent hurricanes, but cases are rising in Curacao and restrictions tightening up there.

The exodus from the Caribbean this year should not be as difficult for cruisers as it was last year. While options are limited, with advance planning and early departure, there's no reason why new cruising grounds, or at least a new base for some exploration inland, can't be found.​


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## Davil

thanks
we can use good news


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## boatpoker

Looking forward to cruising the Canadian half of Lake Ontario ... all winter, sigh!


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## Minnewaska

hpeer said:


> arriving in the Caribbean last Autumn were Covid-grounded, those planning to exit this Spring


Am I missing something? This seems dated.


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## MarkofSeaLife

Minnewaska said:


> Am I missing something? This seems dated.


Ummmm yes, dated.
So I've locked the thread.

Things are changing on a weekly basis in most Caribbean islands so a 5 month old thread could dtuff someone's plans!

For the latest: things are not too bad!
Come on down to the Carib 😊


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