TradeWinds Hurricane Irma Update

[RNCollins]

September 9, 2017 - TradeWinds Update from their Facebook page:

HURRICANE IRMA

"Dear Everyone,

As you are most probably aware St. Martin/Sint Maarten and The British Virgin Islands both got a direct hit from Hurricane Irma, the most powerful hurricane ever to form in the Atlantic Ocean. It has devastated those islands and the destruction is catastrophic. We are working diligently to secure and evacuate all TradeWinds staff and guests in the fastest and best possible way. This is difficult as both seaports and airports are closed for civilian use, compounded by the lack of communication as all systems are down.

We will get back to you with further information as soon as possible. For now all charters in the BVI's and St. Martin are cancelled for the month of September 2017. At all other TradeWinds bases charters will be going out as scheduled.

For those booked in October onwards stand by, we are working to bring you positive news."


September 8, 2017:

"FYI: ALL TRADEWINDS BVI CREW AND ST MAARTEN CREW ARE SAFE

BVI CREWLIST:

CHRIS AND MARLI
DANIEL STARLING
ANGIE BESTER
PAUL TREMBATH
APRIL TREMBATH
INDI ROOKEN-SMITH
JOELLE FAUZI
RICHARD VINCENT
DOMINIQUE JOYCE
JESSICA MULLER
RICKY MOSS
JOSS KENNEDY-HUGHES
MEROUANE DELAPORTE

ST. MAARTEN CREW LIST:

NEIL AND ARZU PARSONS
TARA TAYLOR AND FAMILY
CARINA AND EMILY LUDVIGSON
IAN INGRAM AND FAMILY (FAMILY IS OFF ISLAND)
ALL OF IAN'S TEAM (MAINTENANCE) ARE SAFE
APRIL AND MAGNUS (OFF ISLAND)
TOM KEEGAN AND ALINA READ
TOM AND JEN
ALETT SLABBERT
TOM HYLAND AND SUZE ENTWHISTLE
MICHAEL LAWDAY AND HELEN ARTAL
JAMES BROWN AND BELLA JOYNER
RYAN MEYER
AND OF COURSE ANDY AND LOU ARE ALSO FINE.

BASICALLY WE HAVE CONFIRMATION THAT EVERYONE IS SAFE WITH TRADEWINDS, EXCEPT WE ARE STILL TRYING TO CONTACT MICHELLE MARCANO AND TONY FITTON. IF ANYONE HEARS FROM THEM PLS LET US KNOW."

 

[RNCollins]

September 11, 2017
Hurricane Irma update#2 / From TradeWinds Facebook:

"On the 8th September we got ten staff on a speedboat to Nevis … James and Bella, Tom and Alina, Michael and Helen, Arzu and Jenn, Tom and Susie.

A yacht will arrive in Sint Maarten at approx 14:30 AST today to evacuate all remaining staff/crew. They are Andy Hayden & Lou Seymour, Neil Parsons, Tom Rose, Ryan Meyer, Ian Ingram and Dennis Gonzalez.

Carina, Melanie, Nana and the kids - Emily, Valerie, Amara have been flown out today on our aircraft. They are all now safe and well in Nevis.

Two yachts will arrive in Nanny Cay (BVI) on Tuesday to to evacuate all remaining staff/crew. They are Chris Roux & Marli van Wyngaard, Richard Vincent & Dominique Joyce, Joss Kennedy-Hughes & Merouane Delaporte, Paul & April Trembath, Tim Johnson & Nicola Camp, Indi Rooken Smith & Joelle Fauzi, Dan Starling & Angie Bester, Alett Slabbert and Megan, Jessica Lynn Muller and Ricky Moss

Michelle and Tony are still missing although we are receiving reports of their whereabouts and well-being. Naturally, we are all rooting for these reports to be correct. We have permission from the Dutch authorities to fly in, and will offer them both evacuation as soon as we can make contact.

All evacuees will be taken to our base in Bequia. Phones will be on hand for all to contact relatives."

Our team in Guadeloupe have been working night and day to provide aid on our yachts. Here is the first yacht leaving …..

"

"For all our Members and friends, but most particularly for the anxious relatives of our amazing crews, this is where we're taking your sons, daughters, sisters and brothers to recover from the trauma they've been through.

Those evacuated from St Martin/Sint Maarten should arrive in Bequia approx Thursday this week: those evacuated from the Brtitish Virgin Islands should arrive Friday/Saturday."

As close to paradise as we can ever hope for #tradewindslife #tcaribbeanstrong

 

[RNCollins]

September 12, 2017
Post from TradeWinds Facebook:

CHANGE OF PLAN

"There was a change of plans late yesterday, and in order to get the crew to a safe haven as quickly as possible we are in fact gathering all our evacuees together on the tiny island of Nevis, near Antigua.

All St Martin crew have now arrived there, and our BVI crew will arrive by Thursday on this beautiful little island, which sustained no damage at all from Hurricane Irma. There is plenty of connectivity on Nevis so they will be able to contact their loved ones while they recover here from the trauma."

Trade-winds.com

 

[RNCollins]

September 13, 2017
Tradewinds Facebook posting:

"GREAT NEWS!"

"For everyone who has been asking about missing TradeWinds’ staff members Tony and Michelle - we have wonderful news!

Tony was located in St Martin on Monday and has already been safely evacuated to Nevis.

Michelle spoke directly to Carina last night … she is safe and well, and we are assisting in her evacuation from St Martin.

Flagship yacht “New Beginnings” has now arrived safely in the BVI, and will evacuate the remaining crews/managers. They should be in Nevis tomorrow as planned.

We are all so very relieved!"
#tradewindslife

 

[Sandy VDH]

Glad that everyone is safe. But I believe recovery will be slow for these two bases.

It will impact many future sail dates out of these bases, as the country will lack sufficient infrastructure for a period of time. Airports are not open for starters, so getting there would be a primary issue.

Not to mention that I have seen pictures that I am able to identify at leave 6 TW boats that are damaged or destroyed. There may be more, those are only the ones we have found and identified readily in a picture.

Rightfully so, safety was the primary concern, now that is completed, assessment and alternative plans are likely now being pondered. At some point in the future when BVI and SXM islands are more stable recover efforts and yacht assessments will be to be made. Simple short term answer is that surviving boats and resources are reassigned to other working bases until some other decisions, criteria and timelines for return can be determined.

Those bases need basic functions Power and suppliers operating, support staff, and dockage and mooring facilities before returning can even be considered.

 

[RNCollins]

From Tradewinds Facebook page:
September 14, 2017

Hurricane Irma Update #3

"ALL TRADEWINDS STAFF NOW ACCOUNTED FOR
We can now report that we have accounted for all staff that were in the path of Hurricane Irma, and we are extremely thankful that everybody is safe. The team in Guadeloupe did a fantastic job of sending up yachts full of aid. On the 11th September S/Y Further delivered aid and evacuated all remaining staff/crew from St Martin. On the 12th S/Y New Beginnings delivered aid to The British Virgin Islands and evacuated all remaining staff/crew. They are now en route to safety where a shower, a hot meal and many of their evacuated colleagues await them.

THANK YOU!
This period had been stressful on all of our staff. We just want to say a big thank you to all of our members, friends and supporters. Whether from home, or, whilst cruising with us, you have given us so much support over this period. Your kind words and concern for those affected have greatly helped us throughout this challenging time!

BVI TO RELOCATE IT'S BASE OPERATIONS FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER
We have temporarily relocated our BVI base operations to beautiful Christophe Harbour in the twin-island nation of St Kitts & Nevis. St Kitts & Nevis was unaffected by Hurricane Irma and offers a stunning sailing experience, something that those of our members who have been on a Caribbean Summer Adventure there can affirm. All of you that have confirmed BVI sailing dates, during this time frame, will be contacted by our reservations team. We are hopeful to resume basic operations back in the BVI’s by November.

ST MARTIN BASE UPDATE
With regards to our St Martin base, this is the place that has been hit the hardest. Therefore, all of you that have confirmed sailing dates in October will be contacted by our reservations team to offer alternative cruises at our other Caribbean destinations. With regards to bookings from November onwards, stay tuned for more news next week.

A LOOK BEYOND
Even though Irma caused havoc and destruction in parts of the islands, our TradeWinds bases in The Bahamas, Antigua, Guadeloupe and St Vincent & the Grenadines remain stunningly beautiful and unaffected, with additional charters added to the calendar.

All our yachts are fully insured and we are now working with our yacht building partners to repair and replace losses incurred. Rest assured that TradeWinds has weathered the storm and we will continue to EXPLORE, DREAM AND DISCOVER more than ever before!

Once again, we thank you for your support and we look forward to sailing with you again very soon!"

 

[RNCollins]

From TradeWind's Facebook page:

Saturday September 23, 2017

HURRICANES IRMA AND MARIA UPDATE

"With the passing of Hurricane Maria, which spared TradeWinds northern Caribbean bases but did some serious damage to the USVI’s and Puerto Rico, we have now had the possibility to assess the damage to yachts and base operations in Tortola and St Martin by Hurricane Irma. Fortunately, all TradeWinds staff are now accounted for and alive. For that we are so grateful.

With regards to damage to the yachts we did comparatively well when looking at the yachting and hospitality industry as a whole in the region. TradeWinds only had three total losses out of the active fleet and in additional to this, we have six further yachts in charter operations that are damaged, but deemed repairable by our insurance assessors. We anticipate having at least four of these six back chartering within three months.

Of the three total losses, one was dedicated to charter broker business (outside of the Club). We have now temporarily cancelled the charter broker programme, so another yacht from there is now also free to deliver Club charters once the already sold broker charters have been delivered.

In addition, we also have scheduled deliveries of new yachts coming into the Club over the months to come, with the first of many being launched in La Rochelle, France this upcoming week. Therefore we are happy to report that, with the above efforts and additional yachts, we will bring our charter capacity back to pre-Irma levels without too much delay.

The TradeWinds crews are ready to get out there and deliver the world-renowned experiences we are so proud to offer!

With regards to the base operations in both the BVI’s and St Martin, there are however factors that are out of our control. Restoration of infrastructure and basic requirements such as electricity and water will impact the decision on when operations there can resume. Another important factor will be incoming flights, and we have currently no confirmed news as to when tourists will actually be able to fly in to Tortola and/or St. Maarten.

We are still hopeful to be able to resume basic operations in Tortola as of November, if incoming flights are available.

With regards to St Martin, we are working on a temporary solution where we would move the base operations to neighboring island of Anguilla. Even though Anguilla was also hit by Irma, it is a much smaller island nation and we feel that basic infrastructure there will be repaired and partly operational much sooner than St Martin. As an example, we just had confirmation today that commercial flights with a local operator to neighboring Antigua and St Kitts have already commenced yesterday.

We will let you know more next week, once we have discussed this option with parties in Anguilla including government officials. Should this happen, then all of you with confirmed bookings in St Martin for November and onwards would not need to change any of your travel arrangements, as you would still fly into St Maarten (subject to commercial flights having resumed) and then catch a water taxi/ferry across the sound on a 15-minute ride to easily accessible Blowing Point on Anguilla.

And to end off our update, we remind you that Maria did not affect any of the other TradeWinds bases directly. In beautiful Antigua, Guadeloupe, St Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and The Grenadines and The Bahamas, charter operations are continuing as usual!

Many of you have asked us how you can support the Caribbean and the people affected by the storms. From our end, we ask you to continue to travel to the islands… Things will only return to normality if the tourists are here, as the whole population relies on tourism.

So support the Caribbean and our Club by coming sailing with us!

From all of us, we would like to express sincere gratitude for your continued support."

 

[RNCollins]

September 27, 2017
TradeWinds Facebook post:

"PLEASE HELP SUPPORT OUR BASE CREW AFFECTED BY HURRICANE IRMA"

"On the 6th September 2017 Hurricame Irma; a category 5 hurricane, unleashed hell on The Leeward Islands in the Caribbean. Two of our bases were located within it's path - St Martin and The British Virgin Islands.

Our base crew live in these islands and do the most amazing job of maintaining and cleaning our fleet. They have all incurred damage to their properties and livelihoods. Some have lost their homes and are now living on our boats. Even with such devastation around them there are giving 100% for our efforts to restore our bases - they are heroes!

It goes without saying that we are doing our best to support them in such adverse circumstances. If you would like to help out and support them them in rebuilding their homes, then we would be sincerely grateful. Below you can donate online using a credit card or make a pledge and send a check to us.

Your donation will go to TradeWinds Experience Inc. and will be firewalled in an account. With the exception of credit card charges, 100% of the money you donate will go towards the purchase of supplies to aid our base crew to rebuild their homes."

Link for site to donate:
http://tablet.trade-winds.com/tradewinds-irma-relief

 

[RNCollins]

TradeWinds sent out this email today:
October 6, 2016

“We have some great news to share. From the 4th of November 2017 charter operations will return to The British Virgin Islands AND if that was not enough good news...

From the 2nd of December 2017, charter operations will return to St Martin!

With the help of a fantastic team on the ground, We can finally say we're "open for business" and are more than ready to welcome you once again.

Open for business

In true Caribbean spirit, the people are showing their resilience with restaurants, stores, bars and businesses opening daily.

We have surveyed our waters and are very glad to report that the dive sites are as wonderful as ever. Admittedly, some of our beaches have moved a little, but they are still as beautiful as ever to stroll upon.

Little beach bars are springing up and are ready to welcome you back. All major food and beverage suppliers are fully stocked and ready to deliver, so you can look forward to your usual "TradeWinds feasts" on board.

As you know our local base crews have lost almost everything they own, despite that, they are working tirelessly to get us up and running. We have been inundated with support from all of you and for that we are truly thankful.

We are so humbled to announce that altogether you have donated over $27,000 USD to help them rebuild their homes. Donations are still coming in, and please feel free to donate.

Help us celebrate these Islands by flying the flag, cruising, dancing, relaxing, laughing, and of course, dropping anchor to show our support.

On behalf of all of us at TradeWinds, a HUGE thank you for all of your continued support!

DONATE NOW

For those booked:

BVI

For those of you who have booked on or after the 4th of November 2017, your cruise embarkation point remains unchanged. For those booked before; our Reservations team are in the process of contacting you and working with you to move your embarkation point / delay your cruise.

The ferry services between St Thomas and the BVI as well as the airports on both islands are open for commercial travelling.


ST MARTIN

For those of you who have booked on or after the 2nd December 2017, your cruise embarkation point remains unchanged. For those booked before; our Reservations team are in the process of contacting you and working with you to move your embarkation point / delay your cruise.

The International airport will open on the 10th October for commercial flights.”

 

[Tia]

Saw a post on TripAdvisor someone with a December charter booked but can't find lodging on STT for before and after.

 

[RNCollins]

October 16 2017

Posting from TradeWinds FaceBook page:

NEWS FROM AIR FRANCE

“We’ve noticed that some of our members, who have booked to cruise with us in St Martin in February 2018, are cancelling their cruises because Air France have cancelled some of their flights.

Before you cancel, please note that although Air France will only resume DIRECT flights to St Maarten in March 2018, they have daily scheduled flights to Guadeloupe (PTP) and will connect St Maarten passengers to Grand-Case Espérance Airport (SFG) on St Martin through their collaboration with Air Antilles Express.

As of December 2017, they will also be flying every Saturday to Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), departing from Pointe-à-Pitre (PTP), connecting to and from Paris Orly (ORY).

Two long-haul flights will fly between Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) on 23rd/24th of December 2017 and on 6th/7th of January 2018.

Also, KLM fly twice per week to and from Europe.”