14 November 2017but its marinas and fleet in the British
Virgin Islands and St. Maarten had been
“severely affected”.
In a statement Dream Yacht Charter
founder, Loic Bonnet, said that they were
“in contact when communications allow
with BVI and St. Maarten and all other
bases are operational.” Dream Yacht
Charter reported that they expected to
be operational in St. Maarten within a
matter of weeks after Irma’s impact.
The British Virgin Islands had looked
set to suffer another pummelling from
Hurricane Maria, the second category 5
storm which passed through the Leeward
Islands two weeks after Irma, but
fortunately avoided a second hit. Maria
did, however, wreak havoc over Dominica,
Guadaloupe, and Puerto Rico.
The recovery process had been in
full swing in the BVIs before Maria’s
approach. On the island of Tortola,
Nanny Cay has become a central focus
of operations, with power and some
running water restored. The militaryResidents rescue
belongings after
Hurricane Irma
struck the US
mainland in
FloridaHundreds of
yachts and
powerboats crowd
the shoreline
in Paraquita Bay,
Tor tolawere using Nanny Cay as a headquarters
to coordinate relief efforts, with
many doctors and medical workers
accommodated there. Boats which were
salvageable had been moved to the outer
marina, with surveyors and repairers
working on damaged yachts.
Cameron McColl, owner of Nanny
Cay, said that while the damage looked
bad, he was confident that a great
number of yachts, particularly those‘The recovery had been in full
swing before maria’s approach’
which had fallen over in cradles, would be
salvageable. “Our operations are up and
running, the chandlery is open, and the
heavy machinery is operational.
Jonas Ball from insurers Pantaenius
reported that they had set up a mobile
claims office on a catamaran in the BVIs
to begin processing the huge numbers
of damaged yachts, but their team of
surveyors had had to leave for safety as
Maria approached.On the wind
Caribbean Buzz HelicoptersEFE News Agency / Alamy Stock photo