Marinas in Europe and USA open for yachtsmen.
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Marinas in Europe and USA open for yachtsmen.

Navigation for foreigners is already open in Croatia and Montenegro.
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The marinas on both sides of the Atlantic return to normal operation after quarantine due to coronavirus following the shipyards.

Croatia

From 9 May, the Croatian Institute of Health allowed foreigners who own or rent a boat that is on Croatian territory to enter the country.

Once in the country, foreigners must comply with all sanitary recommendations during the pandemic: maintain a social distance, wash or disinfect their hands more often, try not to touch the face with their hands and wear a mask outside the home. In addition, you should take your body temperature every morning within 14 days of entering the country. If the temperature is above 37.2 °C or if the person is experiencing any other symptoms of sickness, you should inform your doctor.

The payment for parking in the largest Croatian network of marinas Adriatic Croatia International Club will be made exclusively remotely.

There will be no need to leave documents at the marina's reception and the number of clients who can stay at the reception desk at the same time will be limited. The marinas of the Adriatic Croatia International Club network in Raba, Zut, Pischker and Palmižana will remain closed for the time being.

Montenegro

In neighboring Montenegro, the land border for tourists is closed for now, but a yacht can already enter the territorial waters of the country and its marina from May 4.

Arrivals to the Porto Montenegro Montenegro Yacht Club, the most prestigious marina in Montenegro, have to endure a 14 day quarantine before they can move freely around the city, and there is already a quarantine area within the marina. But there is a loophole for yachtsmen that will shorten their sentence«. The fact is that these 14 days include the time that the vessel will spend at sea after leaving the previous marina.

There are 2 crew change scenarios. The first one provides that the newcomer arrives on board immediately and the crew waits for the quarantine of this crew. The second option allows the new crew member to spend 14 days alone in isolation at the Marina of Porto Montenegro.

If you arrive at Porto Montenegro only for refueling, you do not need to undergo quarantine.

«Quarantine measures have softened and people have started to use the yachts for leisure. Fans of water sports also returned to training. In Porto Montenegro Yacht Club there is a children's sailing section and yachtsmen also sail on J/70. Again popular is the training of motor yacht management. Paddling, windsurfing and rowing are great ways to spend time on the water that do not require contact with other people, so they are now very popular.

In anticipation of the opening of the borders, yacht crews are increasingly seriously preparing their boats for the summer season. The charter market is heavily dependent on international travel, but sailing schools have already started training and we see many boats training in and around the marina itself.

Montenegro is now coronavirus-free and we are waiting for foreign travelers, including owners of yachts and charter yacht guests, to arrive in the near future," said itBoat»manager of Porto Montenegro Yacht Club Marina Roddy Blair.

England

From May 13th all kinds of water activities, including rest on private boats and sailing, kayaking and windsurfing are allowed in England. The government has allowed citizens to go in for sports and outdoor activities (of course, provided the distance is respected). In this regard, the marinas, along with golf clubs, are included in the list of institutions that can resume operations.

Members of the same family living together can stay on board without restrictions.

It is noteworthy that the country's ban on overnight stays away from home also applies to overnight stays on a yacht. So it's only possible to go out on the water in England for a day so far. Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland can't be visited even without overnighting by the English.

Republic of Ireland

From May 18th boat owners in Ireland have been allowed to visit marinas for maintenance and inspections of their boats. Some marinas also allow family access to the water.

For two months the quarantine did not stop working, but people could not get into it. Now that the population is allowed to move 5 km away from home, this is an opportunity.

France

Since May 11th, on the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of France, it is allowed to call at the port, moor and stop pleasure boats with French or foreign flags, but you can only travel up to 54 nautical miles (approximately 100 km) from the port of registry, which actually opens navigation only for local yachts. The new rules allow in particular to get from Monaco to Cannes, from Cannes to Saint-Tropez or Nice.

On board a yacht that makes a short cruise from one French city to another, there must be no more than 10 people on board and the captain must report the health status of all passengers to the receiving port on board.

Foreign vessels flying the flag of a country outside the Schengen area may enter French territorial waters only for transit.

Such rules will remain in force until June 2, after which we can hope to further relax the quarantine regime.

Greece

From the 25th of May the Greek authorities allowed yachts that came to the country before the quarantine to move freely within the borders of the country. The tourist and charter season in Greece will start on 15th June: from now on, seasonal hotels will open and international flights will resume with 20 countries where there is no epidemic. Planes will only fly to Athens. From July 1, the list of countries will be significantly expanded, and flights will begin to receive airports throughout the country.

Tourists won't have to endure quarantine. It will suffice to meet the requirements of the airline operating the flight. Even the tests will only be taken by those whose health condition is alarming.

Spain

Yachting (including charter) is also allowed in continental Spain since May 11th. Even chartering is only allowed for residents of the same island, province or autonomous town where the rental company operates, and can only be used within the municipality where the crew lives.

From May 25th, the borders between the municipalities will be opened in Spain, when those who live far away from the berth will be able to reconnect with their boat.

From the 25th of May the Balearics and the Canary Islands will be opened for domestic yachting tourism. Fully navigation between the provinces will not be resumed until June 8th.

As far as multinational crews are concerned, non-EU citizens can come on board their ships if they have all the necessary documents. The border guard has the final word. But as long as borders remain closed to tourists, charter companies will continue to suffer losses. The main hope for them now is a more active than usual autumn, which will compensate for the spring losses.

«The beginning of the year was promising. In January and February we had many more bookings for the summer than usual. And then everything got deafly up. We were able to move bookings to the end of the season, offer customers vouchers that will move the deposit to another time this year or next year. Quarantine has definitely had an impact on business, but we are quite confident that the season will pay off: the busier autumn compensates for the failure of May and June. We rely on hotels, airlines and other agencies to work together for our customers. There is a lot of collective effort»," says Boat Charter Mallorca representative Daniel Cousins.

United States Virgin Islands

In the waters around this small group of islands in the Caribbean Sea charter may resume from June 1. At least for the moment, the ban on new guest registrations for any hotel structure (which is equivalent to charter yachts) only applies until midnight on May 31st. In the run-up to summer, this is great news for a region whose economy is in no small part tied to tourism. However, yacht tourists need to remember that the hurricane season begins on June 1 in the Caribbean Sea, which will last until November.

The work of sports facilities, including golf clubs, as well as in England, resumed in the Virgin Islands from May 4. Sailing is not mentioned separately in the respective decree of the Governor, however, as it can hardly be referred to as a contact sport like football and basketball, it can be assumed that owners of their own boats are not forbidden to go out on the water.

USA .

In the U.S. itself, marinas work on both coasts. According to the Waterway Guide website in Florida, there are a dozen private yacht clubs in a dozen cities. Miami and Fort Lauderdale, in particular, do not have 5 marinas. On May 2, when the state allowed water access, hundreds of yachting enthusiasts lined up kilometers of trailer cars in Miami. Boats had to be launched by the new rules one at a time, so people spent long hours waiting from midnight to the evening.

In the tiny state of Rhode Island, all the marinas now work. In neighboring Massachusetts and Connecticut, five marinas are closed. In California, a couple of closed marinas can be found in San Francisco and Antioque.

In the water, boats must not approach each other closer than 15 meters and there can be no more than 10 people aboard each yacht. While the boat is in the marina, people must wear masks.

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