The Admiral Yacht Insurance team regularly visit surveyors, boatyards, marinas and repair facilities at the main cruising destinations so that we can provide up to date advice to our insured.
Last month’s trip to Grenada, St Lucia, Tortola and Antigua proved to be well timed and Robert Holbrook, Admiral’s Yacht Insurance MD and Bob Samuels, Admiral’s Yacht Insurance Claims Manager, were able to see first-hand some examples of the damage that hurricanes can cause to yachts.
Fortunately the hurricane did not affect either Grenada or St Lucia but as Robert and Bob headed north to Antigua via Tortola, they experienced increasing disruption to flights. There was much evidence of the hurricane’s passage through Antigua, particularly amongst some of the yachts which had been afloat at the time. Happily all of our Insured’s yachts were safely tucked up ashore in cradles with secured props, and none had suffered any damage, even in Jolly Harbour where winds had reached up to 105 knots.
The trip provided a good opportunity to catch up with friends and contacts in the islands and to discuss the latest plans for facility development with the yard operators. It was particularly encouraging to see that the preventative steps taken by the yards in respect to hurricane layup had paid off. There had been little time to prepare for the hurricane which had been forecast as a tropical storm. The poor unfortunate yachts left afloat in St Maarten were sunk in large numbers by Gonzalo.
For advice on laying up ashore in the Caribbean please see Admiral’s layup guide.
