The Yacht Insider: Questions Arise After Wicked New Year's on St. Barth's
Most charter contracts include a line that reads something like: “No warranty is made as to the suitability of weather,” which means the clients can be plain out of luck.
Captains aboard some of the world’s largest yachts were in emergency mode between December 28 and January 2, when the harbormaster at Gustavia Harbour on St. Barth’s closed the port because of nasty, dangerous swells that swamped the marina. Reports indicated that it took the better part of 10 hours for divers to untangle and free the anchors from yachts that lined the quay as the surge plowed in and battered the boats broadside. One captain told me that every yacht along the dock was rammed stern-to into the concrete at least once before getting out. Some yachts suffered more damage than others, according to the harbormaster.
The incoming surge floods the quay at Gustavia Harbour where revelers in stilettos typically ring in the New Year. Photo courtesy of Ann E. McHorney of Select Yachts and The Sacks Group Yachting Professionals.
At least 30 of the yachts forced to anchor offshore were available for charter, with guests eagerly anticipating the annual New Year’s Eve festivities such as yacht-hopping and restaurant galas. Tabloids ran photographs of celebs like Lindsey Lohan arriving with hair mangled after what must have been a brutal dinghy ride through the surging waves. Other charter guests told me that a good number of parties were canceled, as some yacht crew had trouble safely delivering guests to the dock as waves crashed down upon them.
None of which sounds to me like a very pleasant way to spend a New Year’s charter—and raises the inevitable question of some clients wanting a refund. Christmas and New Year’s are the most expensive weeks of the year to book Caribbean charters, and having spent well more than $100,000 in some cases, clients are likely to feel that the yacht’s owner, if not Mother Nature herself, owes them a bit on the back end.
The reality of charter contracts, though, is that the clients are plain out of luck.
There sometimes are clauses that allow a captain to cancel a charter in the case of a named storm, such as a hurricane, but most charter contracts include a line that reads something like: “No warranty is made as to the suitability of weather.” Even if nasty swells force your yacht out of the one harbor you intended to visit on New Year’s Eve, you have no financial recourse.
It’s definitely something to keep in mind for next New Year’s, seeing as how the weather patterns that caused so much trouble this year at St. Barth’s tend to be annual in nature.
