Even with the island's sagging economy, there's good news coming from the sea: This has been a banner year for visiting mega-yachts. "The best year ever," agent Ken Husky said.
The yachts, some the size of mini-cruise ships, have been anchored in Crown Bay, on the waterfront, at Yacht Haven and even in Frenchtown where they stood out among the considerably smaller sailboats and fishing boats.
Asked what accounted for the infusion, Husky cited the lack of docking facilities in St. Martin, which was hit hard by Hurricane Lenny last November. St. Martin is the No. 1 competitor for the big boats, Husky said.
Additionally, U.S. Customs in St. Thomas is easier to deal with than customs officers in some ports down island such as Antigua, another mecca of yacht owners, he said.
"St. Thomas is the best home base in the Caribbean," Husky said. "We have more air service, air freight, communications, provisioning, even telephone service."
Husky owns V.I. Yacht Services and Deliver It Inc., and is a ship's chandler. Which is to say, he not only provides the boats a marina of their choice but also offers provisioning, fueling and Customs clearance.
He handled about 75 yachts this year and expects next season to be even better. "This is a growing market each year," he said.
Husky said he doesn't recommend any particular marina and pointed out that even Yacht Haven, in its deteriorating condition, had some of the big boats this season. "It's strictly up to the yacht owners and what they want to spend," he said.
And spend they do. Husky said one large yacht — and many are 100 feet long — could easily spend $100,000 for a month in port.
"That figure wouldn't be uncommon," he said, and would include dockage, food provisioning, water, power and fuel. All in all, a good day for gross receipts taxes.
Local restaurants and bars benefit too. One captain took his crew of about 21 to the modest Betsy's Bar in Frenchtown one evening, where they had dinner complete with wine. "It was a fun night," owner Betsy Sheean said, "and they came back."
Ever wonder what's inside the palatial water homes with names like "Daybreak," "Excellence 11," and "Ultima III"? One reportedly has a marble staircase leading to a hot tub on an upper deck. Others sport helicopters, or even mini-pools.
Crews maintain the boats for the owners who usually fly in for a short cruise and fly out again — often on their own private jets.
Now, at the end of the season, many of the yachts are heading for the Mediterranean either on their own power or on one of the ungainly looking super servers, one of which loaded Wednesday at Crown Bay.
Six of the yachts left on that one, and another exodus is scheduled for the end of the month. But, Husky said, come winter they'll be back.
