We hope you are all staying healthy and safe and have a good support system to get you through this event. As you might have assumed, we were unable to run any charters in April this year. The governor of Florida issued a state-wide “Stay at home” order for the entire month of April, expiring April 30. There are also federal regulations against gatherings of 10 or more people through April 30, Miami has shut down all non-essential businesses, and Juliet has been denied dockage anywhere for the duration of the local Miami emergency order due to all marinas being ordered closed, no exceptions. Add to that the Bahamas has a instituted a complete travel ban (tourists and Bahamian Citizens), and south Florida has put restrictions on all recreational boating.
Obviously we are at the mercy of all of that, plus the fact that it continues to be much safer for everyone to stay home and try to reduce the spread to allow our health care systems to keep up. Whether or not any of that will change come May…? We’ll leave that to the experts, and will sit and await that decision. While we’re hopeful we can all get out of the house and out on the water soon but we are also realistic that it may not be an option. If you are traveling with us this May and haven’t already heard from us or your dive shop that is organizing your trip, please feel free to get in touch, our office is open and here to answer your questions.
If you’re curious about where Juliet is now: after returning to Miami on April 3, the boat made the long trip around to the Gulf side of Florida near where the owner lives to ride out the chaos until the world is safely open for business again. Juliet and her skeleton crew (including Rico!) are safe and sound anchored in a protected canal, and have a couple of alligator friends who visit them regularly to keep them company.
We appreciate all of your kind notes, phone calls, and social media engagement, it’s bringing smiles to our faces. We’ll get back out on the water soon, but until then please stay safe and healthy and smart.