St. John Hurricane Survivors

As many are aware, St. John and the neighboring Virgin Islands suffered direct impacts from Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Singing Dog Sailing lost several boats in the fleet, but saved the flagship luxury catamaran ‘OFF CAY’ by departing 12 hours before each storm made landfall in St. John and Puerto Rico respectively, riding out the ferocity of each storm sailing through squall bands to reach distances of 160-200nm out in the middle of the ocean with the ultimate goal of being in less than 50kt wind bands for safety. The Captains came back to unimaginable destruction in St. John and persisted tirelessly in search and recovery missions and to ensure safety, medical attention and rescue was accessible to those in need.

Pictured here is one of the fleet vessels lost to the hurricane:

Putting the loss of their other vessels in the background of importance, they directed all offers of personal charity support to verified community organizations rather than accept self-interest support of direct monetary donations and apart from a handful of charters in 18 months, the owners worked without income and with insurance payout of only 50% of invested loss to rebuild their fleet using their own labor and financial reserves now fully depleted. Being so committed to their presence within the community, they chose not to take the easy and softer way of relocating and starting afresh elsewhere, but chose to risk the long-haul commitment to St. John and its recovery.

The owners of Singing Dog Sailing thank you for your support in your visit to this island they consider paradise.

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