COV costing yacht crews their shore leave

AS the rich and famous flocked to their yachts on St. Barts over the holiday season, many of them did everything they could to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including tracking crewmembers to make sure they stayed onboard, On The Money has learned.

Yachts provide a fair amount of isolation and privacy for those who can afford it, but only if everyone else on board is also committed to isolating and staying away from possible superspreader events.

So, amid a surge in Omicron cases, the ultra-rich clamped down on crewmembers’ usual visits to shore. Captains told staff — including chefs, deckhands, and first mates — they had to stay on the boat and share their location on their cellphones, one source who was recently aboard a big boat said.

The same person also said some Russian oligarchs are said to have taken an even harsher position than their American counterparts by requiring crew members to wear ankle bracelets as do criminals under house arrest.

But staying away from the posh St. Barts nightclubs proved too difficult for some crew. To avoid surveillance, one boat’s chef and two other staffers left their phones on board when they went ashore in the middle of the night, a source said.

Their escape was only discovered when the owner woke up hungry for a pastrami sandwich at 3 a.m. When they returned, they were forced to quarantine unpaid for five days, the source said.

At the outbreak of coronavirus in March 2020, billionaire David Geffen sparked outrage when he posted an aerial shot of his nearly $600 million superyacht, and said he was isolating in the Grenadines.