Yes. No doubt every business world wide has has some level of impact on their operations from this pandemic.
Operations-wise the biggest ongoing impact has been in cleanliness. This isn’t (or shouldn’t) be a bad thing. So you will see our crew doing A LOT of cleaning during any Charter or cruise. Especially fishing charters where our customers are handling bait rod etc. We have always been very boat-proud and worked hard on ensuring our customers have a safe clean and modern vessel to enjoy our at sea. So the change for us has been more one of ensuring any potential areas that could potentially increase or assist in the transmission of the virus are negated to the absolute best of our ability and inline with Qld Health regulations.
Another impact – partly brought on by the increased costs the pandemic has added to any business – is food. We can no longer supply food as we did pre-pandemic. The costs and time to work within the new regulations that govern this simply make it prohibitive to do so. We would have to increase the cost of the charter substantially as after a lot of soul-searching decided that despite the costs we had already outlaid to improve our food on our charters and cruises, we would be better to remove food from our supply altogether. It would be far less expensive for our customers to bring their own than pay the much higher costs that would be needed to enable us to supply food in accordance with all the new regulations surrounding that. Our customers bringing their own food aboard is the safest and least expensive option at this point in time.
Another big change is the registration process. Paper is no longer acceptable as a registration for Qld Health and for Liquor licensing. Their registration MUST be done online since early December 2020. So we have combined both those requirements together with the AMSA requirement for a complete passenger list and our own liability and indemnity waiver into the one online form. We collect all passenger details required by each of those bodies as well as for our own business operations. You are able to complete the registration online up to 3 days beforehand by using the link we will send you. Or if that is not suitable you can use the QR code displayed at our office prior to boarding on the day of departure. (We strongly recommend registering in advance to avoid departure delays). Please be assured that your details will NOT ever be provided to any other 3rd party.
Finally is the refund situation which in turn has impacted our booking process. As a small, Sunshine Coast in Queensland based, business, we cannot operate on a Covid basis that encompasses each and every state and territory. For instance if the Sunshine Coast region is open for business, but Victoria (as they seem to get locked down more often than others) is in lockdown, or has implemented restrictions in relation to Queensland, we cannot then still base a cancelation on the situation it creates. All Covid related cancellations and refunds must be based on the situation on The Sunshine Coast at the time of the booking.
