The Berthon Sales Group remains open, working within the market place and observing COVID-19 best practices for the safety of our clients and our staff. In some cases, we are working remotely but we are all here and look forward to hearing from you during this difficult time – in all five international offices.
As an international brokerage sales group, offering a truly local and personal service in all our locations, below is a short description of the restrictions in operation in each of our offices. We will be updating this information regularly.
In locations where yacht viewings are permitted – these are carried out following these protocols –
The UK remains in national lockdown but now with a tiered ease in restrictions on the horizon (subject to a continued decrease in Covid cases). We are very pleased that on 8th March our children will be allowed back to school. On 12th April non-essential shops are set to re-open and we will be able to have a pint in a pub garden again. Most importantly for us, however, is that on 12th April we will finally be allowed to show yachts in person, albeit with the necessary Covid protocols (including wearing masks at all times on site) and social distancing we have become accustomed to. Whilst we are still unable to show yachts in person or welcome visitors to our offices, we of course remain on hand for FaceTime viewings and to support and chat to our clients via phone, email, WhatsApp, Skype, and so on. We remain open for business and always welcome the opportunity to chat about yachts.
France continues to have a curfew imposed from 18:00 to 06:00. French boarders have been reinforced; it is now mandatory for those travelling from within the EU to take a Covid19 test upon arrival. They will have to test negative before being allowed entry and will then be requested to quarantine for 7 days. Travel is not permitted outside of or from the Schengen area, except for essential reasons. Our schools remain open, non-essential shopping centers over 20,000 square meters are closed, and no more than one people per eight square meters are allowed in shops.
We are still able to welcome visitors to our office and continue to show yachts whilst respecting social distancing protocols (limited numbers of people on-board, wearing masks etc.).
Travel between Sweden, Norway and Denmark remains restricted, including for those living close to the border and working in a neighbouring country. Changes in the law now allow the government to take stronger action in order to close non-essential shops, reduce public meetings, and close gyms, swimming pools etc. People are being asked to work from home where possible. We continue as before… and recommend viewing yachts digitally before viewing in person.
Covid restrictions remain in place in Mallorca, with a curfew being respected between 22:00 – 06:00. Restaurants are only able to serve takeaways and no customers can eat either inside or out. Gatherings outside of your household are prohibited and non-essential stores above 700 square metres in size are closed. Due to the new strain of the virus in the UK, non-Spanish residents are currently not permitted to fly to Spain until further notice.
Our offices continue to work with COVID-19 best practice, keeping safe distances, wearing masks and working behind Perspex screens. Free travel for clients remains our biggest issue for yacht sales. However yacht tours via video, Zoom, FaceTime etc are increasingly popular and we are delighted to offer this to clients who are unable to visit. We can also organise surveys and third party inspections.
International travellers to the US must now test negative for Covid before entering the country. Travellers from 23 US states (where the positivity rate is greater than 5%) are now required to self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in Rhode Island or prove that they have tested negative for Covid. To avoid disappointment, please check your State’s Covid position before travelling to RI. We are currently unable to travel for yacht viewings and can only show yachts locally, using appropriate Covid protocols of course. The team are working from the office but we ask that you call ahead to confirm appointments in order to avoid disappointment. For those of you unable to visit, we are happy to conduct virtual viewings aboard our locally based yachts.
With fair winds from the whole Berthon Team – who are keeping calm and carrying on! Please stay safe and well.