This past year in the Caribbean has been better than “good.” It’s been outrageous.

At BVI Yacht Sales we are just wrapping up a record year: nearly double last year’s sales volume, a jump of roughly US$50,000 in average sale price, and an average time on market down to little over 100 days. That’s across the region, not just one island. Our brokers in the BVI, the Leewards, the Windwards – all of them – are reporting the same thing: emails pingin’, buyers ready to move, and serious people wiring cash money for boats in Caribbean waters.  Sure our powerful broad reaching marketing,  lightening response times, helpful and informative brokers make up most of that formula, but…

The big story is –  Who is buying, what they’re buying, and why they are deliberately choosing the Caribbean instead of the United States.

The hottest segment is obvious when you’re walking the docks every day. Late-model ex-charter catamarans with the right layouts and equipment vanish almost as soon as they go live if priced right. Young, privately owned modern monohulls that are sensibly priced don’t sit around either. And properly refitted “classic plastic” cruisers in true turn-key condition – the sort of boats someone can literally provision and clear out on – are suddenly back in fashion. That matches what other quality brokers are seeing globally: Berthon’s 2025 report notes a clear shift toward yachts that are “ready to sail” and away from buyers taking on big refit projects. In other words, the dreamers and the spreadsheet people have converged on the same conclusion: life is short, and no one wants to burn two years in a boatyard if they can avoid it.

At the same time, the global yacht market itself is expanding, which is the backdrop to our local boom. Research and Markets shows that the luxury yacht sector has grown from about US$7.5–8 billion in 2024 to over US$8 billion so far in 2025, and will continue climbing from there. Persistence Market Research puts the 2025 luxury yacht market at roughly US$9.1 billion with an 8.5% CAGR forecast through 2032, driven by more high-net-worth individuals, rising maritime tourism, and growth in charters. Denison’s Q1 2025 “State of the Yacht Market” shows global yacht sales jumping from 87 boats in Q1 2024 to 125 in Q1 2025 – almost a 44% increase, with total value close to US$1 billion.  So the market is there. The money is there. The interesting question is: why is so much of that money chasing boats in the Caribbean, and why now?

First, look at the contrast with the United States. The U.S. marine industry is not in free fall, but it is not thriving either. Global Marine Business Advisors, as quoted by Marine Industry News, described the U.S. marine sector in 2025 as “stagnating as uncertainty reigns” – not exactly the rallying cry of a bull market. Brunswick Corporation, one of the biggest players in the game, reported a 10.5% year-on-year decline in Q1 2025 net sales and cut guidance amid a “more uncertain” outlook. The basic message from U.S. industry is: costs are up, confidence is mixed, and nobody really knows how the next couple of years play out.

Meanwhile, charter and cruising demand in the Caribbean is not just holding – it’s strengthening. Charter market outlooks for the 2025–26 Caribbean season talk about full calendars, premium holiday pricing, and continued growth in high-end tourism to islands like St. Barth, Antigua, and the BVI.   IYC’s 2025 year-to-date report calls this a year of “recalibration” with resilient charter demand, stable sales and grounded pricing, a healthier environment for long-term value rather than speculation. That is exactly what we see on the brokerage side: serious people making sensible, long-horizon decisions – and they want their boat in waters where it can actually earn its keep, under a fair tax regime,

Which brings us to one of the biggest drivers of our record year: U.S. buyers trying to move capital offshore.  If you talk to enough high-net-worth Americans – and we do – a pattern appears. Wealth reports and private-bank studies back it up. Bank of America’s 2024 Private Bank Study of Wealthy Americans states bluntly that affluent clients are leaning into diversification and long-term positioningamid “a period of great social, economic and technological change.” Henley & Partners’ USA Wealth Report flags growing interest in investment migration and offshore structures among U.S. high-net-worth individuals as they look for resilience beyond domestic assets. A June 2025 analysis from a London wealth advisory notes that a “growing number of wealthy individuals in the United States have been actively diversifying their wealth by moving assets abroad,” driven by concerns over the stability and future direction of U.S. policy.

When you put that mindset together with a boat buyer’s brain, the answer is obvious: a charteringcatamaran in the Caribbean is not just a toy – it’s an offshore asset. A 45–65-foot cat in BVI, St. Thomas or Grenada can produce charter income, give the owner a lifestyle escape, and sit outside the immediate reach of some domestic political and economic risks. It’s no coincidence we’re seeing U.S. clients not just looking for one boat, but sometimes talking about two or four boats at once as part of a Caribbean charter business strategy. That’s why we are openly saying: we need more late-model ex-charter cats and properly set-up private boats available for sale in the Caribbean right now. This demand isn’t hopeful thinking – It’s in our inbox, on our phones, and in signed offers on boats listed with us. We could sell 4 Leopard 51PC’s today, if we had them Listed.

Overlay all of this with policy and the picture sharpens even further. Tariffs and import rules make taking many of these boats into the United States a bad idea. GMBA’s U.S. commentary points to tariff worries, inflation fears and talk of “stagflation” as structural drags on the U.S. marine sector. New tariff regimes on imported yachts from key production countries add 20–30% in duty before a boat can be properly sold into U.S. commerce; nobody sane wants to add that on top of already higher domestic costs. So sellers are choosing the Caribbean instead.

At the same time, U.S. immigration and travel policy is actively pushing people away. This isn’t political commentary; it’s real market behavior. Tourism and travel outlets have been warning all year that the Trump administration’s immigration stance and visa crackdowns are scaring off international visitors. The Independent reported in March 2025 that tourists are “avoiding the USA” after high-profile border detention incidents and escalating enforcement rhetoric, with federal statistics showing overseas visitation lagging.  More recently, proposals to force visa-waiver visitors to hand over five years of social-media history, old phone numbers, and biometric data have triggered alarm from the travel industry, which fears further drops in inbound tourism. Travel trade media are already talking about U.S. visa crackdowns hurting airlines and hotel chains that rely on visitors from foriegn countries.

If you are a European, Canadian, or Latin American buyer thinking about flying somewhere to look at a yacht, which sounds better: dealing with that, or hopping a flight to the Caribbean, walking down a dock in shorts and sandals, and stepping aboard the boat you’re about to buy?

This is exactly what we’re hearing from clients: “I’m not going to the States. Show me boats in the islands.”

Now put the legal/tax piece on top: a U.S.-documented boat that has never been formally imported into the U.S. can be used and sold in the Caribbean without incurring U.S. duty, as long as it stays in foreign waters. That’s an enormous structural advantage for keeping the asset offshore. It’s cleaner to buy it here, charter it here, and sell it here – and there’s no practical shortage of experienced surveyors, yards, and contractors in the region to support that.

So step back and you see the full system:

• Global yacht and charter markets are growing, not shrinking.

• USA is increasingly constrained by policy uncertainty, while Europe, South America, and Asia are growing faster in relative terms and generating more internationally mobile capital.

• Wealthy Americans are diversifying offshore and want hard assets that can generate income.

• U.S. travel and immigration policy is making foreign buyers reluctant to fly to or clear into the States.

• Tariffs, import rules and Lacey Act enforcement headaches make the U.S. a bad place to send many boats anyway.

• The Caribbean, by contrast, offers warm water, charter revenue, manageable regulation, and simple logistics.

The outcome is obvious: boats are staying in the Caribbean, and the world’s sailors and investors are following them here.

That’s why BVI Yacht Sales has just posted a record year. It’s why our brokers are running flat out across the Caribbean islands. And it’s why we are telling every owner who will listen: if you’ve been waiting for the “right time” to bring your boat to market, this is it. The demand is up. The capital is mobile. The Caribbean is winning.  All we need now is more inventory.