The annual VICL Boat Show is coming!

Your Caribbean life-style detective will be at Yacht Haven Grande Marina November 7th – 11th for one of the premier events of the year for the Caribbean charter fleet! I will be previewing and interviewing some of the more colorful people I know in the Caribbean – charter boat captains and their crews.

I will also spend a day at Lambert Bay, Tortola and further explore what is happening with the Raffles Tortola resort project.

The annual St. Thomas Charter Boat Show is one of the fun annual events in the Caribbean sailing community. This is when the Charter Fleet shows up in St. Thomas, and polishes and varnishes their boats in preparation of the Charter Vacation Brokers gathering in St. Thomas to inspect them. You will have the Captains and their crews in their finest dress and the boats gleaming. Plus, during the evenings there are non-stop parties happening for the Charter Vacation Brokers and the Captains and Crews to mingle and get better acquainted.

The reason for this event is for the Charter Brokers to pick the charter yachts that they want to promote for the upcoming charter yacht season. The chartering season is usually from November 1st to June 1st. I have sailed in the Caribbean every month of the year, but the newspapers talk about Hurricane Season starting from June 1st and ending October 31st. I am one of the lucky ones that has never encountered a Hurricane during any of my voyages. They certainly happen, but I have not run into one yet in 30+ years. ( Just an aside…Ann Marie will not be in the Caribbean during Hurricane season. She is scared to death of Hurricanes. It is odd to me, because you are given a week or two notice if one is heading your way. In San Francisco, earthquakes don’t give you any notice, but she is OK living there half the year. Am I the only one that thinks this is odd? )

Anyway, the VICL Boat Show in St. Thomas is a sailor’s dream to attend. You are mingling with some of the most skilled sailors in the Caribbean who have decided to monetize their skills in providing a floating “bed and breakfast” to people who love the Tropical life. I tip my hat to these amazing entrepreneurs who help thousands of people fall in love with the Caribbean experience.

If you are in St. Thomas during the Boat Show, email me and we will meet at Duffy’s Love Shack for a Caribe – it will be on me. Until next time….