So, I am traveling to Road Town, Tortola for the BVI Charter Yacht Show, flying American Airlines through Miami, San Juan, and then to Tortola.  You may remember that on my way to the 2007 Boat Show I was stranded in Miami on my way to St. Thomas overnight with my American Airlines flight being cancelled because of mechanical problems.  I ended up flying the next morning to the Caribbean on American 1780.  Two of the crew members on my new flight were Eddie and Tammy.  Well, guess who was a crew member on my flight today – Eddie?  As he was serving the passengers I swore I had met him before.  Near the end of the flight I asked if I could speak with him.  I told him I knew we had met before during my flights back and forth from the Caribbean.  He paused, then smiled, and let me know that I was correct.  He named the flight and even reminded me I had given him my business card.  He has been following my articles about the Caribbean and welcomed me aboard.

During our conversation I asked what had changed in his life since we last met.  He gave me a great quote, “Nothing has changed sine we met two years ago except the light bulbs in my home.”  I knew there was more to the story so I probed a bit more.  He had actually moved from Miami to Seattle, and is now stationed in San Francisco.  What a fun surprise for both of us that he is just 35 miles from our Bay Area office.  During our conversation he asked if I had ever been to Alaska.  I let him know that I follow the sun wherever it is in the world.  He said, that before Alaska’s pristine beauty ends that I needed to get there.  Eddie has been flying since 1986, and as long as he still finds it interesting he will keep flying.  He did say that when he decides to quit he will buy a Winnebago and travel North America with nothing but is dog, Mason, and beautiful views each day.

As I was departing the plane, he let me know that I will see Tammy, another of the crew I met in November 2007, on my flight from Miami back to San Francisco.  I look forward to catching up to her, too.  This world is way too small.  If a person travels back and forth to the Caribbean as much as I do, I am bound to run into many of the same people who have become members of my fun community of friends.  Glad to see you again, Eddie.  I am now off to the Admrial’s Club to get a little rest before my last flights to Tortola.

I arrived in Tortola about 11PM, dropped my stuff off in my room at Maria By The Sea, and wandered over the line up of yachts to see if Jonny and Kelly from Best Revenge V were still up.   They were still up after four hours of hosting the boat brokers for a martini party.  Lots and hugs and then a bit of catching up since I had not seen them for over a year.  In addition, there were a couple of crew that had stopped by to help clean up and have a final-final.    Barry and Bridget ( Barry proposed to Bridget at Jonny and Kelly’s wedding last September in Wales!!! ) from s/y Ad Star, and Alastar from s/v Marmot are now new friends to add to the world of the crews that I look forward to following over the years.   Jonny served me a Rum Punch just for old times sake, and I was off for a few hours sleep before the marathon of four days writing and posting articles about this unforgettable charter yacht show.   Stay tuned…lots more fun to come in the next eight days.

So, I have started my travels to Tortola to begin my internet reporting of the 2009 BVI Charter Yacht Society Boat Show  that will be headquartered at Village Cay Marina.  This is the annual gathering of the charter yacht community from all over the world that shows up for four days of previewing the finest charter yachts you will ever see.  Each of the crew members have worked for a months preparing their yacht for this show.  The Brokers will be inspecting the boats and their crew in order to see which ones they will have in their inventory of vacation yacht charters they will recommend to their clients back in their specific regions of the world.  It is a stressful time for the crews to make sure everything is perfect, inside and outside of their yachts, for each of the four days of the show.  They will also be preparing dishes to be sampled and some of their favorite rum drinks will be mixed  in order to intice the Brokers to stay on their yacht long enough to get a sense of what it would be like to have clients on board for a week or more of fun in the sun on a fully crewed yacht.  I am fortunate enough to be the one that is doing the internet reporting on the show each day while posting my many articles on this site for the enjoyment of all those who are unable to be here personally.  I look forward to you checking in and leaving your comments over the next week of my reports from both shows. Read the rest of this entry »

Jim Walberg will again be providing the internet reporting to the Virgin Island Charter League Fall Boat Show at Yacht Haven Grande next week.  Below is the Show’s schedule and all of the sponsors and event participants.  Check in each day for the Show’s updates.  It is always an unforgettable event.  Until next time…fair winds!!!

St Thomas Fall Yacht Show – November 10^th-12^th – Yacht Haven Grande Marina

Monday November 9^th

Check-In: Noon – 6pm Pool Side – YHG

Dress is casual and swim wear is encouraged.  After a long day of preparing your boat for the show, cool off with your fellow yacht crews and catch up on off-season exploits while enjoying cocktails and appetizers around the pool. Sponsored by Hooters of St Thomas, Wikked,  Budget Marine,  and Bellows International Read the rest of this entry »

Many of you remember my article several months ago about the Save Lindbergh Bay initiative.  This is a grass roots organization of people committed to keeping this beautiful Caribbean bay on St. Thomas from being the dumping site of the dredging material from Charlotte Amalie Harbor.  The U.S. Virgin Islands signed a contract with the largest cruise ship in the world, Oasis of the Sea, to call on the port of Charlotte Amalie.  The cruise ship holds over 5,000 people that will greatly add to the tourist revenue of St. Thomas.   However, the agreement required Charlotte Amalie Harbor to create the ability for the Oasis of the Sea to dock which would require dredging the path of the ship into the harbor an additional 35 feet to the existing sea floor.  The project was to take the 150,000 cubic yards of dredging material and deposit it into Lindbergh Bay.  The GREAT NEWS is that Lindbergh Bay has been saved by Gov. deJongh, Jr. signing a degree to halt the dredging until a more suitable site can be found for the material. Read the rest of this entry »