We are so grateful for the relationships that continue to unfolded over the years with our cherished family and friends, and the thousands of people that allow us to serve their Caribbean real estate needs.  You have added joy, laughter, and unforgettable moments to our lives in 2009.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  We can all agree that 2009 has been an unforgettable year for many reasons.  However, we are still surrounded by a very long list of blessings if we just pay attention.  Enjoy every moment of your Holiday celebrations with your loving family and friends.  Stay tuned…2010 is going to be another unforgettable year!  Contact us any time for any reason.  Until next time…fair winds!

Eric Ackerson, the VICL Executive Director has produced one of the best and largest fleet of charter yachts for the Fall Boat Show in many years.  What an impressive sight to see the line-up of boats along the promenade of Yacht Haven Grande’s marina.  From mega power yachts such as m/y Runaway to intimate monohulls, such as s/y Honinari, the charter yacht brokers have any option available for their customers seeking the vacation of a lifetime experiencing the Caribbean from their own luxury yacht with a rock-star status crews.  In addition to viewing the charter yachts,  Erik has scheduled a variety of programs for the crews and charter brokers to attend.  From Mr. Joe Hosie – Commercial Banking,  presenting an overview of the Territories economic health, to Ms. Carolyn Stevens-Lanchlos from the Department of Tourism regarding the critical role of the charter industry is to tourism in the Virgin Islands, the participants will certainly leave the show with a clear understanding of the economic health of the Virgins Islands. Read the rest of this entry »

As you are discovering from my BVI Charter Yacht Show reporting, every crew has their amazing story of courageously leaving the traditional career paths that most of us are on and launching out to unknown shores.  This is also the case with Andy Armshaw and Elli Rea as they take on the crew positions of SWISH – a 50’ luxury catamaran.  They come to the chartering crew life from very traditional careers – Andy from managing a construction company in England and Elli as an elementary school teacher.  They have been connected to the sea all of their lives.  Andy decided to fulfill his passion for the ocean by retiring from his construction company and become a skipper for a vessel that ferried crew back and forth from the offshore wind farms in the North Atlantic. ( The North Atlantic are some serious seas to gain experience as a captain.)  In the summers Andy taught windsurfing and sailing at a water sports center.  Elli was in charge of the kid’s activities at the same center which is where they met.  What I learned during our time together yesterday is they are part of the growing community of charter crew members that keep arriving in the BVI from Wales.  I have written many times about Captain Jonny and Kelly, who were my crew during my 60^th birthday celebrations.  Well, Andy and Elli were at their wedding last August along with many other of the BVI charter crews who are from Wales.  Wales and South Africa now seem to be the home base to a majority of BVI crews.  But, more to come on that topic later. Read the rest of this entry »

What a fun story to share.  A fellow Realtor how owned a ReMAX franchise in Moncton, New Brunswick,  had a dream of someday to retiring from real estate and set sail for ports unknown.  After 30+ years of a successful career in residential real estate, Leo and Ginette are living that dream everyday as the crew of s/y Bleu Tourquoise – a Beneteau 50 – a six-pack,  based at Village Cay Marina.  I was speaking with Janet Oliver this morning – director of the Charter Yacht Society, and asked her if about this couple I had heard about from Canada.  She suggested I speak with them myself and discover their story.

I stopped by their yacht today to find out what would cause a successful real estate family sell everything and jump aboard their Jeanneua 40 and head south.  One of the conclusions I made was they wanted to reset their life course and create a balance they had not discovered in many years of owning their business.  What I discovered is that the experience they have had the last five years has far exceeded anything they could have imagined.  When they decided to sail south from New Brunswick they never imagined that they would visit 51 islands, 17 countries and end up in Tobago in just one year.  Leopold we most concerned that his dream of the sailing life may not be fully embraced by Ginette.  He had no worries.  She has embraced it even more than him.  Selling everything, being disconnected from “things”, never watching television, and enjoying the most beautiful sunsets imaginable each evening has changed both of their lives.  Ginette told me that it took about six months to have all of the “stress” of their previous life finally melt away.  Now every relationship and every moment in nature has taken on new importance. Read the rest of this entry »

My 60^th birthday celebration was on s/y Double Feature in 2008 with Captain Jonny and Chef Kelly as the crew who are now on Best Revenge V.  I just discovered that s/y Soterion – a Lagoon 57 with four complete staterooms, which is at the BVI Charter Yacht Show, is the newest rendition of this beautiful catamaran.  My curiosity got the best of me so I had to stop by and meet the new crew for this yacht that held so many memories for me.  What I discovered was another fun story as to how a couple ended up in the Caribbean crewing a charter yacht.  Captain Ben and Chef Nikki are who I met when I asked permission to “come aboard”.  What a fabulous refit the new owner has done on this cat.  There is always a great story to hear when you meet any charter crew and the one from Ben and Nikki was just another of them.

Ben and Nikki first met at the Portside Pub in Seattle, Washington almost eight years ago.  Nikki was finishing her masters in elementary education, and Ben was engrossed in all aspects of the sailing world – from boat deliveries up and down the Pacific to rebuilding his own boat with blue water chartering as his dream.  If Nikki was going to hang out with Ben she would need to agree to the sailing life.  The final decision regarding staying with Ben was having him visit her elementary classroom as a judge of a science project.  What Ben didn’t know was that the students and teachers at Nikki’s school were going to “vote” on if Ben was “the one”.  It was apparently unanimous.  Nikki decided to take a break from her teach career and join Ben on an extended cruise that actually lasted for more than three years – all the way down to Ecuador, through the Panama Canal and on to the Caribbean.  Once in the Caribbean they were hooked on the sailing life and decided to join the community of Charter crews. Read the rest of this entry »

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 »

The BVI Boat Show opens next month at Village Cay Marina on Tortola, BVI November 5th – 8th.  This is one of my favorite Charter Vacation Yacht events of the year and I will be doing the internet reporting during the show.  The Charter Yacht Boat Shows allows the Vacation Yacht Brokers from all over the world to view the Caribbean charter fleet at one location the week before their charter season officially begins mid-November.  The Charter Yacht Society was founded in 1982 by the owners of crewed yachts in the BVI.  Charter Yacht Society is the education arm, and advocate for the issues facing the charter industry within the BVI.  Crewed chartered vacations in the BVI serve clients from around the world, and the member-yachts of CSY are viewed as the best of the charter industry.  Janet Oliver is the Executive Director of BVI Charter Yacht Society, and is the hardest working advocate for the industry that you will ever meet.  Her efforts increase dramatically during all the planning for the Boat Show each November. Read the rest of this entry »

Old guys  are still surfing – promise!  Jim Walberg  just discovered that Roy’s Cabana  has re-launched their board shorts and surfing apparel after 25 years.  Roy and Dody Colburn’s son, Tom Colburn, now heads the re-launching of the company his parents started in 1952.  It is now based in Cardiff, California  near San Diego with the surfing apparel available in the Caribbean by going on-line.  The Caribbean surfing community will love the clothing Roy’s is now ready to deliver!

Most of you know that I grew up in Redondo Beach  and surfed all through the 1950’s and 1960’s before I discovered the Caribbean in 1975.  Growing up, Roy’s was my board shorts for over 20 years.  Roy’s started as a motel and café that was just across the road from the beach in Santa Monica.   Roy and Dody Colburn began their business in 1948 by serving meals all day and evening at the café next to their motel next to the beach.  As the surfing community of Southern California started to grow in Santa Monica they began hanging out at Roy’s Café when they were not in the water, lathering themselves with Baby Oil for the darkest tan possible, and playing volleyball.  Read the rest of this entry »

So how does a surfer kid from Southern California end up falling in love with the Caribbean?  Have you ever seen the surfing opportunities in Barbados and Tortola?  If your answer is YES, then you know the other answer, too.

I arrived in Redondo Beach  in 1948, and lived on the beach for the first 21 years of my life.  I thought it was normal to live a block from the pier and enjoy all the Pacific Ocean offered – everyday!  I thought all things connected to the Pacific Ocean were normal – sailing, surfing, diving, beach volleyball, pier fishing, boat deliveries to Mexico, and a hundred more activities.  In hindsight I was one the luckiest kids I know because of growing up with amazing experiences connected to the Pacific Ocean – every day.  I had no idea that my love for the ocean would lead me to the Caribbean Islands and then create an international real estate company. Read the rest of this entry »