In order to post articles to a blog site you need to have internet connection.  So, here I am in Road Town at Village Cay Marina with all intentions of producing four to five articles a day for the Charter Yacht Society’s annual boat show, but with only moments of having in internet connect.   Because of the 80+ yachts and a 100 or more Charter Brokers wanting to get on-line the internet connection has been close to impossible.  I made a commitment to Janet Oliver from Charter Yacht Society,  and the various cjarter clearing houses to cover the show, and it is taking all of my creativity to get the articles to the internet.

Let’s back up.  Here is the definition of an internet blogger – a citizen journalist writing about things she/he is observing in their world.  What is around me in my world this week are charter crews doing all that can to show off their yachts in the best light possible so the Charter Brokers stopping by for a visit will mark in their books that this is a yacht and crew I will recommend to my clients for the upcoming season.  My task each day is to discover four or five human interest stories a day to write about and add photos to the article. This is my third year providing this service to the BVI and the St. Thomas boat shows.  THE critical tool in order to complete my daily work is an internet connection.  With the jammed up internet service I am having to be very creative.  For example, yesterday morning I was sitting in the lobby of Marie By The Sea at 5AM using their free wireless service in order to get my first day of articles posted.  Yesterday at noon I spent two hours at CharterPort’s office using their wireless service to do my photo editing work – thanks to Dick Schoonover’s kindness. Read the rest of this entry »

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 »

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 »

During our work the past years in serving Buyers interested in owning a Caribbean fractional  as their way of owning a piece of Paradise, Marriott International  has been a major player.  They recently announced that they are closing down their development of Caribbean fractionals and residence-club products.  Their decision to pull back from this very attractive real estate product is not a surprise.  All of Marriott International’s fractional, residence club and time-share business earned only $632 million in the first six months of 2009, compared to $863 million in the same period last year for the same division of the company.  

The other two major players in this division of worldwide real estate product, Wyndham Worldwide Corporation  and Starwood Hotes & Resorts Worldwide, are now being watched to see if they will scale back their Caribbean fractional projects because of falling sales and the loan products drying up for this type real estate.  ( You may recall from earlier articles that almost half of the fractionals purchased in the Caribbean were all-cash purchases.)  I do expect announcements soon from Wyndham and Starwood. Read the rest of this entry »

The Caribbean Charter fleet is getting polished and varnished  for the 35^th Annual Charter Boat Show hosted by the Virgin Island Charter League  November 10^th to 12^th in St. Thomas.  The location will be the beautiful Yacht Haven Grande Marina  which is one of the headquarters for the maxi-yachts in the Caribbean.  This is THE event of the year for the Charter Yacht fleet.  It is four days of having the Charter Yacht brokers from all over the world coming to St. Thomas to preview the yachts and crews that are the floating “Bed & Breakfasts” of the Caribbean.  The charter vacation yacht brokers will be selecting the yachts and crews they will be promoting to their clients for the upcoming season.  All of the yachts and crew will be at their sparkling best! Read the rest of this entry »

FIABCI contacted me before their annual conference held at the Ritz Carlton  in Denver, Colorado to see if I would be a presenter on the topic of Blogging As A Lead Generation Machine.  I was surprised and honored with their invitation and accepted immediately.  The FIABCI – Denver conference was made up of real estate professionals from around the world sharing their best ideas for serving the needs of their international Buyers and Sellers. FIABCI – The International Real Estate Federation, has been serving the real estate needs of the world for almost 60 years.  It is the special consultant to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations Organisation (ECOSOC).  With five official languages and real estate practitioners representing all of the professions ( e.g. appraisal, brokerage, counseling, financing, property management, and development),  it is a business association with members in 65 countries giving access to more than 2 million real estate related contacts around the world. Read the rest of this entry »

Jim Walberg  was visiting friends last week in Vail, Colorado  before he heads back to the islands after a break from hurricane season.  His friend, Jay Rosenbaum, help start the only premier coffee roaster committed to roasting 100% Fair Trade, 100% organic coffees that are naturally rich in antioxidants, handcrafted to perfection using 100% certified renewable energy.   BuyWell Coffee  was founded with a BIG dream – combating poverty and protecting the environment through coffee.  If I told you that the second highest commodity traded in the world after oil was coffee would you believe me?  Well, believe it!  And, the coffee growing families of the world are living on less than $2US per day!

After several days and hours of discussions with Jay, my eyes were opened to the impact that growing coffee is having on this world we live in.  The carbon footprint of this industry is gigantic!  BuyWell Coffee  is constantly looking for ways to become more sustainable and making their daily carbon footprint much smaller.  And, they are doing this while still producing the best coffee I have ever tasted, plus their premium coffee is very affordable! Read the rest of this entry »

Last week was the 14^th Annual Who’s Who In Luxury Real Estate Fall Conference in Bachelor Gulch, Colorado.  The headquarters of the conference was at the Ritz Carlton.  Membership in this organization is by invitation-only.  Jim Walberg and Caribbean Islands Realty were invited to join this prestigious international real estate group in 2007.  The Fall conference is the annual event which allows for the member-Brokers to gather at luxury locations in the United States to exchange ideas that are creating the best results in their various marketplaces.  Jim Walberg was a guest presenter at the conference for the fifth straight conference. Read the rest of this entry »