Today I spent some time with Kirk Gilbert, the captain of s/y Shiwara. What a surprise was waiting for me when I learned that he was a fellow surfer from Southern California.  His passion for surfing and diving was realized by sailing down the coast of California, Mexico and Central America.  He found work all along the way, and when he gathered enough funds to take off again in search of that perfect wave he was gone.  During these adventure connected to the sea, he met the love of his life, Tiffany.  She also loved the sea and he talked her into sailing to Australia and New Zealand to explore that part of the world’s diving and surfing opportunities.  While in New Zealand, Tiffany informed him that she was pregnant.  That was a defining moment for Kirk, because he decided that a bit more stability in his life was required now that he was to become a father.  Because they both loved the tropical life they decided to head to the Caribbean and make a go of it.  They showed up on Tortola in 2003 with Kirk looking for a dive instructor’s job, which he found at Hodges Creek. 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 »

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 »

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 how does a charter yacht secure the honor of “Best Of Show” at any Boat Show given there are almost a hundred from which to select?  Sweat, Sweat, and more Sweat is how it happens!  Captain Ian Phillips and Chef Polly Pairman were the right ones for the job when they took over as crew of s/v ReACTION six years ago.  After several years of a complete re-fit they showed up at last year’s Charter Yacht Society boat show and took the honors.  The judging committee was made up of ten Charter Yacht Brokers and a mix of their peers.  This really assisted them with launching a fabulous year of charters in the midst of a global economic meltdown.  What also helped was a total of eight years of creating raving-fan charter guests.  Their repeat business is amazing given the fickleness of people looking for the latest greatest yacht for their Caribbean charters. Read the rest of this entry »

The BVI Charter Yacht Boat Show is similar to a Brokers Open for a home that is just coming on the market.  The preparation, all of the details and staging, and the food and beverages are there so the Brokers will spend more time in the home and get a better idea of what their Buyers would think of the home.  The BVI Charter Yacht Boat Show is the same experience.  Except that the Yachts have much more intense work than preparing a home for sale.  All of the charter yachts attending this show are quietly saying, “Pick me! Pick me!  Pick me as your favorite charter yacht to promote to your charter sailing vacation guests this next season!”

Whether you hear those words this week or not, that is the reason why every detail has been attended to on each yacht so it is presented in its best possible condition.  You will notice that the crews look extra sharp in their “uniforms”.   This is the first Boat Show for some of the crews.  So, the Charter Yacht Society director, Janet, and her board of directors take the time to instruct the crews as to how to prepare their yacht and how to impress and engage the charter yacht brokers. You would be amazed as to what each of the crews do to assure their yachts are in prefect show condition.  Here is an example of the Action List to each of the 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 »

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 »