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 »

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 »