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.

Now, it is Sunday morning.  The roosters woke me at 4AM so I need to get back to my writing.  It is the last day of the show and the sweat is starting to show up on my brow because I have at least 15 more articles to create with photos regarding the BVI boat show.  The solutions have not yet shown up, so I may have to wait for many of my postings to arrive on the internet until I get to St. Thomas where I can plug into a secured connection.  The key now is for me to gather the stories from the crews, take photos, and figure out the details next week.

What I am looking for in each of my articles is the human interest side of the crews.  Each of them have a unique and actually amazing story as to how they decided to get into the world of chartering.  The yachts are all beautiful, but without a Rock Star crew the experience of having an unforgettable charter yacht experience may not be possible.  Of course, the yacht must be in tip-top condition,  but the ability of the crew to surprise and delight is at least 50% of making the charter unforgettable – from their customer service skills,  their delivery of up to four gourmet meals a day, their knowledge of the sailing grounds, and of course, their ability to satisfy the daily cocktail needs of their guests.

It is the people who make up the unforgettable Caribbean experience, not the “things”.  The crews are not the only ones who are part of this experience.  It is EVERYONE ELSE that you meet along the way.  How about Marva at the Village Cay dockside restaurant?  She runs the show there.  Janet Oliver from CYS is part of the show’s cast of characters.  The many Boat Show volunteers such as Jane and Karen, the board members of the Charter Yacht Society such as Tim Schaaf from s/y JetStream, CYBA members lead by Louise Danley,  the Brokers, and the clearing houses, ALL make up the experiences that are delivered to his amazing community of professionals.

In spite of the my momentary challenges I promise to get the word out about this community of professionals who are the ones that deliver the Caribbean experience everyday to first time visitors and those visiting the Caribbean waters each year.  The charter yacht community is the unofficial ambassadors of my favorite part of the world, and I will do my part to make sure the world discovers the best way to experience the Caribbean – on a charter yacht.  Well, I am off to see if I can find an internet connection to my posts up from yesterday.  Until next time…your Caribbean lifestyle reporter remains on duty!