fenderkicker

The gift of a photo book

Attending a boat show is one of the great perks when working ashore.  It is a chance to meet new people, reunite with old friends, and learn how to improve your business.

My colleague Jonathan has returned from the boat shows in Antigua and St. Martin with a number of stories and observations, most notably as he has not been in the Caribbean in over 10 years.

One of the more intriguing and refreshing tidbits he picked up was something one particular yacht crew did for their charter guests.

 

Motor yacht Surya’s crew most certainly know how to look after their guests while onboard during their charter.  They are four professional and experienced crew members who love their job, Captain, Chef, Stewardess and Deckhand.  What makes them different?

iPhoto

When the guests return home, a couple of weeks later, they receive in the post, a package from Apple with a hard cover book with a selection of photographs of their charter and the great times they had onboard.

Without knowing, the crew have just made someone’s day, and practically ensured these guests will be returning next year, to enjoy the offerings of the yacht and crew once more.

Well done Captain Stephan.  Your business model works.

Off to Antigua Boat Show!

6am tomorrow morning, Maud and I will be in the plane, destination Antigua, for the Antigua charter show... let's face it, the destination could be worse !!! :-)
There are roughly 80 yachts registered at the show and we have selected quite a few we need to see, so it should be a busy week. These are all yachts which are offered for charter in the Caribbean but also in the med, so it is important we see them before offering them to our clients. A whole frenzy of sailing yachts of all types and sizes will be there. We will be double checking them all, as there seems to be quite a decrease in quality of the yachts attending since Myba decided to host their St Martin show with overlapping dates. It looks like it will be the last year for us in Antigua, we will go to St Martin next year.
Maud will also be going on her very first day cruise out to the lovely Antiguan beaches!
So far, we have packed, our pens, our pads, our flip flops, our new BCR uniforms, and just in case... a bathing costume !!
xx Louise & Maud

FLIBS day two

Rain, rain, go away, come again another day!

The word of the day was certainly WET.  Luckily enough most of the tents were able to manage those who braved the weather to visit the show.  Not much luck visiting the boats, but when everyone is inside, the networking is fantastic.  There were some clear times, but they didn't last too long.

Today looks brighter... so it's off to the races!

FLIBS day one

Well, the weather held out nicely for the first day, but it doesn't look too promising for the second day... It's been raining all night, and the forcast calls for more of the same.  Not the best to visit yachts, but what can we do.

CMN, a shipyard in northern France, are currently building the second of their semi custom 60m line.  Slipstream is due next year, and looks to be another good one.  The market for this size is very good, with many shipyards boasting no available slots until 2010 or later.  Fortunately for CMN, they have a slot available to deliver in 2009..

I spent some time onboard Dream Voyager (above), a lovely 70 foot sailing boat from Southern Wind Shipyards in 1991.  She has been meticulously kept by her three owners, and Bud, the current owner is selling because he doesn't use it so much anymore.  She is a good deal for sure, especially as her asking price remains in US Dollars... at $1.44 to the Euro, it is a good time to buy.

Fort Lauderdale... again!

So, Phil Hooper and I are on our way to Fort Lauderdale for another boat show... this time the line up of yachts looks very good.  Plenty of different builders to look at, not simply the usual suspects.

We are at Heathrow airport now, Terminal 3, and it is completely non smoking!  No special cubicles, no special areas... nothing.  Smoke free!!!  It's pretty nice actually, but I do pity those who to smoke, and are forced to wait until they get off the plane wherever they land...  That could very well be a long way!