I’m logging off and leaving on a jet plane, along with many of the world’s reputable charter brokers, bound for next week’s charter yacht show in Geona, Italy.

This is the largest European charter show of the year, and the public is not allowed on the docks. No need to worry, though: You can look here on the CharterWave Editor’s Blog every day next week for my updates from the show.

Among the yachts I’m excited to see are the new 177-foot CRN Maraya, the new 120-foot Benetti Beverley, the new 150-foot Palmer Johnson Hokulani, and the newly refitted 295-foot Lauren L. I’ve also received an invitation from the owner of the 246-foot sailing yacht Mirabella V to come onboard for a tour, as he has apparently become an admirer of CharterWave and would like to see what we have to say about his world-class yacht in a First Impression review.

Stay tuned here beginning Monday, when I’ll begin posting my reports from the show. Until then, ciao!

As part of the marketing campaign for the second edition of my how-to-charter book, Dream Cruises, I have been doing my fair share of radio interviews. Most recently, I was featured on a show called AuthorTalk with a host who asked a lot of general questions about the basics of booking a first charter vacation.

These are the same kinds of questions I receive via e-mail from CharterWave readers on a regular basis, so I thought it might be helpful to post a link to the podcast here.

It runs about 20 minutes long, with about 15 of those minutes devoted to yacht charter. The other five minutes, which are toward the end of the interview, are about my experiences in publishing the book itself.

Enjoy!

As independent charter agencies around the world go, there are few that would make me more proud as a new sponsor than Shannon Webster Charters.

I first met Shannon back in 2000, when I was onboard my first-ever charter yacht feature as the executive editor of Yachting magazine. We were in the British Virgin Islands, a place that she and her husband, Capt. Dan Webster, knew well from all their years of working as charter yacht crew. I was about as new and green as the water down there is blue, and Shannon quickly became both a knowledgeable mentor and a friend. I have relied on her insights into the worldwide charter industry for nearly a decade now, and she continues to be one of my most trusted resources for reliable information.

Shannon stopped working aboard boats and opened Shannon Webster Charters in 1989, building it into what today is one of the most successful independent booking agencies in the world. Her husband is still a well-regarded charter captain (see my review of the 120-foot Joanne, which he commands), and between them, they have developed a network of connections that is truly global.

That’s an important thing to have when you’re booking charter yachts from 80 to 400-plus feet on a worldwide scale, since it allows you to help clients no matter what they need, at any time, in any place. Shannon prides herself on offering that level of service, which is why so many of her clients have become repeat customers over the years.

I encourage you to check out the new Shannon Webster Charters sponsored page here on CharterWave, where Shannon and her staff plan to begin blogging soon with tips, news, and advice for anyone interested in crewed yacht charter.

You also can check out the website of Shannon Webster Charters by clicking here.