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Written by Kim Kavin
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Monday, 12 November 2007 08:13 |
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"We have a new vidcast for you to watch here on CharterWave: A five-minute interview with Fort Lauderdale-based broker Rebecca Riley.
Rebecca is one of our favorite reputable brokers because she not only owns Paradise Yacht Charters, but she's also a licensed yacht captain and a yacht sales broker--which means she knows boats from the inside out.
You can view our interview with Rebecca by clicking the "play" button below:
[google 4310401219639196684&hl]" |
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Written by Kim Kavin
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Thursday, 08 November 2007 06:22 |
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"I'm on a crack-of-dawn flight from St. Thomas back to the states tomorrow (Friday), so I won't be blogging again until Monday. See you then!" |
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Written by Kim Kavin
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Thursday, 08 November 2007 06:22 |
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"I've made it from Tortola to St. Thomas, where this year's U.S. Virgin Islands charter show is being held at the new Yacht Haven Grande marina. It's my first trip to the marina, which held its grand opening this past spring.
I must say, the marina itself is quite beautiful. It's surrounded by high-end and mid-range shops (from Coach bags to Chico's clothing), plus tennis courts and a swimming pool. The walking areas are beautifully manicured, the restaurants are good and reasonably priced, and the services are good (including free Internet use, which is how I'm blogging right now from the waterfront).
There are downsides, though, including the marina's startling proximity to the cruise ship landing zone as well as its location directly across the street from one of the island's lowest-income housing projects. I'll be looking around inside and outside the gates today, with video camera in hand, and will have a tour for you to view here on CharterWave within the next week or two.
Stay tuned." |
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Written by Kim Kavin
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Wednesday, 07 November 2007 03:22 |
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"One of the more interesting conversations that keeps coming up here at the charter show on Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands, is about the difference you can see in service when you understand the number of weeks of charter a boat does each year.
Most boats here are looking for 20 to 26 weeks a year of charter. It takes about 18 weeks a year for a boat in this size range, say 40 to 60 feet long, to "break even" on expenses, so those extra two to eight weeks or so become the boat owner's profit.
The vast majority of owner-operated boats stop there, using the rest of the year's weeks for maintenance and crew rest. But some yacht owners--it seems, in particular, the yachts operated by large companies--push the crews to do more. The crew onboard the sailing catamaran Caribbean Dream, for instance, told me that they previously worked onboard crewed yachts for The Moorings--which had them do 42 weeks of charter last year. The team onboard the sailing catamaran Bliss, which is part of the Voyage fleet, told me that their aim is to do as many as 32 weeks of charter this year.
I asked both crews how in the world they can provide top-notch service when working so many weeks a year, especially when same-size boats in literally the next slip over have crews getting far more rest and going into charters with much more energy. The team on Caribbean Dream told me that they had to simply try to power through before leaving The Moorings to come to their new yacht, while the team onboard Bliss said they were hoping their current company would come through with a plan to place "relief crew" onboard boats that have to do more than five weeks of charter in a row with less than 24 hours in between each booking.
"Some of the brokers look at the calendar now, and try to pick weeks where we'll have had some rest before their client's charter," the captain of Bliss told me--an interesting idea that you can use to your advantage no matter what kind of yacht you book, and not matter whether it's part of a large, hard-run fleet or is owned by an individual who allows more time for crew rest.
Ask your broker how many weeks of charter your chosen boat typically does in a year, and take the crew's ability to get some rest into account when you add up the pros and cons of different yachts. Most crews will always try to offer the best possible service, but when a crew hasn't had a decent night's sleep in more than a month, the odds are their depleted energy level is going to affect your charter negatively. It's simple human nature. Tired people can't do what well-rested people can.
Look for charter yachts whose crew are thriving instead of simply surviving, with the number of weeks of charters booked as an apples-to-apples barometer for comparisons." |
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Page 377 of 445 |
Nicole Caulfield is licensed, bonded, and a longtime member of FYBA and AYCA. She brings a unique perspective as a broker, having worked aboard yachts for nearly 10 years. Email Nicole
Beverly Parsons has been chartering since 1969. She is a licensed, bonded broker and a founding member of the professional groups AYCA and CYBA International. Contact Beverly.
DJ Parker has been a leader in the charter industry since 1980. She is currently president of the American Yacht Charter Association. E-mail DJ
Trina Howes has 10 years of experience in the charter industry finding great pleasure in creating the best yachting vacations possible. E-mail Trina
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