It is pouring down rain and the wind is howling among the hammock oaks on the beachside down near the marsh. The ground will not soak up any more water so it is just standing, waiting now for the sun to shine. The “Peaceful Beach” along Flagler County’s coast has suffered major damage and we have lost much of our beach now. Parts of the dune are actually collapsing back into the angry waves each time that they ferociously strike. Life in a small coastal community is not always easy but the rewards for habitating this small “peace” of heaven on earth far surpasses the little daily inconveniences that we must endure. Take for example the ability to walk just 2 blocks to the Atlantic Ocean to refresh your body in the middle of a hot August day or leaving your cell phone at the local post office and having a client who called you on it first then call your office line and tell you that the postal person he spoke with said you left it on the counter during your visit to pick up your mail this morning. Now, those are great trade-offs! Interestingly enough, we have not lost power or communications here in Flagler Beach so I can happily blog along and get some real work done while the phone is quiet and the rest of Central and North Florida  prepare to go “on watch”. The feeder bands have lulled some now so I am off to survey the situation outside and grab some lunch. Have a great day!! To track Fay please click on the link below:

http://www.noaawatch.gov/2008/fay.php

I was reflecting back this morning on my previous visits to Fiji and realizing what a great value and beautiful charter venue that it is. I went back into my files and with this post, I have decided to share some of my notes with you. The people of Fiji are so friendly. They are known as “children of the sun” with an absolutely lovely heritage and culture. During my visits, everytime that I would pass a local native Fijian in the street they always call out “BULA”! This is their word for “Good Morning” or “good” anything, really! While Fiji is just a wee bit off the beaten path, it is more that worth the effort that it takes to get there, especially if you love to dive. The airlines offer direct flights from the West Coast of the USA. I want to share with you an itinerary that Capt Carol Dunlop of M/V SURPRISE shared with me during my stay onboard MV SURPRISE. By the way, this is an excellent charter yacht for this region as she offers first class accommodation and service from the all local Fijian crew. Carol, herself is an ex-patriot British citizen. She is very well respected in local Fijian circels among the chieftans on each island and can offer her guests behind-the-scene adventures that the average person would never get to experience such as your own private Kava Ceremony in a Fijian Village that normally does not welcome outside visitors. Now, how is that for local knowledge? Fiji was a wonderful experience and a trip that will make enough memories to last you a lifetime. Please click on the link below to read more about my adventures there:

http://www.the-triton.com/megayachtnews/index.php?news=5

Well, I spent July 23, 2008 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL participating on a panel discussion board at the semi-annual FYBA Seminar. We were a panel of 4 charter brokers and our topic was “7 Habits of Highly Succesful Charter Brokers”. Nervous, you say??? You bet. The seminar room at the Ft. Lauderdale Yacht Club was filled to capacity and public speaking has not become a passion for me yet. I am great at one-on-one communication but scared to death in a crowd! I heard that there were about 120 people present and luckily most of them were familiar faces. Of course, just as luck would have it, somehow I drew the short straw and had to go first! Not just first in speaking but our entire panel discussion actually started the seminar with me as the first speaker. 

At the end of the day though, it was great fun and I actually closed a charter as I was speaking. The client faxed the contract to the Yacht Club and after our panel resigned to our seats, I ran to the bank and wire transferred the funds to the charter management firm. It was really kind of cool because I was not sure if I could actually pull it off on such short notice and being out of the office as well. The short charter went very well and the client exclaimed that everything was “Perfect”! For those who may be interested, I have enclosed below just the key points of one of my topics:  THE BROKER’S ROLE

 BROKER RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE CLIENT:

1. PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL & COURTEOUS CUSTOMER SERVICE AT ALL TIMES.          
2. LISTEN & COMMUNICATE. LEARN AS MUCH ABOUT YOUR CLIENT’S NEEDS AS  POSSIBLE.
3. BE KNOWLEDEABLE. DO YOUR HOMEWORK & KNOW THE PRODUCT THAT YOU ARE SELLING.  ATTEND CHARTER SHOWS & SEMINARS  WHENEVER POSSIBLE.
4.  BE TRUTHFUL. NEVER TELL A LIE TO A CLIENT…EVEN A LITTLE WHITE ONE” 
5.  KEEP THE CLIENT INFORMED AT ALL TIMES.
6.  FOLLOW-UP. CHECK IN W/CAPTAIN DURING THE CHARTER & CALL THE CLIENT IMMEDIATELY UPON THEIR RETURN HOME.
   
   
   
   
   
    

Well, I survived the first day of blogging at Shannon Webster Yacht Charters. This is fun, sort of?? I am going to learn how to upload pictures to share some later this week so please check back. Today is hubby Daniel Webster’s birthday. He is the VP for SWC and the captain of the charter yacht JOANNE, a high speed jet boat. Dan runs trips in the Bahamas and Florida region and is the best charter captain that I know for this area that requires so much local knowledge. He has promised to share some of his best kept secrets with you soon. Joanne is a very fast boat, cruising at 42 knots when he has the pedal to the medal. Very impressive for a 120′ vessel, albeit although a bit heavy on fuel consumption. Not good right now with prices expecting to reach record highs this summer.

Hi everyone. I am sure that I can just learn as I go. That is how I learn most of my life’s lessons that stick with me. I know that” Blogging” will give me better exposure for Shannon Webster Yacht Charters so I am resolved to “Just Do It”. I guess that this is as good a time to start as any. Bear with me while I learn as I go along blindly because at this moment, I am truly clueless!!