It’s the Caribbean’s fantastic fleet of floating hotel rooms that will be on show this fall in the British Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands and Antigua. This is when brokers from around the world, the sales force of charter yacht vacations, will visit a selection of 50- to 300-plus sailing and motor yachts and the crew onboard. While these three are the longest running of the Caribbean’s crewed charter shows, the now three-year-old Grenada Charter Yacht Show, hosted out of Camper & Nicholsons’ Port Louis Marina, kicked off the season of shows in July with over 20 yachts to view.
Charter Yacht Society 37th Fall Show
November 6-9
Nanny Cay Resort & Marina
Tortola, British Virgin Islands
crewedyachtsbvi.com
Fifty plus yachts, dominated by catamarans, are expected this year. This is a wonderful sign of the fleet’s rebuilding and island’s recovery after last year’s devastating blow from Hurricane Irma. Also expected are approximately 100 brokers. Most represent brokerages in the U.S., however, there will also be brokers from other Caribbean islands, Canada and the U.K.
“The BVI show has grown over the years,” said Janet Oliver, the Charter Yacht Society’s executive director. “Brokers must be focused and diligent if they are to see all of the showcased yachts. Nevertheless, there remains a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere. Many of the brokers and crews at our show have known one another for years so the event has a ‘reunion’ feel to it.”
The yachting sector led the way to the territory’s recovery after Hurricane Irma, said Oliver. “Despite the overall damages to the BVI, former charter guests were desperate to return to get tourism dollars circulating again. They wanted to be an integral part of the recovery process. Before Irma, the charter boat industry generated more than $250 million annually for the BVI economy. We are determined to climb back to that figure and surpass it.”
USVI Charter Yacht Show
November 10-13
Island Global Yachting’s Yacht Haven Grande
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
www.vipca.org
The popularity of the USVI show is growing since new management, the Virgin Islands Professional Charter Association (VIPCA), took over last year. Vessel numbers are expected to exceed 60 with five-plus vessels in the 80-plus-foot range. Sailing catamarans typically form the majority of those on show. This makes a great opportunity for larger power vessels and monohulls to stand out in the crowd without the risk of being eclipsed by megayachts as they would at a show catering to many large vessels, notes Oriel Blake, VIPCA executive director.
“Since last year was the first time VIPCA ran the show, everything was new. It proved successful, so we aren’t changing much,” said Blake. “However, there will be two new elements. One is a ‘Marine Expo’ on the first night that hosts marine vendors. The second is an additional evening event after the show with the focus specifically on day charters. We’ll be inviting hotels, villas, concierges and local booking agents to meet and greet vessels who offer charters of less than a week.”
The more than 100 term charter and an additional 100-plus day-charter vessels operating in the territory contribute an estimated $30 million to the USVI economy. This represents a marked percentage of the gross domestic product.
“It is VIPCA’s firm belief that this figure shall more than double over the coming years as the territory’s marine infrastructure improves, and the undiscovered route between the Spanish and the U.S. Virgin Islands is recognized as the dream charter destination it is,” Blake said.
Antigua Charter Yacht Meeting
December 4-10
Nelson’s Dockyard Marina, English Harbour
Falmouth Harbour Marina, Falmouth Harbour
Antigua Yacht Club Marina, Falmouth Harbour
antiguacharteryachtmeeting.com
This ‘grand-daddy’ of Caribbean charter yacht shows in terms of age and size offers something for everyone: sail and power, monohulls and multihulls. Always noteworthy, and the 57th annual is no exception, is the sizable numbers of new and large yachts on display.
“You really won’t find 45-foot yachts; most are 60-feet and up,” notes Sarah Sebastian, Antigua Charter Yacht Meeting coordinator. “This year, we have a plethora of new catamarans from 70- to 77-feet. These include the Sunreef 74-foot yachts Orion and Diana, the Lagoon Seventy7, Babac and 78-foot Privilege, Namaste. Also, for the first time since it was launched in Turkey in March, we’ll have the brand new 254-foot motor yacht Go, on show.”
New too is an updated event website where yachts can register online with a credit card, which eliminates the need for money transfers by wire. Organizers will also debut a mobile app, which will provide real-time show updates.
“The show’s format will remain essentially the same,” says ACYM chairman Paul Deeth. “However, there is a slight change for day five. That is, some yachts will be offering brokers mini-charters to Green Island or Five Islands to let them experience this type of vacation first hand. Other yachts will be open by appointment this day.”
The theme for the highly anticipated Concours de Chef culinary competition is a New Year’s Eve dinner. Three prominent brokers will fill out preference sheets of their likes and dislikes. Yacht chefs, in the three categories of 160-feet and up, 126- to 159-feet and 125-feet and under, will then compete to create a festive themed meal around these preferences.
“The charter yacht industry on Antigua is hugely important to our economy,” Sebastian said.
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