St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The USVI Charter Yacht Show kicks off Monday and runs through Thursday at the Marina at IGY’s Yacht Haven Grande. Organized by the Virgin Islands Professional Charter Association (VIPCA), the industry event gives yacht brokers, the travel agents for crewed yacht vacations worldwide, a chance to personally meet crews and visit the fleet of yachts aboard which they will book clients on future week-long, all-inclusive vacations. The Show is also an excellent barometer of the health of this segment of the territory’s marine tourism industry.

“The size and strength of the charter yacht fleet attending the USVI Charter Yacht Show is indicative of the present success of the U.S. Virgin Islands marine charter industry as a whole,” says Oriel Blake, VIPCA executive director. “With seventy-four yachts attending we are seeing a 25 percent increase on last year’s show. Remarkably registration for 2019 was up to eighty-one yachts out of the present 150 USVI-based term-charter fleet. This year we also have 140 brokers registered, from the Caribbean, U.S. and Europe.”

A Boutique Fleet

The impressive fleet of boutique-style crewed yachts docked to capacity at IGY’s Yacht Haven Grande average nearly 60-feet in length and represent monohulls and multihulls, power and sailing yachts. Eight of these vessels are over 70-feet and three of these are 100-foot plus, earning the USVI Charter Yacht Show its signature quality of the go-to Caribbean show to see and be seen for medium-size megayachts. One of these is the 105-foot superyacht, Bella Vita, managed by Fort Lauderdale, Florida-headquartered Denison Yacht Sales, a sponsor of the USVI Charter Yacht Show and the Show’s official Yacht Sales Company.

“Denison’s featured yacht charters are comprised of hand-selected yachts by our charter management specialists. Each yacht and crew are inspected and approved by the Denison team. The most popular charter yacht is the Lagoon 620 or the FB Saba 50. Each can accommodate 8 to 10 people, making them a great option for families or a group of friends to charter together,” says Josh Valoes, digital media manager.

Denison Yacht Sales, whose family owned and operated company dates back to 1948 with the start of Broward Marine, provides complete yachting services worldwide, from sales and charter to yacht management and new construction. Office locations span the globe, including in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Here, luxury catamaran specialist, Wiley Sharp, focuses on catamarans from 45-foot and longer and both new and older models interested in going into charter.

Private & Public Events

The USVI Charter Yacht Show’s jam-packed schedule of event features those targeted to industry professionals and those for the public. Here’s the scoop:

The Denison Crew Soiree is for VIPCA Member Crews on the pre-show evening of November 10, with music by Jon Gazi. This event provides important show updates and details required for exhibiting yachts to make the most success of their show. Also specific to crew only is the cocktail competition either using Stoli or Captain Morgan as the cocktail base, to be judged in under 10 minutes any time between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on November 13 at the Blue 11 restaurant at IGY’s Yacht Haven Grande. The Culinary Concourse event is open to yacht chefs only and will also be held at Blue 11 on November 14, from 1:30 to 4 p.m., with a demo-session by the eatery’s owner Chef David ‘Benji’ Benjamin.

The Show officials starts with the Marine Expo with the not-to-miss ‘State of the Industry Address’, sponsored by IGY Marinas on Monday at 5:30 p.m. On November 12, the ‘circumnavigation-themed’ Yacht Hop begins at 6 p.m., where crews will dress both themselves and their yachts as their favorite destination and charter brokers are invited to dress as sailors. The Show’s Award Ceremony follows on November 13, with a sunset sail aboard the Kon Tiki, which departs at 5 p.m.

“Our public event this year is the Day Charter Cocktails and Conference on November 14, at 5:30 p.m., which invites the hospitality accommodation sector for all booking agents and concierge, villas, timeshare holders, hoteliers, Airbnb owners and Day Charter crew and owners,” says Blake. This event is co-sponsored by the VI Hotel and Tourism Association at Yacht Haven Grande behind Havana Nines with registration online https://vipca.org/day-charter-conference-and-cocktails/.

Sponsors of the USVI Charter Yacht show include the USVI Department of Tourism; Yacht Haven Grande; IGY Marinas; Offshore Marine; Gowrie Group; Denison Yacht Sales; Moe’s Fresh Market; Captain Morgan, distributed by Bellows International; Stoli, distributed by West Indies Company; Northern Lights Generators, distributed by Parts and Power; the Charter Yacht Broker Association; Cardow Jewelers; Harbor Shoppers; La Royale Cosmetics; and the Pamilco Group.

ABOUT VIPCA: VIPCA is the territory’s 501(c)(6) nonprofit marine association, whose purpose is to promote, protect and further the capabilities of charter yachts and the marine businesses that sustain them. Projects and initiatives VIPCA membership supports include producing a marine directory of local information, technical advice and resources; improving Customs and Border Protection facilities; gaining ease of access for charter vessels between the USVI and Spanish Virgin Islands; compliance guidance; moving forward a proposal to manage territory wide new transient moorings; marine vocational training for V.I. youth; and surveying and cleaning up bays and mangroves under the organization’s charity fiscally sponsored by Community Foundation Virgin Islands (CFVI.net), VI Marine Rebuild Fund. vipca.org