Welcome to the Yacht Guide February issue  –  Well, it isn’t surely all doom and gloom! If you are reading this on a BVI shore then you can afford to leave your worries behind for a bit. Naturally it is said that recessions often separate the men from the boys. But that’s all talk and what we are concentrating on this issue and forward is the positive aspects of our yachting industry with keeping our flip flops or boat shoes firmly on the fiberglass, or sand ( without taking them off and throwing them at anybody!).

In this issue we have many stories that reflect and many that look forward to what is going on in our little slice of the world. Our contributors have made some of the most positive attributes of island life come together in their fine words. David, ever humorous and with a raised eyebrow examines life on charter and we have a fond trip down memory lane from Scarlett Steer. Traci O Dea has been looking at the concept of our beloved yachtie and the perceptions we may or may not have! Nicola Massey from Horizon tells us a little how their company is sailing forward with the economic changes and we spend a day on a mega mini yacht, compact and right on the money! The state of our market is just that, in flux and we can ponder over a crystal ball over actually get up and get on with it, as an island we have no other choice and better to do with it a gleam in the eye and a pirate grin.

I was chatting recently to a good friend who was telling me they couldn’t leave here anymore and go back to his mother country because of the financial down turn. In seeking my advice I told him to go sailing for a little while, go to the beach and just relax and think about his next step forward. A week later in catching up with him, I bumped into him at the beach and asked how he was doing and what he had decided. From a sun kissed face he smiled and said it wasn’t a worry anymore, he had considered his options whilst he was enjoying himself and had come to realize that in doing so, that was exactly all he wanted to do and he wasn’t in the worst place to do it.

Have fun guys, and see you out on the water- with a smile!

Owen Waters