bvi captains log blog

One of my guests pointed this out to me as he was booking flights for next New Years coming in here. Quite a few of my guests come SPIRIT as it has fairly good connections and prices when you are getting a group down here.
Effective Sept 2, 2008 they will only be flying one flight a week from Fort Lauderdale (connecting on from wherever they come from) into STT. This will be on a Saturday. This will cut the cheaper flights into the area, as well as make less seats available. If you are planning on using Spirit to come down here next season, my advice is to book early!
I have been tossing this around in my head for awhile, and I think that this step makes the following an even better idea.
Most people want to start a charter on a Saturday or Sunday.
I think I am going to start working my charters WHEN they take place on a Saturday to Saturday, so guests board after 4 PM. Departure the next Saturday will be before 10 AM. The benefits of this are:
Whatever airline you are coming in on, you can generally get into Tortola by late afternoon, either straight into Beef or by ferry from St Thomas. Then you have to find a hotel room for the night, and that is problematic. and expensive. Our selection is not wonderful, and quite frankly, it is just a pain for the guests to load everyone into taxi's to wander around looking for meals late at night when the only thing open in Bobbys and then repeat the tiresome procedure to get to the boat the next morning.
The down side on this is that you lose about 4 hours of your week long charter. The other down side is on back to backs, my crew does not get even 24 hours, although, I could adjust our services somewhat so we put the boat on a dock and the guests go out to dinner and breakfast at the marina instead, (which they would have had to do if they were staying in a hotel room anyways)

I have had more and more requests from guests saying that next time, they want to just get off the plane and get on the boat. They do not want to do the hotel stays, so I am actively looking for a way to accomodate this. Spirit going down to one flight a week has made me think harder on this. When you come in after three in the afternoon to St Thomas, I often suggest the guests buy the cab/ferry combo from Smiths Ferry which will have a cab driver pick them up, and the ferry will wait for them if need be. Then they are almost guaranteed to get to Tortola, unless the airlines are REALLY delayed.
The cost of coming into Beef Island is going up and up. More people are coming into St Thomas. I think that if I went to something like above the thing to do would be to move the boat down to the marinas in West End to pick up guests. Nicer then the smells like pee inner Road Harbor marinas.

Anyways, all my guests, I have now thrown this out for some INPUT and I REALLY NEED and WANT the input so I can figure out what is best for us, our guests and our business, so help me out here!

So you know this is Kerry checking in with an update once again! Only a few more days and then it is back to the states and then back to tortola for charters! I like the pictures from the Swim Vacation and thought it was very funny them not being able to do a before breakfast swim!
I saw this in a bakery here and it reminded me that I used to do animal shapes like this out of bread on the boat...have not done them for many years! There is only so much time on the boat, but they are cute! Thought it was funny as a turtle and a iguana was what I used to make as well!

Bazza took us on a "wildlife" drive to the National Park. I wanted to see Emus, and Koala Bears and Kangaroos! He had his work cut out for him, but he gamely traveled on finding me my animals!
A magpie...

A kangaroo..

Yep, the tour was starting to look pretty third class by this time! I was getting peeved! But then he came around a corner and redeemed himself! Emu's! I screamed and clutched at him. The Australians in the car laughed as apparently me getting excited about EMUS was like when he gets excited about squirrels in the states! I thought he should put out his hand and let the emus come up and eat off of it, but apparently they are mean birds and he was having none of that. We fed them potato chips and mints and moved on!

Then he wiped the sweat off his brow as he managed to find me kangaroos! A couple times! Although they bounded away when I tried to walk close to them.

We found an honest to goodness lake...(severe droughts here)

with an honest to goodness island...

We then went to a dam where it is a perfect parabollic shape, called whispering walls and you can stand at the two ends and talk normally and hear each other as if you were right next to each other. I was looking for the microphones!

Some pretty cactus...

We took "the kids" (when did I become the old ones instead of the kids?) shopping as they were buying a big plasma TV, well the only way it fit in the car was on the back seat and with Bazzas son Wade stuffed like a little sausage on the floor.

And now for some more Australian funnies! Bazza has taken me into a couple bathrooms here to show me the "piss troughs" and that is what they are! This one had a twist on it. those signs are for drink driving, as the limit here is 0.5 when you , er, apply the heat of your urine on them, the numbers light up! The sign says "Aim Below" Easy to amuse Australian males hey???

Now, this billboard I am still perplexed by! Is it an ad for longer lasting sex or a nasal procedure? Or does this nasal procedure make you have longer sex??? I am not quite sure!

This one has caused a bit of controversy here in OZ. The girl is a former Miss Australia I believe, who promotes this wine and says this saying got by her and she thought it was a bit rude! I know the wine company is getting lots of advertising now anyways. The Australians seem to have quite a way with words don't they!

So, other then that, we have been visiting family, and more family and more family. Of the in law variety, some better then others!