 Welcome to our first blog post!
B&G Charter Management and Carib Blue Charters are excited to launch this weekly blog to connect with you, our client community. Since many of you live off-island, we’re creating an online community to make it easier to communicate with you guys on all of the important (and fun!) happenings here at B&G and Carib Blue. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly blog (click on the RSS Feed button to the right or like us on Facebook)—and our upcoming monthly newsletter, On Deck!—to get the scoop and stay in touch with your friends at B&G and Carib Blue. We’re also now on social media, so follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Feel free to post your comments, photos, and reviews, too! We love seeing what everyone is up to and getting feedback on how we’re doing! To show our thanks for those who follow us on social or sign up for the newsletter, we’ll be offering special service discounts, along with all of the great content we’re planning for the newsletters: insider tips on provisioning and sailing in the BVI; boat-ownership pitfalls to avoid; info on must-see destinations; progress reports on B&G refits; profiles on the people, places, and events that make the BVI the top Caribbean sailing destination; and links to must-read online resources that we come across (boat reviews, sailing-gear test reports, customs procedures changes, and other sailing blogs worth following). We look forward to having you onboard! Sincerely, Todd, Kara and Team B&G / Carib Blue Connect with us: Facebook: @bgbvi and @CaribBlueCharters Twitter: @BG_BVI and @CaribBlueBVI Instagram: @caribbluebvi Newsletter sign-up: Click here! Get to Know Us For those of you who are new to our community, we wanted to give you a little background on who we are and how B&G / Carib Blue Charters came to be. Both family-run businesses have deep roots in the BVI and call Soper’s Hole home, and both were born out of a passion for sailing in one of the world’s top boating destinations. Adopting B&G: After a successful stint with Freedom Yachts in the U.S. and Freedom Yacht Charters in the BVI, Bill and Georgia Schroer launched B&G Charter Management in the mid ’90s to offer private yacht management services. The couple worked tirelessly for nearly two decades building a loyal client base. But in 2013, they sought new horizons and began looking for new parents for B&G. Todd and Kara Patterson jumped at the chance to adopt B&G that year. While they share a love of boating, each brought different strengths to the partnership and their new venture. Having arrived in the BVI in 2008, Todd’s maritime background was extensive, including years spent as a professional captain or crew aboard yachts ranging from 54 to 155 feet, commercial tuna fishing, managing boat yards in the U.S., and orchestrating the substantial refit of his own charter boat, Veritas, a 1963 Abeking & Rasmussen ketch. Kara—a long time Tortola resident and no stranger to Caribbean sailing herself—brought to the table a keen business sense and experience in corporate accounting (she has a masters degree in accounting and specialized in insolvency and corporate restructuring in the BVI before joining B&G full-time in 2015). The combination has been dynamite! In three short years, with the help of B&G’s now staff of five, we have nearly doubled the managed yacht fleet and have expanded our services to include high-level mechanical and electrical work (including the installation and maintenance of complex solar-power systems), as well as detailed, high-quality wood finishing. B&G continues to be one of the most respected yacht management companies in the BVI. A New Venture is Born: Over the course of the 2015-2016 season, we decided to diversify our offerings and launched Carib Blue Charters, a bareboat charter company whose fleet currently includes a Jeanneau 40.3 monohull and a Lagoon 380 catamaran; we expect to be able to offer two more catamarans for charter shortly. We apply the same attention to detail to maintaining the charter yachts as we do the private yachts we manage. Carib Blue’s unique partnership with B&G also allows us to offer bareboat charters at incredibly low rates. Additionally, thanks to our many ties to the local sailing community, we can offer bareboat charter guests highly recommended captains for hire or licensed ASA instructors, if they prefer. Our Homeport: We have chosen to maintain our base of operations in Soper’s Hole on Frenchman’s Cay, Tortola, just as Bill and Georgia did. It’s the ideal location for owners of private yachts and those departing or returning on a charter. Soper’s Hole is easily accessible by ferry from St. Thomas and having Customs and Immigration there in the harbor makes clearing in by private or charter boat after trips to the USVI or down-island a breeze. Soper’s Hole boasts an incredible array of amenities, including several restaurants, a supermarket, water toy rentals, a chandlery, laundry, and (one of our favorites!) a gelato shop. Also, unlike many of Tortola’s other marinas, the water is always clear and the breeze is perfect. There honestly is not a better locale for a private boat, or from which to start and finish a charter! That’s us in a nutshell! For more information, check out our websites, connect with us on social media, or email us with any questions. To our existing clients, we look forward to continuing to provide you with a high level of service, and for new private yacht management and charter clients, we look forward to making you part of the B&G / Carib Blue community! |
