Welcome to our First Newsletter!

Posted: 26th Jul 2013 | Written By: Sam Watson

We launched OnboardOnline.com at the end of January and what a year it’s been so far. We’ve seen tragedy and upheaval at the Americas Cup, the accession of Croatia to the EU, and major changes to VAT in France and Spain. It’s not a bumper season for charters in the Med, but there are reports of a slight upturn in worldwide superyacht sales. Meanwhile, everywhere you look, MLC 2006 looms large as August 20 approaches. Are we ready? Before you know it, show season will be here again, followed by a stint in the yard or a passage further afield; the wheel will keep turning, wherever you’re headed.

One thing is certain: There’s never a dull moment in yachting and, as the industry evolves – rather rapidly this year – there’s no shortage of subjects to talk about. And this leads me nicely to my next point…

Since launching, we’ve been inundated with your suggestions and great ideas – thank you. Some of these have already been included, such as a ‘most recent articles’ box on the homepage, and the facility to comment in all sections of the site. Other ideas are still in development but, invariably, they all point to interactivity and the way you want to receive and share information.

This is the way of the world, especially in yachting, and it is central to our model, based on the logic that almost anything is possible as long as someone comes up with the idea!

One of the staples is the Forum, which is now set up and ready to go. We want this to work in both directions – as a hotbed of ideas for future articles, and also the place to carry on a conversation or post questions. Our industry and crew writers are signed up and now we need your voice to really get things started. Registering is easy and you can remain anonymous if you prefer. If you have any suggestions on topics or how the forum should be run, please write to us at forum@onboardonline.com

We’ve also upgraded the Port Directory. After consulting with a number of captains, we’ve compiled a wish list of the information required when entering a port and created a new Documents page in each port listing. We are now working with all 520 ports adding up to date information on port facilities, berth rates, and online applications. Ports will manage their own portal and can upload additional news and updates as they wish. Like Trip Advisor, readers can post comments and rate each port but, in the name of fairness, we’ve given ports the right to reply.

In the pipeline

Continuing the theme of interactivity, next month our global Business Directory will become much more than a directory in the form of the OO Portal! It is already complete with over 11,000 free listings, and next month we are rolling out some exciting and unique features available with premium listings – watch this space!

Also in development is our Product Reviews section and, due to popular demand, we’re adding ‘Cool Stuff’ plus another bit of fun that we're keeping under wraps! More on this next month…

A taste of things to come

This month we have some great new writers, including Jo Morgan, Jelly, Mel Thunderbolt, Ted Street and Alison Rentoul, better known as The Crew Coach. We’re also excited to introduce our coverage of M/Y Sherakhan’s forthcoming World Trip, with a humorous account of their recent voyage through Antarctica. We continue our series on yacht management from a captain’s perspective and we look at the pros and cons of crew rotation. We get behind our chosen charity – The Cirdan Sailing Trust, “A Voyage of Discovery for Young People”. In light of recent events, we also tackle the subject of bullying on board and who is there to help.

The cherry on the cake?

This month our happy team of five and Wanda moved into new offices in Antibes, just around the corner from Antibes Shipservices: 23 Rue du Général d’Andreossy. We’re having a few drinks to toast the new office on Friday 26 July so, if you’re in town, please come along and say hello. Watch out for details on our Facebook page

And finally..

We’d like to say a big thank you to Camper and Nicholson’s for including their excellent Market Intelligence Reports in our monthly newsletter – an invaluable resource for anyone working in the yachting industry. Thank you also to Passage Weather and Marine Traffic for their collaboration and support. And a huge thank you to our tech team at Vibe Creative - we love you!

Last, but by no means least, thank you to all our readers and followers on Twitter and Facebook – 3200 fans and rising! We can’t do this without you, so please keep the ideas coming and let us know what’s going on!

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Latest Industry Articles

VSAT Humour - SkyTech Ltd

With the Med season well under way, Edoardo Zarghetta takes a humorous look at VSAT to cheer up those who have to deal with it!

Yacht Management Software – usability and interface design - Great Circle Systems

Don’t let software dictate how you work! Ex-captain Scott Strand of Great Circle Systems shares his thoughts on usability and reducing the crew learning curve.

What to Consider When Choosing a Security Company - International Maritime Security Associates

With the ever-changing security threats to yachts, Corey Ranslem shares some intelligent insight on how to choose the right protection.

My Happy Place - Mel Thunderbolt in the Engine Room

Female engineers are getting a lot of attention at the moment, and there’s good reason. There are more of them and, we hear they are rather good at it. Mel Thunderbolt shares a whole new perspective on sweat, grease and poetry in the engine room.

Jan -July Market Intelligence -Camper and Nicholsons

Camper & Nicholsons share their latest overview of superyacht market intelligence – are things looking up?

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Features This Month

M/Y Sherakhan’s World Trip – Exclusive! - Lisa Dijkshoorn

Following a presentation on board M/Y Sherakhan, we were so ijkshoornimpressed with the crew, the yacht and the itinerary, that we asked if we could cover their forthcoming World Trip from start to finish. We kick things off with Deckhand Lisa’s humorous account of ‘Sherakhan does Antarctica’, with much more to follow.

Rolex Fastnet 2013 – On a 101 Year Old Gaff Yawl! - Jelly

Jelly introduces classic S/Y Duet and their madcat adventures in the Morgan Cup in aid of the charity we’ve chosen to support: The Cirdan Trust: A Voyage for Young People.

Below Deck - TV Gold or Just Nonsense? - Jo Morgan

M/Y Pet Hate – When did Yacht Crew get so Fussy? - Jo Morgan

Q&A with everyone’s favourite Crew Coach – Alison Rentoul

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