Maritime Carol

Promotion:      Social media is huge - don't let it pass you by.                                                    Social marketing is definitely worthwhile. Even a simple facebook page can promote your business. Use facebook marketing - their prices are good and you can fix your target range.  Here's another idea to make your own: Make a facebook search for your location.  (Wanaka, Paihia, Great Barrier etc)                           When you see public posts with your location consider sending the person a message like this:   'Hi, we see you're in ... ....today.    We're just along the beach/wharf and are leaving in an hour/tomorrow to go to ........   If you'd like to join us, show us this message and we'll ...

The second installment in gaining more customers and enjoying your chartering more... 2. Look at your customer...   Think customer satisfaction and how you can serve them best.  Who is our niche market?   (Think out of the square - disabled, cat lovers, farmers, rest homes, art groups, real estate agents, church groups, eco warriors etc)                                                   Consider your own/friends groups & adapt a charter to your customers interests.    What can you teach your customer?  (Fishing, local history, wildlife info, sandboarding) When you're passionate about your specific charter customers, it will show and who wants to waste their life doing mediocre charters anyway? Where will they park?  Offer parking advice - give parking voucher if possible. Nobody wants to have their...

We all know we're the best, but whats so special about our charter anyway? Customers will come from far and near if you've got something special. Here's a five suggestions to raise your profile and gain more customers: 1. Look at yourself...    Anything to be different and memorable is important.  What can we do to be the best and stand out from the crowd?  Simple things like using fresh bait rather than frozen, fresh croissants/fruit rather than muffins will make a basic charter better..  What is the customers first impression?  A dirty wharf covered in bird sh*t isn't a good look, neither is anything broken or wonky.  A wet seat in the dinghy is to be avoided too.  How you dress says a lot about your operation - Ripped and ragged clothing is not a good look for a sharp maritime operation.     When crew interact with the customer are they friendly and knowledgeable? A friendly crew member can make or break th...

He was gentle, strong and kind. Tall, dark and handsome, always singing. We'd only met each other a mere six weeks before I stayed the night on his boat. She was a classic launch berthed at the bottom of his parents garden. It was his happy-go-lucky charm that won me over. I was fed warm milk and cried myself to sleep. The engine was noisy and so were the sea planes overhead.. He never told me he loved me, but I knew he did, And even though I haven't seen him for nearly twenty years, I sometimes hear myself singing the songs he sung to me... 'Around the world, I searched for you, I traveled on, when hope was gone, to seek a rendezvous...'  - We won't be going boating or eating cake on his 93rd birthday today, But we know, and we remember - the love of a father and his four girls...

Saying goodbye to a year that has been hard is easy. If you've done well, its bring on more of the same...  Here's three questions to ask yourself before the new year kicks in: 1.Hazard Identification: a)What were my three biggest hazards or problems I dealt with in 2017? b) What were my three highlights of 2017? c) What did I learn from each of them? d) What steps can I put in place to make 2018 the best year yet? By following these simple steps 2017's hazards could become 2018's solutions...

Life throws us some challenging situations, none more so than becoming a stricken vessel ourselves. Here's some Emergency procedures in response to a personal Stricken Vessel event: 1.  Capsize - Floundering, unsure, everything has changed. Take control   Call for assistance   Retrieve what you can and move on  Avoid alcohol Set new goals. 2. Collision - Total disagreement, too hard. Tidy up the mess and retreat  Count your blessings  Ponder what to do next  Take time to play/pray - go sailing, travelling, have a swim. 3. Grounding - Unable to move. Keep watchful eye on surroundings Bide your time Shore yourself up - read a book, chill. (No condition is permanent.) 4. Sinking - Overwhelmed, its over. Leave the sinking ship* Collect floating debris Locate solid ground Have a feed Call for assistance Set new goals Start again. By following these procedures you are well on your way to surviving a str...

It's not the outside image or the seagulls that entice me into a fish and chip meal, it's the setting and queue of people.   Its also the buzz as diners weave their way between waiting customers and picnic tables. This must surely be worth the wait, and I too join the queue.  A notice in the window tells us that they need shop staff - for immediate start - and that their food is cooked in pure beef fat. The queue winds into the shop, and I glance down to see my first mutton birds - $20 for each little featherless brown body laying on top of each other.  Somehow I'd pictured them in barrels, transported on deck from outlying islands.  They don't tempt me nor do the Chatham Island Kina. The variety of fish for sale is wide & colourful.  There's Pink Salmon, Red & Blue Cod, Ling, Blue Moki and Blue Gill.   Add an extra $8 per order to chose a piece cooked for your dinner. The mussel fritters have already sold out and everyone is ...