Yachta, Yachta, Yachta

I'd like to meet:

Welcoming yacht enthusiasts and yachties* of all makes, models, features, and interests in YACHTS & YACHTING!
And that would be:
* People who enjoy cruising aboard yachts--of any kind!
* Yacht Owners
* Yacht Crew
* Yacht Wannabe Owners
* Yacht Wannabe Crew
* Or just people who like looking at and reading about YACHTS!
Won't you come aboard and join us!?
*Definition "Yachtie:" a slang term used to describe a yachtsman/yachtswoman and can refer to yacht enthusiasts, owners, and crew.

Music:

* Jimmy Buffett *
(this is mandatory)

~ AND he's a yacht owner!

Movies:

We love any movies featuring yachts!
SOME FAVORITES * Overboard (1987) with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell

* Indecent Proposal (yes, there was a yacht in this movie)
* Superman Returns - Lex Luther's M/Y Gertrude--a 300-ft. yacht--qualifies as "GIGA" status (too bad it was just a computer 3D creation)
* Producers of the NEW James Bond Film, Casino Royale (to be released Nov. 2006), have confirmed that this latest 007 production will feature a Sunseeker motoryacht.
* Why, Pirates of the Caribbean, of course!
* Better still: Pirates of the Great Salt Lake!
* More to come...!

Television:

The Boaters TV (My former online TV "show" and podcast)

The Water Channel &
Power and Motoryacht TV!

Books:

* The Insiders' Guide to Becoming a Yacht Stewardess: Confessions from My Years Afloat with the Rich and Famous by Julie Perry

* The Superyachts (Volumes 1 thru 18, and soon to be released: Volume 19) A Boat International Publication, Edited by Roger Lean-Vercoe

* The MegaYachts USA (Volumes 1 thru 7) A Boat International Publication

* And anything from:
Blue Water Books & Charts

Heroes:

Yachting is an industry, and it's serious business.
Aside from the OWNERS and CHARTER GUESTS who travel aboard them (because many of them are our heroes...and we certainly admire them!), the people who make the International Yachting Industry run are our heroes, too.
They include
(but are not limited to!): * the marine architects, boat builders, craftsmen, and interior designers who create and even refit these seafaring mansions
* the suppliers and service vendors, fuel bunkering agents, and the chandlers who provision and maintenance them
* the yacht brokers who sell them
* the yacht management companies who help operate them
* the charter brokers and charter managers who handle the renting of them
* the workers at the shipyards and marinas who house and harbor them
* yacht finance companies, yacht insurance companies, yacht painting companies, yacht engineering and electrical companies
* the captains who manage and RUN them!
* and last, but certainly not least, in the World of Luxury Yachting: The lifeblood of the industry is THE CREW (which includes the aforementioned--and beloved!--captains!).
These are the individuals who live aboard and look after these vessels year round--guests onboard or no guests onboard.
*We then, of course, also honor the myriad of companies that exist to recruit and place (crew recruitment and placement agencies!), license and train (crew training schools!), network and represent, and even consult and insure the crew.