Reprinted from Caribbean Net News
caribbeannetnews.com

BVI makes waves at the Annapolis Boat Show
10-18-2006

TORTOLA, BVI: The 37th Annual Annapolis Sailboat Show in Annapolis, MD from October 5- 9 welcomed more than 27,000 boating and sailing enthusiasts, filling its harbours to unveil new boat models and products for all sailing needs.

A strong British Virgin Islands presence at the show including two BVI Tourist Board sales team members, Hazel Penn and Iverson Smith, two representatives of The Zimmerman Agency along with many industry partners including the Bitter End Yacht Club, The Moorings, Sunsail, Horizon Yacht Charters, Mainsail and Sail Caribbean shared stories of the undisputed sailing capital.

The annual boat show features the launch of new products, sailing and cruising boats, sailing gear and accessories and premier sailing destinations, which is a favourite of the attending media.

Seminars were sponsored by Cruising World/Sailing World for the latest “how-to’s” and was accompanied by booths of The Water Channel, Canadian Yachting, SAIL/Boat Works/2006 Sailboat Buyers Guide, All at Sea, Offshore Magazine/Chesapeake Bay, Sailing Magazine, Yachting World, Lattitude 38 and Fine Edge, among others.

The BVI was the main topic of discussion as the ultimate sailing destination with excitement for the upcoming Sailing Regatta and Festival in the destination in March 2007. Many attendees were frequent BVI travellers, but expressed new plans for the “next new adventure.”

Daily serenades by BVIslanders Quito Rymer & The Edge were also a big attraction at the show bringing the warm flavour of Caribbean music to the chilly northeasterners.

The British Virgin Islands remains an undeveloped haven for natural treasures. The BVI boasts no high-rise hotels, no casinos and no crowds, rather, the purity of the land -- from pristine beaches with powdery sand and crystal clear waters home to an aquarium of the world’s most diverse sea life, to extensive coral reefs responsible for claiming renowned wrecks and vast Outbacks sheltering endangered species.