As the first ICON 62m hulls arrive at ICON Yachts' freshly refurbished facility in Harlingen in The Netherlands for fitting out, another new arrival is set to head up the Sales & Marketing activities. Paul Manting, whose impressive track record includes running Feadship's South of France office, is already briefing top yacht brokers on the advantages that the new ICON 62m offers their clients - 'a custom superyacht on an optimized platform.'

Hemisphere (formerly Project Gemini), designed by naval architects Van Peteghem Lauriot Prévost (VPLP) and built by Derecktor Shipyards in Bridgeport, Connecticut is on course to be delivered towards the latter part of this year. With a length overall of 44.2m (145ft) and a gross tonnage of just under 500, she is set to scoop the record as the world's largest sailing catamaran. However, this will by no means be her only impressive credential, and the team behind the project has pooled their respective talents and expertise to accomplish the execution of this vessel.

From the 24th to the 27th of September 2008, the companies of the luxury yachting sector will return to Port Hercules for the 18th Monaco Yacht Show. Seven months before its next edition, the show is already sold-out thanks to an impressive repeat exhibitor rate as well as new requests for the few stands that were available in early January.

In Wellington everything is going under way between SailingOne's team, Bostik's New Zealand team, the City of Wellington and the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club to welcome Bostik, the first Veolia Oceans one-design. It's going to be a very warm welcome from New Zealand! Charles Caudrelier and Liz Wardley are getting closer to the end of this first leg of the round-the-world Reconnaissance Tour of the SolOceans after a strong slowdown during the last week-end due to mild weather conditions for the season at the South-East of New Zealand.

Sentient Flight Group announced the launch of privatejets.com, a website empowering travelers to research and book private jet travel online with immediate confirmation - all backed by Sentient?s commitment to safety and relentless focus on customer service.

Fraser Yachts are proud to announce that this year's Newport Boat Show will be the kick off event for the new look on the West Coast. After unveiling the new image in Europe at the Monaco Yacht Show and on the East Coast at last year's Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the Newport Boat Show will mark the final geographic region to meet the new Fraser Yachts. The company, which has recently experienced growth as the market expands across the world, employs 130 people from 18 different nationalities, speaking 25 languages in 10 offices all around the world.

Fraser Yachts is excited to announce the arrival of Lania Rittenhouse. As the new Director of Charter Retail she will be leading the Fraser Yachts Charter Retail Division, based in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

The Marina at Marigot Bay on St Lucia's west coast celebrated a bumper 2007/2008 festive season when it welcomed a record-breaking number of super-yacht and mega-yacht visitors to its docks. Not only did the marina, which is situated in front of the five star Discovery at Marigot Bay resort and spa, enjoy 100% occupancy over the Christmas and New Year period, but continued to see a large number of big boats on its docks well into February.

The 28th Annual St. Maarten Heineken Regatta will hit the open seas on March 6th - 9th and is expecting to attract an international field of competitors anxious to test their skills in the challenging waters off the coast of St. Maarten. The event, hosted annually by the St. Maarten Yacht Club, is renowned in the sailing world for its unbeatable combination of fast-paced action at sea and world-class parties ashore.

Edmiston & Company's classic yacht specialist, Mike Horsley, in the Antibes office started 2008 with the sale of two significant classic yachts, the 36.5m 1936 Thendara, designed by Alfred Mylne, and 25m 1948 Agneta. Both owners are preparing their new respective boats to race each other in the popular Mediterranean classic regatta circuit.

Amphibians is the world's first lighting collection designed to be used both in and out of the water. The first light of the new collection, The Amphibian 3 (A3) will be launched at this year's Miami Boat Show (Booth 1944) on February 14 -18 with the next two models following shortly after.

The island of St. Maarten/St. Martin, commonly known as the -culinary capitol of the Caribbean,- is pleased to announce the third annual running of the St. Maarten/St. Martin Classic Yacht Regatta from January 17th - 20th. The regatta, which features traditional style sailboats, will feature three-days of racing that pits the intrepid competitors on a course that circumvents the island, making stops in such scenic locales as Simpson Bay, Marigot and Great Bay.

Tvtrip.com, the new, travel site where travelers get to check-out their hotel on video before they book it, announced today two major steps in its expansion. The site now offers 4 key destinations in the US (New York, San Franscisco, Chicago and Miami) and plans on adding 10 more US cities in early 2008. TVtrip has also boosted their destinations in Europe with 50 available popular cities. The other big step is TVtrip's hot, new player making it easy for the user to access all the information, without ever leaving the viewer. 'The great reaction to our site has helped lead to our phenomenal growth in Europe and now in the U.S.,' said Marc Ruff, Founder and Chief Executive officer of TVtrip.com. 'When other properties see how potential travelers respond to our videos and our web site, they want to be part of TVtrip.com and we are happy to have them.'

I asked what she did for a living. She said she was a software engineer working with SOA. I did not think about my plane ride much until I arrived in San Francisco to attend the SOA World Conference & Expo this past Monday and Tuesday. The first day of the conference as I walked into the hotel, guess who I saw? My friend who I met on the Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul. What a small world, isn't it? Her company was one of the sponsors of the event.

Blue Line Yachts, is an established Yacht charter brokerage, management and central agency with one of the newest charter fleets in the Med Sea. The company?s operations also include an exclusive in Greece for the purchase AICON YACHTS, one of the most rapidly growing European shipyards in terms of design and charter yacht launching.

Perillo Tours, the largest tour operator to Italy, has been a family-run business for over 63 years. Led by three generations beginning with Joseph Perillo, then Mario Perillo and now Steve Perillo, Perillo Tours' fully escorted tours provide excellent sightseeing, first-class hotels, and experienced and knowledgeable tour guides. All tours include transfers, baggage handling, American style breakfasts, tips, taxes, and dinners with complimentary wines and mineral water.

I love JetBlue Airlines; I adore and admire its founder and chairman David Neeleman, one of the most competent CEOs in the business. I flew with David on more than one occasion. The airline has a cost-savings policy: in flight the crew prepares the plane for the next flight, and by doing this they save both time and money. On one of my flights returning from California to New York, David gave his seat to the standby passengers (he had three seats reserved in the last row for this red-eye flight) and flew in the cockpit. When we landed at JFK, he had his gloves on and was cleaning the front bathroom of the plane for the next flight.

Fraser Yachts is very pleased to announce that its sales division has taken on a new exciting project exclusively with Fincantieri Yachts in Italy. The experience of the two global leaders in the large yacht market place has been joined in a brand new 75m (246?) joint venture project GOLDMINE.

MYBA recently announced the acquisition of the St. Maarten Charter Yacht show. The show will be managed by both MYBA and the St. Maarten Marine Trades Association (SMMTA), and will proudly wear the new title of the MYBA St. Maarten Charter Show.

Edmiston & Company, world leader in the large yachting business, is announcing their newest yacht for charter: the SENSATION. The SENSATION was designed and created by Sensation Yachts this year, and will be available for charter in August.

This 4th of July marked my sixth visit to the Divan Palmira Hotel in Bodrum, Turkey. My visit this year, which was quite different then the quiet escapes I've had in past years, prompted me to write a review for the first time. The Divan Palmira Hotel is located in the Golturkbuku region of Bodrum. Two recent cover stories published last year in The New York Times Travel Section called this Aegien Sea summer destination, The St. Tropez of Turkey.

As if going on a week-long diving vacation is not exciting enough, Aggressor Fleet recently showered their 100,000th guest with a prize package worth over 6,000!

Fraser Yachts is very pleased to announce that its Yacht Management division is expanding to the West Coast, USA and will be based in the San Diego offices. The location was strategically chosen to service the whole Pacific Coast from Panama to Alaska.

If this year you are craving a bit more excitement then beach bumming for your summer vacation, you may want to consider diving in some of the most breathtaking waters our country has to offer. Horizon Charters, based out of San Diego, is hosting dive adventure trips to the Southern Channel Islands.

In the largest and most strategic move within the Luxury SuperYacht industry, Trinity Yachts, LLC (Trinity) and International Yacht Collection (IYC) have announced today that they have signed a Letter of Intent for Trinity to acquire IYC.

There are numerous ways of rating a good vacation: A good vacation is one that you want to tell your friends about the moment you get home. It's one that you can't wait to repeat. It's one where there are little, if any, travel snafus, and you managed to remember to pack everything you needed for the trip (from toothbrush to socks, and everything in between). For the well-traveled foodie a good vacation is one with top-notch food; one that starts with a cappuccino that is perfect, from its first foamy sip to its last, rich, espresso drop. A trip of this nature promises that every bite will be nothing less than the most tantalizing and luxurious flavors that you have ever tasted.

Knowing who to trust when planning a yachting vacation is vital. Dynamic brands driven by dedicated leaders tend to surpass their promises. When Candy & Candy teamed up with Edmiston to produce and market the 45m / 147ft Candyscape the results for charter guests quickly proved sweet.

There's romance in the old whaling days, and one cannot help but to be fascinated by the stories of this bygone era ~ The men who paddled out in small boats armed with hand held harpoons to do battle with the great whales. Many drowned and even the more modern whaling operations in the early to mid 1900's had a high level of danger. Books such as R.B. Robertson's ~ ?Of Whales and Men? make for compelling reading. Times have though changed.

Connoisseurs of luxury travel are well acquainted with Silversea Cruises: four Italian-built ships known for their all-suites accommodations, all-inclusive price, personalized service, and some of the finest dining at sea. The 388-passenger Silver Whisper had only around 260 guests at my sailing, which with a crew of 295, superseded their usual phenomenal crew-to-passenger ratio.

To generate an adequate buzz about the event, representatives from Antigua Show Management (ASM) will be making an appearance at the Genoa Boat Show (that is scheduled to take place at the end of this month). ASM will have their own booth at theGenoa show. They are confident that their showing in Genoa will help expose them to international representatives of other yachting districts.

While the Caribbean Sea is full of treasures, perhaps none are as rich and diverse as Jamaica. Sure, it has the beaches, beautiful weather and resorts to make it a popular winter destination, but veer off the beaten path, and you will find a vibrant culture and natural wonders to excite any adventurer. Is it any wonder that Jamaica was once the destination of choice for 007's creator, Ian Fleming?

Born of Fire, the Galapagos Islands are tips of submarine volcanoes, a place where evolution can be observed In-Situ. Hundreds of miles from mainland Ecuador, animals and plants set adrift have somehow found and colonised the desert islands. Floating rafts of vegetation, wind, air currents and oceanic drift all helped this colonisation.

Headquartered in Poland, in the famous city of Gdansk, the Sunreef Shipyard is constantly growing. In a short couple of years it has already proved its capacities in the field of naval construction by having numerous successes in the demanding market of luxury boatbuilding.

If you aren't yet ready to consider France heaven, it might be that you haven't sampled the right bottle of cognac. Writer Scott Rose here gives a primer on cognac culture and guidelines for finding the crème de la crème of cognacs.

Of all the words that comes to mind when describing the remarkable wines of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, glamorous is not high on the list. Here in the southern Rhone valley you won't find multi-million dollar wineries or multi-star restaurants. And despite the name, there?s hardly a chateau to be found. But the wines are profound, complex, and in a world where it's sometimes hard to distinguish between a cab from California and a boutique wine from Bordeaux they have a character that's all their own.

Jet Source, a full-service aviation firm, today announced the addition of a Challenger 300 to its executive private jet travel options. The sophisticated, high-performance jet provides uncompromising capabilities for both business efficiency and passenger comfort. The new aircraft will be based at the company?s headquarters, the McClellan-Palomar Airport (KCRQ) base in Carlsbad, Calif.

Horizon Yacht Charters Antigua has launched an eight-night Sail & Dive package designed to accommodate sailing divers that want to enjoy everything Antigua has to offer above and below the water. Three nights are spent ashore with up to five dives over two days and five nights are spent sailing on a Horizon yacht between 40 and 50 feet in length.

International yachting company OCEAN Independence has completed the sale of a 61m berth in the new Marina Genova Aeroporto complex by OCI Geneva, 22m sailing yacht 'Diamond for Two' by OCI Antibes, 22m Feretti 'MY Colleen' by OCI Palma and 30m Jongert 'SY Ion' by OCI Zurich.

If you haven't booked your summer Mediterranean yacht charter vacation, you are in luck! Yachting Partners International (YPI) has just announced their two newest yachts that will be available for weekly charters. These two elegant beauties will be perfect for your exclusive summer get-away. The ?LEONARA? is 40m. Her stunning lines and plush accommodations are enough to have her stand above all other yachts in her class. The yacht is noted for its incredibly spacious staterooms, dining room that will seat 14, and private spa.

Why in the world, you might well ask, is this yacht named Aspen Alternative? The idea is that instead of shivering in the Rockies in winter, you should be in her hot tub in the Bahamas, a frozen drink in your hand, the sun warming your soul.