![]() Seasons Greetings All! As we leave 2020 in our wake, it is time to look at the highlights and reinforce lessons learned to look toward bright horizons. The last year has forced us to look at new innovative ways to drive our business forward, both professional and personal. Our industry has always been driven by innovation, forward-thinking, and hard work. That has only gotten stronger. By building on the many lessons learned, we have been able to sell a record number of yachts this year. Our industry should be proud of the many advances in areas of electronics, build technics, and crew welfare. The use of yachts has changed as charter shrank in the Med and around the world but owner use has gone up like never before. Yachts are a perfect sanctuary to isolate and because of modern electronics, owners have been able to carry on with their business duties as if they were at the office. I see this continuing essentially regardless of the conditions around the world. As we all know crew is a very large and important sector of our industry. The job description for most crew has changed more in the last year than ever before. In many cases, instead of doing charters and traveling across oceans, many have been in lockdown with owners aboard. I have personally run several yachts with live aboard owners and can tell you that it is not always the easiest thing to keep crew and owners in balance. Currently, there is a big push throughout the yachting community to come up with programs to benefit crew welfare and it is very important to support these efforts and continue to grow this initiative. I think many have missed the personal contact with most boat shows and other events canceled around the world. I did attend the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show and enjoyed the limited contact I was able to have. Boat shows in general moving forward will have a different look, but I expect them to continue in some form. Face to face meetings will always be more important to me as with many of you. Hopefully, we will be able to get back to some form of personal interaction in the coming year. I want to thank all of our members for renewing their memberships and sponsorships over the last year and encourage you to continue your support for the ISS. This Society is here for your benefit and we want to hear from you on how best we can support you. 2021 can be a banner year for the superyacht industry. All it takes is innovation, progression, and hard work. We have partnered with three local charities, Children’s Diagnostic & Treatment Center (CDTC), Kids in Distress (KID), and the Touch a Heart Foundation, to allow our industry the opportunity to give back more than ever. Click on the logos below to find out more information on how you can participate. I look forward to seeing you all in the new year. Happy New Year! Captain Glen Allen, ISS President ![]() |