We'd like to share a couple of photos of the charter yacht Drumbeat 1 that we took this morning when we were in our dinghy over in Crown Bay, St. Thomas, USVI.
Kirk, who has been with owner-operators Vince & Linda for 9 years, was out spraying down the decks. He's a great guy and we enjoyed our visit.
Drumbeat 1 is a a 65-foot (72' LOA) Irwin ketch that is fully air conditioned, and has a crew of three. Drumbeat accommodates up to 8 guests with four cabins that have double berths and ensuite heads. Their amenities include a 17-foot dinghy with 115HP motor, waterskis, kneeboard, tube, kayaks, snorkel equipment, hammock, TV/DVD, etc.
Vince, the captain, is also a PADI dive instructor. Drumbeat offers a free resort course for non-certified divers and includes up to 5 dives/week for certified and resort divers. Additional dives are possible for an additional fee.
Here are some comments we have had from a few of our Drumbeat clients:
COMMENTS #1 : March 2006:
We had such a fantastic trip! I want to write a thoughtful reference letter, but, this week has been crazy - getting back into real life again. I will put it together over the next week and send it off. We plan on coming back next year - We absolutely think the Drumbeat 1, Vince, Linda and Kirk are the best!
COMMENTS #2 : March 2006:
Our trip with Drumbeat 1 was absolutely fantastic. We enjoyed it very much. Our crew of Vince, Linda and Kirk were true professionals and very fun. The food was second to none and their services were impectable. I would highly recommend doing this same trip again with the same boat and crew. Over all we appreciate your service at Paradise Connections and were truly happy that we decided to go on the Drumbeat 1.
COMMENTS #3: June 2007
This is our second charter on the Drumbeat in 15 months, and it was as wonderful as the first. So, it goes without saying that my answers to all questions regarding the crew and the boat are the same -- Outstanding!!!
Special kudos to Linda for outstanding effort in the galley given our diverse eating preferences -- one committed carnivore who is anti-sugar: two semi-carnivores: two fish eating vegetarians; one vegetarian: one raw vegetarian.
Thanks to Vince for being a great captain and dive master/instructor for a large group. He always knows the good spots depending on conditions. I suspect dealing with us was sort of like herding cats. (Four adults and two 13 year old boys is quite a handful, especially when three of the group need certifying).
Compliments to Kirk the ninja. He manages to make sure the that stuff appears and disappears while being invisible himself, and making sure everything works.
I can't imagine a nicer, friendlier, more competent, more helpful charter crew exists.
I'd be delighted to be a reference for either an all adult group ( as we were on our first trip) or a family friendly charter (as we were on our second trip).
View Drumbeat's brochure :
CLICK HEREContact Paradise Connections to book Drumbeat :
CLICK HERE.
We looked at his name tag and when he said his name (Johnny SPECTOR) it dawned on us.... this is Karen's son.... Wow! He hasn't seen us in at least 6 or 7 years yet he remembers us. Well, Loose Moose and the Wise's are kind of "infamoose" :) Conundrum is a lovely boat and is definitely well cared for, but if Karen's son is the captain, we know that you too will be well looked after (or we'll tell his Mom!)
We don't have any photos, but we did add a music page to our (no-contact) website that has links to a couple of mp3s and a video. The link is www.YachtQwest.com/music.html 
