A milestone has been reached at JM YACHTS! May 4, 2008 is the Fifth Anniversary of our company. During those five years we have moved our office three times, seen brokers come and go and come back again, watched the boating industry change and changed our focus along with it,....but through it all, one thing has remained constant and that has been our loyal customers and friends. From all of us at JM YACHTS - THANK YOU!

Looking for something to do next weekend? How about the Second Annual Texas International Boat Show being held in Corpus Christi, TX from April 24 - 27, 2008? This four day event which features new and brokerage boats (in-the-water), on shore exhibits, an aircraft display and auto show promises plenty to see and lots of fun for everyone in the family! For more information, call our office or visit the show's website at http://www.txintlboatshow.com/home.htm. JM YACHTS will be there with our friends from Island Moorings Marina. Stop by the Island Moorings booth to learn more about this first class marina located in beautiful Port Aransas, TX and while you are there, don't forget to ask one of the JM YACHTS brokers about our new line of Ocean Star Trawlers and the great brokerage boats we have available for sale in the Corpus Christi area.

Summer is almost here and memories of the hot Texas sun are beginning to creep into your head. The question is what do you do on a Sunday afternoon when it is just too hot to go sailing? JM YACHTS has a solution........a light lunch and SASS! What is SASS, you ask? It is a series of Sunday Afternoon Skills Seminars which we will be hosting one Sunday per month in June, July and August. Further details on dates and topics will be available soon.

As any sailor or cruiser will attest, the call of the sea is strong and for many - irresistible. Such is the case for Ed Snyder who joined JM YACHTS in January. Ed has decided to leave his life as a yacht broker, splash his boat and head south to follow his dreams. We wish Ed smooth sailing!

On March 6, JM YACHTS will be fully staffed again in our Watergate office when Jay Hunter comes on board. Jay has a little over one year of brokering experience that he gained in the late 1990s working with Joe Higgins (does anyone remember that name?) To quote Jay, "I was young, fresh out of school, a little cocky and not quite ready to be a broker......but now I know that being a yacht broker is the career path that I want to follow." We are really happy that Jay has chosen us to help him follow his path!

Don't forget to save the dates........March 27 - 29, 2008 to enjoy the Gulf Coast's Largest Boat Sale.This annual event, sponsored by the Gulf Coast Yacht Brokers' Association, is held at participating dealer locations around Clear Lake. There will be hundreds of boats on display, many specially priced just for the boat sale, along with representatives from finance and insurance companies to help you buy the boat you have been dreaming of. And on Saturday, March 29, JM YACHTS will host a special event for the Boat Sale.....an old fashioned hot dog roast with entertainment by the "Tall and Short of It" from 1 - 4 PM. If you are not familiar with this local duo - come on out and enjoy great tropical music while you have a bite to eat and stroll the docks!

It is with sincere regret that JM YACHTS must announce that we will no longer be representing the Halvorsen Island Gypsy family of trawlers. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the manufacturer of these vessels has discontinued production for the foreseeable future. We will, of course, continue to proudly represent preowned Island Gypsy trawlers.
BUT STAY TUNED for a very exciting announcement regarding the new line of trawlers that will be available soon from JM YACHTS!

Who says you can't go home again? Not true at JM YACHTS........Pam Rice just did! And we are so happy that she did! For anyone who doesn't know Pam, she has 10+ years of brokering experience (2 of them at JM YACHTS) and is widely recognized for her ethics, professionalism and committment to her customers. She should be done decorating her office and setting up her computer today (2/8/08), so stop by our office, call or email her (pam@jmyachts.com) and help us to welcome her home!

The new year has begun and we are pleased to say that it is starting off right for us here at JM YACHTS. Please join us in welcoming Ed Snyder to our team of brokers. Ed comes to us with three and a half years of brokering experience and a lifetime love of boating and fishing. Ed's experience showed yesterday when, on his first day with us (1/15/08), a fellow walked in just to talk and left an hour later after Ed listed his beautiful Cape Dory 28......WOW!

Mardi Gras festivities have arrived early this year, close on the heels of the Christmas season. For the boating community one of the favorite events is the Yachty Gras Parade which will be held on February 2, 2008. Colorfully decorated boats full of revelers will cruise from the start point in Clear Lake through the Kemah Channel showering the shores with beads. So bring the family out to the Kemah Boardwalk, watch the parade, listen to some great zydeco music and catch a few beads while you enjoy this annual event!

The Maritime Institute in Baltimore, MD will be the location for this year's annual Yacht Brokers Association of America's national conference, February 3 - 5, 2008. Several members of the JM YACHTS team will be braving the MidAtlantic cold (and hopefully NO SNOW) to attend the meeting which will be focused on boat building and vessel systems.