ANCHOR CONCIERGE & SUPER YACHT SERVICES

With close to 100 yachts - the majority of which were super yachts - in Antigua for the Charter Yacht Show last week, there couldn’t have been a better time for Nick Line to launch his new concierge and yacht services business to the super yacht industry.

Nick first came to Antigua in 1987 when he ran the engineering workshops at Antigua Slipway.  Following that he lived and worked in Spain for 16 years, but he continued to visit Antigua on a regular basis on a variety of different yachts during that time.  In 2004 Nick and his wife purchased land overlooking Falmouth Harbour where they built a home and soon afterwards became residents of Antigua which has been their full-time home since 2010.

Nick has an MCA 3,000 GRT Masters licence and has a vast amount of experience as a super yacht captain chartering in the Caribbean and throughout the world.  Although he has made the move to focus on his shore-based concierge and super yacht services business, Nick is still the manager of two motor yachts – M/Y Va Bene and M/Y Sequel P.  Nick’s many years as captain of super yachts in the charter business has given him a clear insight into the level of service required and expected by these yachts.

When asked what inspired Nick to start this new business, he expressed his frustration with the poor quality of services that he has encountered in Antigua compared to other parts of the Caribbean, and his desire to fill the gap by offering the highest level of service possible.  For example, Nick is committed to working towards making it easier for large charter yachts to visit Antigua.  He would like to see a simplification of the Customs clearance procedures which would see commercial super yachts in the charter business handled in the same way as other commercial vessels – whether cruise ships or cargo ships.  That would mean an agent or yacht’s representative would be able to clear the yacht through Customs without the requirement of the Captain’s or Chief Officer’s signature.  Antigua is currently the only country in the Lesser Antilles that requires such a signature.

Nick started Anchor Concierge and Super Yacht Services in Antigua because he saw a gap at the high end of the service market and felt that he and his team could effectively fill that gap.  The business offers everything from travel agent services to marine airfares, helicopter and private aircraft charter, to VIP event planning and even making doctors’ appointments.  Whether it’s arranging flowers or a fireworks show down-island, there is no request too big or too small for Anchor Concierge.  Nick or one of his team will be happy to walk down the dock to obtain the captain’s signature on paperwork rather than the captain taking time out of his busy schedule to visit the office to sign.  Nick says:  ‘The answer is YES, now what was the question?’

The Anchor Concierge team includes Nick’s wife Sian who has played a supporting role to Nick in running and managing large yachts, his daughter Hannah who has been a yacht chef for six years and will be in charge of the provisioning side of the business, and Eloise Green who has been in the yachting and hospitality business in Antigua for many years.  With such an experienced team in place, yacht crews can surely look forward to an exceptional level of service from Anchor Concierge.

Nick is passionate about Antigua and chose it as the base for his new business, not only because Antigua is his home but because of his desire to contribute to the local economy and his commitment to seeing the local yachting industry as successful as it can be.  He wants every yacht, owner and crew member to feel welcome and wanted in Antigua and he and his team are going to do everything in their power to see that happen.

Good luck to Nick and the team at Anchor Concierge and Super Yacht Services.  Your contribution to the yachting industry and the exceptional level of service on offer will be appreciated by everyone.

By Kathy Lammers, Editor of Antigua’s Yachting Insider