Dear Islander,
Last month, John Rule mentioned a milestone in The Islander’s journey, and already here is another one, the first time the editorial has been written by somebody other than John!
The many readers who know John, and the background to The Islander will know, that like most good ideas, it was conceived of demand. For a regular English language newsletter, that reached the growing English speaking yachting community in the Balearics. Nine years later, thanks to John and Carol’s enthusiasm and commitment, it has kept pace with that increasing demand, having gone from 16 pages with 20 advertisers in 1997, to around 30 pages with over 80 regular advertisers now.
Well, what a start to the season, activity seems high just about everywhere.The statistics for 2005 show that nautical tourists increased by 2.5% in the Balearics, and that they left behind them a whopping 423 Million Euros from their wallets. Owners and charterers will be even more keen to get to their floating paradise in the sun this summer, after the dismal winter in N. Europe, but is all this growth sustainable?
Looking at our front page story, and the “can of worms” dug up by our man Bates on page 24, with some unfortunate owners getting clobbered for Port Taxes while in a private marina, it makes you wonder doesn’t it?
Anyway, trying to avoid undue bias as a fresh faced new resident, I still reckon this place takes some beating for cruising yachtsman, and that the delicate balance between nature and infrastructure has to be maintained to preserve it for the future, so The Islander will continue to monitor and report on such matters.
I would just like to close by saying, that it is a great privilege for me to be able to continue with John’s good work, and to have the pleasure of combining my hobby and my career training into the future of this publication.
Also many thanks to so many well wishers, and of course readers, advertisers and contributors for their valued support.
Peter Franklin