Bunk
TUG Member
Attached is the annual maintenance letter that was sent out yesterday. I have no complaints about paying the maintenance.
We've been Tradewinds members for nearly 20 years, and have fond memories of all of the trips we've taken and friends we've made and are looking forward to future trips to come. (Next up is Croatia.)
But I have a sense of unease about the future of Tradewinds, largely because we have never received any financial information and so have no idea about the financial condition of the company. Tradewinds suffered terrible damage from Hurricane Irma and to a lesser extent from Hurricane Dorian. We've seen the company try to reinvent itself by emphasizing more luxury and asking members to buy the boats and lease them to Tradewinds. We've seen the company create different classes of cabins, so some boats now have premium cabins.
Tradewind's demographics are changing as the original members age. I believe that Tradewinds will be able to attract younger members. I think the post-Covid climate might actually make a Tradewinds membership and trip more attractive because of the small number of crew and passengers.
There are members whose trips have been cancelled and whose memberships are expiring soon. I believe that Tradewinds will do the right thing in determining how to handle that.
But the total absence of any financial information is very troubling. I've mentioned this to the captains when they speak to us about re-upping, and have never gotten a satisfactory response. It would be nice to know whether Tradewinds has the reserves to remain in business during the pandemic and to continue to operate without significant sales of new memberships.
We've been Tradewinds members for nearly 20 years, and have fond memories of all of the trips we've taken and friends we've made and are looking forward to future trips to come. (Next up is Croatia.)
But I have a sense of unease about the future of Tradewinds, largely because we have never received any financial information and so have no idea about the financial condition of the company. Tradewinds suffered terrible damage from Hurricane Irma and to a lesser extent from Hurricane Dorian. We've seen the company try to reinvent itself by emphasizing more luxury and asking members to buy the boats and lease them to Tradewinds. We've seen the company create different classes of cabins, so some boats now have premium cabins.
Tradewind's demographics are changing as the original members age. I believe that Tradewinds will be able to attract younger members. I think the post-Covid climate might actually make a Tradewinds membership and trip more attractive because of the small number of crew and passengers.
There are members whose trips have been cancelled and whose memberships are expiring soon. I believe that Tradewinds will do the right thing in determining how to handle that.
But the total absence of any financial information is very troubling. I've mentioned this to the captains when they speak to us about re-upping, and have never gotten a satisfactory response. It would be nice to know whether Tradewinds has the reserves to remain in business during the pandemic and to continue to operate without significant sales of new memberships.