Everyone in the Caribbean watched with great interest as Hurricane Earl formed in the Eastern Atlantic at the end of August.  From the beginning, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) had it passing anywhere from 100-200 miles to the north of the BVI.  Despite this, the hurricane kept tracking to the West.  While still on the NHC track, it was disconcerting to see a fairly major storm heading right for the NE Caribbean.  The only comforting thought was that it was only predicted to be a strong Tropical Storm or relatively mild Category 1 hurricane.
In what, at the time, seemed to be an abundance of caution, some business and home owners put up Storm Shutters, but most did not.  On Monday, the 25th, we at Parts & Power prepared for what we thought would be a lot of rain and possible flooding.  At the last minute, we decided to put a recent shipment of Industrial generators inside and put up Storm Shutters.
Although Earl continued to track exactly along the NHC track, it built rapidly from a Storm to Cat 1 and then Cat 2.  We started to get some wind.  As the day dawned on Tues, the 30th, Earl was a Cat 4.  Obviously we had all underestimated Earl.  Hurricane force winds pummeled the island of Anegada which experienced heavy devastation.  On Tortola, 22 miles away, the winds seemed more selective.  West End was battered, with a majority of the fleet there either blown aground or sunk.  The North side of the island had patches running up the mountain that was reminiscent of a strip of bark being torn off a tree, with relatively unscathed sections on either side.  Road Harbour, although in the most protected area of the island, had 6 or 7 commercial vessels severely damaged or sunk.  Even the most conservative of mariners had not prepared for what Earl brought.  The difference seems to be on those vessels that remained manned and were able to deploy more anchors and motor into the winds.
In the end, Earl stayed pretty much right on the track the NHC predicted.  The Closest Point of Approach (CPA) to Tortola was about 140 miles by my calculations as I watched the eye pass to the North on Nexrad radar.  While at my house, which is totally exposed 360 degrees, we experienced winds that approached hurricane force, other people on the island recorded wind gusts of over 110 mph.  The large seas generated by the Storm caused the majority of the damage.
Utility current was lost throughout the country.  Some homes and businesses were without power for over a week.  Those whose generators had recently been serviced fared well.  All emergency calls both during the hurricane, as well as immediately following, came from customers who had not done the recommended Summer Maintenance.
The lesson learned was never to underestimate a Storm or Hurricane.  Hurricanes can and will do unpredictable things.  No one who boarded up, prepared their property or serviced their equipment regretted doing so.  The same can’t be said of those who did not.

From the Desk of Drew Bremner,

Sales Manager. Parts and Power:

TO Northern Lights Caribbean Dealers:

Well, here we are into the most active part of the hurricane season. With luck, we have all been busy servicing the industrial and marine generators in our respective areas. The refits on all of the charter fleets are well underway and vacations are done or happening now. We have taken this slower part of the season to get some well needed training in. Northern Lights, and Parts and Power ran a very successful dealers meeting in July with specials on product to pass along for the refit vessels and customers. A Northern Lights service school is going to happen in September with techs flying in from all parts of the Caribbean. Inventory is coming up for most of our dealers and us, not something anybody looks forward to, yet the only way to put everything on an even keel before the next onslaught of a hopefully busy season.

By all accounts the economy is holding but not rebounding with the vigour that we would have hoped. Things will remain challenging for the next season and, with luck, keep slowly climbing up. Bearing this in mind, we all have to keep vigilant with expenses, quotes and above all, service to our loyal customers. Good rapport and feedback are what will carry a company through hard times.  This is very important in all aspects of our businesses.   With solid communication and feedback we can all benefit from each others experiences. Problems can be solved and proper solutions can be reached. Advertising is an indicator of a strong company with the resources to make it through good or bad times; this instills confidence in customers and end users of products. Dealer networks and easy access to information, coupled with professional service will maintain the confidence in a product that will keep the customers using Northern Lights product for years to come. We plan to promote this concept and assist any and all of our dealers to maintain this with us.

To this end, we ask that you contribute information about your customers, product sales, information about your staff and any other relevant news to our website.

Training, service schools, staff customer service seminars, product knowledge training, all are the first items looked at when tightening belts. This is not a path any company wants to go down. Without solidly trained staff in the right positions, a company starts the decline of service and in turn the confidence of customers will crumble. How many of us have laughed at the commercial where the customer is looking for a store employee to help and the employee is running around the aisle avoiding the customer. There are many tools to maintain your staff’s expertise without breaking the bank. In house training after hours, seminars done on premises with representatives of products, video conferencing. Advertising can be shared out with a group of dealers and done on the internet, bulk ads in papers, magazines and so forth. It is very important that you keep a high profile in your areas with anyone looking for your product lines seeing you first! Answers to inquiries must be answered immediately and followed up with callbacks. I guess it’s always going to be back to basics, but it’s those concepts that work and make a company one that lasts. Good luck in the upcoming season and I look forward to working with and hearing from all of you in the coming season.

Drew Bremner CD SSM
Sales Manager
Parts and Power
Tortola, BVI

Happy New Year and Best Wishes to All for 2010 from everyone at Parts & Power.  I wanted to give a little update on what it happening here in Tortola

A OLD NEW FACE
Sanchez Christopher has rejoined our Service Team.  He joined us right out of high school as an apprentice in 1991 and worked his way up to be one the finest young marine engineers anywhere.  We were disappointed when he chose to leave 4 years ago, but are delighted to have him back with us again.
Many of you may remember Sanchez.  He has a bright, positive attitude and always finds a way to get the job done, no matter what the obstacles.  For those of you who attended Service Schools with him, you will remember him as the class cut up. 
Welcome back Sanchez.

2009 SEASON OUTLOOK
If the numbers of boats out are any indication of the upcoming Season, it should be a good one.  We are seeing a lot of boats out in Sir Francis Drake Channel and along the North Shore of Tortola.  There are significantly more Super Yachts than last year.
We are also seeing a lot of new faces, of the cruising transient boaters, in the Store these days.
The BVI Charter Yacht Society, and the Crewed Yacht Association, have been Marketing very aggressively this year.  The value that a vacation on a Crewed Yacht offers is truly amazing.  When you consider that all the lodging, food, drink, local travel, water sports and entertainment are included in the price of a charter, it is a hard deal to beat.  With people being careful about spending this year, we hope to see an increase in business there.

PASSING OF A YOUNG FRIEND
Victor Smith, our 23 year old apprentice, was tragically killed in November.  He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  He had been with us for a year and showed great promise.  He had a positive, upbeat attitude and was a hard worker.  I once asked him what he liked to do most.  He told me, “It doesn’t matter as long as I stay busy”.  He had grown to be a big part of the Parts & Power family and he will is truly missed.

KELLY SOARES
Kelly Soares, our Service Administrator, has the thankless job of trying to keep our Service Dept under control—no easy task.  Kelly is the daughter of Dean Soares, of Anegada.  Her uncle is Mark Soares and her grandfather is Vernon.  The Soares are a rather famous old Anegada family.  They own Neptune’s Treasure Restaurant and Hotel on Anegada.  They own the commercial fishing vessel “Argus III”.  The vessel is fitted out with all Northern Lights products.  They have a pair of L6108A Luggers and an old M854B Northern Lights generator which is still running strong after nearly 20 years and 20,000 hours.  If you are ever on Anegada, make a point of visiting the Neptune’s Treasure Restaurant and reading about the fascinating history of the Soares family.
We’re lucky to have Kelly.  For, even though she is only 5 feet tall, she manages to keep all those guys in line.

SERVICE DEPT
Our Service Dept has shrunk a bit as result of the economy, but we are lean and mean as they say.  Dan Durbin remains at the helm of the Service Dept.  His depth of knowledge and experience is hard to match.  He still gets out in the field to supervise and do the occasional job. Sebastian John remains as our Chief Engineer.  He has taken over more responsibility with management and is everyone in the Service Department’s “go to guy”.  Wilbert Vyphius is our generator specialist and all around Service Engineer.  Royston McAllister joined us a year ago as a Service Engineer following the departure of Royston Ault, who returned home following the untimely death of his wife in Guyana.  Kelly and Sanchez round out our Service Dept.  They remain ready to assist with any of your Northern Lights problems.

We look forward to seeing you in 2010. 

Please stop by and say hello when you are on Tortola.