Never say anything under the influence of a drink! It was four years ago when the words slipped out of my mouth (helped by a bit of wine) "why don't we get a boat".
It was answered with a momentary grunt. The following weekend, around about Christmas, I found myself in Southampton with a very excitable husband and two small children!
"Erm, I think I'd like to save up for a bigger boat" said I, thinking that was the end of that. But no the next weekend got worse. We drove to Phwelli (Wales) through the snow to view yet another boat. It was December, cold, wet, windy and well Welsh! However this time my interest was sparked, yes I could imagine myself on this boat, Champagne in hand lying on the sundeck catching the rays in some Mediterranean port. Hang on wake up, we are in Wales in what seemed like a gale and also it won't be the Mediterranean but more like the Medway in Kent.
So this was our first taste of boating. We took a mooring on the Medway as it was simple to get from our home for a weekend away, and then started to learn everything we needed to know. We loved it, the kids loved it, the dog sort of loved it and all was good for our weekend retreat and fun until . . .
"Hello" said husband coming back down the pontoon "Well, I've just bought the Shipwrights" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . All these dots were my silence. The place we used to get away from it all at weekends had just changed. Now it would be staff & customers all trooping down the pontoon to ask questions each weekend. Well, this of course actually didn't happen and the Shipwrights began to grow and prosper until . . . . .
"Hi again" said husband coming down the pontoon "I've just bought that Boat Chandlers" * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *all those little star symbols are not silence but various none printable words.
So our new ventures began. The Chandlery was quickly relocated to a larger building and a Bar and Caf added which proved an instant hit with weekend boaters like ourselves and also our very dear residents, who constantly support us with our events we run and anything they can help out with. The bar has given people a social area to congregate and have fun together and has created a fantastic sense of community.
So our businesses were growing and Global Force started to take the Medway by Storm.
The empire did not stop there however. Although my husband stopped the "Hi, I've just bought the . . ." bit thank god! We expanded our marine engineers business to house the Volvo Penta Dealership in the Chandlery and also more recently we won the Yanmar Dealership. We also have a fantastic seamstress on site for canopies and upholstery. What she can't do with material well can't be done! We have turned the site into a thriving hub of activity offering a real one stop shop for boaters.
From my personal point of view it is the sense of community that has been created at our Globalforce Group businesses. I have enjoyed the challenge, and will strive to keep going with events all year round. Having a team of staff and friends who are always willing to go the extra mile to help out has been greatly appreciated and I know that we are able to pass this standard of service onto our customers.
Just as I feel that we have gone that bit further than we intended to, I muttered those famous words "Why don't we get a boat"!
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Do you have a boat, are youthinking of purchasing a boat or what about a boat for hire. Well you should look at the skippers guide websiteMarine Directory, where you will find all your boating needs including marine engineers such as GlobalforceMarine Engineers
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