When this bridge is fully operational, it will be, by far, the most practical link between Blanquilla and Margarita- thereby making Blanquilla, for all intents and purposes, our own "Private island". The only remaining task would be to get people to use our bridge - and to pay us handsomely for the privilege. Clearly, the international market should be our main target - because this market has both the appetite for our product and the wherewithal to pay a decent price for it.
Naturally, seeing as our product is " A little time in Paradise", we will need to ensure that we don't bring the proverbial "serpent" with us on our visits. In order to avoid this, we need to be judicious with our marketing efforts. The fact that our base is hidden in La Guardia, will no doubt contribute towards "keeping a low and targeted marketing profile" locally. Likewise, our international "Associate" marketing plan (see link below) besides providing a continuous source of new capital, should also prove effective at attracting guests compatible with our cruises - and, most importantly, with each other.
In regard to international marketing efforts, this web site (thanks to thousands and thousands of boring words) is already very popular with the search engines - in particular Google. It only remains to provide some content - which actual human beings are drawn to. This means images and videos. A short, attention grabbing index page, with links to an extensive image and video library, should do the trick.
Regarding the "beyond" aspect of this page title, there are three perspectives in which this should be considered. One aspect is extending the bridge to other destinations , another is moving the whole bridge, lock stock and barrel, to another location and the third is building more bridges in other locations. Every effort will be made to ensure that we are always prepared to act, at a moments notice, on any of these options - whenever the timing seems right.
In closing, the importance of the following cannot be overstated. The design, engineering and construction of Grand Illusion is such that, if used in the manner intended and maintained to a high standard, she will continue to serve her design purpose admirably - well into the foreseeable future. On the other hand, these same design, engineering and construction parameters mean that, if abused and not maintained to a high standard, she could turn into a rotten heap of garbage in a very short time frame.
This "all or nothing" scenario also applies to our initial project and the business as a whole. In other words, the design, engineering and construction of this project and this business is such that, pursued according to plan, it will be extraordinarily successful and rewarding project. There is really no feasible "safe" middle road. Any attempt to pursue one will lead to much the same fate as would befall Grand Illusion if abused and not maintained to a high standard.
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Building a bridge to Blanquilla - and beyond.
We are a fledgling company in the "Bridge business" or, more specifically, "Building and operating bridges to Paradise - or a close facsimile thereof". It would seem that most places on this planet are rapidly becoming less and less like "Paradise" and the few remaining "Paradises" are rapidly becoming fewer and further in between. Consequently, it would appear that we are probably getting into this business at an opportune time.
This also would seem to be a pretty good business, to be getting into, in regard to the competition - or lack thereof. Many of the organizations which could be categorized as being in the same line of business, such as the Catholic Church, the Nazi Party, Al Qaeda and a host of others, do not consider themselves "businesses" in the first place.
These organizations are, presumably, pursuing their activities purely for the benefit of their fellow human beings, and who are we to question their motives? Many, like the Nazi Party are a shadow of their former selves anyway and their P.R. also needs a little work. Like, the People's Temple then, it seems unlikely that they will be providng any serious competition
to us - in the forseeable future.
Other , self admitted, profit oriented organizations, such as The Walt Disney Company or Las Vegas Sands Corporation, or The Carnival Corporation, might also describe themselves a being in the business of "Building and operating bridges to Paradise". However, their customer base and ours will be just a tad different in their orientation and, consequently, their product will not really be in direct competition with ours.
In this day and age there are also many entities whose business might be descibed as "building and operating virtual bridges to a virtual paradise. The most obvious example of this might be Second Life but all computor games (and, for that matter, television and film) production companies can certainly be included in this category. None of them however can actually provide real sand between one's toes - like we can.
Our most direct competition will be from other businesses who can also provide this. These include private yacht charters, remote eco lodges, kayak camping trips and similar operations. Hopefully, however, our operation will be different enough from most of these to enable us to carve out a little niche for ourselves. This topic is discussed more fully on the web page: Why "Camping Cruising"?
We certainly do not require a very big niche - 1248 guests per year is our maximum capacity. 50% of that or 624 guests should provide gross annual revenues in the vicinity of one million dollars U.S. - enough, one would think, to keep the principals and their associates in a positive frame of mind.
Our business is, currently, located in the fishing village / town of La Guardia on the island of Margarita - which lies some twenty miles off the Caribbean coast of Venezuela - or the "Spanish Main" - as it was known in more romantic times. La Guardia is a 20 minute drive from the Santiago Mariño international airport - a 30 minute or 2 hour (depending on traffic) drive away from Margarita's main city Porlamar and a 20 minute scenic drive away from the small, picturesque port town of Juan Griego.
La Guardia is also only a 20 minute drive away from El Yaque - one of the premier destinations in the world for Windsurfing and Kiteboarding - and a 5 minute drive away from La Restinga national park - with mile upon mile of virtually deserted beaches and mangrove lagoons. La Restinga also boasts constant strong side shore winds with usually moderate (but occasionally large) surf - giving it (in the Authors humble opinion) the potential to be one of the best, totally undiscovered, windsurfing and kiteboarding locations.
Most importantly, La Guardia it is only a 3- 4 hour exciting (but comfortable) "Magic
Carpet Ride" away from Isla Blanquilla - one of the few remaining "Pristine Tropical Paradises" in the Caribbean. This seldom visited island gem is likely to be our prime destination - in the initial stages of our business venture.
The title of this page depicts one way (and perhaps the most useful way) of looking at the initial project which we are currently engaged in - and at our business as a whole. We expect that the completion of this project will get our business off to a flying start and that we will soon begin providing generous and diverse rewards to all participants. Unlike the case with most businesses, the "product" which we intend to produce and supply is intended to be used and enjoyed by both our clients and all those associated, in any way, with our business.
This "product" can best be described quite simply as "A little time in Paradise - or a close facsimile thereof". This is not to say, that Isla Blanquilla (or any of our other potential destinations) can lay claim to being "THE earthly Paradise. Like most other tiny Caribbean basin islands, Blanqilla is low, dry, and scrub covered - without a hint of the lush tropical flora and fauna usually associated with "Paradise".
It does posses the, admittedly not uncommon, attributes of white sandy beaches, a couple of palm trees and gin clear, coral studded surrounding waters. Perhaps, however, it's three most important attributes, like any prime piece of real estate, are Location, Location and Location.
Most importantly, it's location, all alone, some sixty miles away from it's nearest neighbor Margarita, ensures that it is usually only visited by a few commercial fishing boats and the occasional more adventurous cruising yacht. This provides one of the most essential ingredient of any "Paradise" - namely, pristine solitude.
Secondly, Blanquilla's location, on the very southern edge of the hurricane belt means it is very rarely touched by these storms - and it is an easy flight south to safety from the occasional storm which may show signs of threatening the area. Any such flight, and for that matter, all crossings between Margarita and Blanquilla are facilitated by the location of Blanquilla being, more or less, due north of Margarita.
This location means that crossings, in both directions, will usually be with the prevailing easterly winds abeam (on the side) - the fastest and most comfortable direction of travel for Grand Illusion. It should be pointed out that the same cannot be said for virtually all other powered vessels, particularly the slower ones. These types of boats will find that the two meter beam seas produced by the usual twenty knot trade winds make for an extremely uncomfortable crossing. Naturally, this benefits us - by minimizing the presence of such vessels at Blanquilla.
Monohull sailing vessels will be significantly more comfortable on these crossings - due to the steadying effect from the sails. However, with their slower speeds, they will usually choose to do these crossings at night - in order to arrive in daylight hours. As a result, any increased comfort provided by the sails will probably be more than offset by the increased duration of the trip and the additional propensity for seasickness which accompanies night passages - not to mention the additional sheer terror, which night crossings often invoke in less experienced sailors.
Pure sailing multihulls are another step up in regard to comfort and minimizing crossing times. However, for the most part, only the very large ones will be fast enough to opt for a daytime crossing. Again, all this adds up to making our "Private Paradise" even more private.
Lastly, Blanquilla's location on the northernmost edge of the South American continental shelf provides for easy access to very productive deep sea fishing areas while still offering some protection from the large swells produced by the constant strong "Trade winds". These same constant winds also provide excellent natural air conditioning at the beach camp - and the motive power for exploring the shoreline by sailing dinghy or windsurfer.
To get down to the nuts and bolts of "bridge building" - all bridges require strong foundations or "footings" - usually at both ends. In our case, seeing as our bridge is infinitely expandable, we only need to consider the foundation or footing at the starting end. Our "home base" needs to provide that strong footing from which we can safely extend our bridge.
In regard to locating our home base in La Guardia, naturally, there are pros and cons to this choice. If Blanquilla is to be our prime destination, there are really only two location choices (because of trip distance and safe harbor requirements) - La Guardia or Juan Griego. While there are no doubt many cons to La Guardia, there are also many pros - not the least of which is that we already have our construction facilities and our home base located there.
The home base property, while, currently, in a state of some disrepair, has enormous potential to provide an excellent foundation or footing. Being approx 300ft deep and with approx 300 ft of beach frontage there is plenty of room to accommodate a variety of envisioned uses. Current assets include a dozen or so fruit trees which produce among other things a virtually year round supply of mangos. Existing structures include 2 three bedroom houses.
We have been leasing this property for some 5 years now at a reasonable price and there is every reason to assume that will be able to work out an arrangement with the owners to extend this lease for some years to come The additional investment required to bring the home base up to snuff ( including dock and security arrangements) should be fairly reasonable. There is also a good possibility that the property could generate significant revenues in it's own right with bar / restaurant facilities, small boat rentals and perhaps even basic accommodation.
Aside from generating revenues, such facilities would also serve as an added perk for the owners, management and associates - while providing potential clients with an introduction to our "main product". Other pros to our current home base, are plenty of space for secure parking and a number of nearby Posadas or B & B s (including one right next door) which should prove useful when incorporated into cruise packages..
The Blanquilla Project
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THE FOLLOWING PÀGES ARE, CURRENTLY, ONLY AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH. FOR THOSE, WHO ARE INTO WORDS, THERE ARE TENS OF THOUSANDS ON THE FOLLOWING LINKS. HOWEVER, WE ARE STILL IN THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZING, UPDATING, AND EDITING THE LARGE NUMBER OF PAGES. CONSEQUENTLY, THE INFORMATION, CONTAINED THEREIN, MAY BE FOUND TO BE DISORGANIZED, DATED, CONFUSING, REDUNTANT, INACCURATE, IRRELEVANT AND/OR JUST PLAIN CRAZY - OR NOT
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Escape! Runaway! Getaway! - - to a
Faraway Pristine Paradise, where
Light dances with crystal seas - Time flows at a gentle pace -
Space goes on forever and
Grace reaches out to all.
Stretch your horizons!
We can take you there!
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Your Perfect Paradise.
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Magic Carpet Catamarans
