Every now and then, something rises above all in the course of our daily storms and stands out as a sanctuary. As a witness to this particular “sanctuary” and taking advantage of the “bully-pulpit” at my disposal, I take keyboard in hand to offer the following for your consideration in our “FOCUS ON A Sponsor” feature.

My bride and I started cruising in the early 1990’s out of Annapolis, Maryland. What grand times and what forgiving waters. Looking back, we never had to worry about “how many bars”, “signal strength”, “wifi” connections, etc.,etc.!

Not sure if I am bragging or complaining !!

Those days passed ever so quickly; now use of cell phones, iPads or Android pads, lap-tops, are the new “normal”. “Are we connected?” is the first thing we concern ourselves with. The capability of our devices has grown at exponential rates.

We’ve arrived quickly to where new standards are in place for what marinas offer. Remember when having wifi was rare and, if offered, you had to be in slip number “X” to use it successfully or up near the marina office to get a signal? Being “dropped” or losing your signal was the norm. WiFi coverage that truly was available to everyone in a marina was more the exception than the rule.

Most of us witnessed to some extent the lack of industry know-how or the failure of equipment being used to provide satisfactory service. In came folks with all sorts of “fixes” and although there were incremental improvements, there still was not a complete or total fix. Break downs, failures of systems, lack of timely customer service, all became ingredients that tainted this business and impacted the customers of marinas.

As some of the more successful technical gurus moved into boating and cruising, they quickly began to experience lack of good service and were able to define the problems and begin to develop solutions. 

Enter Bob Taylor and friends – fellow boaters who also cruised extensively and experienced the problems. Their private

Bob Taylor and Will Craig

company, Taylor Communications Inc, served Fortune 500 corporations and they were knowledgeable in the technologies that keep us connected. They offered their services to their own marina and wouldn’t you know it, about to retire, they found themselves working again. They named their new enterprise “onSpot wifi” ! They offered local solutions one marina at a time all along the east coast and even the Bahamas.

At Compass Cay on a ladder with Tucker holding up Will

Good news travels fast. As their cruises took them along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway from Key West to Norfolk and with some summer cruising along the northeast coast of our New England states, they offered their services where problems existed and now they have onSpot wifi installed with marinas from Nantucket to Key West as well as Compass Key and Staniel Cay in the Bahamas.

When our paths first crossed, some of us had already experienced the differences and as

Our Office

we traveled around, we starting hearing their name and how different they were and how outstanding their services were. Not only from marinas, but from fellow boaters who told us they actually would ask the marina when making reservations, what wifi service do you have ?

Our new truck with fancy lift

Here is what others have to say about onSpot wifi services……..

Robert Sherer, avid cruiser and publisher of the best written reference for trouble spots along the Atlantic ICW had this to say: “….. this marina has onSpot wifi, a new service we have been seeing up and down the coast. When you see that offered, you can depend upon wifi good enough for streaming Netflix. I clocked it at 25 Mbits this afternoon.”

The management team at Atlantic Yacht Basin, Chesapeake, VA, was very complementary and I quote: “Atlantic Yacht Basin is a big fan of onSpot wifi for our business because their equipment is the best in our environment and offers our customers fast and reliable service. We can count on onSpot wifi!

Many marina managers are stating that they can not believe the difference that using onSpot wifi has made in their wifi service to their marina customers.

Sue Morgan, Senior Marketing and Public Relations Director of Old Port Cove Holdings, operates three marinas, and what Sue says, I think, speaks volumes for onSpot wifi and its team…..

“Boaters of today aren’t just watching videos and checking the occasional email in the evenings, many of them are working as they travel and at all hours of the day and night.  As such, it is imperative that marinas provide good quality, consistent wifi service. Old Port Cove Marina’s management staff was introduced to Bob Taylor, owner of onSpot wifi, while he was staying aboard his vessel “Istaboa” in our marina. We had heard his company was successful in setting up a marina in the Bahamas;  a grand feat in and of itself.  This encouraged us to take a harder look. Dockmaster Jake Marinucci took the proverbial bull by the horns and had several meetings with Mr. Taylor.  At Jake’s recommendation, Mark Lavery, V.P. of Marina Operations for Old Port Cove Holdings, Inc. made the decision to install service at Old Port Cove Marina. onSpot  hit the airwaves running and from day one has been a godsend and a huge hit with our boating clients.  If a boater experiences an issue, and yes, there are issues from time to time, (please remember wifi on boats is a different animal than wifi in a stationary building) Bob’s staff will go out of their way to resolve it.  They walk the boater through each step until a resolution is found.  Will, onSpot’s top go-to service and installation tech along with Bob himself have even met a client aboard to assist them with an older model computer and got it up and on the service – I’d say that is some pretty special customer service!
As one of the oldest and largest marina operators in Palm Beach County with three locations and over 350 wet slips in our inventory, Old Port Cove Holdings, Inc. is ….. proud to say onSpot wifi has met our standards and provides consistent Wifi service at all three of our marinas which include North Palm Beach Marina, New Port Cove Marine Center, Old Port Cove Marina and the onsite waterfront restaurant, Sandpiper’s Cove.    
Boaters, diners, management and staff are very pleased with onSpot wifi and so are we. We only have one request; “Keep up the great work onSpot!”

Eric Ravenschlag, Legacy Harbour Marina, Ft. Myer, FL thinks the world of onSpot wifi and the people in the onSpot wifi organization. “It’s the best wifi service and the people are outstanding to work with”

Riviera Dunes Marina, Doc Craig, Manager, says onSpot wifi did what no other service company seemed capable of doing and now our wifi signal is excellent throughout our marina. Tenant complaints about wifi are gone.”

With such outstanding reviews and with many skippers and crew confirming that they would like to know if onSpot wifi is available, the Salty Southeast Cruisers’ Net’s marina directory now incorporates two different icons for wifi:

Generic WiFi service provided

onSpot wifi service provided

When I spoke with owner Bob Taylor of what he said his business was all about, his reply resonated with exactly what marina managers were saying about working with this company and it people. Mr Taylor’s own words: “We believe that our most effective services are rooted in genuine customer insight and empathy; we serve at the pleasure of our customers. Understanding marinas and boaters are at the heart of everything we do.”

As you experience the wifi services at various marinas where you stay, let us here from you about your experiences…. become a “Cruiser Helping Cruisers” !!

Wishing you all safe and enjoyable cruising throughout all of 2017.

Winston Fowler, Team Member