VOLUME 1, NO. 1                                                                                                          DECEMBER, 1978

 Letter from Jack Van Ost

 I apologize for not distributing something like this to you sooner.  I hope to get a newsletter like this out to you once a month or as needed.  My purpose is to keep you abreast of what we are doing and what our plans are.  I hope it will become an instrument for you to help strengthen communication with your fellow worker.

 It is startling to realize the CSY Yacht Corporation is only a little over two years old.  It started from a standstill September 1, 1976.  Today, we rank in the top five of sailboat manufacturers in the United States.

I have made the statement, and you should know I mean it, that the day we have to cut the quality of our yachts to meet a price, is the day I personally will close the place and turn the key in the door.

 To make the highest quality yacht is a tall order.  The only way we can do it is each and every one of you has to believe it, and every hour of every day act upon it in you daily work.

 We now have close to 300 employees.  There is no way we can have someone watch you every minute to see that you are doing your job properly.  If we find you are the kind that has to have that kind of supervision ---- your days here are numbered.

 We look to you to find better ways of doing your job.  We don't want you to be a faceless number.  We want you to @e an active part in making the best yacht anywhere.  If you see something you don't like, let's hear about it.

 Of course, it's impossible for Pieter Stoeken to talk to every one of you.  But I want you to know if you have a gripe, go talk it over with your Supervisor.  If you don't get satisfaction from him, Pieter's door is open.  It isn't just coincidence that the boss's office is right out there in the plant where you are working.

 We can't buy the most valuable ingredient in the employee-employer relationship and that is the pride that we must all have in the product we are making.

                                                                                                      JRVO

 SALES

During the early months of this company's existence we did have a big worry ---- our sales were not keeping pace with our productive capacity.  That is scary, to say the least.  

Early this year we revamped our advertising and set up a sales force here at the plant.  We also added the Sail 'N See Weekends where we invite prospective customers to the plant.  This company is the only large sailboat manufacturer that sells directly to the public without dealers.  Thus, we can build a better boat and still stay competitive price-wise.

 Our efforts are paying off in spades!  The CSY 44 Mid-cockpit Cutter is sold out to number 170 which is scheduled for delivery in December, 1979.  The CSY Pilot House Ketch has one opening in our 1979 schedule for delivery in November, 1979.  The CSY 37 is sold through number 70 for delivery in February, 1980.  The CSY 33, which has just been introduced, is sold through hull number 20 for delivery in June, 1979.

 WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT CSY YACHTS

Captain Irving Johnson visited us and was our featured speaker on the last Sail 'N See Weekend on Saturday, November 4th.  Here's a legendary figure who has sailed around Cape Horn in one of the last of the working square riggers.  In his 55 years of sailing, he has been around the world seven times.  You may have seen him on television on his National Geographic Special.  Needless to say, he is probably one of the most knowledgeable sailors in the world today.  While here, he was given a plant tour by Pieter Stoeken.  He came away so delighted and impressed with what you are doing that he offered to have anybody who wants his opinion to give him a call  Before his talk to the group of prospective owners, he pulled out a letter from his first mate, who sailed with him on his third circumnavigation.  The letter stated he was buying a CSY 44 Cutter.

Craig Owings who took delivery on CSY 44 Cutter #107 gave a talk at the Sail 'N See Weekend as to "Why he bought a CSY Yacht." He is from Panama and repairs yachts going through the canal and thus he has seen them all.  One was a CSY 44 owned by Mr. Brestle #064.  In his opinion, Hinckley, Swan and the CSY are the only yachts he would consider.  For those of you who don't know, it is generally recognized that Hinckley is the best boat built in the United States and the Swan the finest yacht coming from Europe.  He took delivery on a CSY 44 Cutter in early November.

The lead underwriter from Lloyds of London visited our plant in October.  As a result of that visit and his evaluation of the safety and the quality of the yacht, Lloyds is now offering owners of CSY's yachts the lowest insurance rate available.  The CSY Yachts are the only yachts built in the world today which have been rewarded for their quality construction by a lower rate.

In future letters we shall pass on comments that owners are making about the yachts you are building.  KEEP IT UP YOU GUYS AND GALS!  WE’RE PROUD OF YOU! 

Behind the CSY Yacht Corporation is Caribbean Sailing Yachts, Ltd., the largest and most successful chartering company in the world.  In addition, CSY Ltd. is in constant need of yachts for its charter fleet which further buttresses this company.  No other yacht company has this kind of support.  For this reason and a Healthy backlog of orders, you can rest assured the CSY Yacht Corporation will be around for many years to come.

IN YOUR FUTURE

All the sales in the world can't solve a company's problems if it can't produce the boats.  More than one company has gone under because they couldn't keep up production.

We now have in place four production lines -- one for the CSY 33; one for the CSY 37; and two for the 44's.  Our object is to get four quality boats off of each line each month -- 16 quality boats per month, beginning January, 1979.

This, then, is our goal -- Quality Production at CSY Yacht Corporation.