No more searching the small ads for a used car and worrying whether it’s been well looked after or having to deal with potential buyers coming to your house and haggling over price. 

The “hassle” of all that, as well as the time spent at TCD, is removed, according to Damien Donfield, the company’s certified pre-owned sales specialist, who worked at a multi-franchise dealer in Dublin for three decades before coming to the island. 

“It’s peace of mind,” he said, explaining how every car sold by the division has been given a “comprehensive, multi-point health check and safety test” and comes with a warranty for 12 months or 12,000km – whichever comes first – from the date you buy it. 

Auto Solutions managing director Glen Smith added: “It’s taken a lot of the uncertainty away.” 

Mr Smith said the company lobbied the Government for several years for permission to sell second-hand cars. 

Last year, a pilot scheme was agreed on and it has gone really well. 

“I’m quite confident that it will go into a long-term change,” he added. 

He said Mr Donfield “built the business from the ground up” after arriving in April 2023 and it had gone from strength to strength since launching in July. 

“We have a litany of clients that want certified, pre-owned vehicles,” said Mr Smith, explaining that Auto Solutions can take in and resell up to 20 cars a month at present. 

Mr Donfield added: “We’re matching cars to clients. At the moment we are pre-selling a lot of our stock. 

“We are struggling to get enough cars. We need more cars all the time.” 

Auto Solutions customers can trade-in or sell their cars, eight years or younger, to the company, providing they have a full service history and no previous heavy costs for bodywork. 

The certified pre-owned team will evaluate the vehicle’s condition, age, mileage and market value before providing a price. 

The division’s motto is that every car sold is a new car to the person buying it. 

“Even though they are second-hand cars, it’s your money and they need to look well,” said Mr Donfield. 

“We want the car mechanically sound. We have a service history, so we can see the history and the path that it has taken to this stage. 

“We prepare the bodywork. The idea is that everything about the car, from the physical to the mechanical, is in as much of a new condition as it’s possible to get.” 

He added: “Just because they are three, four, five, six years old, shouldn’t mean they should be any less desirable.” 

Mr Smith said a major benefit was that Auto Solutions dealt with all the paperwork, from the TCD transfer test to insurance. 

“We do everything, soup to nuts,” he said. “We are here to facilitate a service that has been needed for a long time, of taking the hassle away.” 

Mr Donfield said many locals found the idea of buying a second-hand car from a dealer “unusual” but had embraced it. 

“We are not reinventing the wheel but a lot of people wouldn’t have come across it before,” he said. 

“Everything we’ve sold so far, it has gone well. If a customer has been decent enough to come to Auto Solutions to get their car serviced, we are now passing on that investment to the new buyer.” 

The post Taking the stress out of second-hand cars appeared first on RG Magazines.

If not, you soon might be.

Many of the latest kitchen appliances available to buy in Bermuda can be controlled remotely using a mobile phone, taking the meaning of “modern kitchen” to a new level.

Matthew Gerado, VP of Sales at Joshua Bate Trading Bermuda Ltd, said it was possible to preheat your oven or reset the temperature of your fridge on the way home from work.

“You have that option and same with laundry,” he said.

“If you throw a bunch of clothes in the washer and put in your detergent, you obviously don’t want to run your washer first thing in the morning, because by the time you get home those wet clothes have been sitting there for five to six hours.

“You can set it off later remotely. Things like that, I find the Wi-Fi capabilities good for.”

Joshua Bate is the authorised dealer for GE appliances in Bermuda and much of its inventory now includes smart technology and other 21st century innovations.

Many such features now come as standard, including one which is particularly useful in Bermuda’s humid climate.

All GE washers now feature built-in Microban antimicrobial technology, which prevents odour-causing bacteria, allowing the machine’s door to be closed when not in use.

“A lot of people used to keep their washer door open to prevent it getting smelly but insects can get inside, which is not great,” said Mr Gerado. “If you’re buying GE, essentially you don’t really have the option to not have Microban.

“But at the same time you would obviously want it because it is a cool feature and price point and still very competitive with any other brands.”

GE has introduced large front-loading washing machines with an UltraFresh Vent System, which uses a fan to completely dry the appliance after use, preventing mould and mildew.

Mr Gerado said those were proving popular, along with large combination washer-dryers, previously not widely available in Bermuda.

“A lot of European models had got that right in the past,” he said. “Now there is a combo unit that GE has released recently.

“So people that don’t have venting options or they just don’t have the space to have a separate washer and dryer can go with this combo unit. It’s fantastic.”

The dual function and connectivity means you can set off a wash cycle, followed by a drying cycle, all while out of the house, returning home to a large load of clean, dry laundry.

It’s the kind of convenience that homeowners in 2024 are looking for when creating their dream kitchen and, happily, it doesn’t come at the expense of appearance.

Mr Gerado joked he was “one of the few people that are passionate about appliances” and he’s especially excited about GE’s customisable Café range, which comes in non-standard colours.

“It’s in-between a middle end and high end feel,” he said. “You can customise your finish, you can customise your hardware. You can create a unique experience in your kitchen. People that come in and see them, love them.”

Anyone with grand designs for their kitchen – or just a desire to freshen up the space – can visit Joshua Bate’s Devonshire showroom, where Mr Gerado is happy to discuss the latest tech.

One final tip before visiting? “Know your measurements,” he advised. “If you don’t feel comfortable doing it, I offer a service that I don’t actually charge for. I’m all for customer service, especially for the elderly.”

• The Joshua Bate showroom is at 7 Marsh Lane, Devonshire, or call 236-7866.

The post Smarter kitchens appeared first on RG Magazines.

Business travel to Bermuda is nowhere near pre-pandemic levels but it is bouncing back — and the reopening of the Fairmont Southampton will help hugely with the rebound.

That’s the view of Stephen Todd, chief executive officer of Bermuda Hotel Association, who said the island would benefit from having the landmark Southampton hotel back.

“Clearly, I think we are all waiting with bated breath for the eventual reopening of the Fairmont Southampton, because that’s going to give us our largest meeting venue,” he said.

“From a standpoint of business travel, we believe that’s going to see a re-emergence of larger groups seeking to meet, as they previously did, prior to the pandemic.

“We’re seeing the interest on the part of business travel.”

Mr Todd described Bermuda as being still in the “throes of post-pandemic recovery” but with some encouraging signs.

Bermuda Tourism Authority figures show there were 32,768 air visitors who came for business in 2023, compared to 47,285 in 2019. Business visitors saw the largest growth in 2023, up 42.4 per cent year-on-year.

Mr Todd said business travel would be a “key component” in the recovery of the island’s tourism industry, with an emphasis right now on attracting small to medium-sized corporate events.

“That’s been demonstrated most recently by the Business Development Agency and their conference [Bermuda Risk Summit] at the Hamilton Princess,” he said.

“We’re positioning ourselves to meet that re-emergence of business travel and group meetings. We’re getting the message out that we’re open for business.”

He added: “We’re not going to try to sell something that we can’t support. We may not be able to entertain an event for 400 to 600 people but we may be able to handle 350 to 400.”

At the height of the pandemic, many wondered if corporate travel would ever return to normal levels, with companies realising the cost savings that video-conferencing technology could bring.

But Mr Todd said: “That’s not proving to be the current status at all.” There was nothing quite like meeting clients and colleagues in person, he added.

“As much as technology is advantageous, it’s also impersonal,” he said, adding that an in-person event lent itself to many more opportunities for interaction.

“Having that social interaction and the ability to, for want of a better term, press the flesh, this technology doesn’t provide us with that upfront, personal interaction.”

Mr Todd noted a post-pandemic trend of business visitors adding additional non-work days to their trip, something the Hamilton Princess has noticed too.

A hotel spokeswoman said: “As experienced globally, a business traveller may add on extra days for leisure, joined by a partner and other family members.”

She said the Hamilton Princess’s business clientele profile had “always remained constant” and the hotel was now seeing the “return of the corporate group traveller, attending groups and conferences”.

Business analysts have suggested the high number of people who relocated after the pandemic means many executives now need to travel to meet colleagues within their own companies.

The Hamilton Princess spokeswoman said the hotel had experienced an increase in requests for meeting spaces geared towards board meetings. It has responded to demand with a new executive meeting suite floor, consisting of four boardrooms, including the Tea Rose and Tea Rose terrace, with views over Hamilton Harbour.

Mr Todd said increased airlift to Bermuda from several US cities from April would provide another boost for business travel.

“We are going to prove to be far more attractive,” he said. “We are in very close proximity to the US eastern seaboard.

“That, to me, is an incentive for groups that want the ease and convenience of getting here. We are talking as short as 90 minutes and perhaps no more than three hours, depending on where you are originating.

“In a couple of hours, you could be walking along a beach, or having a swim, or playing pickleball.”

He said it was heartening to see ground being broken on the multimillion-dollar renovation of the Fairmont Southampton in February, when owner Westend Properties indicated it should be ready to welcome guests before the end of 2025.

Mr Todd said Bermuda’s marketing should focus on the quality on offer here.

“If we can provide a brand experience, whether it’s a local or international brand, then the price is not the issue. It’s really whether we’ve given value for money.”

The post Business travel shows signs of bouncing back appeared first on RG Magazines.

Cofounder Jay Kempe explained: “We are a little different, in the sense that we are trying to help those that are not considering applying for those types of scholarships. We are trying to help young men and women find their way. If it’s in the maritime world, that’s where we are perhaps best suited to help them, but it can be in anything. They can just learn technical skills, go off into air conditioning or whatever, so it’s kind of a broad thing.”

The financial options available could enable a young person to complete a diploma, gain water safety certification, or pay their way on an exciting voyage on the Spirit of Bermuda, the foundation’s purpose-built training vessel.

For those specifically interested in a career at sea, the Adam Goodwin Mariner Scholarship provides an annual $5,000 award.

Set up in memory of a former first officer on the Spirit, who died aged 22 in 2010, the scholarship is open to those with a love of the ocean, a desire to give back to the community and a plan for a career that combines the two. The deadline for applications is May 31.

Training and education officer Jamila Hanley said: “It’s all about financing the future of our students in maritime careers, whatever avenue that might be: engineering, captaining, first mate, crew, anything like that.

“It’s for tuition, living expenses, or travel expenses that are in conjunction with accumulating sea time, when mariners go on other boats and spend time at sea learning skills hands-on.”

Former recipients include Kristen Greene, now 2nd officer on a super yacht in the Mediterranean, Lamar Samuels, 2nd engineer on the Spirit of St George, Dkembe Outerbridge-Dill, lead seaman with Bermuda Marine and Ports, and Denzel Todd, captain of a ferry boat in the United Kingdom.

Another option for those who have been through the foundation’s middle school programme is to apply for a bursary based on financial need.

Ms Hanley said the organisation tries to track those youngsters who have already trained on Spirit so it can continue to help them as they get older. “We reach out to them and offer them these opportunities to come back on Spirit and learn more in-depth skills and, hopefully, it will start to pique an interest in them, to see where they want to go in the maritime field,” she said.

Beneficiaries don’t have to be intent on a maritime career; they just need to be looking to further their skills. “The bursaries are just for any developmental trajectories that any of our students might show interest in,” said Ms Hanley. “As long as they are committed to Spirit and they spent time on Spirit, we are willing and able to offer them these bursaries.”

Past voyages have included trips to the US, Canada, the Caribbean and the Azores.

Ms Hanley said the charity was acutely aware of the financial challenges faced by many young people and their families and how that could impact their ability to join a voyage. It gave about $10,000 in bursaries last year, divided between several recipients.

As well as offering the scholarship and bursaries, the foundation partners with the Government’s workforce development department, enabling young people to complete internationally-recognised water safety courses and other training. “They help to sponsor apprenticeships and career development for our crew, and anybody else who is interested in a professional career,” said Ms Hanley. “They’ve financed at least five of our employees to go through their certifications and training and future career development.”

Board member Martha Kirkland said the partnership provided young people with “actual career experience”, as well as the chance to gain globally-recognised skills.

Ms Hanley urged anyone interested in any of the schemes to get in touch. “We want to change as many lives as we can,” she said.

Visit bermudasloop.org for more information.

The post Hit the High Seas appeared first on RG Magazines.

“I think that everybody deserves a chance to try to better their lives and better their family’s lives,” said family spokesman, Andrew Green.

He credits his multimillionaire father Peter, from “working class Manchester”, with instilling a “pretty strong sense of social justice” into him and his brother Alexander, who were educated at Saltus Grammar School and then Brown University in the United States.

“When we were kids, teenagers, a lot of our friends were getting scholarships and they didn’t need them,” he said. “It really almost ticked us off. These scholarships should have been going to people who needed the scholarships.”

After returning to the island to live 17 years ago, he realised there still existed a “huge gap” in terms of higher education funding for those of limited means and so he talked to his family about how they could make a difference.

“We did a bit of research and there was only one scholarship programme that took into account financial need at the time, and that was Knowledge Quest,” he said. “I reached out to Knowledge Quest and we got together. We actually do our interview process together. We get hundreds of applications a year and they go through the vast majority of them for us in advance. We’re really grateful for their help.”

It was Knowledge Quest which suggested that the fund should not insist on scholarship recipients returning to Bermuda after their studies abroad. Mr Green, who lived in London for several years after college before moving home, said it was great advice.

“That’s a huge part of our philosophy now, getting people abroad to see the world. Nine out of ten students will push to go abroad because that international experience is vital for Bermuda to thrive and for their own personal growth. Bermuda is a wonderful place with great opportunities and the vast majority of students will want to come back, but we don’t require that.”

The Green Family Scholarship usually gives out ten scholarships of $10,000 a year for up to four years. It is decidedly not targeted at Bermuda’s highest academic achievers, as they will already be eligible for a wide array of financial awards.

Mr Green said: “If you are an A student in Bermuda, you are getting a scholarship. When I see an A student in our interview process, I know they are not going to be one of our scholarships. I’m delighted we’ll be able to give it to somebody else that needs it. It’s the BC and CB students that are struggling.”

He added: “The education system here hasn’t always perhaps guided them in the right direction. Often, as soon as they are in the right field or with the right structure, they thrive and it’s really nice to see.”

Though the focus is not on high grades, those applying to the Green Family Scholarship need to be on track with their studies. They must apply first to Knowledge Quest, prove their financial need and demonstrate they’ve chosen an affordable university or college to attend. Recipients are often headed to the United Kingdom or Canada, where higher education is far cheaper than the United States, though funding for a degree in the US is not ruled out in “exceptional” cases.

Mr Green cited an example of a student who won a place last year to study engineering at prestigious Syracuse University in New York State. Even with other scholarship funding, it would have been a struggle for her to meet the costs.

“Quite frankly, she was the first female engineering student we’ve ever seen,” he said. “We talked to my family and we gave her $20,000 a year because I want her to be able to graduate, I want her to be able to do this.”

Once the applications have been whittled down to a shortlist, Mr Green and a Knowledge Quest panel conduct Zoom interviews. He said panellists were likely to be impressed by those who have a summer job or other work and those who have researched Bermuda’s employment sector and its needs.

“There are ways other than your actual finances to show us your hunger and your desire to get over the line of a university education,” he said. “My red flags in an interview are when a student says they picked the location because of the weather or because they’re dating somebody going there.”

Scholarships are usually awarded in August, after other organisations, including the Government, have announced the beneficiaries of their higher education funding schemes. At that point, Knowledge Quest and the Green Family Scholarship have a clear picture of who needs financial aid to make university a reality.

The “vast majority” of those awarded funding from the scheme are from public schools, though there are some private school recipients. Those who benefit must maintain a C average and give yearly progress reports.

Green Family Scholarship success stories are many, including two recipients who went on to become Rhodes Scholars.

“We are proud of all our students,” said Mr Green. “I’m proud that it’s not just the elite. It’s certain that you can come from a tough background and still achieve a lot.”

To apply to the Green Family Scholarship Fund, visit www.knowledgequest.bm

The post Green Family Scholarship appeared first on RG Magazines.

She hopes that is now changing. After carrying out a wide-ranging review of all of Bermuda’s scholarship offerings, the foundation has dramatically changed how it selects recipients, in order to be more inclusive and try to redress educational inequalities.

Having a minimum 3.0 or 3.5 GPA is no longer a prerequisite to apply; the majority of the academic scholarships for up to $35,000-a-year for up to four years are now open to those with grades of 2.0 and above.

There is also a new “SkillUp” award for $35,000 annually, which has no GPA requirement and is for those wishing to pursue careers requiring specialised skills and knowledge, such as a trade. “We want to get the attention of as many students as possible because we want to help the students who are in financial need,” said Ms Smith.

That need exists across the entire education system, as Centennial’s new way of filtering applicants has made abundantly clear.

Vivien Carter, Centennial’s director of programmes, explained that since the philanthropic foundation introduced a more stringent threshold for assessing financial need, scholarship applicants were split evenly between public and private schools. “When you begin adding other indicators to the formula, beyond just academic merit, now you are starting to have a levelling,” she said. “That’s what happened this past year. We hadn’t adjusted the GPAs last year, so this will be the first year where we modify the GPAs to a 2.0 minimum.”

Ms Carter said the organisation spent a year-and-a-half conducting its scholarship review, analysing the results and deciding how to make its programme more equitable. “We wanted to see what the data told us and what the people, the core people, the students and the families, felt. Our numbers weren’t reflecting, initially, all of Bermuda. This year, I was really pleased about the split because I think everybody may have thought it was going to be 100 per cent public school kids.

“But, we see there are people who are trying to find affordable ways to live who are putting their kids through private school.”

This year’s applicants had an average annual family income of $78,000 for a three-person household.

Those seeking a scholarship must be willing to share and verify the household gross income and dependency, as well as show they possess Bermudian status, have had a minimum of five years in the island’s education system, and have been accepted into an accredited institution for their studies.

Ms Smith said applicants must write two 300-word essays, explaining why they deserve the scholarship and why the programme of study they have chosen is right for them. She advised: “If students can be as detailed as possible and provide as much information as possible in the word count, that helps to give us a good idea of who they are.”

Ms Carter added: “Think about you. Think about who you are and what you did, how you got here. Why do you deserve this?”

A scoring system is used to filter the applications down to about 70 to 80 students, who are interviewed by Ms Smith and members of the Centennial scholarship committee. They then award about 12 or 13 new scholarships across five categories: Bermuda College/community college (minimum 2.0 GPA), undergraduate degree (2.0), arts degree (2.0), postgraduate degree (3.0), and SkillUp (no GPA requirement).

Ms Carter said: “We are really trying to let the cohort who apply dictate what scholarships land. This year, who knows, we may have 250 students who apply for an arts degree, just as an example. At a minimum, we would ensure we cover one in each bucket.”

She said applicants should come for their interview, usually around mid-June, ready to really share their story. “There’s no shame in your story, there is a celebration in your story, whatever your story may be,” said Ms Carter. “That’s what really resonates usually with the committee. Be your authentic self.”

Ms Smith agreed: “Come and be yourself. Do not stress. Beyond their application we just want to find out a little bit more about them.”

Applicants find out by the end of June if they’ve been successful. They can use their financial award for any expenses associated with their studies, be it tuition fees, rent, travel, visas or books. Once at university or college, they’ll need to submit two progress reports during the academic year, as well as their end-of-year transcript.

Another new initiative is for first-year scholarship recipients to be assigned a Centennial Success Coach – a mentor who is there to help ensure the foundation offers support far beyond just finances. “That was out of the feedback from the students,” explained Ms Carter. “We asked what do you need to complete and they said we would love to have a mentor.

“It’s another way for us to just ensure they are transitioning. A lot of the students we are getting now are first-generation, first in their family to go off to college, so they are getting that additional support beyond their families.”

It’s not mandatory but Centennial encourages scholarship winners to return to Bermuda after their studies. Ms Smith said: ‘The committee is usually a little more concerned with who will be returning back to Bermuda to invest in the island.”

Applications should be made at www.centennial.bm. The deadline is April 15.

The post Centennial Aims to Level the Field appeared first on RG Magazines.

Hearing her speak about the benefits of finding your sit or sitz bones – the ones at the bottom of the pelvis so beloved by yoga teachers – and anchoring your feet firmly on the floor, makes you all too aware that your posture could be affecting your wellbeing. 

That’s especially true for those who spend all day looking at a computer screen; something many of us now do at home since Covid-19 changed our working habits. 

Ms Ryan, who opened Myotherapy Centre in Hamilton in 1996, helped clients make the sudden change of environment work for their bodies during the early weeks of the pandemic. 

Her advice then was simple: “The set-up for everybody is pretty straightforward, as far as we just want to ensure that our spine is aligned, that the weight of our head is over our shoulders and the weight of our shoulders is over our pelvis. 

“So just like building a house with a foundation, you want to have a stable foundation. If you can find those sitz bones and rock on them, you are going to put your pelvis in a neutral posture. If you get that part right, everything else will fall in synch.” 

She tells clients that ideally, even if using a laptop, they should try to connect it to a raised monitor. 

Very important is “having eyes on the horizon to be able to look out at a monitor with about a two-inch clearance and having our monitor about an arm’s length away”. 

During the 2020 lockdown, many office dwellers found themselves sitting cross-legged on the floor, bed or couch to work, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing, believes Ms Ryan, so long as the principle of alignment is applied. 

“Many cultures sit cross-legged all day and it’s great for our hips,” she says. “It prevents, I believe, more hip replacements from happening, when we are not in that standard chair all day long. 

“Even if you want to sit cross-legged on the bed, awesome, but can you raise your laptop such that your wrists are a little bit lower than your elbows and can you then look out with your eyes to have a monitor that would be high enough, because a lot us can sit very easily in that posture, so go for it.” 

Ms Ryan thinks the shift to remote working may mean people are sitting at their desks for longer than before, as the boundaries between professional and personal lives blur. 

“They’re not getting up to go for a walk at lunchtime or going up to the third floor to go to the boardroom for a meeting,” she says. 

She suggests frequent breaks, however good your posture. 

“Move the body, even for 20 seconds every 20 minutes, or just every hour for about a minute, just getting yourself up,” she advises, adding that looking away from the screen and changing the focus of our eyes regularly is crucial. 

Ms Ryan sees white collar workers with neck and back problems caused by bad posture during prolonged periods of sitting. 

But after the first lockdown lifted, she also had an influx of patients with blue collar jobs. 

“Plumbers, carpenters, people who make a living very physically, within the first week or two were reaching out because they were physically having injuries they’d never had before,” she says. 

“People went from doing absolutely nothing and maybe enjoying themselves and relaxing to, boom, they weren’t just back at work, but they were back at work with this backlog. 

“That whole ‘form follows function’ is something that we know, and if our form has not been so active and then we jump into function, there’s going to be that adjustment.” 

The treatment she offered included myofascial release. 

“Myo is Latin for muscle and fascial is just a medical word for connective tissue,” explains Ms Ryan, who trained at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia and has degrees in kinesiology and physiotherapy. “[It’s] this web of tissue that basically holds us together. 

“It can be released when we apply pressure to it. So as a myofascial release therapist, applying pressure to the body … allows the tension to unhook itself, to unwind itself, to release in a way that’s going to serve you best.” 

Many people stuck at home during the pandemic began following personal trainers on social media sites, suddenly launching into vigorous exercise routines. 

“The workouts I think for the most part were actually quite good and really helped lift the mind and body,” says Ms Ryan. 

“But then we also know that if we don’t stretch at the end of a workout, especially if it’s been intense, the muscle soreness later creeps in.” 

She advises always stretching after a workout and suggests that those continuing with online exercise classes seek an instructor who can actually see them, in order to give feedback and ensure good form. 

Ms Ryan ran her own free online therapeutic stretching sessions during 2020 to try to prevent people getting injured, as well as to help clients manage their stress. 

“It’s there in the science to show that if we go into a state of uneasiness … that’s going to put the physical tension in our body, so then we’re going to end up more tight,” she explains. 

“Even if we have the most awesome posture, if we’re not holding that posture with a bit of grace, with a bit of ease, then there’s not going to be that flow of life, that flow of energy, and that, in of itself, can cause issues.” 

The best exercise regime, according to Ms Ryan, is one we enjoy. 

“If you hate the gym, don’t join the gym,” she laughs. “Listen to your body, listen to what serves you. 

“We’re not going to continue the activity if we don’t like it. There’s got to be a joy factor.” 

Myotherapy Centre is at Suite 307, International Centre, 26 Bermudiana Road, Hamilton. Call 295-8003 or email myotherapycentre@gmail. com. 

The post Finding your sitz appeared first on RG Magazines.

While founder and owner Mr Williams Sr remains in overall charge of the auto repair and service business on North Street in Hamilton, his sons Kyle and Yannis are heavily involved in its operations and ensuring it stays abreast of changing – and ever more complex – automotive technology.

Kyle, born the same year the business was launched, did an automotive course at Bermuda College after school and now runs E&B’s parts department, overseeing a vast inventory of thousands of parts.

“I always did have an interest,” he said of the family business. “Starting from middle school to high school I looked at it a little differently, as something I wanted to do.”

Older brother Yannis, a former insurance underwriter for XL in New York, joined in 2010 and heads the service department, as well as helping with marketing and the business side of E&B.

“I think we work pretty well, considering,” laughed Yannis, when asked about the family dynamic at work.

“I think by having the different roles it definitely helped because we are not constantly all day long [together].”

The business has evolved since Eric began offering auto electrical repairs and selling parts at his first premises on Market Lane in Pembroke.

Back then, he fixed electrical faults only, such as alternators, starters, horns and power windows.

Now E&B also does mechanical repairs and stocks what it describes as the “largest selection of alternators, starters and components on the island”.

Kyle said the company brings in parts from all over the world, including many from Japan, Korea, Europe, and the UK.

It can be challenging to get items quickly, particularly with ongoing post-pandemic supply chain issues, but E&B uses many different suppliers.

“We source anywhere where we can get them,” said Yannis.

Kyle said: “We carry a very, very wide range of things in different categories. It’s hard to put a number on it.”

Customers often come to E&B once warranties run out, for “aftermarket” parts, which can be much more cost-effective than going to a dealer for a part made by a specific vehicle maker.

And when a part simply can’t be obtained, the company’s highly trained technicians can often modify or fabricate as a temporary solution.

E&B Trading now has 18 staff, including three technicians doing auto electrical repairs, three technicians doing mechanical fixes and an apprentice.

Beverly semi-retired last year but still comes into the office to help out.

Yannis said customers, who usually come to E&B through word of mouth, appreciate the firm’s focus on value for money and fast turnaround.

“We can help you extend the life of your car,” he said. “We actually can typically rebuild alternators and starters, so people don’t have to buy a new one, sometimes for half the cost.

“That’s something that people will look for, especially if they have a ten-year-old car and don’t want to buy a new one.”

He said a crucial part of the job is staying on top of industry technology, meaning E&B now does A/C repairs and can scan cars to diagnose errors.

This spring, the family business will expand again, with the reopening of CYK Automotive body shop on the site of the old Woodlands Garage in Hamilton.

E&B stands for Eric and Beverly and, in keeping with tradition, the new venture is named after Yannis, Kyle and their elder brother Crenstant, an educator.

The post Fixing vehicles over the generations appeared first on RG Magazines.

“It’s the ocean and the experience that you can have while out on a boat,” said the business development manager at PW Marine.

“That could be a multitude of different activities, whether it be water sports, fishing, cruising, parties, a family barbecue. It opens up this whole other world that exists within Bermuda.”

There are about 7,000 licensed private boats here, according to the Department of Marine & Ports Services, and Mr Cox says the number will increase this summer.

“The boating industry had worldwide the most growth it has had for ten years, over Covid,” he said.

“Boating was a way to get outside and actually experience normal life in a lot of cases.

“We haven’t seen 100 per cent of the same trend in Bermuda; however, we see factors of the same trend.

“We’ve seen a heavy growth in the amount of people wanting to get into the boating community, but also people trying to jump into that new boat market place.”

In terms of new boat sales, the real growth area in the past few years has been 30 to 65 foot vessels. Mr Cox said PW Marine’s “sweet spot” was 23 to 33 foot boats.

“That’s where we play, it’s where we see the most amount of success. Within those same ranges, you have a boat for everybody.

“While this is where we see the most success, we still have a number of Bermuda boaters going larger and we have the ability to offer that.”

Two of the most popular brands sold at PW Marine are Boston Whaler and Pursuit.

Mr Cox said: “They are kind of a hybrid of everything, in the sense that you can fish them, they have the cruising creature comfort amenities, and they are both fantastically well-built boats.

“They have always maintained a place in Bermuda’s market as being a quality, high-end, hybrid boating style.”

He added that the 25-foot Boston Whaler Dauntless is trending this year – PW Marine has already seen demand – with its centre console and ability to handle rough seas. It will arrive on island next month.

The dual console Pursuit 245 and 266 are also attracting much interest.

Customers looking for an entry-level boat have the option of a Sea Ray which, according to Mr Cox, has “lots of seating and entertaining space but comes at a lower price”.

At the top end of the market, the store sells Tiara and Valhalla, the former being very much for cruising and the latter fitted out with a “lot more fishing amenities”.

The cost of a pleasure boat can vary widely as they are almost always custom-built but would-be mariners can expect to spend anything from $50,000 to $500,000+, depending on the features they require, on a new vessel.

Mr Cox said: “When you buy new you get increased reliability, you are getting less errors. It’s a hassle-free experience versus what second-hand could be.”

Technology in the boating industry has come a long way in recent years and Mr Cox said customers are taking advantage of new features such as the Seakeeper gyroscope, which eliminates boat roll.

Those wanting to join the boating community need to plan ahead. Mr Cox advised that the best time to start deciding on the right vessel for you is at the summer’s end, to allow plenty of time for it to be ready for the start of the next season.

Choosing a boat – be it new or second-hand – is a decision you’re unlikely to regret.

“Bermuda is Bermuda and it’s about 23 miles long,” he explained. “As soon as you get a boat, that instantly triples in size.”

The post Make the most of our beautiful ocean appeared first on RG Magazines.

Butterfield is aiming to change that with a range of “green loans” it launched last September.

Teresa Gibson, Vice President, Consumer Credit, said the bank now lends money to allow customers to buy solar panels and other household items, such as eco-friendly doors and windows, energy efficient appliances, tankless water heaters and climate control air conditioning.

The loans can also be used for electric and hybrid cars and their charging stations.

“A green loan is a finance product that makes it easier for people to purchase energy efficient products,” Ms Gibson explained.

“When we looked at our products, we wanted to see how we can assist the community.”

The initiative is part of the financial institution’s commitment to its ESG – environmental, social and governance – framework, a concept becoming increasingly important in the corporate world, as companies look to show their investors that they care about more than just making money.

The green loans on offer from Butterfield are all about helping customers do the right thing for the environment within their budgets and without a prohibitively expensive initial outlay.

Ms Gibson said: “We put these products forward to get more individuals on board in just reducing their carbon footprint.

“We can do 100 per cent financing. For our unsecured loans, we can go anywhere between $500 and $50,000.

“The loans are for five- or ten-year terms, depending on the size of the debt.”

Green loans for cars are for a maximum of seven years.

Some secured loans for amounts above $50,000 – where customers must provide collateral, such as their home, against the debt – can be for longer terms.

Ms Gibson said: “It’s based on the customer’s income and finances and what that piece looks like.

“We try to make the repayments as comfortable as possible. Individuals can make extra payments, for example when it’s bonus time or if they are working additional hours.”

She noted that installing solar panels can help reduce energy bills over the longer term and that customers might want to consider them and other green options as the weather warms up.

Ms Gibson said those applying for green loans don’t have to be a Butterfield customer already – though they will have to open an account once approved.

“The lending rates may vary according to our base rate, which is currently 7.25 per cent for new Bermuda-dollar consumer loans,” she added.

“We work closely with clients to understand their financial needs and to provide comfortable repayment options.”

Ms Gibson did not have exact figures for loan applications so far but said a “number of people” were interested.

“We have actually launched this in the Cayman Islands as well and their feedback has been much the same.”

The post Making eco-friendly more affordable with green loans appeared first on RG Magazines.