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Having
heard so many good things about the
first two Hexonet cruises, my wife,
Diana, and I went for the first time
this year and the event far exceeded
the high expectations we already
had.
Above:
The Westin Bayshore Hotel overlooking
the adjacent marina where the
Hexonet cruise event began at 5:30pm
Thursday afternoon. Most of those
who came from out of town for the
cruise stayed there. Hexonet created
the cruise as a way to educate
regional business owners about the importance
of domain names and an Internet
presence to their enterprises. As a
result, well over half of the
attendees are local business
leaders rather than domain
industry insiders. Even so, the
success of the cruise has started
attracting people who travel thousands
of miles to be there as we did,
coming from Florida.
Below:
At 5:30 Hexonet cruise ticket
holders began boarding the tri-level
Pride of Vancouver for a
three-hour harbor cruise that has to
be one of the best entertainment, educational
and networking values in
North America. Tickets were just $20
(Canadian), with all ticket proceeds
going to
the British
Columbia Children's Hospital
Foundation,
prompting over 160 people to get on
board.
Above:
Once on board, guests began
exploring the ship's three levels.
The first deck was set up for an
all-star domain industry panel
discussion that was a centerpiece of
the night. The middle deck was
filled with tables where guests
could enjoy their food and drinks
and talk while watching the
beautiful scenery go by. The open
air top deck, seen here, was the
most popular at the start of the
cruise because the city was blessed
with a beautiful evening for the
event.
Below:
The ship's dock is located on
Vancouver's scenic Coal Harbour
so within minutes of pulling up
anchor we had a great view of the
skyline and Canada Place
cruise port (the tented structure at
left) as our journey began.
Above:
Hexonet cruise guests enjoy the view
and conversation while passing under
the iconic Lions Gate Bridge,
one of Vancouver's most widely-known
landmarks.
Below:
While there were many new people to
meet from Vancouver's business
community there were also a lot of
familiar faces in the crowd
including NamesCon Marketing
and Events Director Terri Potratz
and Escrow.com General
Manager Jackson Elsegood.
Above:
As we got further away from shore a
wider swath of the ever growing Vancouver
skyline came into view.
Below:
After an hour and a half of
productive informal networking, it
was time for the cruise's sole
business session - one the featured eight
domain industry experts who
filled the crowd in on how to
navigate the world of domains,
website development, ecommerce and
other topics. They also questions
the audience members had. The session
began when Hexonet Chief
Marketing Officier Tony Kim, who
was one of the panelists, introduced
his fellow industry experts.
Above:
It was standing room only on
the first deck when Hexonet's
Tony Kim began introducing the
audience to his fellow panelists at
7pm.
Below:
In addition to Tony, the all-star
panel included (left to right)
Stacey King (Amazon Registry
Services), Chris Sheridan (Weebly),
Mariah Reilly (Donuts), Christopher
Campbell (Afilias), Kelly
Hardy (.ME Registry), Rick
Terry (.ORG, Public Interest
Registry) and Richard Lau (NamesCon
Founder).
Above:
Hexonet VP of Marketing Marie
Lanyon, who put the panel
together, also served as moderator
of the well-received session. Marie
joined Hexonet a little over a year
ago and has already supercharged
their outreach programs aimed at
expanding awareness of domain names
and their importance throughout the
regional business community and
beyond.
Below:
Snacks were continually served from
the time guests got on board until
the business session began. As soon
as it ended Hexonet rolled out a
table filled with sliders, sushi,
meatballs and other treats that
quickly drew a crowd.
Above:
As the sun sunk toward the horizon,
the ship entered one of Vancouver's
busiest strips of water - False
Creek - home of the popular Granville
Island Public Market.
Below:
Our boat was designed to provide
great vantage points from locations
throughout the vessel. This trio
found a perfect spot to sit and
watch the wonderful world of
Vancouver go by.
Above:
You have to love a town where even
the most mundane surfaces are often
given an eye-catching new look thanks
to the imagination of its artists.
These grain silos are a perfect
example.
Below:
One of the most entertaining aspects
of the cruise was watching the wide
variety of watercraft that
surrounded us on all sides. I'm used
to seeing this kind of paddle wheeler
on the Mississippi River but
wasn't expecting it in the Great
Northwest.
Above:
These colorful little Aquabus
water taxis crisscross False
Creek shuttling passengers from
one shore to the other.
Below:
With False Creek now in our
rear view mirror a racing shell
managed to keep pace with our boat
for several hundred meters before
peeling off. Not far behind him you
see one of the many standup
paddleboarders that were also on
the water Thursday evening.
Above:
On the way back to Coal Harbour
after sunset guests continue to
enjoy their conversations and the
cool outdoor air.
Below:
As we headed down the home stretch,
darkness has settled in and the
Vancouver skyline is lit up in a
brilliant array of colors, all
accented by the full moon seen over
one of the tent peaks at the Canada
Place pier for cruise
ships.
Above:
One of my favorite things in Vancouver
are the seaplanes that continually
take off from and land in Coal
Harbour. the Passing them
Thursday night as our boat pulled
back into the dock where we began
was one of the few times I saw them
stationary. I couldn't help noticing
they were beautiful even when not
flying.
Below:
Every few minutes during our stay in
Vancouver a seaplane would
fly by our balcony near the top of
the Westin Bayshore, making
it easy to snap photos like the one
below that I took shortly before the
cruise began. It is an appropriate
metaphor for the innovative Hexonet
cruise itself. The event
is flying high and reaching
greater altitude every year. As this
year's delightful cruise ended, one
of the last things I told our
friends at Hexonet was, "You're
going to need a bigger boat!"
In
closing I want to thank Hexonet for
being such gracious hosts. It was
not only a pleasure being back in
Vancouver, it was great getting to
better know CSO Robbie Birkner,
CMO Tony Kim, Marketing VP
Marie Lanyon (who I had just met
for the first time in January at
NamesCom) and other members of the
talented Hexonet team. They are
doing great work in building recognition
of domain names and explaining
their central role in online
success to the mainstream
business community - an effort that
benefits all of us who are part of
this extraordinary industry.
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