CYBA

Dear CYBA Members, Our community’s collective reach is one of the greatest benefits of belonging to the California Yacht Brokers Association. As digital networking becomes an increasingly vital part of brokerage success, we want to ensure every member knows how to get the maximum visibility for their listings while helping us maintain a clean, organized, and professional online presence. To help clear up any confusion around our social media platforms, here is a quick guide on the difference between the Official CYBA Facebook Page and the CYBA Facebook Group, along with where your boat listings should be posted. 📢 Official… Read more: Member Update: Where & How to Share Your Boat Listings on Social Media

For more than five decades, Harbor Island West Marina has been a cornerstone of San Diego’s boating community. Since acquiring the property in 1981, the Beauchamp family has focused on long-term ownership and community service. That ongoing commitment is now being realized through a comprehensive 70 million dollar redevelopment. The project features a complete replacement of the marina’s aging docks with a modern concrete dock system. Upon completion, the marina will offer over 620 new slips, wider fairways, upgraded utilities, enhanced ADA access, improved pumpout facilities and a fully redesigned fuel dock. Landside plans include modern boater amenities, marina offices,… Read more: Built for the Next Generation: The Future of Harbor Island West Marina

In complex commercial litigation, maritime transactions, and trade association defense, few legal practitioners possess the specialized expertise and strategic foresight of Christopher M. Brainard, Esq. As the principal of C.M. Brainard & Associates based in Southern California, Brainard has served as trusted counsel across business law, complex civil litigation, and maritime matters since 1998. A central pillar of Brainard’s practice is his role as legal counsel for the California Yacht Brokers Association (CYBA)—an organization dedicated to maintaining ethical standards, consumer protection, and professional integrity in California’s marine sales industry. Through targeted procedural strategy, regulatory expertise, and a firm defense of… Read more: Protecting the Horizon: How Attorney C. M. Brainard Defends California’s Yacht Brokerage Industry

The deal pairs two California institutions, each with more than 50 years of history serving the boating community. CYBA leadership says the priority is preserving The Log’s editorial integrity, while investing in the paper’s digital growth and expanding its reach statewide. By Fábio Borges, Every Media Productions. For more than half a century, The Log has been a familiar name along California’s waterfront. Since its founding in 1971, the publication has chronicled the people, businesses, boats, marinas, races, fishing communities, regulations and issues that shape life on the state’s waterways. Now, one of California’s best-known boating publications is entering a… Read more: CYBA Acquires The Log, Prioritizing Editorial Independence

Greetings CYBA members and sponsors, This is a very special CYBA News, as we are announcing one of the most significant actions in our history: the acquisition of the iconic Log newspaper. It is with great pride and a sense of honor that the CYBA is able to cement this deal and offer this West Coast treasure to our membership. Anyone involved in recreational boating in California, especially in Southern California, has grown up with The Log and has come to rely on this publication for news, calendars, fishing and sailing reports, a classified marketplace, and, of course, broker and… Read more: Letter from our President August 2026

Exclusion from Amended Complaint in Ya Mon Expeditions v. IYBA, et al. To: Members, Partners, and Supporters of the California Yacht Brokers Association (CYBA) From: Mark P. White, Executive Director Subject: Important Legal Update – CYBA Excluded from Amended Class-Action Lawsuit Dear CYBA Members and Industry Partners, I am pleased to share a significant and positive development regarding the antitrust class-action litigation (Ya Mon Expeditions, LLC v. International Yacht Brokers Association, Inc., et al.). As many of you know, the initial suit sought to draw parallels between the yacht brokerage industry and recent residential real estate litigation, leveling baseless allegations… Read more: A Member Update from Mark P. White

In Remembrance: Honoring Jerry Wayne Hall (1945–2026) It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of the passing of Jerry Wayne Hall, a beloved, multi-decade member of our association. Jerry passed away peacefully on June 23 with his wife, Lydia Raynoha Hall, by his side after a courageous 13-year battle with cancer. Known affectionately as a true local legend, Jerry epitomized San Diego’s boating community with his warmth, wit, style, and generosity. A Life Driven by Passion and Precision Born in Blytheville, Arkansas, on May 8, 1945—a day globally celebrated as Victory in Europe Day—Jerry spent his early… Read more: Honoring Jerry Wayne Hall (1945–2026)

As the California Yacht Brokers Association proudly celebrates 50 + years of setting higher standards (1975–2025), we are excited to expand our community with the addition of our newest professionals joining us this August. Associate Salesperson Membership Affiliate Membership Please join us in giving a warm welcome to all of our new members as we continue driving excellence and integrity throughout the California yacht brokerage industry.

Jeff Merrill, CPYB, is well known to CYBA members as a long-serving Board of Directors member and President of our association in 2015 and 2016. Jeff is one of the few California brokers who is also a CPYB (Certified Professional Yacht Broker), and he has spent the last five years as a volunteer on the national governing board for CPYB, known as the CAC (Certificate Advisory Council). The CPYB program is managed by YBAA (Yacht Broker Association of America), which just held its annual YBAAU Yacht Broker University at the Herreshoff Museum in Bristol, Rhode Island. As the yacht brokerage… Read more: Jeff Merrill Receives Yacht Broker Award in Rhode Island

The California Yacht Broker’s Association is thrilled to officially introduce our new Digital Correspondent, Shelby Mount! If you’ve been following the CYBA on social media lately, you’ve undoubtedly seen Shelby’s high-energy, insightful coverage. A licensed yacht broker with Yacht Coast and a proud CYBA member, Shelby represents the exciting future of our industry. Not long ago, she was a newcomer navigating the complexities of the maritime business. Today, she is using her incredible knack for storytelling and social media to take thousands of followers and industry professionals along on her journey. From Southern California to Venice Italy: Content Gone Viral… Read more: Capturing the Waves: Meet Shelby Mount, CYBA’s New Digital Correspondent

The West Coast boating community is only as strong as the professionals who guide it. For over 50 years, the California Yacht Brokers Association (CYBA) has been the gold standard for ethics, professionalism, and consumer protection on the water. This June, we are thrilled to welcome a fresh wave of talent, expertise, and passion to our ranks. From seasoned professionals achieving Master Broker status to rising stars in yacht sales and critical shoreside marine support, please join us in giving a warm welcome to the newest members of the CYBA family! ⚓ Master Broker Membership Achieving Master Broker status reflects… Read more: Charting New Courses: Welcoming CYBA’s Newest Members for June 2026

How (and Why) to Assist Your Clients with the California Boater Card Requirement As a CYBA yacht broker, your relationship with a client doesn’t end when the documents are signed and the keys are handed over. True value lies in helping them navigate the realities of ownership especially for clients moving up in vessel size, transitioning from sail to power, or purchasing their very first boat. One of the easiest ways to provide exceptional post-sale service is ensuring your buyers are legally compliant on California waters. As of January 1, 2025, California’s multi-year phase-in law is fully implemented: now, all… Read more: The Post-Closing Checklist:

Welcoming Suntex Marinas: CYBA’s Newest Gold Sponsor is Making Waves Across California The California Yacht Brokers Association is thrilled to introduce our newest Gold Sponsor — Suntex Marinas. As yacht brokers, our success relies entirely on having top tier, reliable infrastructure at which to place our clients’ vessels. To help our members get to know the team behind a marina platform with a rapidly growing footprint in our local waters, we sat down with Hampus Idsater, Director of Investments at Suntex Marinas, to discuss their operational philosophy, massive West Coast expansion, and new opportunities for collaboration with the CYBA brokerage… Read more: Welcoming Suntex Marinas:

Why ‘The Log’ Remains an Industry Standard for California Yacht Brokers. In an era dominated by hyper-speed digital feeds and fleeting social media algorithms, finding a marketing pillar with true staying power is rare. For California’s maritime community, that pillar has a name: The Log. For over 50 years, The Log has served as California’s premier boating and marine sports news source, establishing an ironclad reputation as a trusted voice on the water. Today, the California Yacht Brokers Association (CYBA) is proud to spotlight The Log not just as a foundational industry publication, but as a valued CYBA Bronze Sponsor… Read more: The Anchor of Maritime Media:

Set Sail for History: The 2027 CYBA Annual Dinner is Going to Sea! For decades, the California Yacht Brokers Association (CYBA) has anchored the maritime industry, protecting the gold standard of yacht transactions across the West Coast. But for our next landmark gathering, we are doing something that has never been done in the history of the association. We are leaving dry land behind. Save the Date: The 2027 CYBA Annual Dinner is officially heading to sea! We invite our CYBA members, and maritime affiliates to join us for an unforgettable three-day coastal cruise that blends world-class luxury with unparalleled… Read more: The Annual Dinner will be held at Sea.

Visiting with Aaron Dezell of Yacht Coast. There is nothing quite like the energy of Shelter Island. As the beating heart of San Diego’s maritime community, it represents everything vibrant about the California boating lifestyle. So, when the leadership team at the California Yacht Brokers Association (CYBA) decided to hand-deliver the grand prize from our recent statewide survey, we knew exactly where we had to go. Our destination? The brand-new Shelter Island office of Yacht Coast, to surprise Aaron Dezell, the official raffle winner drawn straight from the participants of “The California Yacht Broker Survey for 2026”. The visit wasn’t… Read more: From the Helm: Why CYBA Leadership Just Dropped Anchor at Shelter Island

The 2026 CYBA Membership Survey: Shaping the Future of the Maritime Gold Standard As the champions of the California maritime industry, our goal is to constantly protect consumer transactions and equip our professional brokers and salespeople with the data they need to thrive. Recently, we launched a first-of-its-kind digital assessment across our network. The data from  The California Yacht Broker Survey for 2026  is officially in, representing responses from top-tier industry professionals. The results reveal powerful shifts in how our coast-to-coast industry is evolving. Here is a breakdown of what we discovered and exactly what it means for your brokerage’s… Read more: The 2026 CYBA Membership Survey: Shaping the Future of the Maritime Gold Standard.