In that?
Getting in a liferaft not what you think. B1
Do over
U.S. small vessel security plan needs a rewrite.
And away we go Party season begins.
A18-19 Vol.6, No. 8
www.the-triton.com
A6
November 2009
Inexperie nced crew typically are harder to manage A conversation about crew management can take any number of different tracks. You could discuss how much time it takes, the techniques that work (and don’t), even training or coaching methods. Ours didn’t start on any of those tracks. It got derailed when From the Bridge one captain at our Lucy Chabot Reed monthly lunch
brought up first mates. “I spend about 25 percent of my time managing crew,” this captain said. “I pawn it all off on the mate.” “I made that mistake,” another captain said. “My mate made it worse.” “Well, you have to have the right guy,” replied the first. And therein opened the door on a conversation that took a winding path into the world of experience (or lack thereof) and licenses. As always, individual comments
are not attributed to any one person in particular so as to encourage frank and open discussion. The attending captains are identified in a photograph on page A12. “Mates are difficult to find who know what they are doing,” a captain said. “None of them know the rules of the road as they should. They might be good, but they’re lacking in the maturity to be a leader. It’s difficult to find people with that experience and the ticket. They need a lot more
training. These captains, many of whom had been in the industry for decades and recalled a time when it took years to move into the ranks of captain, derided the fact that the recent easy access to captain’s licenses has basically eliminated the strong first mate candidate who not only knows about yachting, but has spent time managing people.
See BRIDGE, page A12
M/Y ALLEGRIA AT The point of no return
Halfway across the Atlantic in late September with the crew of M/Y Allegria. Capt. Bernard Charon is at right.
He’s everywhere, but hard to find Elmer Strauss built his businesses behind the scenes By Dorie Cox To physically find Elmer Strauss, you have to trudge through a storage hall to reach his desk. But to find his influence, yachties need only look around Ft. Lauderdale at some of the biggest and longest-running names in the industry: Cable Marine, Boat Owners Warehouse, BOW Strauss Worldwide, DS Hull and Yacht Equipment and Parts. Because his name is not on any signs, yacht captains and crew might
not realize he’s the man they have done business with over the past 30 years. But they have. So why is his name not on a marquee? “He finds the stars and lets them shine,” said Kristy Fox, now a broker who has worked with crew in South Florida for more than 10 years. She got her start with Strauss when she met him at Cable Marine. Strauss has always hired like-minded and competent people to run his marinas, retail stores and parts and service companies. He puts them in charge and steps back, fostering the
See STRAUSS, page A14
PHOTO COURTESY OF CAPT. BERNARD CHARON
TRITON SURVEY:
A closer look at crew management In The Triton’s broadest-ranging survey yet, we delved into more than two dozen aspects of crew management, including style, performance reviews, job descriptions, ethics statements and training for captains. C1
What percentage of your job is spent managing crew? > 90% 75- < 60- 90% 10% 75% 50-60% 10-25% 40-50% 25-40%
Which management style most closely fits yours? Military – 14% Corporate – 14.9%
Sports – 3.3%
Informal – 67.8%