May 2004 Vol. 1, No. 2
Fires destroy Janie II, other yachts in several blazes By Lucy Chabot Reed A fire destroyed the 136-foot Mefasa Janie II on April 15. Two of her six-member crew were treated for smoke inhalation in attempting to extinguish the blaze, but no one was injured, Capt. Steve Ernest said. According to William Amador, fire marshall with the Town of Palm Beach, the Janie II was returning
from a week in the Bahamas at about 6:30 that Thursday evening. As she approached the dock at Sailfish Club in Palm Beach, a stewardess smelled smoke from the starboard aft stateroom. She and another crew member used four fire extinguishers to try to put out the fire but were unsuccessful, Amador said. “The captain called it, and he was right,” Amador said about Ernest’s
decision to get his crew off the yacht. “There’s no reason to put yourself in danger. If you can’t put it out and you attempted once, you need to get off. A vessel is an unsafe, unstable area” in a fire. Amador could not say what caused the fire on Janie II until his investigation is complete. The most common causes of fires on boats are age, shore power cables and
overloaded circuits, he said. “One of the biggest concerns we have is getting close enough to be able to battle the blaze,” he said, adding that the yacht had about 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel onboard. After burning for about four hours, the Janie II sank. She was raised April 20 and is docked at Cracker Boy See FIRE, page 8
Triton captains put it in writing
M/Y Paraiso boards a Dockwise Yacht Transport vessel for Savona, Italy, in preparation of the Med season. DYT has few yachts that are booked specifically for the Olympics in Athens this summer. PHOTO/LUCY REED
Price hikes, rules keep charters from Olympics By Lucy Chabot Reed It will be smooth sailing in Athens this summer for charter yachts flying Greek flags and carrying Greek nationals as captain and crew. For everyone else, however, charter business for the 28th Olympic Games is falling far short of expectations. “We’ve got nobody, [except] a
few 100-footers,” said Jeff Last, sales manager for Dockwise Yacht Transport. “We had high hopes, but there’s nothing. I don’t expect any business out of the Olympics.” In an effort to protect its own charter business, Greece has reserved a majority of slips at its three main megayacht marinas for Greek-flagged yachts. Foreign-flagged yachts can
Visit Project USA on pages 10-11 and 15
sail to Athens, but they must begin and end their charter trips outside Greek waters, according to several charter brokers. So while, technically, it is possible for foreign-flagged yachts to visit Athens for the Olympics from Aug. 13-29, it may be difficult to schedule the area as a port of call simply
Find out how this yacht grew 33 feet, page 13.
See OLYMPICS, page 8
Welcome back to the Bridge. Each month, The Triton invites 10 captains to talk about an industry issue or trend. While the group is identified as a whole, individual comments remain anonymous to encourage frank and open discourse. The discussion was facilitated by Triton Editor Lucy Chabot Reed. In April, 11 captains gathered to talk about the trend toward – and the need for – employment agreements. One captain handed out his one-page agreement with nine points outlining his rights and responsibilities as they pertain to things such as health insurance, salary and time off. He wanted to know if other captains used agreements and what they thought of his. After a few beats of silence, a veteran captain spoke up. “I’ve been in this industry 20 years and I’ve never had one,” the captain said. “I make it clear in the interview what my terms are and I work on a handshake. I really emphasize the time on/time off so I don’t work until I drop dead.” “I have had a handshake agreement with my owner for six years,” another See THE BRIDGE, page 7