September 2004 Vol. 1, No. 6
Haphazard enforcement of ANOA confuses captains By Lucy Chabot Reed
Several megayacht captains have discovered the hard way that at least some U.S. Coast Guard officers are serious about the 96-hour Advance Notice of Arrival regulation. Capt. Glen Allen, skipper of the 140-foot Feadship Andiamo, received a citation July 10 for failing to file a notice upon arrival in Charleston, S.C. “It’s a letter of warning, but it’s part of my record,” Allen said. “It’s a $32,500 fine if I get any other citations against
my license this year.” At 422 gross tons and flying a Cayman Islands flag, Andiamo filed an ANOA with the National Vessel Movement Center in West Virginia before pulling into Ft. Lauderdale earlier this summer. “We cleared immigration and customs, everything, and went to the shipyard,” he said. But when Andiamo moved on up the coast, Allen didn’t file another ANOA. When he got to Charleston, he said two Coast Guard officers boarded him,
cited him for not filing the ANOA, and told him to leave port for 24 hours. Because Allen had arranged for a Ft. Lauderdale electronics company to fly up for repairs, the officers let him stay. “Fifteen minutes after the technicians had finished, we were forced to leave,” Allen said. The 96-hour ANOA rule was final in February 2003, but megayacht captains have only begun noticing problems complying with it this summer. According to the rule (33 CFR 160, subpart C), all vessels – foreign and
domestic – larger than 300 gross tons “bound for or departing from ports or places in the United States” must file a 96-hour Advance Notice of Arrival. “The U.S. Coast Guard is now part of the Department of Homeland Security,” Allen said. “Why don’t they have a database that lets the ports talk to each other and say, ‘yeah, Andiamo reported in and they’re going to this port’?” That communication doesn’t exist, and megayachts over 300 tons have to file each time they change See ANOA, page 4
In hurricanes, stick to a plan, have a spare
Chef Nardine Jones, left, and Capt. Don Lessels take a short break on the 118-foot S/Y Whisper, which won the Newport Bucket this summer. See more scenes from New England on page 14. PHOTO/LUCY REED
Stuart marinas prepare for megayacht growth By Lisa H. Knapp City officials in Stuart, Fla., took the first step on Aug. 23 to slow down boaters and control the wake in the north fork of the St. Lucie River. By passing a resolution, city commissioners have asked Martin County and state officials to change the speed zone through the north fork of the river, a move that a handful of marina operators say is critical to attracting megayachts to the city.
Capt. John Dial is ready to spend $1 million to double the size of Stuart Harbor, his deep-water marina, from 35 slips to 70. In the heart of downtown Stuart, Dial said the renovated marina would have six slips for megayachts up to 120 feet, as well as a yacht club, pool and restaurant. But he won’t start the project until the river is safer for dockage. “To tie a boat at present is detrimental and a safety issue affecting 350 boats in area marinas,” he said.
Coast Guard turns megayacht away from marina. Page 12.
Before you plan a trip to Alaska, read page 26.
“Picture a 5-foot wake in Bahia Mar, then you can imagine the danger,” said Jon Burkard, vice president of Allied Richard Bertram Marine Group Stuart. The problem is large wakes, said Frank Thomas, a contract administrator for the city of Stuart who drafted the resolution to enforce and control minimum wakes. The resolution asks the state to authorize the permit for slow speed, no wake zones, with the city and county See STUART, page 9
When a powerful storm like Hurricane Charley is swirling away a few days out, megayacht captains have a lot of decisions to make. Should they stay or should they go? If they stay, do they find a safe slip to tie to or anchor out? Mid-August was the perfect time to talk about hurricane preparedness, FROM THE BRIDGE as Charley – the LUCY CHABOT REED strongest storm to hit the United States since Hurricane Andrew in 1992 – was bearing down on Southwest Florida. And as expected, the eight captains gathered for The Triton’s monthly Bridge luncheon had myriad experiences that influenced how they handle storms, each a little differently. As always, individual captains are not identified so as to encourage frank and open discussion. They are identified as a group with a photograph on page 6. Avoiding bad weather was the emergency plan of choice.
See THE BRIDGE, page 6
Captain-turned-broker offers tips when shopping for the boss. The Connection, page 13.