The Triton 200511

PHOTOS/LUCY REED

Wilma gives boat show black eye

! a r t ! x a e r t x e

By Lucy Chabot Reed

Whether tossed against trees or each other, boats across South Florida suffered damage.

Several sank.

TOP PHOTO/STEPHEN REED, LEFT PHOTO/CAPT. RAY GRENIER

The 46th annual Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show opens Nov. 3, one week later and one day shorter than originally planned, thanks to the strongest storm to hit Ft. Lauderdale in more than 50 years.

But Hurricane Wilma’s hardest punch may yet strike as Ft. Lauderdale struggles to heal from what many perceive as a black eye on the industry.

“I can’t fathom how they’re going to get a couple hundred thousand people down there to buy boats,” said Rick Thomas, sales and operations vice president for Nautical Structures of Tampa Bay. “Shame on them for doing it. It’s pure, lustful greed.”

Nautical Structures was planning to introduce three items at the show this year and could ink a $600,000 deal at the show, Thomas said.

“Nobody wanted this show more than I did,” he said. “I’m not blind to the reasons to put on the show. I just think it’s ill-timed and ill-advised.”

Show Management, producers of the show, met with leaders of the Marine Industries Association of South Florida (which owns the show) and city officials several times before and after the storm to decide how to proceed. About 36 hours after the storm, they announced the show was on.

“We had no choice,” said Frank Herhold, executive director of the MIASF. “We only had two options: no show or push it off 10 days.”

Key sites for the show, including Bahia Mar Yachting Center and the Broward County Convention Center, were not available for a later fall date, Herhold said. And pushing the show

See THE SHOW, next page

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Hurricane Wilma’s 100 mph winds tossed temporary floating docks and tents at Bahia Mar, seen below and inset left two hours after the storm.

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‘Mixed emotions’ but many still plan to come THE SHOW, from previous page into the spring wasn’t an option either.

“We have a show in Miami and in Palm Beach and several smaller shows” in the spring, said Kaye Pearson, president of Show Management. “We’ve worked 30 years to get a following and the time of year that works to pull the European community is the time that we do it.

Several megayacht builders were undecided soon after the storm on whether they would attend. One that didn’t waiver was Broward Marine of Ft. Lauderdale.

“We want to do it. We want to support the show,” said Mac McLaughlin, chief financial officer at Broward, which lost five of its six docks to Hurricane Wilma. “It’s more than a show. It’s an economic engine that drives a whole industry. You can’t let it stutter or stop.”

Other exhibitors plan to scale back their presence but would be there.

“We had mixed emotions like everyone else and didn’t want the marine industry to be sending the wrong symbol, but we decided that if they had a show that we’d make every effort to be there,” said John Cary, sales and marketing manager with Freeman Marine, manufacturers of custom watertight doors, hatches and windows.

“We’re not sending product, just people and information about our products.

At the end of the day you have to think about moving forward. There’s more to be gained by putting on the show.”

Not everyone agreed.

“All of our can’t imagine other clients bringing tens (all Europeans) of thousands made several of outsiders comments into our on the ‘crude’ community, decisions of which has rescheduling a been under show just one curfew and has week after one the majority of the worst of the traffic hurricanes lights nonin Florida’s operational.” history Despite A loose yacht crossed the Intracoastal more than a passed by, and obviously Waterway and crashed into M/Y Katina week’s notice docked at Pier 66.

PHOTO/LUCY REED that Hurricane canceled their trip at Wilma – the once,” said Alex Treleani, director of most intense Atlantic storm ever international sales with dealer SNO recorded – likely would travel across Yachts. Of his 21 clients scheduled to South Florida, many yachts remained in travel to the show, two re-confirmed, town for the hurricane, mainly because mainly because they had other business predictions called for conditions to to attend in other areas of the United weaken significantly by the time Wilma States, he said. hit the eastern coast.

“To some it may seem to be an effort Two days before the storm, Pearson of good faith, to persevere in the face announced those predictions and his of adversity. Nonsense,” Thomas said. contingency plan to dozens of guests “I cannot imagine many of our clients at the MIASF’s annual boat show party. willing to travel to the area to spend The storm would likely hit Florida’s money on extravagances while they west coast as a Category 2, weaken walk and live among the ruins they will maybe even to tropical force winds no doubt encounter.” by the time it hit Ft. Lauderdale, and “Being a yacht captain and blow through so that by Tuesday, set up business owner servicing the yachting could resume. The 60,000-square-foot community in Ft. Lauderdale, I am Superyacht Builders and Designers tent embarrassed to acknowledge that was dismantled to avoid the high winds Show Management and MIASF are expected, but many of the smaller tents even considering putting on this show remained up. while our city is still in peril,” said “As we look through the computer Capt. Mike Stocker of Stocker Yacht. “I models, the issue is timing,” he told

party guests that Friday before the storm. “The patterns of where it might go are very consistent. The winds are not expected to be much more than a Category 1.”

Early in the morning of Oct. 24, Wilma hit Florida’s west coast as a Category 3 and blew through southeastern Florida almost as strong.

Though the eye passed north of Ft. Lauderdale, the strongest cell of weather passed right over its beach late Monday morning, downing countless trees and knocking power out across 95 percent of the county.

Numerous yachts suffered cosmetic damage to paint and cap rails, blown out fenders and broken cleats. Several yachts broke free of their moorings in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, hitting other boats as they traveled across waterways. And some sank, including the 108-foot Broward On Seafari.

Set-up of the show could not resume immediately. Access to the beach was restricted and bridges were not operational for several days after the storm. Meetings between public and show officials included blunt statements about what each side could and could not do.

“We told them we couldn’t help,” Ft. Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle said.

“We cleared A1A, which we would have done anyway, but they cleared the parking lot for us. We haven’t diverted any resources. Kaye is doing that on his dime.”

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Cancellations will not be held against exhibitors, Pearson says SHOW, from page FLIBS2 Naugle said he supports the decision to hold the show this week.

“I think they made a good decision,” he said. “One of the resources the city needs to recover is money in our businesses. Hotels, restaurants and car rental companies have lost a lot of business. The more people can get back to work, the quicker we can recover.”

While the city benefits from the $600 million in economic impact the show reportedly brings in, the biggest beneficiaries are marine businesses, Herhold said.

“Some companies attribute 30, 40 even 50 percent of their annual sales to this show,” he said. “To not have it would have created a tremendous vacuum.”

For some, balancing their personal feelings with what’s best for their companies was tough.

“We’re not anticipating this to be the Super Bowl show it usually is,” said Scott Putnicki, marketing communications supervisor for Northern Lights in Seattle. “We’re moving into an area that needs a lot of infrastructure work and we’re walking around selling luxury items. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Many exhibitors speculated that the reason the show was not canceled is because Show Management did not want to refund exhibitor fees.

Pearson would not address the claims.

“We never looked at our costs,” he said. “My only consideration was ‘can we do it?’ Once we decided that, then whatever it costs, we’ll do it.”

The MIASF counts on the boat show for about 80 percent of its annual budget.

“I’m not anticipating getting much from the show this year,” Herhold said, noting the group has reserves from a building fund. “But we’ll be OK.” Another criticism Pearson fielded in the days before the show was that any exhibitor who canceled would not be allowed back next year. This charge Pearson flatly denied.

“We don’t force anyone to participate,” he said. “Normally, anyone who participates in the show has a right to the same spot the next year. If someone doesn’t show up and doesn’t contact us and we’re left with an empty space, we do deal with it that way. They lose their space next year.

“But in this situation, people who are not coming aren’t coming for a specific reason,” he said. “We understand that. We’re not going to cancel anybody because they can’t come or choose not to come.”

That may be good news for executives who still could not find hotel rooms four days before the show.

Said one megayacht builder: “I think Miami is going to be a hit this year.”

Contact Editor Lucy Chabot Reed at lucy@the-triton.com. For more comments, visit www.the-triton.com.

November 2005

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Deadly bet Captain leaves Alaska after friends die

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Vol. 2, No. 8

Not real risky

All about style

Butch Risker takes over Broward refit

Palmer Johnson designs a look

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November 2005

‘Resident’ status keeps crew from coverage Time-share Health plan cannot insure crew with Florida mail addresses

yachts busy but not bad

By Lucy Chabot Reed

By Lisa H. Knapp

The Florida Department of Insurance’s definition of “permanent resident” has proven to be a sticking point for thousands of domestic and foreign yacht crew who maintain mailing addresses in Ft. Lauderdale.

Doing so somehow classifies the crew member as a permanent resident of Florida and, as such, unable to buy international health insurance from the industry’s largest provider, International Medical Group.

Indiana-based IMG was banned Sept. 12 from writing policies to Florida residents because it is not registered by the state department of insurance to do business in Independent insurance agent Anita Warwick, right, explains the Florida. The state also required the company latest developments in crew health insurance to interested folks at and its underwriter, the billion-dollar Sirius The Triton’s event.

PHOTO/DAVID REED International Insurance Corp., to pay more than $836,000 in “administrative fees” and unpaid claims. to stop doing business in Florida, The Triton invited The state said that nothing in the order or levied fees representatives from IMG and MHG, the third-party constituted punishment or penalty. IMG has since filed to company that writes policies on behalf of IMG, to discuss do business in Florida, but the state would not indicate the issues. More than 40 crew and insurance professionals how long it might take to approve or disapprove IMG’s gathered Oct. 5 to ask and answer questions relative to application.

About three weeks after the company was told See INSURANCE, page A12

Capt. Tim Forderer runs M/Y Bellissima, an 85-foot Azimut with 10 owners.

It’s not as bad as it sounds.

Managed well, a fractionally owned yacht can function like a busy charter boat, Forderer said. The trick is to get someone off the yacht to handle the behind-thescenes scheduling.

Otherwise, he said he would never work for multiple owners.

“Having someone managing the calendar and educating one Forderer owner at a time makes my job easier,” Forderer said. “It’s like having 10 repeat charter clients. The hero when it comes to this fractionally owned program is Luxury Yacht Group.”

Common in the aviation industry,

See FRACTION, page A16

Megayacht capital’s crown tarnished, but still there Despite all its shortcomings, Ft. Lauderdale remains the destination of choice for the staple industry of midsize luxury yachts – say 100 to 150 feet.

This city, it seems, is the girl these guys love to hate.

Ft. Lauderdale was the topic of discussion at The FROM THE BRIDGE Triton’s monthly LUCY CHABOT REED captain’s Bridge lunch.

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 A25.

The captains in attendance skipper yachts from 74 feet to 147 feet and agreed that Ft. Lauderdale is still

the place they prefer to come for I’ve got work to do and we have to go to everything from service work to finding Ft. Lauderdale, he says ‘Can’t you do it crew and even finding jobs. here?’” one captain said.

“Geographically, “I can’t. Every ‘The industry is the industry is here,” other place is smallone captain said. stuff and if I growing faster than the boat “The industry is did the work there, infrastructure can cope. I’d just have to get it growing faster than the infrastructure in from Ft. But [Ft. Lauderdale] has shipped here can cope,” Lauderdale.” another said. “But it’s still got more going for “If we do work still got a lot more anywhere other it than any place else.’ going for it than any than Ft. Lauderdale, — Bridge captain we’ve got to budget place else.”

That seemed to airfare, lodging and be the consensus transportation,” of the group: Ft. Lauderdale certainly another said. has some flaws, but no place else can “That makes Ft. Lauderdale much compare. Yet. cheaper in the long run,” said a third.

That said, though, these captains Add the cost of airfare aren’t always pleased with the quality of “The boss owns slips in the Bahamas work they receive in town. and New York City and when I tell him “Some of the old businesses that I

trust, the guy who did the work is now managing,” one captain said. “He’s the one who comes out to give you the estimate, but then he sends someone out who is nowhere near as good as he was. Ft. Lauderdale has a real problem with quality.”

“You can get quality work done,” another said, “but it’s hard to find.”

“It’s been diluted,” said another.

“Anybody who’s good now has his own business.”

‘From quality to quantity’

“A lot of the work in this town has gone from quality to quantity,” one captain noted. “There are just so many boats.”

One captain said he would prefer it if companies were honest enough to say they were too busy to give him the

See BRIDGE, page A25

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Casino tables and spirit samples kept more than 500 industry folks entertained.

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November 2005

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To everything, turn, turn, turn, there is a season It may feel like summer here in Ft. Lauderdale, but I swear it’s a time for change.

We’ve received dozens of calls from captains and crews in transition, looking for peace and satisfaction.

Some are looking for new boats this fall, others are just ready for a little LATITUDE break, and some ADJUSTMENT want a new type LUCY CHABOT REED of adventure.

And it’s not just crew.

It is with a heavy heart that I must begin with the news that Kristy Fox has resigned from The Triton.

Kristy helped launch The Triton in the spring of 2004 and worked diligently to spread the word and build this business.

She resigned in early October to pursue other interests, though she’s not yet prepared to discuss them with us for print.

Publisher David Reed has taken over advertising sales, and I’ll be taking over the Latitude Adjustment column.

We’ll also continue our megayacht

meetings with special guest speakers such as Coast Guard and immigration officials, and follow them with the Latitude Adjustment Hour, a casual social time to meet new friends.

The Triton carries on, better for having worked with Kristy Fox. We wish you well, Kristy.

Capt. Chris Young and Purser Kim Sandell have resigned from the new build of M/Y Time for Us, a 154foot tri-deck being built at Burger. They took September and October off and enjoyed a vacation, pretty much the first one they’ve had in over four years.

Chris and Kim worked on the old Time for Us, a smaller but busy yacht that traveled about 20,000 miles a year from the Caribbean to the Great Lakes with charter guests and for the owner’s private use.

They haven’t decided what to do next, though lots of options are coming their way. They are considering options as varied as another new build, running a commercial staffing boat in the Gulf, and helping a smaller boat builder market and build a line of megayachts.

Oh yes, and brokers are calling with busy charter boats in need of an experienced captain/purser team.

Chris admitted he’s attracted to the commercial job because it’s got

scheduled time off. I have to say I hope we don’t lose these experienced crew to burnout.

Capt. Tim Cook has been freelancing this past year and is ready for a long-term post with a fun boat that gets used and moves around. To learn more about Tim, check out his “How I Got My Start in Yachting” story on page B2. It’ll shake you.

A captain now for about six years, Tim’s got a lot of experience fishing, diving and with all sorts of water sports and is great with kids, he says.

Capt. Bernard Charon has just taken over the former M/Y Dolce Far Niente and will oversee a six-month refit in Italy. The 155-foot Benetti will get a completely new interior as well as a 9-foot aft extension for a garage for the wave runners.

The new yacht will be called Kaleido Beau and, if schedules are met, will be in charter in the Med next summer.

Safe travels Bernard and we’ll see you on the docks in Sint Maarten next month.

Capt. Clint Cropper (former captain on M/Y Yalla, M/Y Waterford and M/Y Summer Wind) and his partner Mate Scott May has bought

and put into charter the 87-foot M/Y True Blue.

True Blue is a 1942 Wheeler built for the U.S. Coast Guard. She was converted to a private yacht in the 1980s and recently brought back to yacht quality for Alaskan charters.

Clint and Scott have been in the charter industry for about 15 years.

“We’re doing it anyway, so we would rather do it for ourselves,” Clint said from True Blue’s winter port in Seattle.

“I grew up in Alaska, and I’ve been wanting to go back.”

Capt. Jason Heath and his partner, Ortenca Koca, finished the summer onboard the 165-foot (50m) M/Y La Naturalle Dee as first officer and second stewardess. They spent October in Genoa, Italy, in one-month relief positions of mate and chief stewardess on the 115-ffot (35m) Benetti M/Y Satine, and are ready for their next adventure.

Good luck to everyone in their new positions or in their searches. Change is good, or so they say. Turn, turn, turn.

Let your friends and colleagues know what you’ve been up to. Send crew news to Editor Lucy Chabot Reed at lucy@ the-triton.com.

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CARIBBEAN NEWS

November 2005

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Antigua, Sint Maarten shows overlap, prepare to dazzle

By Carol M. Bareuther Charter yacht shows in Antigua and Sint Maarten next month spotlight the return of megayachts to the Caribbean.

“Most of the big boats don’t arrive in the Caribbean until later in November, so that’s not really enough time for them to be ready for the shows in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands,” said Dennis Vollmer, who owns the St. Thomas, USVI-based brokerage 1st Class Yacht Charters.

The Sint Maarten Charter Yacht Exhibition holds its second annual show from Dec. 5-8 while the Antigua Yacht Charter Show holds its 44th annual show from Dec. 7-12.

Traditionally, said Sarah Sebastian, manager of the Antigua Yacht Charter Show, “the dates have always been mid-week for flights and usually a Wednesday or Thursday in the first or second week in December.”

Lila Rosen, coordinator of the Sint Maarten Charteryacht Exhibition, said, “Before selecting our dates, we consulted advisers in brokerage and management houses to check on the earliest and latest availability of the yachts because it is a tight transit and preparation period. We then consulted with Antigua and worked around their established dates. Discussion

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also took place about to the yacht show and the two destinations no other activities. coordinating dates in the Our restaurants and future to overlap as little cafes are full of show as possible.” attendees, networking In spite of the dates together. No tourists are and mutual emphasis around as the show is on megayachts, there placed before the tourist are unique differences season begins on Dec. between the shows.

15. Hotels are still on “Sint Maarten is low summer rates. until a new show that is this date.” adapting to the expressed Time is a factor, so needs of the industry,” brokers often decide Rosen said.

Sailboats take day sails which show they want Plusses in Sint around Antigua during to attend.

Maarten, she said, are “Some do attend the show. PHOTO/LUCY REED “our proximity to the both shows, and others airport, our water taxi only attend one because service, the availability of hotel rooms it is a very busy time of year,” Rosen and villas at all price ranges, a central said. hospitality center with bar and food Often, Sebastian added, “the agents court, and business services like an look at the line up of yachts and see Internet café, computers with printers which ones they want to visit. We and rental telephones. We know people notice that the Sint Maarten show are here to do business and we want to has mainly yachts from Florida, and make it easy for them.”

Floridian companies, where as we have “The Antigua show is different all the European and New England because all the yachts at our three fleets. It depends which yachts brokers marinas are in the show,” Sebastian want to inspect to make bookings.” said. “There are no private yachts or 1st Class Yacht Charters’ Vollmer non-showing yachts at the marinas said, “We attend all the fall Caribbean during this time. The whole of English boat shows. We tried to pass up the and Falmouth Harbours are dedicated Antigua show every other year, but

that is exactly what many yachts also do so we ended up missing yachts on that plan. Now we go to Antigua every year. The Sint Maarten show is new, but the venue is easy to reach, costs are modest and the show attracts smaller megayachts, the ones we are more likely to book.”

Attendance at both shows looks to be strong this year.

“So far we have 120 yachts registered for the Antigua show and more coming in every day,” Sebastian said in mid October. “We usually get up to about 145 vessels and about 20 cancel due to rough weather or charters. In addition, we have 190 agents registered to date, but have had nearly 300 agents in the past.”

Yachts attending the Sint Maarten show number 40 as of mid-October.

“There’s always quite a few yachts that register at the last minute,” Rosen said.

While nearly all vessels in the Sint Maarten show are power, Antigua’s show boasts a mix of sailing and power yachts, both multihull and monohull.

Both shows feature yachts in the 80- to over 200-foot range.

Carol Bareuther is a freelance writer living in St. Thomas. Contact her through editorial@the-triton.com.

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The Triton

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November 2005

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November 2005

CARIBBEAN NEWS

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The Triton

US, BVI shows compete, complement each other

By Carol M. Bareuther Back-to-back boat shows in the British and U.S. Virgin Islands will showcase more than 100 luxury yachts and their crews for brokers from the Caribbean, U.S. mainland and Europe.

The show produced by the Charter Yacht Society of the BVI comes first, Nov. 4-6, with the Virgin Islands Charteryacht League’s event following from Nov. 8-10.

These fall shows give a shot of adrenalin to the industry, said Pamela Wilson, VICL general manager.

“The shows give charter yacht brokers Wilson an ability to see the yachts and crews firsthand, and better prepare themselves for clients’ questions,” she said.

“It also re-energizes them as

‘Holding the shows too early forces yacht participants to sprint back from their summer location in order to get here in time and can comprise their insurance coverage. Dates set too late encroach on Thanksgiving, a busy time for yachts.’

— Jane Oliver Secretary Charter Yacht Society, BVI

salespeople to see the islands, the beautiful yachts and the wonderful crews, which they carry back and share with their clients.”

Deciding which show goes first is a collaborative effort, said Jane Oliver, CYS secretary.

“Traditionally, we alternate who goes first each year,” Oliver said. “When a request is made to alter the sequence, there is a strong spirit of cooperation between the two organizations to facilitate.

“Typically, we like to choose dates, which fall between the first and second

week of November,” she said. “We do not like to go much earlier than this year’s dates, as yachts must remain below a certain latitude (usually 12 degrees 40 minutes) during hurricane season.

“Holding the shows too early forces yacht participants to sprint back from their summer location in order to get here in time and can comprise their insurance coverage,” she said.

“Dates set too late encroach on Thanksgiving, a busy time for yachts and a busy time for brokers and their families.”

Pros and cons

What are the pros and cons of being the first show?

The pros, said Oliver, “are that the brokers are fresh. Brokers planning on doing the Sint Maarten and/or Antigua show may opt to attend the earlier show and not the second.”

Cons, said the VICL’s Wilson, “include the inability for the participating yachts to provide more than an overnight familiarization trip for brokers and attending press, whereas after the second show, yachts can take their favorite broker out for a few nights and amaze them.”

What are the pros and cons of being the second show?

“The yachts have a few extra days to prepare,” Oliver said. Also, “a steady pace of viewing yachts has been established by this point and brokers have figured out how long they need to be on a yacht in order to see everyone they want and still obtain the

See SHOWS, page A9

The Triton

CARIBBEAN NEWS

www.the-triton.com

November 2005

A9

Governor’s residence or fundraising poker game SHOWS, from page A8 information they need to best represent that yacht.”

Cons, she added, “is that sometimes brokers schedule their departure on the last day of the second show. This means they may have to cut their viewing time short.”

“When brokers leave early, they miss some of the entertainment events, which are a social occasion to interact with the crews,” Wilson said.

Another con: “The dates of the second show can easily run too late and enter into the charter season when yachts will be on charter and unable to attend the show,” she said.

Their own personality

Over the years, each of these Virgin Islands-based boat shows has developed a character of its own.

“The BVI is known for its easy pace, laid-back approach and strong support from the local government,” Oliver said.

In the U.S. Virgin Islands, the show is more community based.

“Tortola’s shows are heavily supported by the local government and do a bit more of the pomp-andcircumstance British thing, while the St. Thomas show, with the exception of the National Park Services and

‘The shows have the same purpose – to show off our fleet.’

— Pamela Wilson Generel Manager, VICL

Department of Tourism, are more community supported,” Wilson said.

“The shows have the same purpose – to show our fleet of beautiful crewed yachts.”

Dennis Vollmer, a broker who owns 1st Class Yacht Charters and is based in St. Thomas, acknowledged that the BVI show in Tortola has more catamarans, a growing part of the business.

“They also have a few monohulls that have been fooled into believing they do not need to bother getting paperwork, which would allow St. Thomas pickups,” he said.

“While this may be true of those eight-passenger catamarans, sixpassenger yachts unable to pick up in the USVI get booked significantly less than those who do, other things being equal,” he said.

“The St. Thomas show has more of the less-expensive yachts and usually more motoryachts,” he added. “Brokers who intend on booking yachts in the Virgin Islands will attend both shows.

“The exception,” he said, “is the

European brokers who usually find their clients from across the Atlantic prefer to avoid the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“Plane connections into Tortola and St. Maarten work better for their clients.”

Everybody mingle

There are many highlights of this year’s shows.

At the BVI show, the chief minister and the BVI Tourism Board will host opening night festivities at Village Cay

Marina.

There will also be a cocktail reception at the governor’s residence, hosted by the governor, and a grand finale party at Last Resort, which will include prize giving.

The USVI-based show will include a fundraising poker night; Caribbeanstyle welcome gala complete with a catered dinner, open bar and steel pan music; and shopping opportunities that showcase Charlotte Amalie’s Main Street.

“These events are scheduled not

only to showcase the many merits of St. Thomas but also to allow the brokers to mix with crews in a social situation where they get to know how the crews interact with each other and potential charter guests,” said the VICL’s Wilson.

“Matching charter guests with the right crew is just as, if not more important than matching them to the right type of yacht.”

Carol Bareuther is a freelance writer living in St. Thomas. Contact her through editorial@the-triton.com.

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The Triton

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BUILDER NEWS

November 2005

A11

Butch Risker, new general manager for the repair and refit division of Broward Marine, started on Oct. 1.

PHOTO/LUCY REED

Broward hires new repair, refit general manager

By Lucy Chabot Reed Broward Marine has another new general manager.

Butch Risker, who has worked on yachts in South Florida for years, was hired Oct. 1 to take over Broward’s repair and refit division.

Most recently, Risker was operations manager at Pier 17, a post he took over this spring after Ft. Lauderdale Shipyard filed for protection under bankruptcy laws. Pier 17 was purchased in January by Greyhawk Marine Group, an affiliate of Flagship Marinas.

Renovations have begun to turn the former Summerfield Boatworks yard into buyable dock slips and storage areas called dockominiums.

“I would have never left Pier 17, but this was an opportunity I couldn’t resist,” Risker said. “These are two excellent companies. I hated to leave the old one. They were the best people I’ve ever worked for in my life. But I think I’m moving on to work with good people, too.”

Sources told The Triton that Broward had been trying to recruit Risker away from Pier 17 for months, and finally offered him an irresistible salary.

Risker said the yard has plans to redo the docks and the refit building, but he’s focusing first on hiring qualified crew as quickly as possible.

He said he is “desperately” looking for mechanics, electricians, carpenters and machinists.

Broward began construction on three new yacht designs this summer and has offered free haul-outs to old Browards in an effort to get them to return to the yard for service.

This is the second refit general manager the meayacht builder has had in as many months. In late September, Skip Hitt left the yard, less than two months after he was hired.

“Our philosophies didn’t work out and I chose to pursue other interests,” he said. “They’ve got a very good organization and I’ve got my organizational aspects, but they just didn’t mesh.”

Hitt has gone back to working his consulting business, Skip Hitt Marine Services. Contact Risker at the yard at 954-925-8118 or by e-mail at brisker@browardmarine.com.

the global leaders in crew placement & yacht management.

Contact Editor Lucy Chabot Reed at lucy@the-triton.com.

Tiara Yachts adds 300,000 feet Construction has begun on a 300,000-square-foot expansion to Tiara Yachts’ manufacturing facility in Holland, Mich. The project is expected to be complete in June.

The added space will allow the company to put all its manufacturing under one roof, giving it the opportunity to leverage state-of-the-art technologies, according to a statement by company president Bob Slikkers.

Put a world of experience to work for you ...

Most notably, the company will be incorporating robotics and expanded closed mold lamination processing (CMP).

“The most important outcome of our expansion will be our ability to better meet the needs of our customers.” Slikkers said. “We will be able to speed up our product development time.”

– Staff report

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A12

FROM THE FRONT

November 2005

www.the-triton.com

The Triton

Crew to insurers: What constitutes ‘permanent’?

INSURANCE, from page A1 crew health insurance.

Al Wallace, vice president of the marine division for IMG, opened the discussion by explaining that Miamibased MHG approached his company in 1993 to develop a health insurance plan for the yachting industry.

“The Florida Department of Insurance has known what we’ve been doing since 1994,” he said. “The state has told us that there will be changes in the way other companies are able to do business in Florida.”

Crew at the meeting wanted to understand what qualified them as residents in the state’s eyes.

“What constitutes ‘permanent’?” a captain asked. “I have property in Palma, in Costa Rica and in Ft. Lauderdale. I pay taxes in all those places, and I get my mail here. Does that make me a permanent resident of Florida?”

“I can’t answer that question,” Wallace said. “Our attorneys are addressing this with Florida. In the meantime, they consider you a permanent resident if you have a

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Independent insurance agent Chuck Bortell, left, networks after the event with Al Wallace, vice president of the marine division of IMG, Capt. Scott Sanders of Capital Marine Alliance and Capt. Doug Abbott. Wallace was one of the guest speakers at The Triton’s event.

PHOTO/DAVID REED domicile here, a residence, a driver’s license.”

“I vote here, I have a car here, I’m a U.S. citizen, but I don’t live here permanently,” this captain said.

Another captain pointed out that different state agencies and federal agencies such as immigration have different criteria by which to determine who is a resident and who is not.

“Most of us have a Florida address as a convenience,” this captain said. “No other state department sees me as a resident.”

“You fall in a crack,” Wallace said.

“The departments of insurance do not see that there is a need for crew insurance.”

Despite IMG’s ban from writing

new business or renewals in Florida, existing policies remain in effect.

MHG Managing Partner Andrew Dudzinski said his company is doing all it can to find alternatives for crew.

“Americans are the challenge,” he said. “We can find international insurance for other nationalities.

“We chose IMG because they are flexible and they pay their claims,” he said. “The state’s order to pay unpaid claims are a tiny proportion of all the millions of dollars that were paid.”

Of the $836,000 IMG was required to pay Florida, $261,344 was for previously denied claims. Those claims came from 13 “complaints” from 1997 to 2004,

See INSURANCE, page A13

More than 40 crew and industry professionals attended the event at Southport Rawbar in Ft. Lauderdale. Several captains asked questions of MHG Managing Partner Andrew Dudzinski, standing left.

PHOTO/LUCY REED

The Triton

www.the-triton.com

CREW HEALTH INSURANCE

Vessel, owner resposibile for crew health, too

By Michael R. Karcher On Oct. 5, The Triton held a meeting to discuss health insurance for crew members. As it is becoming clear, individual health insurance is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain.

The discussion focused on the costs and problems in obtaining individual health insurance for crew members. But Karcher before you panic, remember that the vessel owner and employers have certain duties to their crew as well.

A crew member who is injured or becomes ill during his employment is entitled to receive health care from his employer. A seaman employed aboard a vessel is entitled to maintenance (subsistence) and cure (medical care) when injured, or taken ill in the course of employment.

An injured or ill seaman can assert this right against the employer as well as the vessel. It does not depend on the negligence of the employer but is rather a matter of liability without fault. An employer has an obligation to pay maintenance and cure for any

injury or illness that occurs during the employment relationship.

This injury does not have to occur aboard the vessel. If a seaman is on shore leave, the right for maintenance and cure for an illness or injury suffered ashore can still be maintained because a seaman is considered to still be in the ship’s service. The theory is that you would not be in this dangerous or foreign port if not for the service to the vessel, and while one is on shore leave they are still considered in the ship’s service.

If one is on a vacation, as distinguished from shore leave, the injury is not compensable. The crew member must still be subject to the call of the vessel. This is especially true in cases where one lives and works aboard the vessel as it travels from port to port.

Modern yacht crews, just like their historical forefathers, often live aboard and travel with the yacht.

They can be in the service of the ship 24/7 and therefore, should they fall ill or become injured, they have a right to maintenance and cure from their employers. Medical care is the “cure.”

This obligation terminates when the seaman reaches maximum medical improvement (where one is not going to get any better).

The vessel and her owners have to have sufficient insurance to cover the

MHG: With high volume, domestic insurers might cover crew, but at high cost INSURANCE, from page A12 Wallace said. In that same time frame, IMG/Sirius paid more than $116 million in claims, and no other state required either company to pay denied claims, he said.

“The DOI of this state has people that don’t fit neatly into the slots they’ve created,” Dudzinski said. “If we had enough volume, we could get a domestic company to underwrite it, but the regulations are different in every state, and it likely would have a price tag you would not want to pay.”

“International citizens we can help,” Dudzinski said. “If you are a U.S. citizen, talk to Anita [Warwick] or Chuck [Bortell].

Bortell is an independent insurance broker who first brought the idea of health insurance for yacht crew to MHG in the early 1990s.

“This is a difficult period but what’s going to happen eventually for crew is that they’re going to have products that aren’t dicey,” he said, adding that he can

write “terrific coverage” for Americans.

Bortell owns Crew Insurance Associates in Ft. Lauderdale (954491-3422. Warwick owns Seven Seas Health, also in Ft. Lauderdale (954-7639787.)

One captain who spoke with maritime lawyer Michael Karcher after the event said crew should know that the yacht’s P&I insurance likely will cover them if they have a serious accident.

“If we can’t get insurance, there’s a safety net with the yacht insurance,” he said. “The yacht is covered and the individual is covered if they aren’t in between jobs.”

[For Karcher’s explanation of this situation, see story above.]

In the meantime, crew wanted to know how long it would take for IMG and Florida to sort out their differences.

“I wish I knew,” Wallace said. “I wish I knew.”

Contact Editor Lucy Chabot Reed at lucy@the-triton.com.

crew members should they become hurt or injured in the service of the ship. This does not mean you should not have your own health insurance, for when you are on vacation or out of the service of the vessel, there may not be health coverage by the ship.

Crew in this industry should carry out an insurance survey. Examine the coverages provided by the vessel’s liability insurance, any health care policies purchased on behalf of the crew as well as any individual policies you might have purchased yourself.

There can be an overlap between “ship’s” coverage and your private coverage.

Often the vessel’s liability insurance is saved for catastrophic circumstances as opposed to minor illness. It is not something you would use for preventative care or checkups, for example.

Also, if you fall ill while in service of the ship, you should not have to pay deductibles. Check and see if there are any gaps in coverage. While the vessel has certain obligations to her crew, you need to make sure that you are protected.

Michael R. Karcher is a South Florida maritime attorney. Contact him at mrk@ukandk.com or 305-661-2888.

November 2005

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November 2005

NEWS BRIEFS

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The Triton

Ft. Lauderdale secures grant to study dredging ICW The Florida Inland Navigational District has invested $500,000 to conduct a feasibility study into dredging parts of the Intracoastal Waterway through Broward County.

Begun in September, the study will study the conditions of the ICW and the Dania Cut-off Canal to determine what areas should be dredged, how deep and what sort of material would be dredged up.

The study will take about nine months, said Susan Engle, owner and president of EnviroCare, a Ft. Lauderdale marine environmental firm. She is also a member of FIND, the state agency with taxing authority to maintain the ICW through Florida.

“The New River is not in this stage, but it will come up,” she said. “If we can deepen the Dania Cut-Off Canal, we can grow this industry in Broward County. That’s my goal.”

The study will also determine what the costs of a dredging project would be, and Engle said she hopes to combine efforts with Broward County, which is planning to dredge Port Everglades to about 40 feet.

– Lucy Chabot Reed

Tiger lawsuit to stay in Florida

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A federal court in Miami ruled in late September to let a privacy lawsuit filed by golfer Tiger Woods to continue in Florida, despite an agreement he had with the yacht builder to hear litigation in Christensen’s home state of Washington.

The court also ruled that an order prohibiting Christensen from the unauthorized use of Woods’ name or photographs of his boat will remain in place.

Woods filed his lawsuit during last year’s Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show alleging that the luxury yacht builder violated his right to privacy by making it known that Woods had purchased the Christensen yacht M/Y Privacy, an allegation that Christensen refutes.

On Sept. 23, the judge denied Christensen’s request to move the case to its home state of Washington, despite a contract that states the venue for “any suit or action ... filed by any party to enforce this Agreement or in connection with the subject matter of this Agreement, ... shall be in the Superior Court for Clark County, Washington,” according to a statement by the builder.

“We firmly believe that the evidence will show Christensen violated and exploited the Woods’ valuable rights for the company’s own commercial gain,” said J. Douglas Baldridge, the Woods’ Washington, D.C.-based lawyer.

The suit seeks more than $50 million.

Christensen’s legal counsel, Casey Marshall of English, Lane, and Marshall, said, “With a 3-foot Christensen logo on the side of the yacht, how could anyone not know it was a Christensen?”

Mega-marina propsed in St. Croix

Officials with Gallows Bay Development Partners gave a group of St. Croix business owners a first look at its proposal to build a megayacht marina and commercial complex there, according to a story in the Virgin Islands Daily News on Oct. 5.

Michael Fields, a partner in Gallows Bay Development Partners, said the marina would be able to accommodate 40 to 50 small yachts, 14 megayachts and three superyachts or small cruise ships, the newspaper said. The complex features 140,000 square feet of commercial space, which would be built in four phases. The project, which is estimated to cost about $47 million, would be privately funded, the paper reported.

Crowley acquires Titan

Crowley Maritime Corp. has acquired Titan Maritime LLC, a worldwide salvage company based in Ft. Lauderdale, according to a statement by the company. The newly acquired company will be known as Titan, a Crowley company.

Former owners David Parrot and Dick Fairbanks will remain as part of the management team, as will all Titan employees.

Crowley’s Todd Busch will join the new company as vice president and relocate from Long Beach, Calif., to Ft. Lauderdale.

Titan will remain headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale and will continue with salvage and wreck removal as its core business, the statement said.

Yard opens management division

Two marine industry veterans have launched a yacht management division at Merrill-Stevens in Miami.

To operate out of Ft. Lauderdale, the division will be headed by Michael Reardon, formerly of Fraser Yachts.

The division offers yacht management services including charter marketing, charter brokerage and crew placement.

Reardon worked as a loftsman for Broward Marine in 1984, and was a charter captain. He has been with Fraser since 1994.

Lynette Hendry has joined the company as director of charter services, which includes the building and marketing of a Merrill-Stevens charter fleet and operating the corresponding charter brokerage. Hendry began her charter services career with The Sacks Group in 1988.

The Triton

www.the-triton.com

BUILDER PROFILE

November 2005

A15

Palmer Johnson Yachts has a sporty new look

By Lisa H. Knapp Sleek. Hot. Sexy.

That’s what megayacht captains say about Palmer Johnson’s new 120-foot sport yacht series.

Pretty. Fast.

No wonder.

“This is not my grandfather’s Palmer Johnson,” said Mike Kelsey Jr., president of the Sturgeon Bay, Wisc., yacht builder.

Palmer Johnson Yachts (PJ) has transformed itself with a self-financed production line of sleek yachts that captains compare to driving Ferraris.

The yachts, with metallic look-at-mecolors, would complement any James Bond movie’s fantasy water scene.

It’s part of Kelsey’s strategy of building a recognizable brand that looks European and abandoning the days of custom one-offs and unrelated tri-decks shaped like birthday cakes that strained the companies coffers.

The company has launched five yachts this year, four of them 120-foot sport yachts, including M/Y Vanquish, the company’s striking aquamarinecolored offering that was scheduled debut at the 2005 Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show.

M/Y Cover Drive, 2003’s highly published launch, is the prototype of the sports yacht series. Now known as Birgitta, the yacht “is a very new design for us,” Capt. Jean Quinet said.

Quinet likens the yacht’s steering station to driving a convertible sports car, he said, a unique use of the roof.

“The wheel and throttle and dash board are right in front of you; the seats are lower and are just above the deck, with space to stretch your legs.”

The steering system inside the closed bridge is separate from the dining room and salon, providing a quieter work area away from music and television that is better for navigation, Quinet said.

“You come to PJ because you want something different,” said Capt. Rick Kemper, skipper of 120-foot M/Y Mostro, PJ’s last custom-built boat, launched in 2000.

“My boss wanted a sleek boat, a high-speed, low-profile vessel,” he said.

“The designs are unique and pretty.

Dan Lenard builds sexy boats, plus PJ’s history makes it unique.”

The sport yachts have a sweeping window design, even on the new sailboat line. People recognize Hummers when they stare at the grill, Kelsey said. Aston Martins have curves.

“We want to build boats people can recognize,” Kelsey said. “Style defines yachts. Look at the lines, windows – you’ll know it’s one of ours. We’re building with a look.”

Everyone on the water, including fish, will look at these yachts’ new colors. Gold, silver, pearl, sapphire

Mike Kelsey Jr. wants to build a recognizable brand. PHOTO/LISA H. KNAPP blue metallic flake, even black are distinguishing colors, Kelsey said, adding that most builders use white.

New composite tops and aluminum hulls should help Palmer Johnson be more efficient and profitable.

“We have more experience in aluminum yacht construction than any (U.S.) company,” Kelsey said. “My father was a geologist. We have 150 new metals of different chemical makeups of aluminum that are lighter, faster material.”

Few yachts in the market match Cover Drive’s curves.

“It is a piece of art,” Quinet said.

“People say ‘wow’ when they look.”

Capt. Russell Morris and his boss saw Cover Drive at its debut at the 2004 Miami International Boat Show and had to have one right away.

“It’s more a day boat but we saw potential and wanted one,” Morris said, now master of M/Y Stanley, the second in the 120 series, launched in May. The Awlgrip metallic pearl paint looks gray in the sun, he said, adding that repairing nicks is not simple but doable.

“We changed the layout totally, ripped a cabin out and made crew quarters bigger,” Morris said of Stanley.

Stanley also has a bigger passarelle and carries two tenders and two jet skis.

Although it is a production-line boat, Stanley’s sundeck was customized to the owner’s specifications. There are two wing stations making docking easier, Morris said. Its singulartype composition makes it easier to maintain and wash down, too.

“Palmer Johnson has a megayachtbuilding mentality that it has applied successfully to smaller, sportier yachts of 36 meters,” Morris said. “America is waking up to this type of boat.”

If caught in bad weather, Stanley stabilizes and maintains a fast cruising speed with MTU4000B12 engines.

Building four, five or six more in the series will allow PJ to rectify unforeseen issues and eventually may lead to perfection, Morris said. Kelsey would at least like the new line to rival the company’s glory days of the 1970s when his father led the company. He keeps his father’s old work boots in his office across from Intrepid’s trim tab, a sailboat built by Palmer Johnson

in 1962 that was an America’s Cup defender in 1967.

“We were it in the 1970s,” he said.

“We shined.”

This 21st Century shift back has motivated Kelsey to purchase land from nearby Bay Shipbuilding to keep pace with growth. It employs about 200 people and 70 subcontractors. Kemper, a former PJ delivery captain, is pleased with the service from the production and warranty staff.

“I still call PJ now and get an answer in 10 minutes from the guy who built the equipment,” Kemper said.

The company debuts its 150-foot super sport yacht, a larger version of its 120 series, along with two 123-foot raised pilothouse motoryachts made of fiberglass, and a 130-foot sport yacht at the Miami boat show in February.

“Keep your head down, build boats, deliver boats,” Kelsey said. “That’s how this place was built.”

Contact freelance writer Lisa H. Knapp at lisa@the-triton.com.

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Sandy Taylor – Yacht Manager

Tel: (954) 522-3344 • Fax: (954) 522-9500 email: sandy@njyachts.com

A16

FROM THE FRONT

November 2005

www.the-triton.com

The Triton

Busy yachts maximize sea time for ambitious captains FRACTION, from page A1

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fractionally owned yachts have become more popular in recent years, giving captains and crews access to more sea time and even some management experience. But it can be difficult for crews, too, since some fractionally owned yachts schedule up to 40 weeks a year of use.

“I’m in this position to maximize my sea time on the water,” Forderer said.

Running hard on his 109-ton vessel will enable Forderer to upgrade to a USCG 500-ton license and MCA Officer of the Watch. Ultimately, he will accomplish in one year what normally takes two.

Like jets, fractionally owned yachts are owned by multiple people who each own a fraction or share of the asset. Different companies design the ownership differently, but basically the owners share use and split costs.

Bellissima is in the fractional ownership program with YachtSmart, a Ft. Lauderdale-based company.

YachtSmart hired Luxury Yacht Group to manage Bellissima and balance the interests of the yacht’s multiple owners and her crew.

Trips are scheduled with a 48-hour turnaround to give crew members a day off, assuming that everything is well planned and that the management company has day workers and subcontractors already lined up, Forderer said.

“With 30-plus guest weeks a year, crew can only work so much and they need a break,” Forderer said.

As captain, Forderer gets six to eight weeks vacation a year, but even that must be planned. During part of his vacation in October, he attended International Yachtmaster Training to upgrade his license.

Crew, managers can be friends

While captains and yacht management companies sometimes clash, they can be a captain’s best resource on a fractionally owned yacht.

“There is a much stronger relationship between the crew and management company,” said Rupert Connor, president of Luxury Yacht Group. “It requires a greater commitment from the crew and the management company.”

Running such a yacht is more intensive than chartering, he said, so vacation time allowances, bonuses and benefits for crew are increased, Connor said.

“The goal is to maximize the usage time for the owners,” he said. “This is where the efficiency and economies of scale come in.”

Fractionally owned yachts are measured in how many weeks they run

each year. While a charter yacht may be considered busy at 20 weeks a year, fractionally owned yachts often run 25 or 30 weeks a year. One company, Monocle Fractional Yachts, schedules its boats at 40 weeks.

Monocle President Loren Simkowitz likened yachts to office buildings, with the management company controlling the asset like any other land-based business. It has 75 years of experience in asset management, he said.

The fractional yacht business is profitable because of volume, he said.

Monocle has 30 boats in its program, with 12 more under construction or purchase. Each runs 40 weeks, with 12 random weeks for yard time. Five owners split 10 shares of a yacht, each having access to the yacht for eight weeks.

Without careful planning, working on a fractionally owned yacht was harder than working the busiest charter, only without the tips, said Capt. Warren Thompson, who is now master of privately owned M/Y Pacific Mariner.

“It was a nightmare,” Thompson said of his time on a fractionally owned boat. He was the third captain in six months. The yacht had 10 owners and ran with 24-hour turnarounds.

“The people running it were investors and did not understand yachting,” he said. “It needs to be managed so the captain is not crazy.”

While careful planning is vital, it doesn’t have to come from a management company.

Capt. Max Eade runs and manages M/Y Avignon, a 62-foot fractionally owned Fairline in the YachtSmart program. It’s his first captain’s job and he said it was a good opportunity to get sea time, network and visit new places.

“Yes, at times this can be busier than the busiest charter,” said Eade, who worked his up from a deckhand on charter boats. “But we stay at hotels in port, since she is a 62-footer, which gives us a break.”

The one problem, of course, is that every owner wants the boat at Christmas. The scheduling is the worst part of running a fractionally owned boat, he said.

“You can get burned out very easily, so make sure you take your vacation,” Eade said, noting that every three weeks he gets one day off. He uses relief crew during yard periods and vacation.

“We’re very busy but this is rewarding,” he said. “The owners do look after you. We do get tips. This was a great way to start off my captain’s career.”

Contact freelance writer Lisa H. Knapp at lisa@the-triton.com.

The Triton

www.the-triton.com

CARIBBEAN NEWS

November 2005

A17

Yacht Haven USVI due to open 2005-06 season

By Carol M. Bareuther No one visiting St. Thomas’ port harbor of Charlotte Amalie can miss the tremendous activity at the site of the new Yacht Haven USVI. “The facility is in its first phase of construction for a marina and supporting land structures,” said Elie Finegold, vice president of the New York-based Island Capital Group, parent company of IN-USVI LLC and owner of Yacht Haven USVI. “As of midSeptember, we’ve driven 486 pilings for the marina alone. This doesn’t include the nearly 4,200 compacted stone columns we have put in place on the upland area to bring structural integrity to our foundations.”

The marina and associated landbased retail buildings are on the fast track to open for the season, Finegold said. This would allow the facility to garner much of the lucrative megayacht business that ventures to the Caribbean each winter.

Currently, many of these yachts tie up along the Charlotte Amalie waterfront where there are no facilities and limited security.

The new Yacht Haven docks have

“The yacht club will be a place where they can have a meal, relax and enjoy athletic facilities. It will also be a place that can serve as control central for major regattas and world class sailing events.”

— Elie Finegold Vice president Island Captial Group been pre-fabricated in Trinidad using the latest construction technology, and are being set on concrete fixed piers, Finegold said.

“The main docks will be 18 feet wide with finger piers between 10 and 18 feet wide,” he said.

Hi-tech in-slip services will include fueling, waste oil disposal, wire and wireless communications, water, electricity, and 600 amps of three-phase power.

Phase 1 of the development will feature 50 slips, one capable of docking a 400-foot megayacht, with 6,000 linear feet of slip space overall.

This phase will also include 83,000 square feet of marine-oriented retail space, 31,000 square feet of office space, 12 luxury condominiums, 400 parking spaces, and a public access dinghy dock.

A new yacht club facility will be part of the development’s Phase II construction.

“It’s premature to say when Phase II will start, other than to say it will be within a year of Phase I being completed,” Finegold said. “We want to be able to learn and process information from the construction of Phase I and incorporate it into Phase II. However, we will work to have the heavy construction complete as early as possible, so there will be no interruption of service in the marina.”

The new yacht club will be

positioned on the ground floor of a hexagonal-shaped building constructed at the end of a 230-foot pier. A fine dining restaurant will sit atop the complex where diners will be able to have a bird’s eye view of the harbor.

“The yacht club will be an amenity for members and guests of members,” Finegold said. “It will be a place where they can have a meal, relax and enjoy athletic facilities. It will also be a place that can serve as control central for major regattas and world class sailing events.”

Phase II will include 30,000 square

feet of retail space, another standalone restaurant, a 70-unit hotel, an additional 10,600 linear feet of dockage space, a 25,000-square-foot convention center and 200 more parking spaces.

“We’re tremendously excited with the progress to date and expect work to continue along the timeline projected,” Finegold said.

For more information and a web cam, visit www.yachthavenusvi.com.

Carol Bareuther is a freelance writer living in St. Thomas. Contact her through editorial@the-triton.com.

A18

SEEN AROUND TOWN

November 2005

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8/15/05

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HALL OF FAME MARINA

westrec marinas The perfect port to call home.

www.the-triton.com

The Triton

Capt. George Llop watched over a couple of Turkish sailing yachts in October as they came off one transport vessel and awaited another. The larger of the two megayachts, the M/S Sea Fox, is 93 feet (30 m) and comes complete with a Turkish bath in the forepeak. The yachts were en route to Mexico for charter service and day sails.

PHOTO/LUCY REED

HARBOUR TOWNE MARINA

SUNRISE HARBOR MARINA

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In the heart of Fort Lauderdale Beach and minutes to Port Everglades, this marina is a four season port. The first marina in Fort Lauderdale to receive the Clean Marina designation from the State of Florida, Hall of Fame’s mission is to provide guests with 100% satisfaction.

With over 20 marine businesses on site, guests find everything they need in one place. The annual winner of Broward County’s Emerald Award, the Green Boatyard Award, 2003 Marina of the Year, and the first marina in South Florida to receive simultaneous Clean Marina and Clean Boatyard designations.

A favorite of mega yacht captains and crew, this marina sets the standard for world class facilities.

Steps away from the exclusive shops of the Galleria Mall and walking distance to beautiful Fort Lauderdale Beach, the service and privacy here is unparalleled. A State of Florida designated Clean Marina.

In the heart of the Caribbean in a protected deepwater harbor, this new marina complex provides state-of-the-artfacilities and a perfect stopover for those cruising yachts. An international Blue Flag facility, the Marina offers personalized service, and a perfect spot for cruisers and mega yachts alike.

• Yachts up to 135' • Olympic Hall of Fame Swimming Pools • Cable TV, Wireless Internet Access • One Block from the Beach

• Wet Slips for Vessels up to 200' • Dry Storage for Boats to 43' • Fuel Dock, Bait and Tackle • 88-Ton Travel Lift • Marine Services Complex

• Mega Yachts up to 200' • Heated Pool, Luxury Fitness Center • Full Resort Amenities • Wireless Internet Access • 24-hour Gated Security

• Yachts up to 350' • Restaurants and Crew Bar • New Fuel Facility • 100-Ton Travel Lift, 50 & 60 Hertz Power • Duty-Free Zone

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shmarina@fdn.com

pamarina@portjam.com

954.926.0300

w w w. w e s t r e c . c o m

John Louis

Navigating the good life

The Triton

www.the-triton.com

SEEN AROUND TOWN

November 2005

A19

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Mate Josh Sills on M/Y Carry On, an 80-foot Burger built in 1973, helps finish up a refit in October before the yacht’s season begins at Ocean Reef this month. Watch for the yacht at Vintage Weekend with Capt. Craig Jones onboard.

PHOTO/LUCY REED

The M/Y R Rendezvous, a 110-foot Christensen, sank in Ft. Lauderdale on Oct. 19 in about 8 feet of water in the Intracoastal Waterway.

Details as to why she sank were sketchy as The Triton went to press and the whole town was preparing for the boat show and a hurricane.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF A TRITON READER

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A22

SEEN AROUND TOWN

November 2005

www.the-triton.com

The Triton

YACHT TOYS ����������

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Tug Shillelagh joins TowBoat

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Tug Shillelagh returns to South Florida, where she was designed, to help pull megayachts on the New River.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TOWBOAT US FT. LAUDERDALE

2325 S. FEDERAL HIGHWAY FORT LAUDERDALE, FL

954.764.1910

TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale has added two tugs to its fleet, including Shillelagh, which once home ported in Dania Beach.

Shillelagh is a 26-foot custom steel tug with twin 220 hp John Deere 6068 engines with 3.1 gears and 34-inch propellers. It was originally designed for salvage work both offshore and inshore, where a vessel of compact size with substantial power was required.

“The length, maneuverability and power of Shillelagh make it the perfect tug to use in assisting our yacht customers on the New River,” said Capt.

Barney Hauf of TowBoat. “No other tug in the area has that combination.”

According to Mike Brown, the last owner of Shillelagh, he bought the boat from the owner of Universal Alco formerly located in Dania. The boat was only partially built. Brown spent hours drawing tug designs and when he saw the design of this tug, he wanted it.

Brown came to Florida, bought the

tug and took it to North Carolina where he spent the next two years finishing it.

TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale bought her this summer.

TowBoat also recently launched a 1977 26-foot Dusky, formerly a Mississippi fishing boat. The Marlin tower was removed and extensive fiberglass and metal fabrication work was completed to transform it into a commercial towing vessel.

It is now equipped with twin Crusader inboard engines, a state-ofthe-art fendering system and push knee, two VHF radios for ease of communications and a full compliment of towing and salvage gear.

TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale was founded in 1989 by Capt. Larry Acheson. Recent growth resulted in the opening of a third port and the promotion of several captains, along with the recent purchase of these tugs, the company said in a statement.

– Staff report

The Triton

www.the-triton.com

BROWARD COUNTY NEWS

Manatee plan blames yachts ED NOTE: This is a letter to members of the Florida Yacht Brokers Association but holds important information for megayacht operators anywhere. This letter was written and distributed by the FYBA, the Marine Industries Association of South Florida (MIASF) and Ft. Lauderdale company EnviroCare. It has been edited for space.

By July 2006, Florida has mandated that Broward County have an approved Boat Facility Siting Plan as part of its Manatee Protection Plan. The draft plan essentially was a moratorium on any new marine facility development.

A revised draft includes a maximum allowance for slips for Broward County.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) issued comments on the draft submitted by the Broward County Environmental Protection Department. Two comments were directed toward the negative impact that megayachts are perceived to have on manatees. The assumption is that because of their presence, size, draft and travel patterns, megayachts pose a greater threat to the manatee, and high manatee mortality in the port is most likely due to megayacht rather than commercial activity.

We have designed a survey that will provide us with the factual information that will disprove these assumptions.

Please take a few minutes to answer the survey as accurately as possible.

The deadline is Nov. 1. Complete the survey online at www.surveymonkey. com/s.asp?u=703101422695, or answer the questions and fax to 954-730-7717.

1. What waterway corridors are traveled by the yacht(s) under your responsibility while in Broward County? ICW (North of 17th St. Causeway); ICW (North of Sunrise

Blvd.); ICW (South of Dania Canal); Dania Cut-off Canal; New River; South Fork (Marina Mile); North Fork 2. Do you encounter navigation restrictions? If yes, are they due to: Waterway width; Waterway depth; Overhead powerlines; Other 3. Please provide average draft, beam propeller diameter and propulsion systems for each of the following size ranges: 80-100 feet; 100-150 feet; 150200 feet; more than 200 feet.

4. Which months do the yacht(s) for which you are responsible travel in Broward’s waterways?

5. What are your purposes for traveling in Broward’s waterways?

(Include all that apply): Visit Boatyard, Visit Marina; Attend Boat Show; Dock at your residence; Visit Hotel/ Resort/Restaurant; Dock at rented residential dock; Provisioning; Between Chartering; Other 6. What is the average length of stay of the yacht(s) for which you are responsible in Broward?

7. How many destinations do your yachts visit in Broward County a year?

8. Are you aware of manatee speed zone signs in Broward County?

9. Are you familiar with the various ways to watch out for manatees?

Anyone interested is encouraged to attend a meeting of marine facility stakeholders and yacht brokers on Nov. 3 at the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum, 300 Gulf Stream Way, Dania Beach.

Registration is at 5:30 p.m. with the presentation beginning at 6 p.m. The survey results will be discussed, as well as suggested solutions for ensuring both manatee protection and marine industry growth.

For more information, contact Becky at 954-730-7707.

November 2005

A23

A24

OBITUARY

November 2005

www.the-triton.com

The Triton

Well-known painter dies

By Bill Leonard

Custom Yacht Canvas and Upholstery For Your Luxury Motor or Sport fishing Yacht

C-Worthy Corp.

Web: www.cworthycorp.com

241 S.W. Court Pompano Beach, FL 33060 Tel: 954.784.7370 Fax: 954.784.1458

e-mail: info@cworthycorp.com

On Oct. 6, Kiet “Kit” Vuong, long-time painter at Luu Marine & Associates, died of cancer. He was 41 years old.

Vuong relocated from Vietnam and had lived in South Florida for more than 20 years. He entered the yacht refinishing business working alongside Tung Luu. He also worked for Broward Yachts in the fairing and painting department.

When Luu established his own yacht refinishing business, Vuong joined him and was his foreman for 16 years.

His dedication to the company and the crews that worked under his guidance has been unparalleled. He was well respected in the yachting community and by his co-workers.

Vuong had a way of gaining the trust and respect of people he worked with.

His ever-present smile was as genuine as the man wearing it. Always happy and no matter what problem he faced, that smile would be there.

He had fun with his crews and was known to bring joy to the job. He was close to all who worked with him and could often be found after work playing cards or talking with his men. Vuong was the most dedicated friend and employee anyone could ask for, working while battling his illness.

He is survived by his wife, Hong Brown, and 11 brothers and sisters in Texas and California. He will be missed greatly by all of us and his smile will be ever present in our hearts.

The South will miss you, young man.

Bill Leonard is vice president of Benetti Service USA. The staff of Luu Marine contributed to this report.

The Triton

FROM THE FRONT

www.the-triton.com

November 2005

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Slip shortage could be key to Ft. Lauderdale’s undoing BRIDGE, from page A1 service he expected.

“I respect them more than the people who say ‘Yeah, we’ll be there’ and then come start the job then leave,” he said.

Another problem these captains see in Ft. Lauderdale is the shortage of dockage.

While boats in their range of 75 to 150 feet generally can find slips, they recognized the mini-monopolies emerging at marinas and empathized with the shortage of slips for larger vessels.

“Maybe a little competition would help,” one captain said. “One company owns three marinas – whether it’s that group that owns Bahia Mar [Blackstone Group] or Westrec. Ft. Lauderdale needs more marinas.

“There’s all that land on the Dania Cut-Off Canal they should be developing,” he said. “We need more slips in this town.”

160 feet already have a difficult time finding places to haul out in South Florida, so coming here or staying here for serious refit work isn’t really an option.

“I don’t see anyone doing anything here to handle big boats,” one captain said. “Big boats have to dock in the port and have the yard guys come in and do what they can. The big boats, out of necessity, will go somewhere else.”

Contact Editor Lucy Chabot Reed at lucy@the-triton.com. If you are a yacht captain and find yourself in Ft. Lauderdale at the beginning of the month, contact us for an invitation to our Bridge luncheon. The next lunch will be held Nov. 3 for couples or teams that include a captain. Space is limited.

Moving to Stuart

More than the level of quality of service, these captains saw the slip shortage as the main reason some boats may leave the area.

“Some of the subs I use are talking about moving north to Stuart because boats are going up there,” one captain said. “At $5.75 a foot for dockage, that’s $1,000 a night to park here.”

One thing Ft. Lauderdale has going for it, at least in the eyes of these captains, is the people who work at customs and immigration.

“We’re lucky in South Florida,” one captain noted. “Immigration people are used to dealing with yachts.

“I always tell the crew when they are going on vacation to fly into Ft. Lauderdale because at least when you say you work on a yacht, they know what a yacht is.”

“And the people are nice,” another said. “Immigration seems easier. For a period, it was really difficult.”

Still, they had suggestions on how to make it a bit easier for the regulars.

“They already have all my basic information and that should be good enough because of the patterns I travel,” one captain said. “They should randomly check us so we won’t be tempted to smuggle anything in, but I’m a known captain on a known boat. I should be able to call in.”

Others agreed, and thought that day might come once government agencies figure out how to work together.

“It’s just going to take time.”

Large yachts out of options

While these captains seemed to want to keep Ft. Lauderdale in their sights, their brethren on larger yachts have run out of options.

Megayachts larger than about

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Attendees of The Triton’s November Bridge lunch were, from left, Richard Utnik (M/Y Rice Quarters), Bernhard Friedrich (M/Y Lys-Do), Dale Smith (M/Y Triumphant Lady), William Widman (looking), Charlie Enyeart (M/Y Lady Marion) and Charlie Kiss (M/Y Strait Lady).

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Leadership training Dale Carnegie offers leadership and management training for yachties.

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EarningYourStripes CAREER NEWS FOR CAPTAINS & CREWS

The Triton

November 2005

www.the-triton.com

Long-term, qualified crew worth the money Spit and Polish

By Lisa H. Knapp

M

any young crew find it uncomfortable to discuss money in a job interview. But there are some ways to negotiate money and other benefits that can make the conversation easier.

Get the job first, then negotiate the terms, said Graeme Lord, director of yacht management at International Yacht Collection in Ft. Lauderdale.

“It puts me off when money is brought up too soon in a situation,” he said.

Negotiations should result in a win-win. One card for crew members to play in negotiations is job

You can negotiate time off or having maritime school tuition paid to upgrade your skills while being paid your salary.

– Capt. Walter Rowan

longevity, assuming they’ve remained in previous positions longer than one year. Longevity is the single most important thing to owners, Lord said.

“I’m always open to negotiation with the right person, especially if they showed longevity in their previous job,” said Capt. Walter Rowan, former master of M/Y Roxana.

But if you think you’re worth more than the offer, Rowan said, you have to give a reason. Additional skills such as diving, massage training, culinary training and certifications make crew more desirable and therefore worth more in the job market.

Besides salary, there are other areas to negotiate.

“You can negotiate time off or having maritime school tuition paid to upgrade your skills while being paid your salary,” Rowan said, adding that a desire for those benefits show a person’s real attitude. If it’s all about the money, Rowan said he may pass.

“I want them to stay one or two years,” he said, noting that travel and crew agency fees add up.

One thing crew should remember is that jobs are often paid by the position, not the person, Rowan said. An overqualified deckhand is still being paid to be a deckhand.

New crew with little experience should take jobs at an acceptable minimum, advised Larry Ebbs, operations manager at International Yacht Collection. Then, if you like the job, the money will grow as your career builds. Bonuses are common, he said.

Another negotiating tip is to ask for a review and raise. Say something like, ”If I deliver more than you expect in six months, will you agree now to give me a raise at that time?” said Larry Ebbs, operations manager at International Yacht Collection.

You should know what to expect and when, agreed

Karina Roholte Befeld, president of Elite Crew International, a crew agency in Ft. Lauderdale.

Crew agents should have negotiated a salary range ahead of time, Befeld said, so the crew member should know that going in.

“Let the captain come out with the number first,” Befeld said. And never discuss money at the first interview.

If the salary offered is a problem, think it over, Befeld said. Crew working with a placement agency should let their agent call the captain and negotiate more. No one should feel pressured to accept an offer, she said. And if you can’t commit to a job for a year, don’t take it.

“There’s a seat for everyone,” she said, “but that may not be your seat.”

Contact freelance writer Lisa H. Knapp at lisa@the-triton.com.

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November 2005

HOW I GOT MY START IN YACHTING

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The Triton

Crab fishing career ends when friends die at sea

By Capt. Tim Cook I was working as estate manager for a wealthy family in McCall, Idaho. I was fired for using my company truck to haul my snowmobile to town so the mechanic could work on it. Later I found out my supervisor wanted and got my job (local politics, even there.)

So I decided to follow a childhood dream of fishing for a living. I first went to Seattle to get on a tuna boat going to Midway or Hawaii, but I was about 2 weeks late arriving and all the boats had already left. There was one boat left on the docks at Fisherman’s Wharf,

there for last-minute repairs. I struck up a conversation with the engineer who happened to be working on deck. I asked if they were all crewed up and he said they were.

He told me to go to Kodiak Island, Alaska, and get on a crab boat that was going cod fishing. Crab season was over for the year. The next morning, I hopped a flight to Kodiak and pounded the docks from the minute I landed.

After two days, I got a break on a boat called the F/V Sylvia Star. That turned out to be fortunate. I was on a “highliner” and didn’t know what one was. A highliner is one of the top boats

in the fleet. We caught over a million pounds of gray cod. I was on as a halfshare guy and for three months of 20hour days, I got a check for $12,500.

More importantly, I made a name for myself as a hard-working greenhorn who was willing to do anything and could tie a clove hitch behind my back while hanging upside down.

Crab fishing is not a fun job. For the next two years, I worked on deck for blues (soft-shell king crab), red king crab and opies (snow crab). The work is almost indescribable. We normally worked 20- to 30-hour days in 30- to 40foot seas, with snow blowing sideways.

When the 3-inch rails build up to 6 inches with ice, we had to beat it off with 12-pound rubber hammers to keep the boat from sinking.

My last season in the Bering Sea, we sat in a bay for 13 days waiting on the weather to cross from Kodiak to Dutch Harbor.

It was blowing 70 Cook knots and the seas were 60 to 70 feet.

Finally, it came down to 50 knots and the seas fell to 50 feet. The trip across Shelikov Straight is a 4-hour trip most of the time, but it is some of the nastiest water there is.

As we headed out, I bet a friend on another boat that we’d have a better season than them, and we were gone.

We got half-way across and radioed back to the rest of the fleet that the weather was getting better and my friend’s boat left.

An hour passed when it started to get bad again. We had made it to the Alaskan peninsula side and heard a mayday call on the SSB. My friends’ boat was going down. Their deck wasn’t clearing after the monster waves crashed down; they were gaining about 6 inches per wave that wasn’t clearing.

It is a feeling of utter helplessness when you listen to friends screaming for their lives and there is absolutely nothing you can do. We went back and searched for survivors with the Coast Guard and other fishing boats, but to no avail. My friends were dead.

When I got back home to Idaho in June that year, I told my wife at the time that I was done. I still wanted to work on boats, I just didn’t know where or what kind. She kind of jokingly said, “How about the Virgin Islands?”

After she went to work the next day, I got on the Internet and made a couple of phone calls. She came home from work and I told her I had a job offer in St. Thomas. A month later, we sold the snowmobiles, dirt bikes and sorrels.

I left early to make sure there weren’t women walking around with baskets on their heads. After a nine-month stint on a day sail catamaran, I took my captain’s tests and landed a job driving a sportfish doing charters.

A few more small boats and a few months as the mechanical engineer on a private island, I got my first job as the captain on an 84-foot Monte Fino.

Six years, a divorce and a whole lot of experiences later, I’m fortunate to say I’ve been all through the Caribbean, the Bahamas and the U.S. East Coast on terrific yachts and look forward to a long career in this business.

How did you get your start in yachting?

Send your story to lucy@the-triton.com.

Who knows? You might inspire someone.

The Triton

www.the-triton.com

HOW I GOTXXXXXXXXXX MY START IN YACHTING

November 2005

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THE AFTERLIFE: LIFE AFTER YACHTING

November 2005

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Ex-matchmaking chef whips up a crew agency #1

By Lisa H. Knapp Karina Roholte Befeld crewed on some of the busiest yachts in the Mediterranean in the 1990s, including the 156-foot M/Y Azzurra. She was steadily employed as a stewardess for a decade, never needing the service of a crew agency.

“I didn’t know of their existence,” she said. “Back then, everything was word of mouth.”

Yet in 1998, she founded Elite Crew International, a crew placement agency that she says offers the one thing she saw missing in the industry – a good matchmaker.

Friends arranged Befeld’s first yacht job after she completed travel agency school in 1988. And she would crew on a sailing yacht whose owners paid for her to attend culinary school in Paris.

When she broke her foot and needed a relief chef, she soon discovered that crew agencies could play a vital

role. Unfortunately, the relief chef this particular agency sent was all wrong.

“It was a disaster,” Befeld said. “The cook couldn’t cook.”

With encouragement from friends who said she’d always been good at reading people, she began planning a new venture: a crew agency that would always listen and send the right person.

“While on watches, I used to think while I looked at the ocean,” she said.

After saving to self-fund the business, Elite Crew International was born on Oct. 31, 1998, a month after Befeld retired from crewing.

Her husband, Capt. Bob Befeld, joined her a year later. They now have a 3year-old son, Joshua.

Elite soon had a database of 800 yachts and 10,000 crew.

“We worked hard for the first two years,” Befeld said.

As Elite’s president, Befeld runs a tight ship and a closely knit crew. She praised friendly agency competitors,

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Karina Befeld’s friends said she had a knack for reading people.

PHOTO/LISA H. KNAPP but said her instincts drive Elite’s success.

For anyone considering an exit plan from crewing, Befeld suggested following your heart.

“Make a business plan

and see if it’s realistic,” she said. “If you set your mind to it, you can do it.”

Contact freelance writer Lisa H. Knapp at lisa@the-triton. com.

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The Triton

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THE JOB SEARCH: RESUMES

November 2005

B5

Résumés lead to interviews, which lead to jobs

By Jonathan Franklin A young lad turns up at the stern and hands over two sheets of flimsy paper. With a winning smile, he says he is here about the deckhand’s job.

With a glance you can see that the résumé is as bad as you first thought, printed on a dot matrix printer, illcomposed and with a number of spelling mistakes. You throw the résumé in the bin and ask the lad to come on board for a beer.

This is how I got my first yachting job in 1992. But the industry has changed.

There are about 50,000 fulltime professional crew worldwide.

When you add in the requirements for certification, experience and personality, you begin to understand why the captain’s desk is so crowded with résumés. From inside this pile, yours has to shine and it can only do this if it is properly formatted and composed.

Format

Consider your résumé as a sales pamphlet. This means the most salient points – the points that are going to get you the job – should be the first thing the captain sees.

Present these points in a format, which both aids the employer in locating the key points easily and emphasizes your personal style. This does not mean changing the font every line and having all your text in bold.

Instead, understand that the first thing an employer does is scan your résumé. They do this diagonally from the top left corner to the bottom right. Hence, having your yachting qualifications somewhere near the top left-hand side of the first page is a good idea.

Save key places for key information.

Don’t put résumé at the top of the first page. It does not tell the employer anything and wastes some of the most important space on your document.

Your name should be the first thing the employer sees.

Putting résumé atop the first page says nothing.

Your name should be the first thing an employer sees. (photographs are incredibly important and you should spend both time and money getting a good one taken), age, nationality, profile, visa requirements, marital status, phone number, email address, relevant yachting qualifications, sea mileage or days at sea, positions held (including dates, name of vessel and position with a summary of the itinerary), and several references with current contact

information.

There may be other points you would like to add and that’s fine, as long as they don’t crowd out the main points you want a captain to see.

Remember, your résumé is the key that unlocks the door for an interview, so it’s worth spending some extra time getting it right.

A résumé should say enough about a person to get the interview and not

so much that it is too long, too boring or too full of irrelevant detail. Each résumé sent to a captain should be tailored for that specific job. The more you can find out about exactly what the captain is looking for, the better you can tailor your résumé to his or her needs.

Do that, and you are more likely to get the interview.

Jonathan Franklin owns JF Recruiting. com, based in the United Kingdom.

Contact him at info@jf-recruiting.com or visit www.jf-recruiting.com.

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Content

Always use a word processor, always use spell check, always be accurate and always be concise. Remember that spelling and grammar checks are not infallible. If in doubt of your own literary ability, get a qualified friend to proofread the text.

A résumé should only be two pages, however there are some exceptions.

Chefs should include menu examples, and some captains like to attach cover letters. In general, though, stick to the two-page rule and you won’t go far wrong. Few captains have the time to read much more that the front page.

A résumé should have all these points: your name, a photo

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B6

IN THE GALLEY

November 2005

www.the-triton.com

The Triton

Special diets are a part of every chef ’s life Sometimes I think, “Oh, to have a day without preparing a special diet.

Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

But I am in the real world. There is no such thing as “no diets” in our industry. Everybody is suffering from something or on some kind of diet and needs special food. You’ve seen them – or perhaps know them: the CULINARY WAVES guests who are on MARY BETH the no-carb diet, LAWTON JOHNSON or perhaps it’s the South Beach diet or Atkins or the raw foods diet. Maybe they are a strict vegetarian or vegan.

However, we don’t just deal with nocarb or low-sugar diets in this column.

We are taking it up several steps on the ladder and getting serious here folks. You know the scenario: A guest or perhaps it’s the brand new owner comes onboard and tells you they suffer from celiac disease or diabetes or even cancer for that fact. What do you do?

Panic? Run for the door?

Trust me, I have thought about doing that, but special diets will continue to pop up as long as humans

have food to eat and suffer from diseases. The point is, their lives are at stake if we don’t take the “diet and disease idea” seriously.

It is up to the chef to make sure guests inform them of any special dietary needs. And it is up to us to ask before preparing any meal if there are any allergies, special requests, etc., so you can better suit their dietary needs.

It isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to be complicated either. Take some direction from another professional who is trained in the arena of special diets.

If the guest hands you a list of what cannot be eaten, great. If they don’t and it is a guest that will be onboard frequently, perhaps it is best to consult a registered dietitian to create a meal plan.

This column is meant to provide an overview of what to have on hand in the pantry so that if you encounter these illnesses onboard, you can better serve your guests. It helps to prepare to cope with these special diets and having staples or a general know-how is essential.

Issues with gluten

Celiac disease is the intolerance to gluten, a mixture of proteins found in wheat and many other grains. Gluten is what gives dough its tough, elastic quality.

People with celiac disease cannot have gluten. That means no flour, wheat, rye, oats or barley. They can’t even have soy sauce or yogurt in their diet.

These items are like poison to people with this illness and they can become very sick if they ingest even the smallest amount.

There are some great gluten-free baking products available at health food stores. Whole Foods Markets has a whole line of breakfast breads, loaf breads and desserts that cater to people who suffer celiac disease. Usually these are made with rice flour or tapioca starch.

The baked products are a little more dense than regular breads but it’s better than nothing when everyone else is enjoying your fresh blueberry muffins.

People with celiac disease don’t get a lot of the nutrients in their food because the villi, the hairlike process in the small intestine, have been damaged and do not absorb nutrients well. Their diets should include lots of nutrientrich foods.

1. Include protein-rich lean meats, legumes and brightly colored fruits and vegetables into their diets, especially leafy green vegetables.

2. Steam, don’t boil, vegetables to retain their vitamins.

3. Instead of wheat flour, substitute rice flour, tapioca starch, xanthan gum,

guar, or potato starch. For frying, use corn flour or corn meal.

4.. Bob’s Red Mill offers several varieties of baking products for the sufferer of celiac. They have a great baking flour that is gluten free that I use.

5. Check with your local health food store for gluten-free crackers, pastas and include rice in the diet for carbs and starch.

6. Go to www.glutenfree.com for more information on this illness and recipes.

Congress has passed a bill that will require information on nutrition labels to include what and if any products are gluten-free and if they have been processed in the same environment as something with gluten.

What to fix for a cancer victim?

Cancer strikes apprehension in the hearts of not only the people who have the illness but other people in the affected person’s life, right down to the chef preparing the meals. What do you fix someone who has cancer? That depends on what type of treatment the person is undergoing and the type of diet their physician or nutritionist has placed them on. No matter what, have on hand fresh fruits and leafy yellow and green vegetables, lean cuts of meats and dairy products.

Someone with cancer requires more protein in their diet, so be ready to serve more protein than you would for the average person. The average person needs 2 to 3 ounces of protein per meal per day in the form of beans, lean meats, chicken or fish. People with cancer will need a bit more, depending on their treatment.

Protein calories are best spent on cell growth and healing and help ensure growth to repair body tissues while maintaining a healthy immune system.

Examples of protein are lean meats, legumes, fish, skinless poultry, nuts, dried beans and peas, and soy foods.

Have soy-based products on hand for snacking or assorted nuts.

Prepare more of these specific foods that carry antioxidant properties: avocados, grapefruits, garlic, figs, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, nuts, brocco-sprouts, black raspberries, oranges, mushrooms, papayas, lemons, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, tumeric.

Each one of these foods contribute in fighting cancer or reducing tumors, according to laboratory studies.

Tips to remember: 1. Again, to retain the nutritional value of vegetables, steam or bake them. If you have to boil them, save the water for soup.

2. Serve more soy products, such as soy yogurt, soy milk and tofu.

3. Use green tea, either by preparing it as tea or infusing it into foods such as

desserts. The flavor is great and green tea provides powerful antioxidants.

4. We all need five or more servings a day of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Increase the nutrient content of your menus by adding dark greens into soups, pastas and salads.

5. Offer whole grains over processed grains.

6. Offer less red meat. Think of Chick-Fil-A’s ad campaign showing the cow holding a sign that reads “Eat Mo Chiken.” Gotta love that one.

7. Go to www.cancure.org for more information on food products with cancer-fighting benefits.

Use sugar alternatives for diabetics

Cooking for a diabetic can be intimidating but should not be scary. A person with diabetes cannot produce or properly use insulin. Most diabetics need to watch their sugar intake and regulate their carbohydrates. Serve meals at the same time and don’t let the guest skip a meal.

Here are some helpful tips and food items to have on hand for someone suffering from diabetes.

1. Cut the sugar in a recipe in half without affecting the flavor by using sugar alternatives such as Splenda used for baking, Equal or Sweet-n-Low. Use sweet teas to infuse flavor rather than sugar.

2. Offer beautiful fruit salads with yogurt as a refreshing alternative to a sugary ending to a meal.

3. Have on hand snacks such as fresh vegetables, fruit, cheese, nuts and protein bars (watch for lower net carbs and low sugar or no sugar on these.)

4. Buy low-sugar or sugar-free cereals for breakfast. Have sugar-free jellies and jams to spread on toast.

5. Offer whole grain snacks instead of processed breads, crackers and toast.

6. Have lean meat snacks or appetizers available such as skewered turkey loin strips or chicken rather than skewered red meat for satays and finger foods.

7. Cut back on fried foods. The average amount of fried foods allowable should be the size of the tip of your thumb.

8. Be careful about sugar-free hard candy. Most of these are made with isomalt or an artificial sugar that if not consumed in moderation may cause severe stomach cramping and diarrhea.

9. Buy the cookbook “Sugar Busters” or a diabetic cookbook that will help you control the amount of sugar or eliminate it in your menus.

10. Serve smaller portions and learn to use the exchange list at www. americandiabetes.org. Consult a doctor or registered dietitian for menu planning.

See WAVES, page B7

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Tips to cut fat, cholesterol WAVES, from page B6

Fight cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 killer in this country. Diet and exercise can greatly reduce the chances of developing heart problems but incorporating these tricks into menus will help guests with heart disease feel better.

Limit the use of saturated fats, polyunsaturated fats and transfats such as butter, margarine or shortenings.

This should make up 10 percent or less of their daily calories.

Use monosaturated fats such as olive oil and canola oil instead. This should make up to 15 percent or less of their daily calories. And their intake of cholesterol should be less than 300 milligrams a day.

Here are some of the ways to cut back on fats, sodium and cholesterol: 1. Use salsa or creamed or whipped avocado to top a baked potato instead of butter.

2. Choose low-fat or fat-free dairy products such as skim milk, yogurt or cheese.

3. Rather than using egg yolks, choose egg whites and egg substitutes.

4. Prepare cold-water fish such as salmon, which contains the vital omega

3 fatty acid. Orange roughy is another excellent choice.

5. Prepare skinless, white-meat poultry.

6. Prepare legumes, soy beans and soy products for protein. Buy soy nuts in the store, unsalted.

7. Offer more leafy green vegetables that are full of phytoplankton, which are full of anti-oxidants.

8. Offer smaller portion sizes to encourage weight loss.

9. Offer butter alternatives such as Benecol. Some even contain omega vitamins now.

10. Offer cut-up fruit and vegetables as snacks. I like bright red peppers in balsamic vinegar and olive oil with olives and sun-dried tomatoes. I always keep a container of fresh cut up melon on hand and a bowl of fresh berries such as raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and figs and red grapes.

11. Offer lots of water. Flavor it with Splenda or lemon or lime or pieces of fresh fruit for a different flavor.

Water flushes out the body and curbs appetite. The recommended amount is eight 8-ounce glasses a day.

12. Cut red meat consumption back to 4 ounces a week. Trim all fat off the

See WAVES, page B9

Why do the greatest YACHTS in the world come to us to produce their BROCHURES?

Located in the heart of the yachting capital of the world.

Contact Louise McCarthy Dutton

Phone: 954.993.3993 Email: sales@yachtproductions.com

Photo: Shaw McCutcheon

...We simply create the greatest YACHT BROCHURES in the world.

That’s why!

November 2005

B7

B8

IN THE GALLEY: RECIPE

November 2005

Baked Spiced Pears with Poppy Seed Tuiles

By Chef Mary Beth Lawton Johnson, CEPC, CCC Diabetic Exchange: 1 Fruit Serving Size: ½ cup Carbs: 13 g Protein: 0 g Fat: 1 g or less

Calories: 56 Fiber: 3 g Sodium: 44 mg Cholesterol: 0 mg 6 small pears, peeled with tops on 3/4 cup granulated sugar substitute 2 tablespoons crystallized ginger

1/1/2 teaspoons rum extract (optional) 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground cinnamon Dash of ground allspice 2 teaspoons reduced-calorie margarine or butter substitute Put the pears in a baking dish.

Combine the remaining ingredients and sprinkle over pears. Dot with margarine or butter substitute.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

Serve either warm or chilled with Poppy Seed Tuiles or Dream Whip.

Serves 6 Poppy Seed Tuiles 1/4 cup all purpose flour 1/4 cup sugar substitute 1 tablespoon egg whites 2 tablespoons melted unsalted

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butter substitute or reduced-calorie margarine 1 teaspoon poppy seeds for sprinkling (optional) Combine the flour and sugar. Whisk in the egg whites until there are no lumps.

Stir in the butter, stirring until incorporated. Refrigerate until thick.

Line a baking pan with a silpat mat.

Using a template cut out of cardboard in the desired shape spread some tuile mix over template using the flat side of a decorating comb or a dough scraper.

Remove template and cook in a preheated oven of 350 degrees for 2 minutes or until they lose their shine.

While still hot, remove cookies and wrap around chilled pears or garnish alongside of pears.

The Triton

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NUTRITION

Thanksgiving doesn’t have to bust your gut Whether you are eating ashore or red apples. on board, Thanksgiving presents a Serve a store-bought or homemade challenge for those who want to enjoy a ginger cookie on the side and you still great holiday meal yet not overindulge. save about 170 calories over a slice of Fortunately, this pumpkin pie (1/6 of a 9-inch pie). all-American holiday no longer Beverages count, too has to be a day Don’t forget to consider what you of guilt-filled drink. A 5-ounce glass of white wine eating. There will contribute 100 calories to your day, are many while a 3-ounce glass of sweet dessert opportunities wine will provide 140. If you opt for where you can higher percent alcohol or higher proof trim the calories drinks such as rum, vodka, whisky or TAKE IT IN – but not the rum, 1.5-ounce serves up 96 calories CAROL BAREUTHER flavor – from your – not including the caloric content of Thanksgiving dinner. mixers such as sugary sodas and fruit Let’s start slimming down this juice. year’s Thanksgiving Eggnog, that smooth A 5-ounce meal by talking turkey. creamy seasonal special, Eating a palm-sized provides an average of 270 glass of white portion (about 3 ounces) calories in a 6-ounce glass. wine adds 100 of roasted dark meat If you really want to skimp calories; higher on calories, go for some with the skin provides proof drinks 221 calories. However, calorie-free bubbly water forking up roasted light such as whiskey or a diet soda. Or, nurse meat without the skin is of white wine. add 96 calories oneIfglass only 157 calories – a 64you add up all in 1.5-ounces. calorie savings. Omit the the calories saved, a gravy and you save 20 to Thanksgiving meal that 30 calories more per two-tablespoon could easily tally to over 1,200 calories serving. can skinny down to some 600 calories Favorite starches such as candied instead and still taste satisfyingly yams, bread-based stuffing and mashed wonderful. It’s all in the trimmings. potatoes all tend to be high in calories.

For example, one-cup servings equal After the meal 430, 415 and 225 calories, respectively.

This said, want to know how to eat Try eating just ½ a cup and filling up more and keep trim too? Add some on tossed salad with low fat dressing exercise in your day. For example, in or the carrots, celery and pickles in the a half hour’s time, you can burn 205 hors d’oeuvres tray. calories while jogging, 190 calories race Go ahead and toss in a dinner roll. walking, and 130 calories scraping and It need not be a forbidden treat for painting the boat. weight watchers. Just nix the butter or This might not seem like much, but margarine. For example, a dinner roll it adds up. provides 130 calories and a tablespoon On holidays, like every day, common of spread adds 100 calories more. For sense nutrition advice prevails. Eat more flavor, pull a whole grain roll moderately and exercise regularly and out of the breadbasket over the bland you’ll live to enjoy life to the fullest. white-flour variety.

Finally, include a luscious plate Carol Bareuther is a registered dietitian of fresh fruit – juicy grapes, sliced and a regular contributor to The Triton. bananas, chunked mangoes and diced Contact her at editorial@the-triton.com.

Increase culinary knowledge WAVES, from page B7 meat.

13. Season with fresh herbs to season such as fresh rosemary, basil, parsley and pepper instead of salt.

15. Go to www.americanheart.org for more information on this disease.

Dealing with special diets does not have to be difficult. Be prepared for the inevitable, which will eventually pay

you a visit in your galley.

Learning about specific diets only increases your culinary knowledge, which can benefit someone later on.

Mary Beth Lawton Johnson is a certified executive pastry chef and Chef de Cuisine. A professional yacht chef since 1991, she has been chef aboard M/Y Rebecca since 1999. Contact her through editorial@the-triton.com.

November 2005

B9

B10

November 2005

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LEADERSHIP TRAINING

The Triton

‘No more doing; now you’re leading’

By Lucy Chabot Reed Captains often muse that driving the boat is only about 10 percent of their job. The rest of the time is spent on paperwork, schedules and budgets, and with the dreaded management issues landlubbers have been grappling with for decades, namely employees.

In today’s increasingly regulated industry, senior crew are business managers as much as yacht operators and not only manage a boat, but manage people, too.

“Your job exists to build results and build people,” said Scott Garvis, instructor of The Triton’s first Dale Carnegie Step Up to Leadership course.

“No more doing; now you’re leading.”

Garvis owns the South Florida

Managers of people must work every day to build trust. Arguing with an employee is the best way to erode that trust. company that offers the world-famous Dale Carnegie leadership courses from Key West to Melbourne and worked with The Triton to create the one-day course, which was presented in late September in Ft. Lauderdale to 13 captains and senior officers.

“Crew management is like a minefield,” one captain admitted early in the day. “I’m in the middle of it, blindfolded on a foggy night.”

Dale Carnegie courses have been taught around the world to generations of traditional, land-based workers.

This was its first course focused on the

issues and concerns of yacht crew.

“It’s not about us anymore; it’s about them,” Garvis said. “You have to build up your crew so they can do your job.

Think of a captain you admire. What does that person do that you can do more of?”

Garvis emphasized the importance of listening, truly listening, without judging and without being defensive.

When one captain asked how to handle a crew member with a problem or complaint when there is no time to listen, Garvis put it back on the captain.

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“It’s what you signed up for,” he said.

“It’s your job to listen.”

What managers can do to make it easier, though, is get their crew ready for a conversation so they are clear and don’t waste time venting.

Teach them to come not only with a problem but with a possible solution by coaching them to think through these four questions before bringing you a problem: What is the problem, exactly?

What are the causes of the problem?

What are the possible solutions? What is the best possible solution?

Managers of people must work every day to build trust, he said. Arguing with an employee is the best way to erode that trust.

Instead of reacting when an under-performing crew member comes to you in anger or frustration, pause. Leaders are judged through a magnifying glass, especially in tough or stressful situations, he said. Turn those situations around to build trust and respect.

Think of a story about yourself in a similar situation. People relate to stories; stories win people over to your way of thinking, Garvis said. Use stories to make a point and express a lesson.

The participants did a role play where one was a crew member coming in with a typical complaint while the captain used that approach to diffuse it. And it worked.

“When I paused, I started thinking creatively, and saw some different angles,” one captain said.

“I realized the impact of every word the manager says,” another said.

“When he [the captain] was empathetic, all the muscles in my body just relaxed and I took a breath,” said another, who played the role of a crew member. “It was like my fists were down.”

“Everyone does what they think is right in their own mind,” Garvis said.

“It’s important to understand that people want to do good.”

Several captains asked what to do with crew members they perceive as lazy. Garvis put it back on them.

“It’s up to us to change the mentality of these folks,” he said. “They won’t jump ship if their needs are being met and they are challenged and motivated.”

A manager’s style of managing reflects his/her assumptions about people, Garvis said. If the manager believes people lack integrity, avoid responsibility and are not very bright, their crews will be that way, and they will leave frequently to look for greener pastures. If the manager believes their crews have integrity, work hard and want to achieve, they will.

“Think of a vivid leadership lesson,”

See CARNEGIE, page B11

The Triton

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LEADERSHIP TRAINING

November 2005

B11

Sincere recognition can go a long way to build crew CARNEGIE, from page B10 he said. “What do you remember?”

If it was a positive memory, participants remembered traits such as understanding, compassion, motivation and trust. “Does your crew see these things in you?”

One of the major parts of a senior officer’s job is to coach the people coming up behind him or her – building people.

“What do you do, daily, to build people, to push their comfort zone?” he said. “Your people have the answers a lot of times to problems, even if you don’t think they do.”

For example, instead of laying down the law and putting up a sign that says, “The crew area must be kept clean,” he suggested taking five minutes to sit everyone down and ask, “In what ways can we have a cleaner crew area?”

Get their input. When you have their involvement, you get their buy in, he said, and they will take responsibility for the results.

“I’m constantly amazed at the simple answers that get me out of a problem,” one captain said. “The least likely person you’d think could help will help if you would just ask them.”

“It should not be you solving problems,” Garvis said. “That means you’re taking over jobs that you shouldn’t be buying back. Delegating and deputizing is the work of building people. Dumping, on the other hand, is giving work away. Your crew can tell the difference.”

Garvis outlined the steps of delegation. First, stop doing the job.

Then, through a careful process, select the person and the project. Don’t look at your busy schedule and find something you want to get rid of; that’s dumping. Look at your crew and find someone who is ready to be coached.

Then find them a responsibility and a task that you can train and coach them in. That’s delegating.

Most staffs are made up of stars, average performers and below-average performers, Garvis said.

“Our tendency is to give new tasks to the stars, because you know they can handle it,” he said. “But if you keep delegating to the stars, the rest of the crew will get farther away and the stars will get burned out.

“Also, as managers, we tend to spend a greater percentage of our time on the under-performers who likely won’t be with us in a month,” he said. “That’s not smart either. Look to those average crew who, with a little coaching from you, can become stars.”

A big part of coaching, Garvis noted, is recognition.

“The No. 1 thing every employee wants is recognition,” he said. “Studies have shown that they want that more than salary and benefits. If

From left: Course instructor Scott Garvis, Capt. Oliver Dissman, Mate/Chef Sonya Sax, Capt. Linda Lupi, Capt. Mike Streeter, Capt. Peter Vazquez, Capt. Rick Lenardson, Capt. Dale Smith, Capt. Herb Magney, Capt. Dirk Sachse, Purser Kim Sandell, Capt. Chris Young, Capt. Don Vogt, Capt. Chuck Limroth PHOTO/LUCY REED the recognition and motivation and appreciation are there, they are less likely to jump ship.

“The main reason we don’t give praise is because we don’t have enough self-confidence,” he said. “Or we may have insecurity in our jobs. We may feel that if others shine, they may take my place.

“But we’re hired to build a good crew. When you retire, think about the number of people are working on boats because of what you’ve done for them.”

Not all recognition is effective, though. Vague praise or broad flattery can come across as insincere.

Recognition must be specific, Garvis said.

Effective recognition only has to take three sentences. First, tell them what you admire about them. Make it a trait or characteristic, not what they look like or how they perform in general. Second, explain why you said that. Give evidence to support your admiration. This also gives your recognition credibility and distinguishes it from flattery. And last, ask them a question to get them talking.

For example: John, I really admire your focus. The reason I say that is because I’ve noticed you didn’t get distracted all morning working on this varnish. Your concentration is terrific.

How did you learn to stay so focused?

“As an employee, I would always respond better to sincere recognition,” one relatively new captain said. “We don’t need a pat on the back every day.

And that ‘great job’ as they are walking by doesn’t do it. Occasionally, the extra recognition is good.”

After the course, participants gave Garvis and the material high marks.

“You can’t flog the crew into submission anymore,” joked Capt. Chris Young, formerly of M/Y Time for Us. “It was a good learning experience to realize that maybe we are doing some things that are fundamentally wrong.

It gave me a fresh way to look at things and to try to understand the newer workforce.”

Contact Editor Lucy Chabot Reed at lucy@the-triton.com.

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B12

November 2005

PHYSICAL FITNESS

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Visualization a fitness key We started our last session by saying it takes time to get fit. Well, it also takes patience, determination and commitment.

Remember, when you embark on a fitness program, you must be diligent, honest with yourself, and never too hard on yourself. You didn’t get out of shape in a few weeks so you GO FIGURE won’t be able to get PAT TEODOSIO back into shape in that period of time.

This month, I want to touch on the point that, when we aren’t aware of it, doesn’t exist. This is visualization.

When doing any sort of work-out, be sure to put a mental picture in your head of the body part and muscle movement. Picture yourself making the move, then follow your movements slowly and carefully, emulating the picture you made in your mind.

Concentrate.

We’re going to do more ball work this month. In this first exercise, lay your stomach on the ball with your hands on the ground in front of you.

Walk your hands away, rolling the ball down your body until it rests on your shins and ankles. You should be in a plank position like doing a push up, but with your feet on the ball, not the floor.

Now holding your torso and arms tight (photo below), contract your stomach muscles to pull your knees up toward your chest, rolling the ball toward the front of your body. Then push back. This works your lower abdominal area, which should be tight through this entire move.

Visualize, and repeat until you cannot do anymore.

Take a break with one minute of jumping jacks. If you are getting good at these jumping jacks, try extending these sessions to 90 seconds or two minutes. Remember, 10 minutes

of jumping jacks, even in 1-minute increments, give you the same benefits of 30 minutes of jogging.

Next, belly down on the ball again and roll just a little forward so your waist and hips are on it with your feet behind. Put your hands on your hips and drive your hips into the ball, flexing your upper back (hyper-extending).

Release and repeat to failure. Your feet should be set wide to give you good balance on the ball. It’s an awkward position, but really works your back and buttocks.

Another break for jumping jacks.

This next exercise will help with lower back pain. Lay back on the ball with your feet set wide. Roll forward until your shoulders and mid-back are on the ball. Now lift your hips and drop them, again working back muscles and buttocks. Do this several times.

More jumping jacks.

These next moves may seem easy but really work to strengthen your core torso muscles. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart with the ball in your hands out in front of you. Twist to one side then back to center. Twist to the other side and back to center. Do this to failure.

More jumping jacks.

Hold the ball in your hands over your head. Again, with your feet shoulderwidth apart and without bending your knees, bend from the waist and touch the ball to the floor. Stand straight up again and repeat this several times, preferably to failure.

Tightening your core will not only make you look better, it will make you feel better and improve your movements in every aspect of your life.

Till next month, stay healthy.

Pat Teodosio has been in the fitness industry for 30 years and owned Southport Gym in Ft. Lauderdale for 13 years. He now owns Go Figure, a 30minute workout studio on 17th Street.

Contact him through editorial@thetriton.com.

With torso and arms held tight, contract stomach muscles to pull knees toward your chest, then push back. This works your lower abdominal area.

The Triton

CREW NEWS

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Worldwide trade assocation is gauging interest of crew

By Lucy Chabot Reed A small group of captains and crew are organizing to launch the Worldwide Yacht Crew Association, a membership-based trade association for yacht crew.

Introduced by Capt. Peter Vazquez during a break at The Triton’s Dale Carnegie leadership course in late September, the association would serve to Vazquez provide yacht crew information on ports and marinas, bunkering, weather and cost-sharing transit opportunities around the world.

It also would build databases on myriad segments of the industry, including yards, brokers, owners and charter clients. Those databases would include surveys by crew of interaction with each sector and stress positive information, Vazquez said.

Vazquez and Capt. Kim Thomas, who work together on M/Y Blind Faith,

are both corporate airline pilots and have taken much of their guidance for the backbone of the WYCA from their aviation experience.

A Web site, www.wwyca.com, was expected to launch by the beginning of the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show to gauge industry interest.

“We just want people to register to see what kind of response we get,” said Vazquez, who introduced the idea to 12 other captains at the leadership course.

Most said they supported the idea and were interested in learning more. “If we get a good response and if people are interested in doing it, we’ll set it up.”

Capt. Chris Young and Purser Kim Sandell, most recently on M/Y Time for Us, have been recruiting crew to serve on a board of directors for the non-profit group, as well as industry professionals to serve on an advisory board. At this stage, there are no membership fees or obligations to register. The Web site, www.wwyca. com, was expected to be operational by Oct. 26.

Contact Editor Lucy Chabot Reed at lucy@the-triton.com.

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B13

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B14

November 2005

PERSONAL FINANCE

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The Triton

Savings goals aren’t too easy to determine ����������������

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Ever wonder how much of your income you should save each month?

Is it $500, $1,000, 10 percent, 30 percent? Is there a magic formula that will satisfy your conscience and secure your future?

I’m afraid the answer is an unequivocal “No.” My grandparents always told me that saving 10 percent of my income over INTO ACCOUNT my entire working PHAEDRA XANTHOS life would be a good starting point. This seemed like a realistic enough goal until I actually started working and realized just how much 10 percent can amount to – how many dinners out and shows missed.

Somehow, a mysterious process seems to take place at an elusive point somewhere between depositing paychecks and reconciling bank statements at the end of each month.

All the money disappears. How does this happen and what can we do to

thwart this calamitous and predictable cycle?

Unfortunately, there really isn’t any single amount or percentage that signifies “enough” when it comes to savings.

But there is a way to predict how much money you will need down the line to provide you with the lifestyle that you expect and are working toward.

That way is a financial plan.

You can get the help of a financial adviser and his or her software to help you develop models that will predict the cost of your next home purchase, vacations, college expenses, retirement or any other life experience that you are shooting for.

Then, these models can work backward to calculate how much your savings should be on a monthly basis for you to meet these goals given estimated rates of return on the investments that you are comfortable with.

If you are not comfortable working with a professional yet you can also

See SAVINGS, page B15

The Triton

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PERSONAL FINANCE

The faster you save money, the faster you realize dreams SAVINGS, from page B14 begin by starting from the opposite end of the spectrum: what you have as opposed to what you want.

I highly recommend using a bank that provides Internet options that include the ability to download monthly bank statements directly into QuickBooks, Quicken or MS Money.

With this great little technological trick you can have at your fingertips lovely pie charts and line graphs

demonstrating where every penny you spend ends up.

Scary? Absolutely.

Helpful? Unquestionably.

Once you’ve determined where your money is going each month you can make a conscious decision about how much you should be saving.

If bills only comprise half of your income, why not allocate a quarter to savings and a quarter for fun?

The more you save the faster you will reach the point where your dreams become reality.

And isn’t that the ultimate goal after all?

Have questions about how to invest your money? Ask Phaedra Xanthos, a licensed financial adviser specializing in the yachting community and owner of Transcontinental Financial Group in Ft. Lauderdale.

Contact her at phaedra@trans continentalfinancial.com.

November 2005

B15

B22

November 2005

ENVIRONMENT

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The Triton

Perspective on commercial fishing This month’s column on the ocean environment is focused on commercial fishing. I would like to begin with a statement from Daniel Pauly, director of fisheries at the University of British Columbia, dated Aug. 10, 2004.

“If commercial fishing is not heavily regulated, there will be little left to harvest UP TO US outside the lower CAROL BENBROOK levels of the food chain. So you don’t need to worry about these problems as long as your children like plankton soup.”

A very harsh statement, but a very true outlook.

Of all of the impacts that we humans have put onto our oceans, the most destructive is thought to be commercial fishing. The problem is in the way that we catch fish. Even though it is an extremely high-tech, big-dollar industry, each fishing vessel is designed to catch only one specific fish species.

Research into more catch has not yet expanded into research into less bycatch.

A quarter of fish caught worldwide is discarded as by-catch, including fish, turtles, sea birds, dolphins and whatever else happens to be in the way.

You may wonder what by-catch is. If you don’t already know, get ready for a shock.

By-catch is the fish, turtles, sea birds, dolphins, corals and whatever else happens to be in the way of the fishing nets when they are being trawled. The United Nations has estimated that 30 million sea animals are caught as bycatch each year.

Pair trawling is the biggest offender

in European waters, as two boats drag a massive net the size of two football fields and consume all in their path.

In one, two-hour pair trawling session in the North Sea, 11,000 dead or dying sea creatures were caught as by-catch.

In one winter season off the United Kingdom, one pair of fishing vessels caught 169 dolphins.

One quarter of all fish caught around the world is discarded as by-catch, and shrimp trawling is by far the worst offender with 15 pounds of by-catch for every 1 pound of shrimp. Their nets also have huge steel balls 0.5 meter in diameter attached to the bottom to weigh them down. When traveling at 3 knots, they mow down the coral reefs with even 700-year-old gorgonian coral brought up as by-catch, destroying the habits of many fragile species.

Next time you have “shrimp on the barbie,” think that what died for your meal wasn’t just the shrimp, but turtles, dolphins and probably, exquisite endangered coral.

Pair trawlers are not the only culprits of this modern age of raping the oceans. Deep sea fishing leaves a lot to be desired, with methods of fishing that use modern nets and equipment that allow anglers to fish thousands of meters deep. Because fish supplies near the surface are almost extinct, we are starting to see fish in the market that we didn’t even know existed 10 years ago. The problem here is that scientists just don’t know enough about these deep sea habitats to know what effect this fishing is having; so it is easy to adopt an “out of sight/out of mind” attitude.

Black scabard lives 1,000 meters deep; orange roughy lives at 1,500 meters. They are thought to live up to 150 years. They are thought to only mature at 30 years old, before which time they are not able to reproduce.

Once endangered, they may not be able to recover. New Zealand and Australian

fisheries are watching carefully but it is so difficult (and expensive) for scientists to find information at these depths that by the time enough is known, it may be too late.

Tuna fishing is also a big offender.

Bluefin tuna are magnificent fish that swim at up to 50 knots. They have predictable migration routes so they are easier to find. Fishermen use spotter planes and high-tech fishfinders to assist them in the hunt but because of this, the bluefin tuna population has declined by about 85 percent in the past 15 years.

Bluefin tuna are big business. They sell in Japan for up to $120US a kilo.

That can work out to $24,000 for a tuna of up to 100,000 pounds. Research is being done on farming tuna but that also has implications as they eat huge amounts of high-protein fish.

Other endangered fish include swordfish (more that half the population of swordfish is gone from the seas); marlin (some species are down by 90 percnet); squid is almost extinct in many areas; sharks (100 million sharks are killed in the world for their fins); and sole and herring (all fully exploited).

What can be done to save the fish stocks? Research is being done on the effects of fish farming but this in itself brings further problems.

The real solution lies in large marine sanctuaries where fishing is completely banned. New Zealand has used one of its reserves as an example of what the positive effects can be where fishing on the boundaries of these reserves is proving to be more beneficial than trying to fish in the open ocean of depleted stocks. When left alone, schools of many different fish are regenerating in numbers and the natural habitat is reclaiming the ocean.

So what can we do? Fish stocks can recover if given the chance and are not run into extinction. Campaigning does work. Have your voice heard. Politicians make the laws and unless public opinion is brought to their attention, they will do nothing.

The United Kingdom has already brought in changes in fishing regulations after Greenpeace campaigned extensively with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. Pair trawling for sea bass is to be banned within 12 miles of the coast.

Groups are trying to increase this to 200 miles by continuing to campaign with the U.K. government and by going to the European Union commission.

Cyber activism is a great invention for yacht crew as all you need is a computer, the Internet and 5 minutes.

No donations required either.

Just visit one of these Web

See ENVIRONMENT, page B31

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B24

CUSTOMER SERVICE

November 2005

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Another boat show. Do you know who your next client will be? Do you know who may refer your next client?

Do you know who may give you a positive recommendation, or a negative one? Do you know who may open a door, or close one relative to business opportunities?

The point is we often think we know and yet there are many points of contact – whether SERVE IT UP three seconds, ROBERTA NEDRY three minutes or three hours – that can mislead us. Managing those contacts as if each one could lead to the pot of gold is critical in any service situation.

Crew members may find themselves in moments of extreme exposure and long hours, working boat shows with hundreds of onlookers, gawkers and buyers.

How can anyone tell the difference and how can service levels be maintained throughout a tiring and rigorous schedule? How do crew members who face the seas for a living now take a turn and face the “sees” that come to the boat show?

Being on stage can be tough. Smiling all day and being nice to everybody can be trying to just about anybody. And, when all is said and done, does being nice really matter when so many will come and go?

Consider the following: when something good happens or when a positive interaction takes place, statistics show consumers will tell nine to 12 people. When something negative happens, consumers will tell 10 to 20 people.

The negative stories always are more colorful and get better (and more exaggerated) each time the story is told.

In more than 95 percent of negative points of contact, the client does not let

you know their contact with you was negative. They just walk away.

Understanding the power and impact of each interaction, even the small ones, can be motivating when your energy dips. Recognizing the power of each thoughtful gesture, even a wee smile, can rechannel fatigue and reinvigorate your spirit.

Keep the following in mind when your feet and face are ready to quit: 1. Take deep breaths frequently and drink lots of water. Appreciate bathroom breaks as moments to recharge, even for just a few moments.

Look in the mirror and recognize the great job you are doing. Mirrors can give great positive feedback if you let them.

2. When working a boat show or any other major public event, you represent more than your own vessel; you represent the industry. Though many passers-by may only be passersby, they are forming impressions and making memories. You may be one of the key ingredients to their first yacht experience. You never know when their dollars will be back.

3. Make eye contact. Be sincere.

Smile from your heart, not just around your teeth. Laugh with your crew members when you can. The physical effects of laughter can trigger the release of endorphins, which are natural painkillers.

4. Relax and have fun. Good cheer can reduce stress by expanding blood vessels and sending blood to those extremities that may be feeling a bit extreme.

Going the extra (s)mile can be good for business and for you. Make it your own experience and make it a great one.

Roberta Nedry is president of Hospitality Excellence, a Ft. Lauderdalebased firm that provides consulting and training on how to deliver exceptional service. Contact her at 954-739-5299 or roberta@hospitalityexcellence.com.

The Triton

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BOOK REVIEW

November 2005

B25

DeMille’s take on terrorism

By Donna Mergenhagen

credible eyewitness who believes the published report was contrived.

The paperback release of Nelson Despite the questions and claims DeMille’s “Night Fall” is scheduled for raised by skeptics, the only thing that November (Warner Books, $7.99). could at this late date definitively In July 1996 TWA Flight 800 fell reopen the discussion of cause would from the night sky shortly after takeoff. be a real time video recording of the Long Island Sound became the site of night sky. a massive rescue and recovery effort.

There is reason to believe that a tape Despite the combined efforts of the may have been uncovered and then Navy, Coast Guard and a flotilla of covered up. The circumstances are private vessels, all 230 aboard lost their perfect bait for the cynical Corey. lives.

Immediately after Corey’s interest The National Transportation Safety is raised, he and his wife are separately Board began to interview people on the questioned on their interest and ground at once. Due to the hour, the warned not to pursue any independent season, and the site, there were over investigating. To reinforce the warning, 600 eyewitnesses. More than 200 of each of them is transferred to an them reported they had seen a missile offshore assignment. strike the aircraft. The investigation For John, the interval in Northern expanded to include Africa serves to More than 200 resources from the reinforce his zeal.

Navy, the CIA, and the eyewitnesses Never a team player, FBI. After months, he recognizes that any reported they had the official report further efforts on his seen a missile strike part will require speed concluded the cause of the crash was TWA Flight 800. After and the element of mechanical failure. An months, the official surprise. Moments elaborate computer after landing back on report concluded the U.S. soil he is heading simulation explained the flash reported prior cause of the crash to Long Island. Old to the crash. contacts in NYPD – was mechanical Despite the outside the influence of extended investigation, failure. federal agencies – are there is a group of milled. people – eyewitnesses, relatives of John Corey is at his best when survivors, and some of those personally balancing his efforts against the involved in aspects of the investigation threats and obstacles sallied by the – who believe the crash was the first government agencies involved in the terrorist attack on a U.S. aircraft. original investigation. His sarcastic John Corey (“Plum Island” and assessments as he uncovers obstructed “Lion’s Game”) and his former partner, evidence, manipulated facts, and Kate (“Lion’s Game”) are now married. witness tampering are simultaneously Corey has retired from the New York hilarious and frightening. The City Police Department and is working questions DeMille raises through Corey as a consultant with the Federal are relevant to current headlines and Antiterrorist Task Force. Kate, career bear consideration.

FBI, is also with the task force. On The seriousness of the issues in no their first anniversary she chooses to way diminishes the pure pleasure of celebrate by attending the five-year DeMille’s talent. memorial service for TWA 800. Kate was one of the hundreds who worked Donna Mergenhagen owns Well Read, on the crash investigation. After a used book store in Ft. Lauderdale. the service she introduces John to a Contact her at well_read@earthlink.net.

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B26

IN THE STARS

November 2005

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SCORPIO (Oct. 22-Nov. 22) – Happy Birthday Scorpio. The Sabian Symbols – a group of oracular messages relating to astrological signs – for this New Moon in Scorpio reads “A Fellowship Supper Reunites Old Comrades.”

Take a cue from this sage counsel and seek those who feed your soul the most – both old and new mates.

Burning relationship questions are answered by the 14th but expect delays; you will eventually reap the benefit of time. Stay alert for a special opportunity on the 27th as Jupiter beams a friendly hello to superstar Uranus; anything can happen. Jupiter will be in Scorpio for one full year, until November 2006, so plan to maximize the spiritual and financial benefits, and avoid the other side of Jupiter – waistline expansion.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 22) – An uncharacteristic moodiness haunts you this month, Sag. On the 24th, asteroid Goddess Ceres comes to a meeting with dark Pluto, the underworld ruler who abducted her daughter. She is troubled and dark and knows how to use a marlinspike. Best to speak your truth before Mercury enters Scorpio on the 26th.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 21-Jan. 19) – Venus enters your sign on the 5th, so sometime between then and midDecember you will have a special day of beauty and luxury. Look for the 8th to bring a financial gain as she immediately makes a favorable aspect to expansive Jupiter. You will have to act decisively, though, so get the mooring lines ready. You will know if you made the right decision by the 17th.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 19-Feb. 18) – November is full-tilt boogie for you, Aquarius. Fulfill important obligations early in the month as unfamiliar island rules can cause confusion later.

Mercury is retrograde after the 14th and Saturn follows on the 22nd, so tie up pressing issues beforehand. But don’t close up shop; be prepared to take advantage of a sudden opportunity that presents itself on the 27th.

PISCES (Feb. 18-March 20) – The Sun traveling through Scorpio favors your sign, Pisces. However, aspects to your planetary ruler Neptune say this will be a time to remember. Think “turning point” on many levels. Just as the tide takes hours to peak, some issues will still need time to fully develop; however things are in motion.

These changes are not necessarily bad

ones, but broad range and meaningful.

Pay attention on the 7th as Mars squares Neptune and important information is revealed.

ARIES (March 20-April 19) – Changes come, but don’t think of them as wholesale, rather a midcourse adjustment. Locate a reliable aid to navigation, and use it. All of the answers simply are not available now.

It is best to wait on a risky financial opportunity that comes your way the week of the 7th; closer examination will reveal hidden flaws.

TAURUS (April 19-May 20) – The Full Moon of the 15th is in your sign, and the oracles this time around suggest a potentially quarrelsome month. You must make your needs and wishes known, even to that sea lawyer, for better or worse. Collect your wits and express your intentions in the best way you can. Gains made come at a price; however, by maintaining your dignity as well as your deserving sense, you come out a winner.

GEMINI (May 20-June 21) – Your planetary ruler, Mercury – in retrograde motion after the 14th – influences your solar 7th house, that of personal and professional relationships. As it moves backward into your 6th house later in the month, look at work issues especially carefully. Someone attempts to maneuver you into a place where you don’t want to be. Don’t find yourself run aground; take control and just say “no.”

CANCER (June 21-July 22) – The asteroid goddess Vesta traveling through your sign is an expression of focus and dedication, both of which you have in abundance now. You will accomplish much; just remember the first rule of celestial navigation.

Mercury is retrograde after the 13th and it’s not a good time to sign contracts or enter into long-term legal commitments. This is a good month to take some time away from work to enjoy yourself or your family.

LEO (July 22-Aug. 22) – This is pivotal month for you, Leo, and when it’s over, you both look and feel differently. Your heart is the first target; open it and just allow. There is really nothing you can or would want to do to change things. This inner change of heart also affects your outward world. Even your physical appearance softens and takes on a shine, much like a mysterious kumatage. Change is the keyword; do not resist it, especially on the 7th when Mars in Taurus opposes the Sun in Scorpio.

VIRGO (Aug. 22-Sept. 22) – You meet someone important this See HOROSCOPES, page B27

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IN THE STARS

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November 2005

B27

Check out Mars’ polar ice cap, Queen Cassiopeia

By Jack Horkheimer Have you wondered what that bright red-gold object in the night sky just after sunset is in the east? It’s Mars, still at its closest and brightest until 2018.

Also, in early evening, you can see the two planets closest to the Sun, Mercury and Venus, which the Moon visits the first week of November.

Plus, right around midnight when Mars reaches its highest point almost overhead, the ringed planet Saturn will have risen just above the horizon.

On Saturday night, Nov. 5, about 40 minutes after sunset, the brightest thing you’ll see in the night sky is beautiful Venus. Parked right next to it will be an exquisite crescent Moon complete with earthshine, which will look like a dark full Moon nestled within the crescent. Don’t miss this because it is the kind of naked-eye celestial sight that has made people ooh and aah for thousands of years.

If you’ve got a really flat horizon, look just above it down to Venus’ right and you’ll see the first planet out from the Sun, tiny, pink Mercury. It is always difficult to see because it never gets very high above the horizon, but give it your best shot anyway.

Turn around and face east an hour after sunset: Super-brilliant Mars shining an incredible ruby gold will have just risen and will travel across the sky all night, which planets always do when they are at opposition.

Mars officially comes into opposition Nov. 7, which means it is

directly opposite the Sun. If it’s directly opposite the Sun, we’ll be able to see it in the sky all the hours that the Sun is not. It will rise in the east as the Sun sets in the west, travel across the sky all night long, reach its highest point around midnight and slowly descend the southwestern sky until it sets in the west at dawn as the Sun rises.

If you have a small telescope and use a high-powered eyepiece, you’ll notice that Mars’ south polar ice cap is tilted toward us. It will appear very small because it is late summer in Mars’ southern hemisphere. The most prominent dark marking you’ll see on Mars is called Syrtis Major.

It looks like a broad triangle and up close with our robot space craft we see that it is actually a huge plateau.

Amateur astrophotographers have been photographing Mars as it’s been approaching for the last several months, and some of the pictures will absolutely knock your socks off.

If Mars isn’t enough for you, another planet will have just risen in the east when Mars is overhead at midnight, my favorite planet of them all, ringed Saturn. Even the cheapest department store telescope will show you its rings.

Vanity and its cosmic reward Go out any night in November between 9 and 10 p.m. and look due north for the North Star. Directly above it you will see five bright stars which, if we connect with imaginary lines, form the letter M.

Librans get a break from the hubbub HOROSCOPES, from page B26 month, Virgo. It may be a friend or financial associate, and maybe more – an intimate connection. Either way, it comes out of the blue, and has potential to leave you glowing. There is much karma associated with this meeting. It is as though one door closes and another opens; you will have the picture completed by Thanksgiving Day. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) – The dust has hopefully cleared by now, and you can look out on a new horizon. Jupiter will be transiting your solar 2nd house of finances and self value for the next year, and the situation looks good.

With the other planets generally in cooperation, this is a period of respite for Librans. Just take it slow; it’s a good month to run a reliable autopilot.

Maya White is a professional astrologer living in South Florida. With 25 years of experience, she is one of only 86 people in the world certified in AstroCarto-Graphy, a specialized branch of astrology that addresses issues

relating to location and travel. Contact her at 954-920-2373 or through www. whitestarastrology.com.

This is the constellation Cassiopeia, named for Queen Cassiopeia of Ethiopia. If you add a dim little star just below the crux of the M, you can actually draw a nice stick figure of a chair, the throne of Queen Cassiopeia.

But the throne in this position would require Cassiopeia to wear a seat belt because she’d be hanging face downward over the North Star. And that’s part of the reason this group of stars was named for her.

Why would anyone put a great queen on such a precarious throne?

Well, it seems that Cassiopeia made the fatal mistake of bragging that she was more beautiful than the Nereids, the sea nymphs who were considered to be the hottest beauties of their time. They complained to their father Poseidon, the god of the seas. And after much ado with sea monsters and Queen Cassiopeia’s daughter Andromeda chained to a rock, Cassiopeia was punished for her vanity by being made to ride in the heavens around the North Star for

all eternity, some times in a queenly upright position and at others in a less than dignified manner.

And 433 years ago this month, in November 1572, astronomers around the world saw a new star appear in Cassiopeia. It grew in brightness and for about two weeks outshone every star in the sky. It could even be seen in broad daylight and was visible for almost 16 months. We now know it was a giant exploding star called a supernova, of which our great telescopes can now see the shattered remnants.

So look for an ancient super star beauty queen who once had a super star visitor long ago.

Jack Horkheimer is executive director of the Miami Museum of Science. This is the script for his weekly television show co-produced by the museum and WPBT Channel 2 in Miami. It is seen on public television stations around the world.

For more information about stars, visit www.jackstargazer.com.

B28

November 2005

MAKING YOUR WAY

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Agents: a necessary part of traveling to foreign countries

By Capt. Ian van der Watt Whenever possible, I like to forego using an agent. However in some countries, it becomes a necessary part of doing business.

A lot of our stops are solely for bunkering. To bunker you need to tie up to a pier and that entails many things. Firstly a pier must be allocated so when you arrive in port, you have a place to tie up. Unlike marinas, busy ports give ships first choice so yachts, especially small ones like ourselves, need an agent with some clout to get a place for a few days.

Bunkering generally goes hand in hand with lube oil changes. If you need to get rid of waste lube oil, it can sometimes be a problem and an agent will help solve the problem. Duty-free bunkers require customs clearance.

Pilot: An agent will generally coordinate with you and the pilot about your ETA and schedule your pilotage in and out of port.

Immigration customs and health: Officials have to be notified and the agent would already have filled out the necessary paperwork to expedite their visit. A good agent will also make sure the process is done in an orderly fashion and that the officials get in and out. In some countries they tend

to park and hangout and expect lunch, commercial vessel. drinks and gifts.

We have used agents all over the Garbage: Can be a nightmare. An world but will start with our recent agent should be able to solve this voyage. problem, too.

Other services: Changing crew, Chaguaramas, Trinidad guests embarking or disembarking.

Intercontinental Shipping Limited Remember, the crew and guest list # 1 Richmond Street will be changing and the immigration Furness House, Port of Spain, department will have to be informed.

Trinidad. W.I. Weapons to be declared. The agent Radesh Heetai, operations should be advised before you decide coordinator to enter the country, to make sure Tel: 868-623-7919/7023 weapons can be brought in.

Fax: 868-627-9641 Chandlery and provisioning: An Cell: 868-680-3324 agent should be able to arrange this.

E-mail: rheetai@icsl.co.tt Repairs or parts being shipped to the They were very efficient and Radesh vessel: The agent should have a list of was very polite and extremely helpful. people authorized to work in the port.

With ISPS, not everyone is allowed in Recife, Brazil the port area.

Do not use Wilson Sons Maritime Doctors or any other medical Agency. In fact, I would not requirements: An agent will have a list recommend this port at all. of physicians that he/she can call on to attend to a sick crew member or guest.

Rio de Janeiro Exporting: We have on numerous We tied up at the Marina Gloria occasions sent items out of the country and only needed to clear in to the that guests purchased or machinery state. I did not have a good experience that needed service. The agent can with authorities in Brazil. A local do the necessary “despatcho” is a paperwork required person who will Add to our list to export out of his run around and get country. your documents Captains, if you have other The way we signed in. You still agents that you have used obtain an agent is have to be with in these places or others, by either asking him and it is quite feel free to write in. We’ll fellow captains time consuming. to recommend You have to visit continue to compile these someone or by trial the Policia Federal agents and keep a running and error. I prefer the and pick up a form list online at www.the-triton. first choice. There which you take com. Honest reviews from are some boats that to the bank, pay have spent enough $200 and then go captains only, please. time in areas to back and get your weed out the useless passports stamped. agents. Some big ship agents have Then it’s off to customs with various no experience with yachts and there lists: Crew personal items (cameras, is a world of difference between the walkmans, computers, etc.), ship’s two. There are agents springing up stores, bonded items, ship’s spare parts. everywhere that supposedly deal only Then to port health with a dewith yachts, and if they know their rat certificate and international business, they can prevent a lot of immunization cards, with yellow fever headaches. inoculations up to date. It is good when The object of this article is to traveling to Third World countries to compile a list of good agents around have inoculations up to date. Check the world that each vessel can carry with CDC on what you need. Finally on board to use when they require off to the Port Captain at the Navy who an agent. Please remember to ask will issue a cruising permit. in advance for a proforma and then Rio Yacht Services examine what they are going to charge Marina da Glória – Shop 11 you for. I always explain that we are a CEP: 20021-140 yacht and have twin screws and a bowRio de Janeiro, Brazil thruster. Many proformas have tugs, Carlos Carvalho line handlers, etc., listed as the people Tel: +5521 8877 1004 have never laid eyes on a yacht before.

E-mail: rioyes@gmail.com We normally have a few faxes going Web site: www.rioyes.com back and forth until we have negotiated (Note: There was an agency in the a suitable rate. That goes for agency Marina Gloria where we were tied up, fees as well. I explain that we are only but there was never anyone in.) a small crew (and sometimes guests) that do not require 24-hour service Buenos Aires, Argentina like a commercial vessel and so should Our agent here was Cargo S.A. not be paying the same rate as a large Luis Emilio Baronio

Tel: +54 11 4382 9779 Fax: as above Cell: +54 911 53 07 5805 E-mail: luis@cargo-sa.com Web site: www.cargo-sa.com A great person. If all agents were like this, I would not be writing this article.

He can arrange agents in different cities in Argentina and Uruguay

Mar de Plata, Argentina

Inda Y Garcia S.R.L. Carlos A Vuotto Tel: +54 223 489-0393 Fax: +54 223 480-0340/0267/0625 Cell: +54 155 214425 E-mail: ingar@icnet.com.ar

Puerto Madryn, Argentina

Alframar Shipchandlers Hugo Oscar Sosa Tel/fax: +54 2901 435423 Cell: +54 02901 1560 4920 E-mail: hugo@alframar.com

Puerto Deseado, Argentina

Nautilus S.R.L. Cap. Jorge V. Santangelo Tel: +54 297- 432120 Fax: +53 297 4870575 E-mail: nautilusari@impsat1.com.ar

Ushuaia, Argentina

Navalia s.r.l.

Carlos J Dominguez 25 de Mayo 250, office 3 (9410) Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina Tel: +54 2901 423 269 Fax: +54 2901 436 952 E-mail: info@navalia.co.ar Web site: www.navalia.com.ar

Punta Arenas, Chile

Inchcape Shipping Services Magallanes 974 Punta Arenas, Chile Tel: +56 61 244 592/448 Fax: +56 61 247 514 After hours: +56 9 6404638 Telex: 280050 ISS CL E-mail: isschile@iss-shipping.com

Puerto Williams, Chile

Contact Punta Arenas for information.

Puerto Montt, Chile

Agunsa Patricio S Jeria Camino Tepual KM 1,3 Ruta 226 Puerto Montt, Chile Tel: +56 65 260996 Fax: +56 65 254262 Cell: +56 98888356 E-mail: psepulveda@agunsa.cl Marina Oxxean had good dockage in Puerto Montt, and the dockmaster will do the paperwork.

Alejandro Cuevas Tel: +56 65 255544 Fax: same See AGENTS, page B29

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MAKING YOUR WAY

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The role of the ship agent in the yachting industry

By Francesco Luise Often, people ask what the purpose of a shipping agent is in the yachting community, and also why it is necessary to use an agency during a yacht’s cruise.

The role of an agency inevitably differs between countries due to varying legislative practices. In Italy, the term “shipping agent” (also known as a “Legal Guarantor”) is specifically regulated by national law – No. 135 ratified in 1977. In order to enter into the profession, one must complete a two-year apprenticeship with a maritime agency and then undergo an examination at the local chamber of commerce. This exam covers 14 disciplines and is headed by an appellate court judge.

Ship agents play a vital roll in all areas of maritime commerce forming the interface between a vessel (its owners, captain and crew) and local authorities, such as immigration and customs police, harbor masters and port security authorities. The importance of this role is reflected in the fact that an agent is legally recognized and empowered to act on behalf of the vessel and its owner(s).

A ship agent’s services are remunerated by its client in line with a national tariff that is applied every time a vessel makes a port call. The tariff is calculated according to a yacht’s GRT (Article 5, Letter F of the aforementioned law). The tariff is fixed annually by decree from the Italian Ministry of Transport and Navigation.

In an effort to ensure maximum transparency between vessels and their agents, the National Federation of Maritime Agents (with offices in both Rome and Genoa) make the general tariff, laws, rules and regulations, and circulars all available on a Web site.

The existence of a public tariff governed by law minimizes overcharging to the end user, providing at least an indication of how much an

agent’s services should cost.

The combination of the rigorous entry procedure for becoming a shipping agent, along with the transparent nature of the tariff structure, helps ensure professionalism among agents and subsequent peace of mind for owners and captains.

In the yachting industry’s early years, agency activities principally were limited to the tourist side of the business. It wasn’t long before agencies offered technical support for services such as repairs, refuelling, provisions and supplies. These activities have grown exponentially, especially following the boom in pleasure boat construction of the 1980s and ’90s.

This development also had a considerable impact on the international brokerage business, which created new departments focused solely on yacht management.

The rapid change of the market in this direction meant that even maritime agencies needed to offer an ever-greater range of services to their customers. No more would an agent’s role mean simply dealing with a vessel’s paperwork. Instead agencies started to offer real-time assistance for every imaginable requirement a vessel may need 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Once nominated by a vessel – nomination can be verbal – the agent becomes legally responsible for port requirements, contracts and operations that the vessel and captain undertake during the port call. In case of inadequacy or problem during the stay, the agent is legally bound as being coresponsible toward the ship’s creditors, port and police authorities.

It could be said that having nominated an agent in a port of call, a vessel can consider itself falling under an umbrella of protection in which all formalities and services are taken care of, including payments and clearances.

It is the extremely varied range of activities themselves, which are undertaken by a maritime agency, that

Delfino Maritime gets the job done AGENTS, from page B28 E-mail: acuevasz@telsur.cl Web site: www.marinaoxxean.cl

Arica, Chile

Do not use Agunsa. Find another agency.

Sail’n Galapagos Yacht Services Agency & Tour Operator Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Is. Galapagos, Ecuador Ricardo Arenas & Yvonne Mortola Tel: +593 5 2526186 Cell: +593 9 9480859 Fax: +593 5 2526041 / +593 5 2526186 E-mail: RicardoArenas@ricardoaren

as.com Web site: www.sailingalapagos.com Ricardo has the place sewn up. He is definitely the only person to use

Panama

Delfino Maritime Peter Stevens Tel: 507 261-1931/3554/4152 Fax: 507 261-3236 Cell: 507 661 31599 E-mail: delfinomaritime@hotmail. com; delfinomaritime@bellsouth.net.pa Peter is a great guy and can get things done in Panama.

Contact Capt. Ian van der Watt through editorial@the-trito.com.

forms the reason for its existence. The benefit to a vessel in terms of time saved, as well as local knowledge for owner and captain, is tremendous. One only has to look at the price of a charter itself – which often exceeds hundreds of thousands of euros – to understand that nothing short of perfection is expected throughout the trip.

In today’s day and age, it is unthinkable that a captain, who already is busy taking care of guests and crew (as well as unseen problems), could find the time to organize and effect the shore-orientated activities as well.

The movement of the international megayacht market toward an evergreater commercial use requires the obligatory presence of a maritime agency just as in the cruise ship sector.

Also the actual existence of yachts under full SOLAS terms means that simply from a clearance standpoint the ship’s agent role is entirely obligatory.

In conclusion, one might say that the work of a maritime agency not only brings huge value to a yacht’s cruise, but has become an absolute necessity in the world of modern yachting.

Francesco Luise is a registered agent with Luise Associates, a division of J. Luise & Sons in Italy. Contact him at luise@luise.it or online at www.luise.it.

November 2005

B29

B30

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

November 2005

ADVERTISER DIRECTORY Company

Page

Alexseal Yacht Coatings A23 Andrews Accountancy A16 Antibes Yachtwear A18 Argonautica Yacht Interiors A25 ARW Maritime B15 Assist 2 Sell A32 Automated Marine Systems A25 Available Yacht Crew.com B14 Axon Products A32 Bahia Mar Yachitng Center A38 The Beard Marine Group A19 Bennett Brothers Yachts A34 Bluewater Books and Charts A20 Boat Blinds International B24 Boater’s World A20 Bradford: The Shipyard Group B9 Broward Marine A6 Brownie’s A19 Budget Marine B14 Business cards B16-20 C&N Yacht Refinishing A2 CME Marine Electronics (Calypso) A16 Camper & Nicholsons International A11 Camille’s Cafe A21 Cape Ann Towing B13 Capital Marine Alliance A8 Charlie’s Locker A21 Concord Marine Electronics A24 Cool-Temp Design A33 C-Worthy Corp.

A24 Diesel Fuel Solutions B13 Dolcevita Singer Island B2 Dunn Marine B25 Ecoland Expeditions A36 Elite Crew International A36 Essential Boutique A21 Finish Masters A33 Florida Marine A31 Fort Lauderdale Marine Directory B27 Global Marine Travel A5 Global Satellite A20,A23 Global Ship Systems B32 Global Yacht Fuel A29 The Grateful Palate B12 H2O Radio A37 Harbor Shops A20-21 Harbortown Marina-Ft. Pierce B25 Heidi Kublik Massage Therapist A37 Hughes Power Systems B12 Inlet Fine Wine & Spirits B5 Island Marine Electric B15 Island Marine, Industrial Services A37 Japan Radio Co. A17 J.F. Recruiting B10 Lacasse Services A12 Lauderdale Marine Center B7 Lauderdale Propeller A4 Lauderdale Speedometer A15

Company

Page

Lifeline Inflatable Services B31 Light Bulbs Unlimited A29 Mackay Communications B14 Mail Boxes Etc. B11 Maritime Professional Training A10 Maritime Underwriters A13 Marshall Islands Yacht Registry A22 Matthew’s Marine A35 Megafend Inside FLIBS Meridian Marine B8 Mrs. G. Propeller A30 The Mrs. G Team B12 Nauti Tech A3 Nautical Structures B8 Nguyen Yacht Refinishing B13 North Cove Marina A12 Northrop & Johnson A15 Ocean World Park & Marina A7 Oregon Camera Systems A33 Orion Yacht Solutions A29 Perry Law Firm A29 Peterson Fuel Delivery A11 Pier 17 B24 PM Restoration B31 Professional Tank Cleaning A30 Prudential Florida WIC Realty B26 Puerto Isla Mujeres A24 Quiksigns A14 Radio Holland USA A34 Resolve Marine Group B4 Rich Beers Marine A31 River Supply River Services A35 Rolly Marine Service B3 Rossmare International Bunkering B22 RPM Diesel Engine Co. B29 Sailorman A2 Scalise Marine B25 Schot Designer Photography B22 Sea-Image Corp.

B31 Southern Drydock A16 Sunshine Medical Center B10 SuperNavi A9 Superyacht Technologies B29 TowBoatUS A11 Turtle Cove Marina A35 Universal Travel B26 Virgin Islands Charteryacht League B27 Westrec Marinas A18 Wet Effects B15 Windjammer B23 Wotton’s Wharf B26 Xtreme Yacht Products A20 Yacht Entertainment Systems B24 Yacht Equipment and Parts A40 Yachting Pages B28 Yacht Productions B7 Yacht Toys of Florida A22

www.the-triton.com

The Triton

Ft. Lauderdale film festival Through Nov. 20 Ft. Lauderdale

International Film Festival, the longest film festival in the world and one of the most important regional shows in the United States. About 100 films are shown from Miami to Boca Raton. www.fliff.com

Nov. 3 The Triton Bridge luncheon.

Captains only. RSVP to Editor Lucy Reed at lucy@the-triton. com or call 954-525-0029. Space is limited to eight.

Nov. 4-6 24th annual Charter Yacht Society Boatshow, Village Cay Marina, Tortola, BVI. Scheduled to feature about 60 yachts and 100 brokers. www.bvicrewedyachts. com

Nov. 6 Sunday Jazz Brunch, Ft.

Lauderdale, along the New River downtown, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., free.

Five stages including a variety of jazz types. www.fortlauderdale.gov

Nov. 8-10 31st annual St. Thomas

Fall Charteryacht show, Crown Bay Marina. Scheduled to feature 36 yachts and 100 brokers. (800) 5242061, www.vicl.org.

Nov. 8-10 ISM/ISPS Code training with the U.S. Maritime Institute.

Ft. Lauderdale. 954-449-3444 or info@usmaritimeinstitute.com.

Nov. 9 5:30-7 p.m. The Triton’s

monthly Megayacht Meeting, then stay for our monthly networking session, the Latitude Adjustment Hour. For details on speaker and location, call us at 954-525-0029 or e-mail lucy@the-triton.com.

Nov. 10-13 ShowBoats

International magazine’s Yacht Rendevous at Fisher Island to benefit Boys & Girls Club of Broward County. 954-563-2822, www.yachtrendezvous.com

Nov. 15-17 Marine Equipment

Trade Show (METS) 2005, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

For trade only. Nearly 1,000 companies from 30 countries are expected to exhibit their newest products. The show attracted 15,000 trade-only visitors last year. www.mets.nl

Nov. 15-17 Project 2005,

EVENT OF MONTH Under the Bridge luncheons for crew Attention stews, mates, engineers and chefs. The Triton is holding “Under the Bridge” luncheons to talk about issues important to you. All the lunches will be held in Ft. Lauderdale at noon. You don’t have to be a 10-year veteran to have your say. Let’s hear from young and old(er), novice and veteran. All that’s really required is a genuine love for this business and ideas on how to help it grow. RSVP to Editor Lucy Chabot Reed at 954-525-0029. Space is limited to eight for each lunch.

Nov. 4, Stews Nov. 7, Mates Nov. 10, Engineers Nov. 11, Chefs Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Hosted by The Yacht Report.

Presenters include Hein Velema of Feadship, owner Bill Joy to discuss the new build of S/Y Ethereal and a captains panel titled “Who’s looking after the boss’ interests?” Register online at www. theyachtreport.com.

Nov. 17-20 28th annual St.

Petersburg Boat Show, Bayfront Center Yacht Basin, St. Petersburg, Fla. www.showmanagement.com

Nov. 18-20 22nd annual Miami

Book Fair International, the largest book fair in the country with more than 250 authors and half a million visitors. This year’s guest authors include Margaret Atwood, Joan Didian and Candace Bushnell of “Sex and the City” fame. The fair is held on the streets surrounding Miami-Dade Community College.

Tri-Rail takes you right there. 305237-3258 www.miamibookfair.com

Nov. 19-20 16th annual Nautical Flea Market, Pompano Community Park, 830 N.E. 18th Ave., Pompano Beach. $3 to get in, parking is free. www. nauticalfleamarket.com

The Triton

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

www.the-triton.com

November 2005

Miami Book Fair begins

Dec. 1 5:30-7 p.m. The Triton’s

monthly Megayacht Meeting, then stay for our monthly networking session, the Latitude Adjustment Hour. For details on speaker, place and time, call The Triton at 954525-0029 or e-mail events@thetriton.com.

Dec. 2-4 St.Maarten-St.Martin Classic Yacht Regatta. www. classicregatta.com

Dec. 4 Sunday Jazz Brunch, Fort

Lauderdale, along the New River downtown, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., free.

Five stages including a variety of jazz types. www.fortlauderdale.gov

Dec. 7-12 44th annual Charter

Yacht Show, Antigua. 269 460 1059, www.antigua-charter-yachtmeeting.com

Dec. 17 34th annual Winterfest

Boat Parade, Intracoastal Waterway, Ft. Lauderdale. http:// www.winterfestparade.com

Expert leather, vinyl and plastic repair and recoloring.

We repair scuffs, cuts, scrapes, discoloration, ink marks, tears, cracks, stains, scratches, etc.

Dec. 31-Jan. 8 New York National Boat Show, Javits Convention Center, New York City. 212-9847000, www.nyboatshow.com

Jan. 21-29 37th annual Boot

Dec. 5-8 St. Maarten Marine

Trades Association Charter Yacht Exhibition, St. Maarten. www. charteryachtexhibition.com

Düsseldorf, Germany. More than 1,700 exhibitors from 55 countries have registered to showcase boats, yachts and maritime products and services. Several of the 18 exhibition halls will be dedicated to megayachts. www.mdna.com/ shows/boot.html

Dec. 6 The Triton Bridge luncheon

Jan. 22-27 17th annual U.S. Sail-

in Sint Maarten. Captains only.

RSVP to Editor Lucy Reed at lucy@the-triton.com or call 954270-2239. Space is limited to eight.

B31

Custom Color Matching We Repair...

Cushions Headliners Panels Upholstery Coaming Pads and more

ing’s Rolex Miami OCR, Biscayne Bay. Ranked by the International Sailing Federation as a Grade 1 event. www.ussailing.com

Professional Mobile Service Since 1995

954-830-4135

Learn how to cut back on Navigate with Confidence! your impact on the oceans FarSounder Ad.indd 1

5/13/2005 12:54:07 PM

3D Forward-looking sonar systems

ENVIRONMENT, from page B22 sites – www.oceana.com, www.defendingtheoceans.com, www.greenpeace.com, www.wdcs.com.

These all have activist groups where you can campaign over the Web. Most already have the letter written; you can amend or rewrite it as you like, put your information into it and hit “send.”

It will automatically go to the person who has the power to do something.

Educate yourself on other things we can do or not do: 1. Don’t eat endangered species. Let restaurant managers know why you are not eating North Atlantic cod tonight.

2. Don’t buy endangered species.

Chefs, let suppliers know why you aren’t buying thse fish. Explain to your owner why you prefer not to cook swordfish and other species. (It is, of course, not always possible to avoid as it is the owners’ or guests’ decision on what they eat, but try approaching it in a subtle way and see what the outcome is. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Most people do care but just don’t know enough about it.)

3. Take a dive knife or scissors and a mesh bag with you when you go diving

and cut free any nets affecting coral reefs or other marine life. Bring them to the surface and dispose of them properly. Remains of nets, made out of strong nylon, are proving to be a big danger to the ecosystems of coral reefs.

For more information on fishing methods and what to do to reduce your impact on the ocean, The Monterey Aquarium in California produces excellent prompt cards for chefs and restaurants as well as the average person, with alternative choices for your location as well as advice on how to make the right choices. Go to www. mbayaq.org and click on the seafood watch icon. The Web site has great information and has already made a positive impact on fish eating choices in California.

Everybody can do something, and you really can make a difference. Every little bit helps. Please feel free to drop me an e-mail with any questions or comments on what we yacht crew can do to help the ocean environment.

Capt. Carol Benbrook is a working megayacht captain. Contact her at captaincarol@mac.com.

Visit us at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show- Booth #360 in the International Yacht Builders Pavilion. Email or call us, and we will come to your boat during the Show to demo the system.

Sea-Image Corporation www.sea-image.com Telephone: (250) 412-2400

jedwards@sea-image.com

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GettingUnderWay T E C H N I C A L N E W S F O R C A P TA I N S & C R E W S

Pages A28-33

www.the-triton.com

November 2005

Docking in Simple headset solves complex problems no visibility no problem

By Bransom “Rocky” Bean

could do all that.

On the hardware end, ReVA is just a sturdy set of eyeglasses with a tiny color TV camera attached. A microphone and earphone set gives real-time bidirectional audio and it all weighs not much more than a pair of Diesel sunglasses.

The headset is connected Ft. Lauderdale-based Nauti-Tech created the ReVA to a batterysystem for its clients to communicate in real time with powered wi-fi service technicians. See a demo at Booth 514 at the transmitter boat show.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NAUTI-TECH and that’s where the hardwiring ends as the unit transmits software” installed in the ship’s wirelessly to the vessel’s wi-fi, computer or a dedicated laptop which in turn talks to any Internet with a WAP (wireless access point), connection the vessel has available, connection to the Internet can be, which talks with, well, the whole say, via a long-range wireless bridge world.

See REVA, page A30 Using the ReVA “tunneling

GettingUnderWay

By Capt. David Hare

The process of landing an aircraft in virtually zero zero visibility has become commonplace for years.

Arriving and departing from ports in zero zero visibility is fairly new to the yachting industry.

This summer, I had the enormous pleasure of taking over a newly

The bridge of M/V Thunder is as high-tech as they come.

PHOTO/CARLA ALLEN

refurbished Delta expedition yacht, M/V Thunder, after a complete refit at the Hinckley yard in Newport, R.I. Thunder’s bridge has the latest flat-screen x 3 black box technology.

During our seven-week shakedown cruise of Nova Scotia (see story in Cruising Grounds, page A35), 90 percent of my arrivals and departures were conducted in zero zero visibility at night in dense fog.

The Furuno 2117 radar backed up with another Furuno radar combined with Furuno Satellite Compass, Furuno GPS, SAAB GPS and SAAB AIS, all tied to a master server for the navigation inputs to a Nobletec Admiral digital chart plotting software

See THUNDER, page A33

Picture this: You’re the engineer of a vessel, sailing somewhere between the Marquesas Islands and Peru.

You’re staring at a gauge on a genset that has been playing up for days.

You’ve tried everything. You need outside help but your e-mails and even Iridium at US$12 a minute can’t get the idea across to the manufacturer.

At times like this, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Suppose you could, just by looking at the offending machine, show the engine manufacturer back in East Podunk, Nowhere, USA, exactly what you’re seeing in real time. And suppose they could actually hear you describe what happens when you turn that knob; “See, the amps drop three seconds after I turn this.”

Then, when East Podunk replies, “See what happens if instead you…,” they can literally see what happens as it happens (and hear any bearings screaming just before they fail).

And once the problem is diagnosed, simply by turning your head toward the faulty equipment, the East Podunk parts department can see the part number they need to get out, first flight, tonight.

Well, with a ReVA headset, you

T E C H N I C A L N E W S F O R C A P TA I N S & C R E W S

Lacasse partners with Seattle’s Northlake yard

By Lucy Chabot Reed Lacasse Services is partnering with Northlake Shipyard in Seattle to convert the 50-year-old commercial shipyard into a megayacht repair yard.

The yard has two dry docks that can handle yachts up to 285 feet and 2,100 tons, according to Peter Kelly, owner of Northlake. It also has two 50-ton cranes on rails and is bringing in a floating paint shed, he said.

The yard will offer all services, though yachts can use preferred subcontractors, Kelly said.

The yard has seen a decline in its fishing fleet business since Alaskan fishing boats have combined quotas onto fewer boats, Kelly said. The impact is that instead of 300 crabbing boats fishing in the Bering Sea this winter and spring, there will be about 100, slashing

Northlake’s repair work dramatically.

“We have no alternative but to look elsewhere,” Kelly said. “It’s that simple.”

He chose to look toward the yachting industry, and to Greg and Rita Mosley from Lacasse Services. The couple took over the crew agency started in the 1980s by Greg’s mother, Beverly, and expanded it to include logistical support, parts and provisioning, bunkering and technical work.

The Mosleys have been bringing yachts to the yard for the past two summers, including the 160-foot Codecasa Invader, which was painted in September.

“We work with so many yachts, it was just a natural fit for us,” Greg Mosley said of the partnership. “The yard is a little rough in places – it’s a commercial yard – but the bones are just fabulous.”

M/Y Invader got a paint job at Northlake Shipyard this summer.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GREG AND RITA MOSLEY

The planned transformation includes crew facilities such as a lounge and showers to be built this summer.

Contact Editor Lucy Chabot Reed at lucy@the-triton.com.

The Triton

HOW TO SELL A TENDER

www.the-triton.com

November 2005

A29

Give tender the once over to secure the best price in sale

By David Wieldt Wondering what to do with that used tender you have no use for? You will be pleased to know that there is a second-hand market for inflatables, both rigid and soft-bottom, and that your boat can find a new home.

And it may be worth more than you think.

I sell used inflatables for dealers, brokers, captains and yacht managers and I am going to describe to you, step by step, how to sell your used tender.

Detailing

First and foremost, your boat should be cleaned and, preferably, detailed.

This shows you have taken care of it. If you store it on the hard, use a decent trailer or chocks that show the boat is not neglected while it waits for a new owner. If your boat is no longer yacht quality, get the ballpark costs of a trailer (perhaps one galvanized and one aluminum quote) to make it easier for your buyer to make a commitment.

Inspection

If you haven’t already, give your boat a thorough inspection, checking all the systems, hull, tube, etc. If the battery is dead, you are not ready to show it.

Have a good look at the tubes, top and undersides, for signs that it may soon expire. This is especially important if the tube is near or past its 10-year average life expectancy (for hypalon). Look to see if the outer hypalon layer is beginning to peel away from any part of the tube and showing the black neopreme rubber and fiber weave underneath. Do not confuse peeling with collisions that have knocked off pieces of hypalon.

Also look for areas where the fiber weave is beginning to show through the hypalon, indicating that the hypalon is getting thin. Another bad indicator is small millimeter-sized, black-dotted mold.

Now onto the engine. A prospect will want to run the engine, so be ready for that. If you’re not prepared with your engine ears, your buyer is going to think you may not be flushing your engine regularly.

Air up the tubes so they look good.

(But you don’t want the tubes overinflated as the heat of the sun makes the tubes even tighter and shortens their life expectancy.)

In short, be aware of any problems with your tender. If the buyer finds a problem you didn’t mention, he may get anxious or nervous.

Photo shoot

Now it’s time to take some photos.

You will need a digital camera for this.

Your main ad photo needs to end up less than 200kb, and preferably in jpeg format. Depending on the camera, you likely won’t need your highestresolution setting. I use the “good” setting on my 3.1 megapixel camera.

Take photos that reveal the condition of the boat, like the keel and strakes (where most dings occur), drive or outboard including the tip, zincs, propeller, etc. Photograph the cockpit, helm, seating arrangement, and the kind of spaces important to operating the boat (battery compartment, lockers, engine compartment, etc).

Don’t assume the prospect knows the layout of your boat. Give them a virtual tour.

Now you should cover the boat.

Use either a cover or covered storage.

If you haven’t kept your boat out of the sun, you should appraise the value accordingly. No natural occurrence is more harmful to hypalon than UV.

Fair market value

Next it’s time to come up with a price. For this I recommend NADA. com, and it’s free. This site is fairly easy to use and shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes to find a value. But don’t take their recommendations to the bank. I

There’s a better market for that tender than you think.

PHOTO/DAVID WIELDT

have found that used rigid inflatables (deluxe versions) typically sell for about 20 percent less than suggested retail based on condition, either average or low.

If your boat is in above-average condition, use 80 percent of NADA average retail. If your boat is in only average condition, 80 percent of NADA’s low retail is more appropriate. This isn’t intuitive, but it works as a guide.

Gas jets sell for less than that, about 70 percent of NADA, or even lower.

Big diesel-powered ribs, including Novurania Equators, are a subject for a

different article.

If your boat has an outboard, you will have to look up the price of the outboard separately. Again, as a reference, I use 80 percent of NADA.

Listing online

For small tenders, under about $20,000, I recommend listing with Boat Trader Online, www.boattraderonline. com. Larger than that and Boat Trader may not be the best publication. If you use it, expect to wait a few months if

See TENDER, page A31

A30

FROM THE TECHNOLOGY FRONT

November 2005

Today’s fuel prices

One year ago

Prices for low-sulfur gasoil expressed in US$ per cubic meter (1,000 liters) as of Oct. 15.

Prices for low-sulfur gasoil expressed in US$ per cubic meter (1,000 litres) as of Oct. 15, 2004.

Region Duty-free*/duty paid U.S. East Coast Ft. Lauderdale 720/758 Savannah, Ga. 675/NA Newport, R.I. 609/NA Caribbean St. Thomas, USVI 799/NA Trinidad 728/NA Antigua 698/NA North Atlantic Bermuda (Ireland Island) NA/NA Bermuda (St. George’s) 703/NA Cape Verde 573/NA Azores 576/NA Canary Islands 582/NA Mediterranean Gibraltar 561/NA Barcelona, Spain 620/1,201 Palma de Mallorca, Spain NA/1,167 Antibes, France 610/1,151 San Remo, Italy 672/1,492 Naples, Italy 705/1,427 Venice, Italy 696/1,356 Corfu, Greece 725/1,194 Piraeus, Greece 654/1,098 Istanbul, Turkey 565/NA Malta 562/NA Tunis, Tunisia 576/NA Oceania Auckland, New Zealand 579/NA Sydney, Australia 587/NA Fiji 605/NA

Region Duty-free*/duty paid U.S. East Coast Ft. Lauderdale 438/467 Savannah, Ga. 450/NA Newport, R.I. 504/NA Caribbean St. Thomas, USVI 523/NA Trinidad 455/NA Antigua 471/NA North Atlantic Bermuda (Ireland Island) 543/NA Bermuda (St. George’s) 515/NA Cape Verde 442/NA Azores 494/NA Canary Islands 463/NA Mediterranean Gibraltar 460/NA Barcelona, Spain 542/NA Palma de Mallorca, Spain NA/1,150 Antibes, France 531/1,237 San Remo, Italy 630/1,375 Naples, Italy 615/1,330 Venice, Italy 620/1,351 Corfu, Greece 516/NA Piraeus, Greece 495/NA Istanbul, Turkey 456/NA Malta 450/NA Tunis, Tunisia 455/NA Oceania Auckland, New Zealand 451/NA Sydney, Australia 443/NA Fiji 512/NA

*When available according to customs.

*When available according to customs.

www.the-triton.com

The Triton

Internet feed can be routed to any other Internet user REVA, from page A28 with hi-gain antenna to a marina’s wi-fi, an EDGE or 3G PCMCIA card for the new cellphone broadband networks or an RG45 and serial connectors for Internet access via the ship sat-phone connections.

Translation: The possibilities are endless.

ReVA is the result of one year’s development work. Just ask the guy who had the idea that you could have had, Jacques Brunier, owner of NautiTech (www.nauti-tech.com) in Ft. Lauderdale.

value through solid service.

Not surprisingly, the military has something like ReVA, but it works with closed-circuit television, doesn’t use the Internet and costs a whole lot more than Nauti-Tech’s price of US$3,500.

“I dream something, I build it, and if it works, well, then I sell it,” Brunier said.

Focused on customer service

An unassuming sort, Brunier would have you believe that marketing is not his strong suit. It’s pretty obvious, though, that customer service is, because his ReVA headset is the tip of the ReVA iceberg.

“We wanted to have a complete realHelping the other half time database on all of our customers Most infuriatingly – just like Arthur with the PVI associated with each Fry, the inventor of Post-Its, who vessel.” (PVI stands for Pertinent Vessel was just trying to mark his place in Information and includes literally the hymnal as he sang in his church everything.) choir – Brunier was just trying to do To support the headset via the something else when he and his team set out to create ReVA or Remote Video Internet and to provide Nauti-Tech customers with real-time remote Assistance (www.revanywhere.com). assistance with video and audio “Actually, ReVA came from my streaming, the company developed frustration of not the ReVA 3000, which being able to help ‘I dream something, I enables users to send our Nauti-Tech build it, and if it works, audio and video customers,” he said. streams directly to “We found that we well, then I sell it.’ could help 50 percent — Jack Brunier Nauti-Tech’s servers.

For a per-minute over the phone or Owner, Nauti-Tech connection fee, Nautiby e-mail, but if we Tech staff can assist could see what they remotely via a bi-directional audio were seeing we could reach a much link. Then the customer, vessel and better score.” equipment technical data is stored in a Nauti-tech’s normal business is servicing electrical systems, electronics dedicated file on the server, remaining accessible to technicians who can and refrigeration equipment for update the database as required. megayachts, from troubleshooting But here’s the really exciting bit: complex monitoring systems with no The ReVA-SS streaming server can diagram to installing a shore-power redirect the real-time stream to any converter, radar or an A/C unit. other Internet user – not just Nauti“Basically, if it has a wire, we work Tech – such as an engine manufacturer, on it,” Brunier said, with his Gallic a doctor, an admiralty lawyer, the accent, “We love challenges. When the underwriter or even the dreaded competency on the boat ends, that’s salvage company for that same perwhen we can help. We pride ourselves minute fee. on reverse engineering.”

That means the user can get realThe Nauti-Tech crew is a dedicated and versatile team of 11 (four electronic time help anywhere in the world, from engineers, two in software development anywhere help may be, including those friendly guys in East Podunk thanks to and three with associate degrees in ReVA. electronics as well as two with EPA And now, for the piece de resistance, certifications for A/C). once installed on a server and connected to the Internet with a fixed Never intending to stay Brunier is a sailor and an electronics IP address and VPN server, the ReVARS software allows a user to control as engineer from France’s INSA (Institut many ReVA 3000 color communicators National des Sciences Appliquées as needed. de Lyon), one of the top French Not bad for somebody who didn’t engineering universities. He and his intend to stay in the United States or be family arrived in Ft. Lauderdale seven in this business anyway. years ago having sailed across the Atlantic in the boat Brunier built.

Bransom “Rocky” Bean is a yachting They really hadn’t intended to stay, industry business consultant and but it happened. And although still a ocean sailor. Contact him directly at French citizen, Brunier began cashing in on the American Dream by providing bbean@the-triton.com.

The Triton

HOW TO SELL A TENDER

www.the-triton.com

Make sure they are serious before taking a sea trial your boat is priced right.

Private ads cost about $40 for four weeks. Last year, Boat Trader added a “rigid inflatable” category under “small boats.” If you’re selling a soft-bottom roll-up, use “tenders/small boats.” You get one photo for a basic Internet ad.

Use some of the other photos to send to prospects when they e-mail you for more information.

For descriptions in your ad I recommend the manufacturer’s words, without plagiarizing of course. In your introduction, make a brief description of the condition of the boat (a mechanical description and a cosmetic description) and include that you will take the “best offer.” Advertise that you have more photos.

Sea trials

Most sellers don’t want to spend any more time with this than is absolutely necessary. A sea trial isn’t always necessary to close a deal. I have sold a number of boats by running the engine in the lot. However, a sea trial may be necessary.

Before taking your prospect out, make sure they are serious about

buying the boat. Try using a trial close before arranging a sea trial. For instance, “so if the boat performs as I have described, you will want to move forward?” Discuss how you will make payment at the conclusion. This can reveal if they are serious.

Payment

Everybody has their theories on the security of different payment methods.

It’s important that you and your customer agree. This can be a sensitive time in this transaction. Obviously you want to protect yourself but be careful not to offend your customer. I recommend cash, wire transfer (check for bank fees), cashier’s check, or certified check.

If you don’t have access to a Bill of Sale document, find one at www. lawguru.com/legalforms/category_ 464__page_1.html. �

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David Wieldt, a former refit engineer and salesman with Esprit Nautics, now owns Tender Care, a Ft. Lauderdalebased company that sells pre-owned yacht tenders. Contact him at 954-8549156, dave@pre-owned-yacht-tenders. com, or visit www.pre-owned-yachttenders.com.

A31

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TENDER, from page A29

November 2005

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230 SW 27th Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315

Phone: 954.764.6192 Fax: 954.764.7259

Caribbean Service Center: Rob Marine, St. Maarten Visit us on the web at

www.richbeersmarine.com

A32

November 2005

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PRODUCT REVIEW

The Triton

Versatile line of products can make you shine Phenomenal is an adjective that means extraordinary or highly remarkable. Well, that’s the word I choose to describe the product line offered by Belzona.

In 1978, I started working part time in a machine shop in Arizona rebuilding large submersible electric motors (50hp to 1200hp).

CAPTAIN’S CALL This meant large HERBERT MAGNEY problems to solve.

Along comes this salesperson promising the cure-all/fix-all, betterthan-snake-oil solution to our fix-it issues. Belzona.

Like everything else in life, yacht repair requires preparation. (I just wish that simply grit blasting to white metal would fix all of the problems in the world.)

Twenty-seven years later and Belzona is still a critical part of keeping the show on the road. I have used various products for the rebuild process, one for casting repair, another for hardened journals on shafts, still another for rubber bellows and couplings, and still others to make the pump housings and impellers on the

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pumps super smooth.

You can cast anything you can pour An easy example of success using with this stuff. Let us say a coupling the Belzona 1341 (Super Metal Glide) spacer has destroyed itself. You can is during repairs of pump housings. recast a new one in place, as long as it These and other areas where there is is not moving. corrosive, galvanic and/or abrasive I have had the greatest success action are where I have used Belzona with the product line when it comes 1111 (Super Metal) to repair holes and time to replace worn shafts. Long or fill voids and then applied the 1341 to short, large or small, wear on rotating the entire wetted elements is part of If you want propellers life. That is until area.

This created a you take the worn that will run even surface that would shaft, turn down the smoother than with outlast most every effected area, apply other prop coatings and the 1111 or 1112 type of metallurgy.

The slick and hard (Super XL-Metal) to not abrade if driven surface of the 1341 the shaft, and then through sand, cover allows abrasive grind the shaft to them with 1341. particles to pass size. The difference by and not damage in the life expectancy the surface. Its lack of the repaired of porosity does not allow galvanic shafting is amazing. or corrosive actions to start, not to We all know that space on board is mention it is not metal. a critical issue. I will always have space I have coated hundreds of large onboard for some of these products. and small pump housings and both They can make you look like a genius. propellers and impellers for use in MacGyver, I am sure, had some of this pumping ash slurries from mines, stuff. leached product from insitu mining For those who may think that this operations plus offshore pumping sites. is like Devcon or Bondo or Superglue, It will work on your pumps and other don’t even go there. This line of areas of the boat. products has more certifications from For those of us with metal hulls, various atomic energy and engineering there are a number of places to use this societies than you can name. product.

For example, Det Norske Veritas, If you want propellers that will run Bureau Veritas, the U.S. Navy, even smoother than with other prop British Gas, ABS, Caterpillar, York coatings and not abrade if driven International, and Italian Register of through sand, cover them with 1341.

Shipping. Just check out any one of the Back on deck, consider fenders, products and you will find all of the especially the expensive inflatable bureaus of standards stand behind this fenders that have become the new product. It is for professionals. standard. I love them, except when they For about $600, Belzona offera a start to delaminate at their Vulcanized marine emergency repair kit with seams. several products in it for yacht repair. It We all know the line hanger comes in a tackle box and all you need attachment points come loose, the to supply is a small grinder and the seams start to open, and the hidden right wheels. Some of you have been nail on the piling pokes a hole then rips using this stuff for years, especially a foot-long gash. those from Europe and Australia.

One manufacturer had Almost anyone with a mechanical extraordinary service and another background has been exposed to this took more than six months to rectify a amazing product line and it has made factory defect. Belzona Elastomers can many an engineer famous for pulling be on board for a repair that day. it together in a pinch. I hope to spread The Elastomers come in three the joy, especially to the captains who grades: Belzona 2111 (D&A Hi Build are also engineers and need help. You Elastomer) is the paste for spreading cannot go wrong with this one. and high-build situations from The Ft. Lauderdale independent repairing fenders to tenders and lining consultant for Belzona is Mike Hinso, plumbing and castings. a knowledgeable man who has been Belzona 2121 (D&A Hi Coat with the company for ages. He can Elastomer) is a medium-viscosity help with repairs or even invite you product that you can paint onto almost to witness repairs at another site so everything on Earth. I believe you could you learn before you need. The best paint this on the ground for a rubberway to reach him is 754-264-3136 and coated piece of earth and it would not molecula@adelphia.net. For those wear out. outside South Florida, visit www.

The fun stuff is the 2131 (D&A belzona.com.

Hi Fluid Elastomer), which is a lowviscosity fluid for brushing, low-build If you have a product you’d like to see applications plus giving you the ability reviewed, contact Editor Lucy Chabot to cast rubber products.

Reed at lucy@the-triton.com.

The Triton

FROM THE TECHNOLOGY FRONT

www.the-triton.com

Redundancy worth the investement THUNDER, from page A28 made for some extremely accurate navigation.

With two radars and two independent chart plotters using different digital chart formats, I feel confident on the incoming data.

For example, this is how it worked: I would be on the bridge speaking into my headset to my deck crew on the bow and stern, announcing that we were approaching the dock (sideways with bow and stern thrusters). The dock was 20 feet away.

Mate Jonathan’s response, “Not in sight, captain.”

Then at my 15-foot call I heard, “Making out a wall, captain” in a thankful tone of voice.

This technology is as accurate or more so then what I used when flying a Citation business jet.

My advice to captains and owners is that it is absolutely worth the investment. However, it is vitally

tremendous level of accuracy and redundancy.

When in tight quarters, I have the first officer on the bridge scanning a paper chart with confirmation callouts, making sure that Nobletec and “Sir Paper Chart” concur with one another.

Thunder also has the Marine Weather Channel satellite download for outstanding WX real-time information combined with a look-ahead feature to predict the upcoming weather, waves, winds and frontal movements days in advance.

Nevertheless, I still consult with my friends at Weather Routing before taking on any extended passages.

Folks, this state-of-the-art equipment is ready for prime time.

Study hard, play hard and enjoy the technology that makes for ultra-safe voyaging when applied properly.

Contact Capt. David Hare through editorial@the-triton.com.

Two radars and two independent chart plotters, plus a first officer scanning paper charts, creates confidence in foggy weather.

PHOTO/CARLA ALLEN

WEATHER ROUTING 518.798.1110 www.wriwx.com wri@wriwx.com important to practice using this technology on clear days to become both familiar and comfortable with relying on the information presented.

When making these approaches, I constantly scan all of the data making sure that they all are in concurrence with one another, and that the B&G depth gauge agrees with the chartplotter’s expected depth.

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November 2005

A33

A34

CRUISING GROUNDS

November 2005

www.the-triton.com

The Triton

Culebra: an ‘undiscovered’ Caribbean paradise

By Carol Bareuther Pigeons roosted on the eves of the quaint, yellow-painted Hotel Kokomo in downtown Dewey. Nearby, a lone bicycler pedaled with a zigzagging carelessness on streets devoid of traffic.

Even a small group of taxi drivers, with

no fares in sight, seemed in no hurry to finish their game of dominos.

Then, like a wave that rushes in and recedes just a quickly, a ferry from mainland Puerto Rico docked and discharged its 100-plus passengers who just as quickly hurried off to friends and family.

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This one slice of life summed up what we discovered on a weekend trip: Culebra is one Caribbean island where you’ll find modern amenities like high-speed Internet, but best of all is it undiscovered charm reminiscent of the islands some 30 years ago.

Two hours from St. Thomas by powerboat put us at the dock of the Casa Bonita Resort, in Ensenada Honda, the main anchorage on sevenmile-long by two-mile-wide Culebra.

This new development has taken some flak from environmentalists, yet it was the only accommodation on this island of guesthouses, inns and villas large enough to host visiting sailors for a first-time international regatta this spring. And only about 60 of the 164 rooms were finished.

The smallness of the island and its lack of large-scale development hit us again mid-afternoon. We worried that we wouldn’t get to see everything by setting out so late. No problem. Two hours is plenty to see all, unless you’d like to indulge in a long walk, swim or snorkel on one of Culebra’s beautiful beaches. And, that’s how you would spend your days on a week-long stay.

Scooters are popular here. But, if you’re a twosome on the scooter or are of a large build, you’ll have problems getting up some of the hills. Opt for a rental Jeep like we did.

From Costa Bonita, we first drove east. Houses out here are few, yet fabulous. There is a sprawling plantation-style residence on the grounds of a former cattle farm, a more modern-style residence with a thatched Bali roof, and a two-story wood home that looked like a ski chalet.

The road turned to sand and ended at Zoni Beach. This mile strip of white sand, like most of Culebra’s beaches, is off limits from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. to allow

Culebra is surrounded by extensive Coral Reefs.

PHOTO/DEAN BARNES two endangered species of sea turtles – the hawksbill and leatherback – to nest undisturbed.

We next drove across the island, past the airport where nothing larger than an 18-passenger plane can land, through Dewey where most of the nearly 2,000 residents live, to Flamenco Beach.

Flamenco Beach is recognized as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Last year, it received “blue flag” status, which means the Blue Flag International Jury has given its

See CULEBRA, page A37

The Triton

CRUISING GROUNDS

www.the-triton.com

Experiencing Thunder in Nova Scotia

By Capt. David Hare My latest command, M/V Thunder, had all of the drama and excitement that goes with a “no-hand-over, assume all responsibility” take over.

As a new captain to the Delta expedition vessel, and having taken her over in the yard without the benefit of a previous captain explaining where things were, the first days were all a learning experience.

M/V Thunder’s flat-screen black-box technology is the finest available but challenging to learn in the first hours at sea. Still, with 90 percent of our Nova Scotia arrivals and departures being conducted in zero-zero visibility, these systems proved precise and flawless.

Our two-day trip from Sag Harbor to Halifax, Nova Scotia, was visually exciting with dozens of whale sightings.

A very old 40-foot humpback – wellencrusted with barnacles – lazily crossed our path one afternoon, spouting his greetings high into the air.

Our arrival at the Queens wharf in downtown Halifax was simply a circus.

Hundreds of spectators gathered to watch our arrival. Our mate couldn’t keep his eyes off the lovely young ladies gathering on the packed dock.

The volume of music and cacophony of noises from the buskers had us move to the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron in Purcell’s Cove, a highly recommended spot for a cruising vessel. The dock manager, Wayne, his staff and yacht club personnel could not have been nicer. The barbecues poolside made for relaxing moments in-between boat projects.

The first stop on our way south from Halifax was Chester, a charming, scenic community with dozens of wood sailing vessels at anchor. Yachting is thoroughly ingrained into these folks’ ethos. We timed our arrival for the

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locally famous Chester race week.

Hundreds of sailboats packed the Chester waterfront for their annual regatta. Our observation deck made for some great armchair judgment calls on the sailing tactics used. Overall, folks in Chester could not have been nicer.

We continued to Lunenburg, where we tied up at the Museum of the Atlantic. There is no better way to enjoy old Canadian Maritimes than to take a few hours to peruse the exhibits here. The top floor is dedicated to Lunenburg’s contribution to Prohibition days. It seems that many locals made an interesting living running rum into Maine.

We ventured on around Cape Sable to Yarmouth. With a 20-foot tidal fall and only a fixed pier to tie to, line handling became a full-time occupation for the mate. As the owners wished to hike in a national park in Labrador, I decided to use the week to go over the generators. Replacing the voltage regulators, impellors, injectors and doing a valve adjustment provided us with a very stable source of power.

We also took off the PTO on the No. 1 generator, changed her V-belts and refurbished the hydraulic system replacing hoses, flushing the fluid and adding new HYD 32. In all, a valuable week of engine room housekeeping.

In Yarmouth, I met a reporter who did a story on Thunder. We became

M/V Thunder has flat-screen black-box technology.

PHOTO/CARLA ALLEN

friends and went for a great walk, hugging some very healthy trees.

Carla brought her extended family for a barbecue aboard Thunder, making Yarmouth an unforgettable and highly recommended stop.

Driving to Digby for scallops and Annapolis Royal for a view of the Loyalists settlements was all good scenic fun. The people of Nova Scotia are very friendly, thoroughly curious about cruising folks and extended their hospitality with open arms.

From Yarmouth we voyaged back around Cape Sable to Shelburne. The local yacht club could not have been friendlier. The museums surrounding the water front are a real insight into how life was aboard a dory as a whale man. Those guys suffered in the worst of weather to eek out a living spearing whales as a source of oil. Life at sea with satellite TV sure has changed human experiences on mother ocean.

Capt. Brian Donovan of Premier Yacht Services, 902-489-7253, was a great source for charts and local knowledge. Do not hesitate to contact him for his reasonably priced services.

All in all, visiting Nova Scotia is a treat that you will not forget.

Contact Capt. David Hare through editorial@the-triton.com.

November 2005

A35

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A36

November 2005

CRUISING GROUNDS

www.the-triton.com

No kids, no traffic, no alarm clock. No phones, no TV. With this vista waiting, what’s not to like?

The Triton

PHOTOS/JOHN SOFFEN

Little Palm Island is big slice of heaven

By John Soffen

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When my wife, Peg, suggested that we celebrate our first anniversary on a Florida island, I was a bit skeptical. I’m not the relaxing type of guy. I have never been to a secluded area but was willing to have a different experience.

I mentioned to several friends that I was going to Little Palm Island Resort & Spa. Every time, they told me how wonderful this place was and how much I was going to enjoy it. A litany of travel magazines have rated it one of the top resorts in the United States.

How could I say no?

Peg made the plans and I was looking forward to being alone with her. No kids, no traffic, no alarm clock. I went on the Internet to see how I might enjoy these few days. What?

No phones? No television? I was assured by the Mrs. that I would make it through a weekend without television and I should focus on the experience and enjoy the environment.

She can be so positive about everything.

Getting to Little Palm Island was easy. We drove down to the Lower Keys and parked at Little Torch Key. We waited in a quaint little building for our island shuttle boat that runs every hour to take us to the island. While waiting, we had a glass of their tropical rum punch and picked up a souvenir hat in the gift shop with their “Do Nothing” logo.

We checked out the photos on the wall of the filming of the classic movie PT109, one of my favorite movies.

The shuttle took just a short time to get to the island, three miles off shore. The Fantasy-Island approach to the 5-acre island gets you in the mood for that “Do Nothing” theme. As soon as you step foot on the island, the atmosphere and surroundings lend themselves to the relaxing tempo. Think of all the wonderful places you’ve ever been. Think of all the tropical nights and ocean breezes you’ve ever felt. Take a deep breath and smell the ocean. I pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

We strolled around the area and ended up on the beach for just a little sun. We were told by the concierge that there were plenty of action-packed activities to choose from.

Apparently, scuba diving and snorkeling around the island is as good as it gets anywhere. Deep-sea fishing charters and other day activities were available, but I didn’t need adventure in my life. I was content to relax.

No surprise: “I was content to relax.”

We were at the pool with just a few others when my wife had to leave for her spa appointment. I took a dip in the pool and other guests started to feel comfortable enough to say hello. Soon, we were talking politics and thanks to my talkradio fanaticism, I held my own with the other two politically less-informed guests.

When Peg came back we walked into the Harry Truman reading room, where I located the island’s one and only television. Proudly, I walked by, although my hand involuntarily twitched when I saw the remote. I did manage to use my cell phone on a couple of occasions even if I was close to the “no phone zone.”

The bungalows were comfortable and very private, and we felt as if we were the only ones on the island. The canopy bed was several feet off the ground and Peg suggested we tie ourselves together so she wouldn’t fall off during the night.

That may have been a very exciting offer if I wasn’t so tired.

During the day, we enjoyed looking at flowers, wildlife and birds, with occasional moments in the shoreside hammock.

All the resort’s employees were highly attentive to our needs, wants and desires but were never overbearing. I asked the concierge for some fresh coconut right off the tree, and presto, the concierge had the “muchachos” take care of my request in no time. We did mention that it was

See LITTLE PALM, page A37

The Triton

CRUISING GROUNDS

www.the-triton.com

November 2005

Dewey is Culebra’s ‘hotspot’ CULEBRA, from page A34 thumbs-up to this beach for its water quality, environmental management, safety and services. There are lifeguards here, as well as changing facilities and a few food and drink stands that blend in well with the natural ambiance.

All the action – if you can call it that – on Culebra is centered in Dewey. We wandered the streets where shops sell more necessities such as groceries than tourist trinkets.

Boaters, we quickly discovered, congregate at the Dinghy Dock BarB-Que. Neil Romero owns and runs this bayside eatery, which he started serendipitously after 1989’s Hurricane Hugo washed some 300 yachts ashore everywhere but the strip of beach where the restaurant sits today. Ice, gasoline, a post office, bank and Internet café are all within walking distance of the Dinghy Dock.

Perhaps one of Culebra’s best features is what’s off island. There are

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several smaller islands and cays such as Luis Pena, Cayo Norte and Culebrita that are protected wildlife areas where turtles lay eggs and sea birds such as sooty terns and the endangered brown pelican nest.

We dinghied over to the beach at Culebrita, site of an old lighthouse, one afternoon after sailing. Robinson Crusoe would have been at home here.

Near dusk, we reluctantly left with stars in our eyes after imagining this as our own piece of virgin paradise.

Carol Bareuther is a freelance writer living in St. Thomas. Contact her through editorial@the-triton.com.

Little Palm Island opens arms to visitors with yachts Yachts can visit Little Palm Island as well. Its marina has 10 slips for yachts up to 120 feet in length, but can only handle a draft of 6 feet. There are also 575 feet of dock space bordering a protected lagoon, ideal for smaller boats.

Yachts have access to 50 or 30 amp 110/220V electricity service, a water allowance of one gallon a foot a day, and full use of the island’s recreational facilities, including pool, non-motorized watercraft, and snorkeling and fishing gear. They may also visit the resort’s restaurant and spa.

This summer, Little Palm Island resort announced The MillionDollar Weekend package. For $1 million, the buyer has private use of the island’s 30 one-bedroom suites for three nights, roundtrip limousine transfers to and from Key West International Airport,

a welcome bottle of Cristal Champagne with engraved crystal flutes in each suite, nightly turndown gifts such as his/her Tag Heuer watches and Tiffany & Co. picture frames, all meals and beverages, daily spa treatments, use of a crewed 100foot yacht, daily water sports, and more.

“Many of our guests ask to take over the island for special occasions such as birthdays, weddings and corporate retreats,” said Emmanuel Gardinier, general manager of Little Palm Island Resort & Spa. “We decided to create this package specifically for people looking to have it all taken care of and then some.”

For more information, call (305) 872-2524, (800) 3-GET-LOST or visit www.littlepalmisland. com.

Memo to self: Feed deer, repel insects LITTLE PALM, from page A36 our anniversary, and sure enough, our dinner menu was headed with “Happy 1st Anniversary Mr. and Mrs. Soffen.” It was service at its finest and a real classy touch. The food was great and was available when we were.

We made sure we had a beachside dinner the last night we were there, followed with a spectacular sunset while we had our dessert. Two guests

came up to us uninvited: a deer and some mosquitoes. We capped off the evening hand-feeding the deer that are nightly visitors to the island and listening to music in the outdoor lounge. The mosquitoes, well, they ate, too. Next time I’ll use the provided repellent.

Contact John Soffen through editorial@the-triton.com.

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A37

A38

November 2005

WRITE TO BE HEARD

www.the-triton.com

The Triton

Yachting writer still floating after Triton boat show party I love the Ft. Lauderdale better. My first mistake was not eating International Boat Show, seeing friends before the binge. But there would be and crew, the yachts, getting my annual food at the party, I figured. I could Hatteras button, picking up news nibble as I drank. stories on F-dock, We arrived at 6:45 p.m. and missed and most of all: the the food, so I smoked a hand-rolled parties. cigar instead. Seemed like a fair trade, The Triton’s at the time. party this year My second mistake was sampling kicked off the show every offering at the marathon of drink season. It was Oct. stations instead of sticking with one 14 at Inlet Fine type of cocktail, as I usually do.

Wine & Spirits with My husband, Kevin, and I started a Hemingway’s with two red wines. Next was the TIED UP IN KNOTS Havana theme. I Stella Artois booth. It is a wonderfully LISA H. KNAPP am still recovering smooth Belgian beer. four days later.

As we sloshed down the aisle, we saw I took the theme too seriously.

Triton Publisher David Reed, drinking a There were at least 25 drink stations. bottle of Volvic water. David said he was I guzzled the mardi gras of spirits at a in this for the long haul. I wish I had pace that would have made our favorite followed the boss man’s lead. drunkard writer, Ernest H., proud.

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I saw another Triton boss, Peg Soffen.

Peg warmly said, “This party is for you and all your hard work at the paper.

Enjoy.” So I charged on to the tequila table.

This is where things started to get fuzzy. I remember losing my husband as he went to the car. I saw Samantha, The Triton’s new executive assistant.

She slipped me some mojito tickets.

I tried one of those mojitos but it didn’t go down well. It looked like it had weeds growing in it. But I drank it anyway, to be polite.

Then I saw Lucy Reed, the editor of The Triton. She was manning the wheel of fortune, which I began to spin happily until she told me to stop.

I finally found Kevin and held onto him as we departed at 9 p.m.

Saturday was a dark day. We concluded that I had alcohol poisoning and brain damage, just what I deserved.

I barked that I did not need a lecture as I went in and out of our revolving bathroom door.

On Sunday, I pieced the lost evening together as I surveyed our loot. Besides an Extreme Vodka T-shirt and Stella glass, I saw a Pacifico Cervesa cap, a Becks T-shirt, Mako Vodka bracelets, and a Ron Abuelo T-shirt. I spotted two other black T-shirts, but I would have had to get up to figure out their origin – way too much work at the time.

I’ve stopping smoking. I may stop drinking, too. But I will definitely eat a slice of bread today; IBEX starts tomorrow.

Lisa Hoogerwerf Knapp is a freelance writer in Aventura, Florida. She is the wife and granddaughter of captains, and the daughter and granddaughter of marine engineers. Contact her at lisa@the-triton.com.

USCG personnel, Web site help meet tough owner demands A year ago this weekend I took a call to deliver a 40m Kaeverner (Flying Cat).

It was the beginning of an experience that defined dichotomy. It is the better half of the experience I want to share.

When dealing with commercial vessels and foreign-flagged passenger vessels running in U.S. waters, one will spend some time with the fine folks who make up the U.S. Coast Guard.

My first encounters with the officers of the marine inspection unit came about when management told me, (and I was just the delivery guy) to get the U.S.-flagged boats ready for inspection and the crews ready for demonstration of drills. While under way. By next week.

I called the duty officer and told her I had some experience with inspected vessels but I really needed help getting ready for this next move.

She put me in touch with a retired lieutenant commander and an active member of the marine inspection unit. They were the best. We went to lunch and they helped me outline the inspection day, showed me the regulations (the CFRs) they would use as a standard, told me how others they had inspected had done things, and what they had seen as weaknesses in the personnel I had just been put in charge of.

They had a spirit and a confidence that, even though it may be tough, it could be done.

As geeky as it may sound, the next best move I made was to order a full set of the CFRs applicable to the marine industry. Having the regulations at hand, coupled with the assistance of the CG personnel to point me to the ones that addressed my questions, made it much easier to take problems

and requests to management. This is where knowledge of laws and regulations can make things happen.

The next best tool they set me onto was the www.uscg.mil Web site and to look in the search box for NVICs. I found it a little tough to weed through a lot of items, but I did find the NVIC index and that sent me to the right place. This is where you will find recommendations issued to USCG personnel for conducting business and for the licensed personnel to follow if they don’t have a CFR to guide them.

By the way, even if there is not a law covering a specific practice, as long as there is a NVIC making a recommendation for something, you had better have knowledge if it and use it. Call it a standard of practice, because that is what they will tell you in a court of law.

The company I worked with was faced with unreasonable and quite remarkable tasks ahead if it was to start-up and keep running. We would have to convert management’s crazy ideas into actions that sometimes defied reason. (Actually, most of management’s requests defied reason.)

That is when the USCG OCMI team gave us the guidelines and applicable rules from which we would build the plan on how to tackle the outrageous demands. In short, we made it happen.

Through the next 10 months, I spent a lot of time at the USCG Tampa office.

Some of the fairest and helpful people I have come to know start with the Captain of the Port. I cannot say “thank you” enough, even if I were to start each day by calling them and saying so.

Capt. Herbert C. Magney First Look Inc.

The Triton

www.the-triton.com

WRITE TO BE HEARD

November 2005

A39

Why is MCA running our megayachts?

The MCA, the Maritime Coastguard Agency in the United Kingdom, has gotten much attention lately for its Large Yacht Code.

Americans don’t need the MCA to get their licenses from the U.S. Coast Guard. (The Coast Guard, however, will accept certain passed tests as criteria for getting a U.S. license.)

Many of us in the business feel that the MCA is a cash cow, just a way for some to make money. The costs of its classes are exorbitant, in terms of time and cash.

The U.S. licensing system has been steered, for a long time, by the owners of the hundreds of tow boats operating in the southern waterways and the northern rivers leading to them.

The licensing tests by the U.S. Coast Guard are easy to pass. Virtually everyone can pass the U.S. tests, which have long been ridiculed by most all foreign yacht crew. What they forget is that licenses for crew are not required for vessels less than 200 tons.

There is a steadily increasing number of vessels, owned by Americans, that are more than 200 tons. Many of them are constructed right here in the United States. And almost all of them are under foreign registry, and then operated by foreign crew.

Red-flagged vessels (British colonies or ex-British colonies) are now starting to enforce MCA rules they have mandated to the Brits, and can exclude any yachtsman who does not comply with them. Beware U.S. personnel on red-flagged vessels without MCA papers.

A foreign entity should not be telling the U.S. Coast Guard what to do. Certainly, more large yachts are owned by Americans than any other nationality, but they still number in the low hundreds. Several thousand commercial vessels are covered by the same rules. Our way has worked.

Capt. Bill Harris

Crew health insurance story fair, informative I would like to commend you on your excellent article regarding the crew insurance imbroglio.

I thought you did a superior job balancing the need for clarion headlines yet focusing on a number of irrefutable facts provided by legitimate “third-party” commentators.

Thus, The Triton was very informative, but was not superimposed as a shill for any faction. Stay tuned as these events continue to unfold.

Chuck Bortell Crew Insurance Associates

Capt. Bill Donahue remembered

My first encounter with Bill Donahue is when we needed a mate to help us bring the Queen of Diamonds from Vancouver to Ft Lauderdale.

As he was recommended by the folks at Bradford, I hired him sight unseen and omitted to ask him what he looked like. The engineer, Cici my wife and I were waiting in the airport arrival lounge waiting for the passengers to disembark when it struck us that we did not know who we were looking for.

We watched several potential crew members walk by us with a purpose in their stride. Eventually a short, rotund Administrative Assistant Samanta Smith, sam@the-triton.com Graphic Designer Christine Abbott, sales@the-triton.com Abbott Designs

Publisher David Reed, david@the-triton.com Business Manager/Circulation Peg Soffen, peg@the-triton.com

Distribution Ross Adler, zakad68@aol.com National Distribution Solutions

person walked by with the appearance of a banker. We all shook our heads and said, “no way.”

That was our first meeting with the jovial “Uncle Bill.”

Bill had more stories than Capt. Bill anyone we had Donahue yet encountered and they kept us entertained the whole way down the coast. Bill was a gentleman and a scholar, an easy person to be around and he could watch us work for hours!

He had ambitions of working until he was 70 and then retiring in the Bahamas, but was taken away too soon.

Farewell “Uncle Bill.”

Capt. Ian van der Watt and crew M/Y Queen of Diamonds ED NOTE: Capt. Bill Donahue passed away after a short battle with cancer in June.

Captains appreciate course

Thank you for sponsoring the recent Dale Carnegie Leadership course for captains. [See story, page B10.] It was Editor Lucy Chabot Reed, lucy@the-triton.com Contributing Editor Lawrence Hollyfield Contributors Carla Allen, Carol Bareuther, Bransom “Rocky” Bean, Capt.

Carol Benbrook, Capt. Tim Cook, Jonathan Franklin, Capt.

David Hare, Jack Horkheimer, Chef Mary Beth Lawton Johnson, Michael Karcher, Lisa H. Knapp, Bill Leonard, Francesco Luise, Capt. Herb Magney, Donna Mergenhagen, Roberta Nedry, Steve Pica, Rossmare Intl., James Schot, John Soffen, Tom Taylor, Pat Teodosio, Anita Warwick, Capt. Ian van der Watt, Maya White, David Wieldt, Phaedra Xanthos

great to see that this was a result of a discussion of a Bridge luncheon sometime ago that I was fortunate to attend. It was greatly appreciated by all of us that were present.

Some of us have discussed how we are using some of the techniques we learned at that course aboard our yachts. Thanks again for taking a leading role in improving our education and making this industry better for us all. We all look forward to the presentation of future courses by Dale Carnegie, specifically some designed for all crew members. Keep up the great work.

Capt. Peter Vazquez M/Y Blind Faith ED NOTE: We’re planning another course for the spring. If you are interested, contact Editor Lucy Chabot Reed at 954-525-0029 or lucy@thetriton.com.

You have a ‘write’ to be heard. Send your thoughts to editorial@ the-triton.com.

Vol. 2, No. 8.

The Triton is a free, monthly newspaper owned

by Triton Publishing Group Inc. Copyright 2005 Triton Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.

Contact us at: Mailing address: 757 S.E. 17th St., #1119 Visit us at: 2301A S. Andrews Ave. Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 525-0029; FAX (954) 525-9676 www.the-triton.com