Genoa show
Bridge reply
The Triton brings comfort to charter crews
A42-43
Schools aren’t to blame for STCW.
No to Privacy Christensen and Tiger Woods settle.
A30-31 Vol. 3, No. 3
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Lesson learned: Foreign yachts must clear customs at each U.S. port, place By Lucy Chabot Reed Capt. Doc Proctor has been moving the 85-foot Burger M/Y Simaron back and forth from the Bahamas to Ft. Lauderdale since 1999. As a foreignflagged vessel under 300 tons, he’s gotten the hang of clearing in with U.S. customs officers in town. But last winter, he moved the boat to Norfolk, Va., for some paint work and learned what could have been an expensive lesson. During the trip from Ft. Lauderdale to Norfolk, Simaron stopped several times to sleep and to dodge bad weather. By the time he pulled into Ocean Marine in Portsmouth, Va., across the river from Norfolk, he’d been to eight places. Three days later as he waited for the boat to be hauled, his cell phone rang. It was an officer from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “How long have you been here?” the officer asked. “Three days. We’re due to stay about six months.” “Did you report in?” “Yes, sir, I did. I cleared in in Ft. Lauderdale,” Proctor said. “Did you report in here in Norfolk?” “No.” The officer sort of chuckled then, Proctor said, and told him to read the second paragraph of his cruising permit, the second sentence of which reads: “Upon arrival at each port or place in the U.S., the master shall report the fact of arrival to the designated customs officer at the nearest port of entry.” Then the officer asked him how many places he stopped between Ft. Lauderdale and Norfolk. “I was nervous now and thought the truth would set you free so I told him, eight,” Proctor said. “That ain’t good,” the officer replied. Customs imposes a $5,000 fine per port for failure to report in. Then the officer asked Proctor about his crew. He
See SIMARON, page A29
A11 June 2006
Italy, Spain to tax visiting megayachts By Lucy Chabot Reed Italian and Spanish authorities will seek extra taxes from visiting foreign yachts this summer. In Italy, the tax affects anyone not born on Sardinia or who has been resident for tax purposes for less than two years, and who owns or sells villas and apartments located less than three miles from the sea, owns vessels more than 14m or lands on Sardinia in a private aircraft. It is a new law introduced last year
and thought to have been squashed. It passed on May 5 by a vote of 42-12 as part of the Sardinian regional council’s budget. In Spain, the tax has been in effect since 1985, but is expected to be enforced more stringently on yachts this summer. See accompanying story on page A28. According to reports in Italian newspapers, the Sardinian tax is being seen as a political move to bring more revenue to the regional territory, and as a sock at former Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi, who owns seven villas on the island. Here are the amounts, due once a year, to be charged to “pleasure yachts” visiting Sardinia, according to an English translation of the legislation. It was unclear if these amounts also apply to “commercial yachts.” 1,000 euros for boats 14-15.99m; 2,000 euros for boats 16-19.99m; 3,000 euros for boats 20-23.99m; 5,000 euros for boats 24-29.99m;
See MED TAXES, page A13
The 12th annual McDonald’s Air and Sea Show in Ft. Lauderdale was two days of jet demonstrations by all manner of military and civilian aircraft, including the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels in their F/18s and the Canadian Forces Snowbirds. While a four-mile stretch of Ft. Lauderdale beach is packed with more than a million people, the waters off the beach offer some of the best viewing, which also included the V-22 Osprey and the B2 Stealth Bomber. Photographed above and at right is M/Y Laurel, the new 240-foot Delta launched late last year. Laurel is the largest superyacht built in the United States in more than 75 years. PHOTOS/CAPT. TOM SERIO
Contracts not worth paper they’re written on We took The Triton’s Bridge lunch on the road last month to see what captains in Europe had to say about employment contracts. Do they use them? And if so, what’s in them? We discovered that this is another topic on which professional captains on both From the Bridge sides of the pond Lucy Chabot Reed can agree: Having the terms of your employment in writing is important,
but don’t expect that they will be honored. 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 A26. So, do you have an employment contract? “I have a handshake,” one captain said. “Me, too,” said another. “With the previous boss I had a 37-page contract and he still screwed me.”
This captain said he is still owed more than $10,000 from the owner of his previous command, according to the terms of his contract. He said he will not pursue it, if only for the fact that attempting to get the money would give him a reputation with brokers and owners that he doesn’t want. “Haven’t you ever heard the saying ‘Never sue a man of straw’? How many people do you know have the wherewithal to sue one of these
See THE BRIDGE, page A26