Way down low
Vol. 3, No. 4
From ashes
Captains explore, analyze 219-footdeep wreck.
Traces of the fire in Argus V are gone.
A28-29
A8
www.the-triton.com
A32 In memoriam Remembering Eng. Darren Coulson. July 2006
Embargo against Cuba bans U.S. money, not Americans U.S. crew on foreign-flagged megayachts run the risk of prosecution. Not a big risk, but a risk just the same. By Mona Birch Here’s the scenario: You are American. You crew on a foreign-owned, foreign-flagged yacht headed to the Caribbean. The itinerary includes Cuba. Can you go? Last year, Capt. James Smith (not his real name)
had just this dilemma. Capt. Smith skippers a yacht that is registered in the Cayman Islands. He is British, but two members of his crew are American. The yacht spent much of 2005 in the United States, and during part of that time traveled the Caribbean islands, including Cuba, American crew and all. As a foreign-registered, privately owned pleasure vessel, there were only minor restrictions on the yacht itself. (For example, the visit to Cuba needed to be sandwiched between foreign ports to avoid a direct line of contact between the two countries.) Generally, regulations stemming from the United States’ embargo against Cuba apply only to U.S. vessels, or
vessels assimilated without nationality. So Capt. Smith’s boat was free to make the itinerary, as were he and his foreign crew. A question arose over his American crew members. Since the yacht’s owner is based in Asia, he applied for Cuban visas for all crew members from there; the American crew members received visas just like the rest of the crew. The visa was in the form of a piece of paper, not a passport stamp. Americans, adhering to the embargo, are not forbidden from visiting Cuba, but they are forbidden
California keeps longer offshore sales tax loophole
As the United States celebrates its 231st birthday this month, San Diego entrepreneur Troy Sears is sailing his newly purchased America, a 139-foot replica of the first boat to win the America’s Cup, around San Diego Bay. Built in 1995, he’s reportedly planning her refit. Sears owns Next Level Sailing, a fleet of America’s Cup yachts that also includes the famed Stars & Stripes.
By John Freeman The temporary one-year law in California that requires residents to keep new yachts offshore for a full year if they wish to avoid paying state sales and use taxes appears headed for a year’s extension. The law, which applies to all yachts purchased after Oct. 1, 2004, was set to expire on June 30. It extends to 365 days the traditional 90-day window that yacht owners used to avoid taxes. Called Chapter 226, the provision is included in the state’s proposed 2006-07 budget and would push the expiration date for the law to June 30, 2007. A final decision by the state’s legislature was expected July 1. The extension was strongly opposed by the yachting industry. “I felt like I got kicked in the gut when I found out it was back in the budget,” said Paul Trusso, a San Diegobased maritime attorney who has followed the situation. “This law was drafted and designed to automatically sunset after one year, but it looks like we’ve lost this one.” The state’s official Legislative Analyst’s Report concluded that the temporary one-year law had not resulted “in the sharp reduction in
See CALIFORNIA LAW, page A25
See CUBA, page A18
PHOTO/JOHN FREEMAN
Bridge: Medical preparedness a matter of risk You are walking out of a restaurant in Antigua and a gentleman in front of you collapses on the sidewalk. Are you prepared for the medical emergency at your feet? Many captains are, thanks to licensing requirements that include some first aid proficiency. From the Bridge But the extras that Lucy Chabot Reed could mean life or death on a remote Caribbean island or out at sea are more than worth the expense, according to this month’s Bridge captains. On the suggestion of a captain in his 60s with a boss of the same age, The Triton’s monthly captains’ roundtable
discussed medical emergencies and how yachts are prepared for the occasion when the boss, a guest or a crew member gets ill or injured in a place with limited or questionable medical services. Do most yachts run with standing orders for such things as a medical evacuation? 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. “We’re getting ready to sign on with MedLink,” one captain said. “They’ll come on board and train you. The previous owner had it. We’re private, not charter, so we don’t have a lot of the issues other boats have.”
For feedback about last month’s Bridge discussion concerning contracts, see page A24. “I’ve been looking into getting a defibrillator,” another captain said. “We’ve all been trained and we have a lot of equipment on board” including oxygen and a comprehensive first-aid kit. “That’s the first line of defense isn’t it?” a third said. “We need to make sure we all keep our certifications up to date.” “And have a second line of communication,” replied another. “The whole system of MedLink works around communication.
See THE BRIDGE, page A26