Fill ‘er up
Raise ‘er up S/Y Legacy is on the move.
A5 Some crew prefer fuel ships to pumps.
A22-23 Vol. 3, No. 5
www.the-triton.com
Make it stop Yachties can help ease child trafficking.
A42 August 2006
Lesson learned: Be ready to correct U.S. immigration mistakes By Lucy Chabot Reed As they tried to enter the United States in June, the engineer and stewardess on a foreign-flagged yacht were told they needed C1/D visas to work on their yacht. Since they had B1/B2s, they were denied entry. The stewardess lost her job; the engineer learned a valuable lesson.
The immigrations officer was wrong – the proper visa for yacht crew is a B1/B2 – but when the crew members tried to tell him that, he threatened to seize the boat and fine each of them $10,000. “When I questioned him, he got very defensive, which made me believe he didn’t know the rules,” said the engineer, who asked that his name and the name of the vessel not be printed
because of a privacy agreement. “We had a crew list and the proper visa, but it wasn’t enough.” Several crew have run into similar problems this summer as the United States increases its commitment against illegal immigration. Increased commitment translates into more border patrol officers, not all of whom are familiar with seaports or yachting. “It’s more of a training issue,” said
Florence Chamberlin, an immigration attorney in Miami who has helped more than her usual number of crew members in June and July. “The officers are using their own discretion and, in their opinion, being more cautious,” she said. “We want them to be cautious. We want our borders safe. But it’s not
See LESSON, page A27
Bridge advice Triton’s 1,000th classified ad sought fun stew to the young: Hang in there By Lucy Chabot Reed
In many professional industries, an entry-level employee gets a foot in the door, works hard and moves up. Paralleling that to yachting would mean getting a job as a deckhand or stew, working hard to become mate, chief stew, or an officer, and eventually becoming From the Bridge a captain. Lucy Chabot Reed But that’s not always the way it works. So we gathered veteran, midcareer and young captains to answer the often-asked question of how to become a megayacht captain. 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. “One thing I learned 15 years ago: If you want a 150-footer, stay on a 150footer,” one captain said. “Most of the guys running big boats today were deckhands with me.” So working on a big boat, going down to obtain that first captain’s position, and then moving back up doesn’t work? “There’s definitely a hurdle there,” another said. “I was a mate on a 180footer and went down. I think it’s hard to get back up.” “It’s more of an inheritance then?” someone asked. See THE BRIDGE, page A26
S/Y Seljm took a break at the Seno Glacier in Northern Patagonia on her way around Cape Horn in 2004. After crossing the Southern Ocean from New Zealand (26 days), the crew took a little cruise on the way down from Puerto Montt, Chile, on their way to pick up the boss in Punta Arenas for the trip around. For more photos by photographer Daniel Forster, visit PHOTO COURTESY OF JESSICA DEVEREAUX www.yachtphoto.com/ch-04.html.
The Triton listed its 1,000th classified ad in July, a witty request for a sailing stewardess with no dietary or attitude problems. The ad came from Chef Jessica Devereaux and Capt. Steve Ray, who have run S/Y Seljm for nearly 11 years. The charter yacht, a 34m Sangermani staysail schooner, has been on a whirlwind cruise for the past two years, with at least another year of exciting cruising to go. Forgive us this shameless plug of The Triton’s free classified ad listings. Though Seljm didn’t find her stew through us, the ad did generate “a ton of responses,” Devereaux said. Our online classifieds listings at www.the-triton.com average 2,500 visitors and 12,000 pages viewed a month. We have helped hundreds of yachts and crew find each other. The Triton doesn’t take an active role in checking credentials or vouching for the qualifications listed in the ads – check with a crew agency for that kind of service – so please use professional discretion in interviewing and selecting possible boats and crew. The yacht isn’t well known in the states, Devereaux said, but is a familiar sight in Antigua, where it won overall in its class this
See SELJM, page A29