As they see it
Get the broker’s point of view about crew and charters. A9
His spirit lives
Adrian Fisher is remembered fondly long after his death.
A30
Vol. 4, No. 6
www.the-triton.com
Pay me
Some crew have been jaded by a salary-only focus.
C1
September 2007
Conflict on the calendar Captains, too, want SXM dates changed If you are on your way to Ft. Lauderdale, you’ll pass under the 17th St. Bridge.
PHOTO/LUCY REED
Bridge tenders’ No. 1 responsibility – safety By Capt. Tom Serio “Bridge tender, this is the southbound vessel requesting an opening,” a voice comes over the radio. “Southbound vessel, standby while I clear traffic,” the bridge tender responds. “Roger that, standing by.” As captains, we have made that request probably hundreds of times, most times thinking the Letter bridge tenders Reader reacts had our interest angrily to bridge tender firing. A29 top on their list. After all, we are usually piloting a big, glistening yacht worth millions, far more important than what could be up on land. Well, check your ego at the door, because bridge tenders are
Mario Camacho, supervisor of tenders in Broward County, stands at PHOTO/TOM SERIO the control panel of the 17th St. Causeway bridge. responsible for more than just the yacht passing their perch. “First off, the meat and potatoes for a bridge tender is safety and proper operation of the bridge,” said Mario Camacho, supervisor of
bridge tenders in Broward County. Safety includes not only the uneventful passage of vessels through the bridge spans, but also
When the Mediterranean Yacht Brokers Association announced in late July that it had taken over the St. Maarten charter show and scheduled it during the same time as the Antigua show, charter brokers around the world went nuts. “Change the dates!” one broker wrote in MYBA’s online chat room. “Change the dates! Change the dates!” Editor’s Notebook another added. “Please change the Lucy Chabot Reed dates!!” a broker pleaded. “These are really the worst.” The number of exclamation points grew as the news spread. August is not the time Find out what to get any information captains think out of Europe so it was unclear before deadline of MYBA and the show’s new owners the SXM show. ifhad decided to change Page A24 the dates, or indeed if
See TENDER, page A14
See MYBA, page A20
Is there a crew shortage? Depends who and what you need I’ve attended meetings of yachtingrelated groups all over town this summer and the same issue keeps coming up: the shortage of qualified crew. Charter brokers are worried about it; insurance agents are concerned about it; small business owners are even From the Bridge troubled by it. Lucy Chabot Reed When I asked a couple crew agents about it, they seemed to think it wasn’t a problem. They all had nice fat databases, they assured me. So I thought I’d ask megayacht
captains what they think. (After all, they are the ones doing the hiring.) Is there a shortage of qualified crew out there? Are you having trouble filling openings in your crew? The short answer is, it depends. “Depends on the position,” one captain said. 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 A19. There’s definitely a shortage of experienced stewardesses and qualified engineers, they all agreed. The rest is semantics.
“They all think that they are qualified, and they put themselves forward as a mate,” a captain said. “Then you ask them to tie three knots, and they can’t do it. They firmly believe that they are qualified, until they’re tested.” “So maybe they should be tested,” another said. The conversation briefly veered into the world of licensing authorities and the need for apprenticeships, but that’s a discussion for another day. On this day, I wanted to know just what “qualified” means. “Qualified is the ability to do the job,” one captain said. “It’s experience,” said another.
“My firm belief is that everyone on the boat – whether you are cleaning toilets or splicing lines – is a captain in training, and I treat them all accordingly,” a captain said. “It’s what we all have to do. We all gleaned our experience somewhere. Someone taught us. We all learned along the way. And we have to train the people coming after us.” “I agree,” another captain said. “The responsibility lies with us in crew training.” “And the owners have to bear some of that responsibility,” said a third. How so? Like picking up the tab to
See BRIDGE, page A18