Yard wrinkle
The insurance picture is a thorny one when yachts go in for work.
A6
Survey
An overview of yard season.
A14-15 Vol. 4, No. 8
www.the-triton.com
Halifax fun
Get some expert guidance to make the most of it. B21 November 2007
Attack at sea prompts captains to think of safety From the Bridge Lucy Chabot Reed
Four crew of a Miami Beachbased sportfish disappeared in late September, their 47-foot boat Joe Cool found adrift in the Florida Straits. Two men who had paid $4,000 cash for a ride to Bimini were found in the Joe Cool’s life raft 12 miles north, also adrift. They have since been arrested and charged with kidnapping, robbery and murder after FBI investigators found blood, bullet casings and
other evidence. While most of the megayacht captains who assembled for this month’s From the Bridge luncheon believed nothing like that could happen in the world of luxury yachts, they did acknowledge that they were bothered by it. So what did they think when they heard the news? “When I started in this business, I took every job I could get,” one captain said. “When I saw
that, I said, that could have been me.” 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 A18. They all agreed that several details sent up red flags: two unrelated men of such disparate ages traveling together (one is 35,
one is 19), a bag full of $100 bills, no passports for an international destination (regardless of how near), and no desire to fish aboard a fishing vessel. “It didn’t pass the smell test from the get-go,” one captain said. “You need to know who you are taking out to sea,” another said. “If I didn’t know, I’ll find out before we leave the dock.”
See BRIDGE, page A18
Lesson learned: Immigration woes ruin any location
HAT TRICKS AT THE TRITON’S BOAT SHOW PARTY
By Capt.Mike O’Neill
High-end buyers usually don’t think twice about renaming their new purchase, said Jared Neff, a broker with Denison Yacht Sales in Fort Lauderdale. “When somebody’s buying a million-dollar boat – a $10 million boat – they’re trying to make it their own,” Neff said. “If you told them it’s bad luck to change the name, they’d probably look at you like you’re talking a foreign language.” It’s not just the money that’s behind
I have been an avid St. Maarten supporter since back in the 1990s when we took on Hurricane Luis (and lost) in Simpson Bay Lagoon. When SMMTA started promoting its charter show, I was all for it due to the fact that St. Maarten has the best facilities and amenities for superyachts in the Eastern Caribbean. Unfortunately, recent events have caused me to reconsider my support and to possibly seek an alternative home for the winter season that is more welcoming to my crew. We have just delivered our 50m yacht from Europe to Ft. Lauderdale, which included St. Maarten as a quick fuel stop. Before departing Europe, I contacted the Netherlands consulate in Monaco regarding visas for my South African crew. They kindly replied that it would take two weeks and an application in Paris (not an option given our schedule). As an alternative, they said we could stop in St. Maarten for 48 hours without a visa. This was perfect since all we needed was 48 hours to fuel, provision and have a day off for the crew. We arrived in Simpson Bay on Oct. 14 to be met by news that immigration officers would not allow my South African crew onto the island because they did not have visas. Even after
See NAME, page A21
See ST. MAARTEN, page A29
Hats were a huge hit at The Triton’s fourth annual boat show party, as was catching up with long-lost friends. For more of the fun, see pages A22-23 and online at www. the-triton.com. PHOTO/TOM SERIO
Changing a boat’s name not so taboo anymore By Joe Newman Growing up in Gloucester, Mass., Capt. James Moses heard all the old superstitions passed along from one generation of seamen to the next. Don’t bring bananas on board. Don’t start a cruise on a Friday. And never, ever give a boat a new name. But these days, the old nautical myths often take a back seat to making a living.
Moses, better known in South Florida as Capt. Moe, saw the 105-foot Broward yacht he skippered change names four times in the 11 years he was on it. “In this business you wouldn’t be on a boat for long if you were superstitious about the name changing,” Moses said. “You better get over it.” While many mariners still hold to their superstitions, the ones who seems to laugh in the face of fate are the folks on megayachts.