Med boardings
New system means your vessel may be next. B1
Chef killed in SXM
Write it down
Documenting It is believed he got problems onboard into a gypsy taxi. A4 protects you. A16 Vol.8, No.1
www.the-triton.com
April 2011
Uninsured engineer fights cancer Erick Deforest is keeping his sense of humor despite the battle: ‘If untreated, he doesn’t have until summer.’ By Dorie Cox
Marine firms survive after Japan quake, tsunami By Dorie Cox
Yacht Eng. Erick Deforest has cancer. Freelance for the past year, he was without insurance when he was diagnosed. There is treatment for the steaksized sarcoma in his right lung, but without insurance, the bills are formidable. “Just the doctor visit today was $1,000 cash,” longtime friend Jenna Lombardi-Brown said in mid-March. “Every bit has to be prepaid. Every test, every doctor, the port, each chemotherapy visit. “If untreated, he doesn’t have until summer,” she said, helping Deforest decipher medical reports in his living room in Ft. Lauderdale. “And I can’t imagine him not being here this summer.” So, Deforest’s friends are raising money with online auctions, classified ads and events to help cover medical expenses and to increase awareness on this issue of uninsured yacht crew.
‘I’ve made the best friends ever’
Originally from Bridgeport, Conn.,
TRITON SURVEY
How much influence do you have in where the yacht spends the summer? Lots; I plan itineraries Some; the – 21.4% owner asks my advice – 39.8% Not much; we do what the owner wants – 38.8%
– Story, C1
Yacht Eng. Erick Deforest battles cancer with a little help from his friends. PHOTO/DORIE COX 45-year-old Deforest has been a yacht engineer since 2000. Prior to that, he had a mobile marine business in Sarasota, but got his first yacht job on the 1982 Benetti, M/Y Halleluja. Grating lemons for a healthy beverage at home, Deforest reflected
on the rest of his history working on motor yachts Sacajawea, Black Sheep, Allegria, Dreamseeker, Sea Ghost and One More Toy. “I love the people,” he said. “I’ve
See DEFOREST, page A10
Many marine businesses are still operating in much of Japan as the northeastern region faces a difficult recovery after extensive devastation from the earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear reactor damage in a disaster that began on March 11. The earthquake measured 9.0 on the Richter scale with its epicenter off the northeastern coast near Sendai, about 190 miles north of Tokyo. It was the most powerful quake ever to hit the country, which gets about 20 percent of the world’s earthquakes. In the aftermath of the quake, an enormous tsunami swept across much of the region, wiping out villages as far as six miles inland. There were explosions and leaks of radioactive gas in three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and spent fuel rods in another reactor caught fire, releasing radioactive material. It is considered the worst nuclear emergency since Chernobyl. As of press time on March 22, more
See JAPAN, page A13
It’s about time to discuss time off, captains Because yacht crew work nights, weekends and holidays, the line between work and time off is not always clear-cut, agreed most captains at The Triton’s monthly From the Bridge luncheon. “I think we don’t use time clocks so the crew can’t use it against us,” one From the Bridge captain said. “If they knew exactly Dorie Cox how many hours they worked, then we’d have problems.” 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 A14. Recently having worked nine straight days, another captain said he got caught up in the workload and overworked the crew. “Then I realize I should have let them have time off,” he said. “I notice when we’re in the yard and pushing to get a lot done, we end up working hard and never really getting it all done.” “You have to stop,” a third captain said. “You won’t get it all done, anyway. Yachts can run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which leaves little
down time. So we asked working yacht captains to talk about time off, how they define it, how they grant it and how they keep track of it. In contrast with non-yacht employment, vacation and time off granted to yacht crew are not always clock or calendar defined. Several captains in attendance said they don’t even know how much time off they have been allotted. “I’ve been here for 15 years and I have no idea how much vacation I have,” a captain said. “So the owner said, ‘take May off.’”
See BRIDGE, page A14