Yacht moves on S/Y Legacy in the Bahamas for repairs.
Ground zero
Captain’s labor
Skill, knowledge and lots of woodwork C1 Vol.7, No.4
By Franki Black At midnight on June 16, Capt. David K. Hill was declared missing at sea and presumed dead after the commercial fishing vessel he was in command of sank in the South Pacific ocean. He was 54 years old. Capt. Hill had been in the yachting industry for more than 15 years, in command of several large yachts, including the 150-foot Trinity M/Y Utopia 3, the 102-foot Broward M/Y C’est La Vie, and the 78-foot
July 2010
Yacht owners still under way despite blows to the industry
Burger M/Y Neon Rainbow. During the economic recession last year, he turned to the commercial industry to keep working. His wife, Amy, described her husband as an avid sailor who covered many regions ranging from the South Pacific to Alaska to the Mediterranean. She also mentioned how proud he was of his son, Spencer, who is about to go on a NOAA vessel as an engineering intern. “David was the kind of man who would go out of his way to help others,” said Capt. Mark Balentine, a close friend of Capt. Hill. “I will always remember the image of Dave, a big man
Capt. Hill is survived by his wife of 17 years and their 2-year-old daughter, Quinn Bronwyn. He has a son, Spencer Hill, and daughter Thea Hill from a previous marriage. See HILL, page A18 Photo from Mark Balentine
World Cup soccer unites South Africans By Franki Black The FIFA World Cup has united millions of South Africans from all backgrounds and races, evident through the newspaper and television images of jubilant supporters sporting vuvuzela trumpets and traditional miner’s helmets, complete with national insignia, throughout South Africa. With so many South Africans in the yachting industry, yacht crew made sure to participate in the festivities. Capt. Chris Ellison of M/Y Invader, a 164-ft Codecasa docked in Mexico, gave his homesick South African crew the day off on June 11, the opening match of the World Cup between South Africa and Mexico. “South Africa is obviously the first choice location to watch the game at, but Mexico has proven to be a great second,” said Jodie Ritchie, stew aboard M/Y Invader. “At 7 a.m. the whole crew headed to a Mexican bar, all dressed in South African colors. We were happy to be warmly welcomed by the Mexican supporters and very proud to see the South African flag hanging outside the bar. The Mexican supporters stood for our national anthem and we all stood for the Mexican national anthem.” With a final result of 1-1, Mexico and South Africa were both hailed as winners, ending the electric opening
Chef experiences oil spill up close in Gulf. A8
www.the-triton.com
Capt. David K. Hill lost at sea ‘David was the kind of man who would go out of his way to help others.’
South African crew from M/Y Invader in Mexico for the opening FIFA game, South Africa vs. Mexico, from left: Bosun Nick Ritchie, Stew Jodie Ritchie, Deckhand Dan Simon, Eng. Gareth Clark, Chief Eng. Scott Powers (breaking ranks in casual clothes), First Officer Patrick Batchelder and PHOTO FROM STEW JODI RITCHIE Stew Emma Finkelstein. match on a positive note. Some yacht crew, such as former Stew Genia Nowicki, are fortunate enough to be in South Africa for the big event. Nowicki described the international gathering as a “great coming together of many different nationalities, all supporting one another.” “The Cup is uniting South Africans, with every race and culture coming
A3
together in support of Bafana Bafana,” Nowicki said of support for the South African national team. Since the the end of Apartheid, scores of South Africans have filtered out of South Africa into countries with more economic promise. The cloudy island of England seemed to be first choice, as a hefty number of migrants
See WORLD CUP, page A4
Yacht owners may have hit a bit of an economic snag over the past two years, but they are still under way, according to the people who work directly with them, megayacht captains. The actions of yacht owners affect the careers of everyone in the yachting industry, so at this month’s From the Bridge Triton From the Dorie Cox Bridge captains luncheon, we invited captains to tell us what is in the boss’s mind and wallets. “There’s a lot of money on the sidelines, and since people are seeing that it [the banking crisis] didn’t cause a complete global collapse, money is freeing up,” a captain said. “Everyone seems to be more frugal, but the guys with money still have it and will continue to,” another captain said. “They are all looking for deals.” At the monthly luncheon, 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 A17. The discussion centered on the yachting industry’s financial situation and not the economy as a whole. “People say ‘the economy this and the economy that’, but not really in boating,” a captain said. While it may look and feel like yacht are moving again, it may not necessarily
See BRIDGE, page A17
TRITON SURVEY
Do you expect to have children under 15 onboard this summer? No – 18.2% Yes – 81.8% – Story, C1