Charter show Crew at their very finest for show visitors
To the rescue
Yacht crew hose down fire in St. Maarten A4 Vol.6, No. 12
A13 A world away Yacht resources and hideaways in Tahiti B1
www.the-triton.com
March 2010
The shipyard guy who saved the shipyard John Spencer picks up some of the pieces at Merrill Stevens and launches his own Spencer Boat Co. By Lucy Chabot Reed When news came down in December that Merrill Stevens would cease operations, Superintendent John Spencer knew he had to do something. At the very least, he wanted to give his guys some hope that they wouldn’t be out of work for long. “It was sad, right before Christmas,” said Spencer, who worked at Merrill Stevens five years before losing his job. “I told the guys, if you can, hang in there with me, I’ll think of something.” And he did. It’s called Spencer Boat Company and it started operations in January on the property that used to be Merrill Stevens. “I sat up all night thinking what to do, if there was an opportunity for me in there,” Spencer said, the sounds of the yard filling the silence between his thoughts. “Between Christmas and New Year, I put together a business plan, then I made my presentation to the Westbrook family, and they agreed.” The Westbrook family bought
See SPENCER, page A14
John Spencer lost his job right before Christmas but he wasn’t focused on himself. I told the guys, if you can, hang PHOTO/LUCY CHABOT REED in there with me, I’ll think of something.”
Safety ashore: What are standing orders for crew In the waning days of January, Eng. Pawel “Pav” Kwiatowske of M/Y Charisma, the 153-foot (47m) Feadship, disappeared. He was last seen leaving Willy T’s bar in the yacht’s tender. His crew mates reported him missing the next morning. We don’t know From the Bridge what happened to Lucy Chabot Reed Mr. Kwiatowske, whose body was found a few days later washed ashore at St. Johns. His captain and crew mates could not talk before deadline because of a police
investigation. (Click here for the police statements.) Yet the incident raises questions about safety procedures and standing orders for crew ashore, so we talked about them at this month’s From the Bridge captains luncheon. “If he was at Willy T’s, he was drinking, and I have zero alcohol on the boat,” one captain said. “He was coming back to the boat drunk. I have gotten very serious about that.” 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 15. “I wouldn’t let him just take the tender,” another captain said. “Someone could run them [crew], they’d have a radio, and when they need to be picked up, we’d go pick them up.” “The tender stays with the boat,” said a third. “It’s a piece of safety equipment. We can’t go rescue them if they have the tender.” There was a bit of discussion here on this point. Captains on smaller vessels were adamant that the tender not be tied to a dock someplace away from the yacht, but several captains with
See BRIDGE, page A15
TRITON SURVEY: FOOD ONBOARD
Is there a food allowance for crew on your current vessel? Don’t know – 4.9%
No – 48.1%
Yes – 47.0%
Story and more questions, C1