Suspects caught
Killers of yacht chef Ludovic Guillevin confess in SXM. A4
The Triton Expo
Wind, storms, ice
Networking with a flair of fun and fashion. A11
M/Y Big Fish back from polar trip. B1 Vol.8, No. 2
www.the-triton.com
May 2011
Iconic American yacht, Forbes’ The Highlander, for sale By Lucy Chabot Reed When The Highlander, the 151-foot Feadship owned by the Forbes family, was mothballed in January 2009, the yachting industry already knew the recession was bad, but few questioned the need to pull the iconic yacht off New York Harbor. But the yacht, which entertained 9,000 clients and guests a year, was too much a part of business to be gone for long. Some saw it as a symbol of the recession, and waited patiently for her to be called back into service, sure that would signal its end. “We aren’t going to see a huge
recovery until Steve Forbes puts his boat [M/Y The Highlander] back on the circuit,” a captain said at captains roundtable lunch in December 2009. As months stretched into years, however, insiders began to worry that day would never come. Now the industy has its answer: The Highlander is for sale. “I’ve been involved with the boat my whole life,” said Whit Kirtland, a broker with Bradford Marine Yacht Sales who has the central listing. His father, Fred Kirtland, sold Malcolm Forbes the yacht in the mid 1980s. “When they made the
See HIGHLANDER, page A13
A view of M/Y The Highlander in mid-April, tucked under a shed at Bradford PHOTO/DAVID REED Marine in Ft. Lauderdale.
FALCON SOARING IN THE WIND
The S/Y Maltese Falcon, an 88m Perini Navi, is hard on the wind under full sail during the St. Barth’s Bucket in March. See story, A14.
Managing alcohol, drug use by crew Captains are known for taking professional responsibility of their boat and crew, so we asked if they feel the same about drug and alcohol use in the yachting industry. All of the captains at this From the Bridge month’s Triton Dorie Cox From the Bridge luncheon said both drinking and drugs are a pervasive problem. “There’s not much you can do,” a
captain said. “You can’t make people act responsibly.” “The boats are bigger, the crew are younger and less experienced, and you can’t legislate against stupid,” another captain said. “You can’t control them 24/7,” a third captain said of crew. “It’s been the ruination of so many good people,” a fourth 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 A16. The captains in attendance had plenty to say about an industry that sends mixed messages about professionalism and safety versus risky, hazardous behavior. “Don’t you think some of the problem is how the industry is advertised?,” a captain said. “There is a trend now where the crew coming in see a lifestyle. They see partying at shows and events and they think that’s what it’s about.”
See BRIDGE, page A16
PHOTO/MIKE PRICE
TRITON SURVEY
Is the crew permitted to use some or all of the toys when there are no guests aboard? No – 7.9% Yes, everything is available to the crew any time – 38.6%
Some items are available to the crew – 53.5%
– Story, C1