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May 2014 Triton May networking with Mega Yacht Mart and V-Kool See A7.
A10 Markers are missing Virtual navigation aids appear on charts, but not in water. B1
The language of captains Personality styles guide best type of communication. A12-13
Is he after my job? New business offers vacation and time-off options. A3
Not an average day on the New River Arc of electricity stops sailboat dead, leaves questions By Lucy Chabot Reed To hear the captain tell it, his last trip up the New River in Ft. Lauderdale was interesting, puzzling, comical even. But he’s lucky to be alive. We couldn’t describe the events any better than he does. He has asked that neither he nor the vessel be named as insurance claims continue to be sorted out, but he wanted to share his story to help other captains. “It was early afternoon on a bright and sunny day in mid-January as I navigated a 70-plus-foot sailing yacht up the New River. I have been captain of this vessel for a while and she had me firmly in her grasp. “I felt comfortable as we motored up this rather narrow, winding river in
the heart of the city, passing through the many open bridges. I held the leathered wheel with a light touch. “We were headed to a shipyard up river, 3.5 miles from the sea. My crew members were smiling and chatting as they set up dock lines and fenders. We had only two more bridges to go. “As we passed through the railroad bridge in the heart of downtown, the mate had the binoculars in hand as he focused on marine traffic and the next bridge. The deckhand stood on lookout on the side deck. “I was looking aloft at a set of overhead high power lines we were about to pass under. I knew we had plenty of clearance, as this vessel had been under these wires many times before, and yachts with even taller rigs navigate this river on a regular basis. “Suddenly, a white fireball flashed around the upper two thirds of the mast followed by a massive explosion. It was so loud I thought there had
been a bombing in the condos at the river’s edge and I instinctively spun around, bracing for impact. “Instead of a building crashing down upon us, I observed a brilliant blue orb surrounding the boat, and then contacting and dissipating into the river astern of us. “I now believe this blue orb was a plasma discharge released as the air molecules split apart, due to the electromagnetic arc that zapped us. This arc was so powerful and loud, that it pushed me down a little and stunned me for a moment. Or maybe I was just cringing from the blast. “I took my hands off the wheel and looked at my crew. I know I said something before asking if they were OK, but events were happening very fast. The steering failed as hydraulic oil poured into the bilge from melted piping. A spatter of melted aluminum was visible part way up the mast.
She’s the boss, but... Ways to ‘manage up’, promote more efficient leadership. C1
TRITON SURVEY: Compensation It’s been 30, maybe 40 years, since the industry began using $1,000-a-foot as a guideline to pay captains. Is it still used today? Should it be? More than 120 captains gave us their thoughts in this month’s Triton survey.
Are you paid according to the $1,000-a-foot guideline?
See ARC, page A8
Exactly – 7.4 % Less – 21.3%
Pretty close – 36.1% More – 35.2% – Story, C1
Pervassive smart phones make managing a challenge
THE POWER OF PASSION: The crew of S/Y Aglaia held a dock party fundraiser in Palma in April and raised more than 30,000 euros for two local charities. Photographed here are some of the folks who made it happen (from left): Natalie (Hawaiian helper), 2d Stew Maxine, winter Chef Tina, Stew Sanchia, Capt. Mark Stevens, Chief Stew Laura Cubie, and Tom, the owner of Complete Marine Freight. For the whole story, see page A4. PHOTO PROVIDED
The past few years have changed things in the cell-phone-andwork-arena on yachts. Thanks to technological advances, phones are much more than things with which to make phone calls or even send texts. Accessibility to social media From the Bridge has changed Lucy Chabot Reed how we interact with our cell phones, now known as smart phones, and to many middle-aged captains, the fascination younger crew have with these devices verges on addiction. But to yacht crew born in the 1980s and ’90s, who experts call the millennials, it is simply a part of their lives. Their smart phone is part of their dress code. Last month, we asked captains
and crew to share their thoughts about cell phones in our Triton survey and learned that the rules about their use onboard – when there are rules – vary widely. Because statistical surveys can only go so far, we wanted to bring this topic up again with captains in our more intimate monthly captains lunch to learn if smart phones have impacted their ability to manage young crew. It has, and it has them at a loss as to what to do about it, other than lay down the law. Our assembled captains varied in how much cell phone use they permitted onboard. But most of them agreed, like most of the yacht captains and crew who took our survey last month, that it’s a thin line between use and abuse. And I’ve come to understand that it’s not so much about phone See BRIDGE, page A14
A May 2014
WHAT’S INSIDE
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T h e Tr i t o n : M e g ay a c h t n e w s fo r c a p t a i n s a n d c r e w
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CREW NEWS
Veteran captains start relief business that won’t steal jobs By Lucy Chabot Reed
view,” O’Connor said. “Just pay for the guy when he’s working. No rotations A couple veteran yacht captains and all that, and no commissions or have started a new company to provide kickbacks. It’s just a straight, flat deal. relief captains for yachts. For somebody like me, I’m happy to But unlike relief arrangements in give 10 percent and have 300 percent the past, Fleet Relief makes its captains more delivery work.” promise they aren’t out looking for a Even though someone like O’Connor full-time job. who knows a lot of captains and “I wanted to create a hub of the theoretically be as busy doing relief most experienced captains in the world as he wants, it still takes work that who don’t want to work full time and he’s happy to pay someone else to do, aren’t a threat to anybody,” Capt. Jon leaving him time to drive boats. Hunt said of the company he started “There’s two reasons,” he said. in the fall with Capt. Guy O’Connor. “First, he’s setting up the schedule “Everybody we bring in, they’re done and collecting the money, which isn’t with yachting. They’ve come ashore. always easy to get. And second, it’s the Their lives have changed. guarantee. “What do these guys do with all “No matter how many people you these qualifications when they don’t know, everyone’s afraid you’re going want to go sailing full-time anymore?” to take their job,” O’Connor said. Hunt said. “An engineer can go “Sometimes, it’s their wife telling them, elsewhere, but for captains, who have ‘don’t let him sub for you, the boss will studied the art of navigation, it’s hard like him better.’ With the guarantee, to take that anyplace else. They love there’s no threat and that just opens the what they do, but they don’t want to do doors.” it full time.” The new MLC rules will force some Fleet Relief gathers experienced busy charter vessels – and other classed crew in senior vessels who positions and offers voluntarily adopt them to owners for the guidelines ‘They love what they relief work on yachts – to better record do, but they don’t want around the world. work time and to do it full time.’ Fleet Relief crew hours of rest as must meet two vital well as vacation – Capt. Jon Hunt criteria: have five time. Owner, Fleet Relief years experience in And Fleet their position, and Relief is ready to sign an agreement help with that, that says they are not seeking full-time ready a cadre of captains, engineers, employment. chief officers and a few chief stews “No one in the yachting industry who will work as individuals or teams, has really addressed the issue of crew all with with a minimum of five years time off, unless an owner is paying experience. Hunt said he’s careful to thru the nose for it,” Hunt said. “Most choose only people he can rely on to management companies leave this represent his company. to the captain, and he or she is being Hunt has been involved with constantly told to save money.” yachting as a business nearly 20 Making time for holidays has always years, working onboard in every deck been challenging in yachting. Usually, position from deckhand to captain, senior crew – captains, engineers, first in management, and as a private officers, pursers and chief stews – had contractor in the marine environment. to quit to take time off. “I spent many years at sea, and Asking someone to fill in for a few I worked for wonderful, successful weeks was risky. What if the boss likes people, as you do,” he said. “I studied that person better? What if that person the whole thing before I stuck my neck will work for less? The result is that out.” senior crew often worked years without And he’s confident it’ll continue to any real time off. grow. This summer, he expects to open Hunt makes a point of noting that three physical locations, one each in Fleet Relief is not a crew agent, but Palma, Ft. Lauderdale, Viareggio. instead a contractor that he considers “Because it’s not political,” he said, as working for the owner. As such, the noting that it’s not affiliated with any company doesn’t charge commissions management company or brokerage but instead 10 percent on the contract, house. “We can go anywhere. We which Hunt said covers his costs of represent a global industry.” making phone calls, organizing flights and maintaining the contacts. Lucy Chabot Reed is editor of The “Jon’s the only guy I know who Triton. Comments on this story are looks at it from the owner’s point of welcome at lucy@the-triton.com.
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A May 2014
CREW NEWS
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S/Y Aglaia’s crew hosts party, raise 30,000 euros for charities By Lucy Chabot Reed
More than 600 people attended a fundraiser hosted by the crew of S/Y Aglaia in Palma in April which raised more than 30,000 euros for two local charities. Two participants (right) embraced the Hawaiian theme. PHOTOS PROVIDED
The crew of S/Y Aglaia raised more than 30,000 euros for two local charities in Palma in early April with a dock party they put together to make a difference. The yacht makes its winter base in Palma. In cooperation with Complete Marine Freight, Edmistons, Bluewater and STP, its crew decided to give back. “We felt that we were in a great
position to help some local causes,” Chief Stew Laura Cubie wrote in an e-mail. “We are a high-profile yacht with a young and energetic crew, and it is our duty to get involved in local causes.” Money raised will benefit Mediterranea, an independent humanitarian aid organization to help those in poverty in Mallorca and around the world (mediterraneaong. com). Last year, the crew of Aglaia hosted a Christmas party and raised more than 13,000 euros for the kids and collected more than 200 Christmas presents and a transit van full of clothes. Donations also will help Ondine Association, a small group focused on maritime conservation around the Balearic Islands (asociacionondine. org). “Apart from fundraising and awareness for our two chosen charities, I really want the yachting community to see how simple this is to raise large sums of money and to encourage each yachting hub to do the same,” Cubie said. More than 600 people attended the Hawaiian-themed event. The dock, bar and hog roast buffet were decorated with hundreds of flowers hung up by hand, and the yachting community in attendance dressed the part. And when it was over, the party continued at a local bar, which donated one euro of each drink sold back to the cause. All drinks and food were donated, so 100 percent of the money raised – plus 2,000 liters of milk for the children – were given to the charities. “It just goes to show how generous a community we live in,” said Capt. Mark Stevens. “I would love each yachting community to do one of these. It is so easy to set up and helps the local communities, which usually feel very alienated from us. If Antibes, Viareggio, La Ciotat, etc., could do this, imagine what we would have started? It’s a great way of bridging the gap.” As of press time, money coming in totaled 31,507 euros. They plan to have an even bigger and better event next year. Lucy Chabot Reed is editor of The Triton. Comments are welcome at lucy@ the-triton.com.
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NEWS: Chartering in USVI
A few of the term-charter yachts in the VICL fleet that might soon be able to carry more than six paying passengers, thanks to a new amendment. PHOTO/DEAN BARNES
Law to replace six-pack rule gets first OK in U.S. House By Carol Bareuther
length, which carry passengers to or from a port in the USVI,” she said. “If The U.S. Virgin Islands is one step our vessels in this category have met closer to regaining a strong foothold in the MCA [small commercial vessel] the Caribbean’s term-charter industry. standards, then the vessel should This potential rainbow on the horizon be considered in compliance with comes due to the passage on April 1 of adequate boating safety standards.” an amendment to House Bill No. 4005 This type of legislation is not by the U.S. House of unprecedented. Representatives. The USCG has The amendment This amendment entered into formal provides alternative agreements with must still pass the compliance for U.S. certain classification U.S. Senate before Coast Guard safety societies such as the becoming law. regulations for American Bureau of uninspected U.S.-flag Shipping, Det Norske vessels weighing less Veritas, and Lloyd’s than 100 gross tons. These vessels have Register to promote a more flexible and been restricted under the Passenger efficient marine transportation system Vessel Safety Act of 1993 to six paying while still maintaining safely and passengers while operating in the environmental protection. waters of the U.S. Virgin Islands. “The passage of this legislation Since then, there has been an exodus would be welcome news to over a of crewed charter yachts from the dozen of our members with the larger USVI to the British Virgin Islands over Irwins and Privilege catamarans that the past 20 years. Foreign-flag vessels can carry up to eight to 12 passengers,” plying these same waters such as those said Brianne Beatty, executive director operating out of the BVI have not been of the St. Thomas-based Virgin Islands subject to these passenger restriction Charteryacht League. “The more yachts limits, also known as the six-pack rule. we have based out of the USVI, the “The amendment that just passed better for everyone economically from the House is a parity argument for BVI taxi drivers to hotels, restaurants and standards, rather than an argument shops.” for an exemption to existing USCG This legislation will likely not affect standards,” said Colette Conroy the territory’s megayacht sector as Monroe, policy adviser for the USVI most are foreign-flagged vessels. governor’s office and member of the The U.S. Senate must still pass Virgin Islands Marine Economic similar legislation before any changes Development Council, founded last become law. year and which drafted this legislation. “We are requesting the acceptance Carol Bareuther is a freelance writer in by the USCG to MCA standards for St. Thomas. Comments on this story are USVI-flagged vessels under 78 feet in welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.
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A May 2014
NEWS BRIEFS
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New Miami chart includes broader approach; inlet plan approved New Miami chart released
NOAA has released the 44th edition of Miami Harbor nautical chart 11468 designed to help alleviate congestion at the Port of Miami – the world’s busiest cruise port – by giving ship pilots a better display of the approach. The previous chart showed only half of the precautionary area where vessels gather before coming into port. The new edition also includes updated depth measurements gathered in February by a NOAA vessel that conducted a fast-paced hydrographic survey of 64 square nautical miles. Its survey also found four underwater obstructions and a wreck in the shipping channels, which were added to the new edition. Chart 11468 - Miami Harbor is now available as a paper print-ondemand nautical chart, as a free PDF digital download, and as a free raster navigational chart for electronic display systems. It is also the last chart that the federal government will print using traditional lithographic printers. The corresponding electronic navigational chart US5FL22 will be available for download in early May.
Inlet plan gets first OK
On April 16, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) signed off on a plan
to deepen and widen portions of Lake Worth Inlet in South Florida. The existing channel is 33 feet deep and 300 feet wide. The plan would deepen the entrance channel from 35 to 41 feet and widen it from 400 to 440-460 feet, plus a southern approach flare; deepen the inner channel from 33 to 39 feet and widen it from 300 to 450 feet; deepen the main turning basin from 33 feet to 39 feet, and extend the southern boundary of the turning basin an additional 150 feet. Once funded, ACE expects preconstruction and contracting to take two years, while construction would take an additional two years. The plan still must be approved and funded by the U.S. Congress. For the report, visit www.saj.usace.army.mil.
Study shows big loss of Antarctic ice Six massive glaciers in West Antarctica are moving faster than they did 40 years ago, causing more ice to discharge into the ocean and global sea level to rise, according to new research. The amount of ice draining collectively from those half-dozen glaciers increased by 77 percent from 1973 to 2013, scientists report this month in “Geophysical Research Letters”, a journal of the American Geophysical Union. Pine Island Glacier,
the most active of the studied glaciers, has accelerated by 75 percent in 40 years. Thwaites Glacier, the widest glacier, started to accelerate in 2006, following a decade of stability. The study is the first to look at the ice coming off the six most active West Antarctic glaciers over such an extended time period, said Jeremie Mouginot, a glaciologist at University of California-Irvine (UC-Irvine) who coauthored the paper. Almost 10 percent of the world’s sea-level rise per year comes from these six glaciers, he said. The amount of ice released by these six glaciers each year is comparable to the amount of ice draining from the entire Greenland Ice Sheet annually, Mouginot said. If melted completely, the glaciers’ disappearance would raise sea levels 4 feet (1.2m), wrote co-author and UC-Irvine Professor Eric Rignot. “This paper is important in showing that a glacier can actually ‘feel’ what is happening far downstream of itself,” said Robert Thomas, a glaciologist in Virginia who was not involved in the study. “It means that if you disturb the ice sheet near the coast, the glaciers will feel the push and rapidly respond hundreds of kilometers inland.” This finding suggests that glacier acceleration models may need to be reevaluated.
Ocean research plan released
NOAA and its partners have released the first federal strategic plan to guide research and monitoring investments that will improve understanding of ocean acidification, its impacts on marine species and ecosystems, and adaptation and mitigation strategies. Ocean acidification occurs because the ocean absorbs increasing amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The ocean absorbs about a quarter of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere each year. Laboratory and field research has found that marine organisms respond negatively to ocean acidification, especially those species that make shells or skeletons from calcium carbonate, such as oysters and corals. These negative effects include decreased growth and survival, as well as changes in physiology and metabolism. Ocean acidification is likely to affect not only these species, but also the industries, such as fisheries, aquaculture, and tourism, that depend on them. The plan is an early step toward implementation of the National Ocean Policy, NOAA said in a statement. It is available online at http:// oceanacidification.noaa.gov/ IWGOA.aspx.
The Triton
www.the-triton.com NETWORKING: V-Kool / Mega Mart Yacht
May 2014 A
Spring time a good time to join The Triton and Mega Yacht Mart Whether spring cleaning or bargain hunting, add networking to the list with The Triton and Mega Yacht Mart on the third Wednesday of the month. Captains, crew and industry professionals are invited from 6-8 p.m. on May 21 in Ft. Lauderdale. Until then, learn more about Mega Yacht Mart from Sales Manager Steve Gilchrist. Gilchrist Q. Tell us about Mega Yacht Mart. Mega Yacht Mart is a consignment business for the yachting industry. We have a retail warehouse, but what sets us apart is that we post all items online so people can search more conveniently. We visit yards from Palm Beach to Florida City to help yachts clear out their unneeded items and we work to find a home for everything. Items that would have been discarded help people looking for “that certain item”. After many years in the yachting industry, we have seen all the excess. Our goal is to put that usable inventory back in the marketplace in the hands of people who can still use it, and keep it
out of landfills. It’s the ultimate in one man’s trash is another’s treasure. Q. How did this all start? It started from a refit project that was looking for hard-to-find parts. We discovered hundreds of other yachts had storage containers full of good, but no longer needed items. Because of the parts we were looking for, we found stuff we knew we could sell. Q: How does the business work? Since we mostly work with large quantities we come out and assess what a yacht has to sell and take it away. We catalog, photograph, price the items and publish them on 15 different Web sites. Coupled with direct sales, our retail store gives the product excellent exposure. When an item sells, we split the proceeds 50/50 with the yacht. If you are looking for a specific part you can search our website www. megayachtmart.com or give us a call at +1 954-533-8837. The best way is to stop by the store and see what might have just come in. Q: What is your inventory? Our inventory ranges from engines and parts to designer furniture, highend galley equipment and table décor. We currently have a full suite of kitchen appliances that were barely used. As the inventory changes daily, a phone
call is the best way to know if we have what a yacht needs, or shoppers can click on the search tab on our Web site. Q. Do you specialize in items? We have settled into furniture and dive equipment and water sports as our specialty items. We also carry a fair amount of deck gear. But, you never know what you might find at our store. Q. What are the largest and smallest items you have sold? We recently sold two Westerbeke 55kw generators to a client in Dubai. We will get treasure hunters in the store that will, on occasion, buy a $.05 O-ring for dive equipment. Q. What’s unique in stock now? We have a brand new 50 hp Lewmar swing thruster that is brand new in
the crate for sale at 50 percent of the original purchase price. Q. Who makes up the team? The store and Internet sales are run through a partnership with Steve Gilchrist owner of STG Marine Ventures. The onsite staff consists of Administrative Assistant Bonnie Stickl, Floor and Internet Sales Pablo Leidi, Warehouse Manager Felix Beruvives, Floor Sales Matt Bressler and Furniture Sales Melody Dean. Find Mega Yacht Mart at 1918 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, 33316, between 17th Street and State Road 84. Visit www.megayachtmart.com, call +1 954-533-8837 or e-mail to info@ megayachtmart.com.
See your way clear to Triton networking with V-Kool One the first Wednesday in May, captains, crew and industry professionals are welcome to join The Triton’s monthly networking event with V-Kool. We’ll meet from 6-8 p.m. on May 7 in Ft. Lauderdale. Stay tuned to www.the-triton. com for details and location. Scott Frischhertz opened V-Kool of Florida in 2004. The company installs a window treatment made of layers of optically clear polyester sheets embedded with silver. The procedure keeps glass and interiors cooler while allowing light in. Frischhertz, a former captain, has a marine installation crew for megayacht projects. More more information on V-Kool of Florida, visit www.v-kool-usa.com or call +1 954-761-8463.
A May 2014
NEWS: Electrical arc
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Yacht adrift after flash of light and engine room fire ARC from page A1 “Then, somewhat apocalyptically, dozens of dead honey bees fell out of the blue sky onto the deck. “The engine room fire alarm sounded, and black smoke immediately began to pour out of the exhaust blower vents. A loud hissing noise told us that the fire suppression system had released the 60 pounds of CO2. The interior became engulfed in smoke. “I mustered my crew in the cockpit to evaluate our options. We were now a smoldering dead ship, adrift in the river. Our tender was alongside and our
anchors ready to go. “But the boat still had headway, and with an ebb tide, we drifted close to the public docks at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts just ahead. In front of a sunny afternoon crowd of tourists, stunned by what they had just witnessed, we brought her alongside the dock with a spring line and a sheet winch.”
Starting the arc
The yacht was towed to the shipyard where’s she still sits, finishing repairs on all the damage. Ninety-five percent of the electronics onboard were
destroyed, all but a few items protected by small fuses, such as a new Sony receiver, the KVH television satellite dome, and the Brookes and Gatehouse wind instrumentation. Neither the captain nor any of the experts who have been onboard since can say with certainty what happened. Well, they know what happened – the electricity arced from the high-voltage transmission lines to the mast – but no one knows how or why. The distance electricity will arc depends on three things: the voltage, the distance and the air resistance. First, the voltage. Basically, the
higher the voltage, the farther electricity can arc. Several phone calls to Florida Power & Light over the past month did not result in an answer as to just how much power is on those “high voltage transmission lines”. New poles were erected in the recent past and the lines were raised after several contact accidents in the 1980s and 1990s. The only thing a spokeswoman with FPL would say is that the minimum safe distance is 20 feet, which is difficult to apply if the height is unknown. NOAA’s chart for that part of the river, on the western-most quadrant of chart No. 11470, doesn’t indicate the height of the lines or the poles, but states “OVHD PWR CAB AUTH CL 80 FT”, which means “overhead power cables, authorized clearance 80 feet”. Unlike notations for bridges, which give actual clearance, power lines give “authorized clearance”. The captain whose sailboat was hit in January called that chart notation a “total absurdity, because the power company refuses to tell the public what the true height is.” His yacht has an air draft of 98 feet, including the lightning rod, and he’s been up the river before. A yacht docked near him in the shipyard has 104 feet of air draft, he said, and makes the trip without incident. It should be noted that the sailboat’s mast did not touch the power lines. The captain went up in the bosun’s chair and discovered a small area of melted aluminum where the tang bolt must have contacted the aluminum mast about 50 feet from the waterline. . NOAA receives data for its charts from multiple sources, but considers the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers the “final authority for cable locations and specifications,” said Dawn Forsythe, a spokeswoman with the NOAA Office of Coast Survey. The Army Corps does issue authorization for aerial transmission lines and it’s possible a permit exists for that pole, but without a permit number, the details could not be easily researched before deadline. The third condition that plays a part in an arcing incident is the air resistance, which is impacted by things such as humidity, dust and salt. Air is a natural insulator, which is why power lines are hung in the air. Humidity makes the air more conductive. But that January day was dry and sunny at about 1:45 p.m. when the incident happened. Overly hot days can make the wires stretch and sag, lessening the distance. But that January day was cool, with a high of 74 and low humidity. “We don’t really know [what happened],” the captain said. “It’s certainly possible to have an arc that big,” said Steve Hebert, service manager at Ward’s Marine Electric in Ft. Lauderdale. “You don’t have to
See ARC, page A9
The Triton
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NEWS: Electrical arc
Dead bees on deck add to trip’s mystery ARC, from page A8 actually have made contact with the power line. Air, like any insulator, has resistance that can be calculated and overcome. “You basically are bringing a giant lightning rod under those lines,” Hebert said, noting that the yacht was very well grounded. “This mast has low resistance to ground so the only resistance that has to be overcome is air resistance.” “It’s like having those power lines 15 feet from the ground,” said James Cote, owner of Cote Marine, a marine electrical consulting firm that does forensic investigations. “The boat is in the water, properly grounded with an aluminum mast. An arc can jump that far. Once an arc starts, it will continue. The hard part is getting it started.”
The missing ingredient?
When asked to explain the arcing incident, everyone’s first question is to wonder if the yacht was grounded properly. It was, by all accounts. A fourfoot lightning rod is bolted through the mast and leads to bronze strips. “Lightning protection is a little bit of a black art,” the captain said. “In the old days, we would dissipate a strike through a large surface like a copper plate on the hull. But when I redid it [a
few years ago], the newest theory was that electricity dissipates best on a 90degree angle, so we have 2-inch wide, 4-foot long, quarter-inch-thick bronze strips on both port and starboard, close to the surface of the water.” Electricity experts agreed that was a good system. Ironically, Hebert said a yacht that is not well grounded has less of a chance of getting an arc started because there is a lot of resistance between the mast and ground. So how this arc started is unclear. “Some people accuse the honey bees,” the captain said. “I wouldn’t have thought they could have created a frequency great enough.” It might not be such a stretch. “Bees are conductive,” Cote said. “They’re little flying bags of water. If they were between the mast and the lines, they could have contributed to it arcing over. “ Not everyone is so sure. “The bees were innocent bystanders,” Hebert said. “It’s a simple case of being close to the limit of tolerance.” So was this a random accident? “Pieces of the puzzle aren’t adding up,” Cote said. “It could just be a fluke situation with the bees.” Several electricity experts pointed out that electricity doesn’t follow a pattern. It might arc on one side, not on another. In a crowded marina, lightning
will hit one vessel, but not another, and not always the tallest one. An electrical engineer who used to work at FPL offered this advice: “Look at the length of the insulators on the towers,” he said. “You’re asking for trouble if the distance between your mast and the wire is less than the length of those insulators. I would not risk it if the two distances are anywhere near to being close. The problem is, I have no idea how you’re going to measure the length of those insulators or how to measure the wires’ exact height above the water.” So mariners are left to guess. “There needs to be greater awareness about these lines,” said the captain who went through it. “This whole thing with overhead clearance is key, but they’re not willing to say what the distance is.” This captain has worked on sailing vessels “my whole life”, joining the Merchant Marines at 16. He’s crossed oceans and traveled untold miles in his 40 years at sea. He respects the sea and cares for the vessels he runs. “I’m an old salt, and I still love it,” he said. “I’m just glad my crew didn’t get killed that day on the river.” Lucy Chabot Reed is editor of The Triton. Comments are welcome at lucy@the-triton.com.
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TRITON EXPO
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he Triton celebrated a decade in bu Triton Expo, held at National Ma
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mportant things happen at the Expo. This year, yachties Caitlin and Kobus Kraftt made their marriage official during the event. They had a formal ceremony in December in South Africa and came to have their papers signed by notary Cynthea DeSousa, who was working the Yachty Rental booth. For more photos visit www. facebook.com/tritonnews. PHOTOS/DORIE COX AND KENNA REED
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usiness on April 2 with the semi-annual arine Suppliers in Ft. Lauderdale. About 800 captains, crew and industry professionals joined with more than 40 vendors for casual networking. Several Triton columnists spoke and captains staffed a resume clinic. Our guests raised more than $800 for The Triton’s Spin-A-Thon team benefitting the Marine Industry Cares Foundation.
TRITON EXPO
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NEWS: Captains’ style
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Alter approach to get better results with captains This is the second part of a two-part story about The Triton’s presentation at the Superyacht Summit in March, “Speaking Captain: How to communicate with yacht captains more effectively and get better results. By Lucy Chabot Reed Triton Publisher David Reed and I learned two powerful things when we asked 10 yacht captains to take the DISC personality test. The first is that yacht captains are generally task-oriented (meaning they are Ds or Cs on the DISC scale) and fall on some gradient between outgoing and reserved. (To learn more about how we determined that, read our first story on this subject in the April issue or online at www.the-triton.com.) The other thing we learned is that the people who work with them – be they crew mates, support staff or business people – can alter their approach to more efficiently communicate with yacht captains to either get a better response or share more information. First, let’s learn what it means to be D and C captains.
All about Ds
D captains are more outgoing, and outgoing people tend to move faster, speak faster, and decide faster. To others, it can look like they are in a hurry. They are self-confident so they tend to speak in a louder tone, and often show their thoughts and feelings outwardly and intensely. They are dominant and direct, so they say what they think. To others, it can seem as though they are too blunt. They are determined, decisive and tough. They look at the big picture, so they want to know “what’s the bottom
line?”, even interrupting others to get there. To others, they can be seen as impatient. They make decisions independently, so they talk about themselves, their goals, the results they seek. They are strong willed, competitive and demanding, often stating their opinion as fact. When they are stressed or uncomfortable, they can be aggressive and blunt, self-centered and overbearing.
All about Cs
C captains are more reserved, and reserved people tend to move slower so they often appear quiet, even timid. They speak in a softer tone and they are private, so they keep their thoughts and feelings to themselves. Although they are more reserved, they are also task-oriented, so they observe, evaluate, and analyze situations before deciding. And because they do, they can be critical (not based on opinions, but on the facts). They focus on the details, talk about the facts and ask a lot of questions. They are calculating and exact. They have likely studied the specifications carefully and done their homework on products/services. They are cautious and careful, so they won’t easily express an opposing opinion. They are logical, formal and disciplined, so they like to follow the rules. When they are stressed or uncomfortable, they can be withdrawn and even shy, they get stuck on the details at the risk of the big picture, and are unwilling to take risks.
Speaking captain
D captains make decisions fast, independent. They don’t need to talk to
anyone else, they don’t need referrals, they don’t need permission. This is the decision maker, and they want to feel like they are doing something important and new. They will take risks, but most important thing to know is that it has to be their idea. If you try to convince or manipulate a D personality into doing or buying something, you will lose every time. To communicate with D captains, get to the point quickly and provide direct answers to questions. Stick to the task and topic at hand. They lose interest quickly if the conversation turns frivolous or off target. Use a results-oriented approach. Identify opportunities and challenges, and provide alternatives. Ensure that he wins. A few tips of what not to do with D captains: Don’t go into all the details or give too much information; don’t try to control the conversation; don’t talk too much; don’t be emotional or take issues personally; and don’t make physical contact. Conversely, C captains need a lot of supporting information (details) before making a decision comfortably. They may not be the decision maker, so give them the tools to logically decide for themselves. They will present a case to the boss for support, but won’t create conflict over it. The more logical a C captain can be, the better the chance of getting support. They take their time deciding, so dedicate time to talking through the information. And be patient. C people avoid risks and follow the rules. To communicate with C captains, be thorough. Use data and facts and include all relevant information, even offering written supporting materials.
See DISC, page A13
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NEWS: Captains’ style
Personality test shows insight into captains, urges follow-up By Capt. Ian Bone The initiative taken by The Triton in undertaking the personality testing of a select group of captains is to be applauded. [“Communication with captains is not only a captain’s concern,” page A5, April issue.] The purpose for undertaking the testing procedure was to shed light on how others, including crew and business owners, might want to “pitch” their communications with captains. The results provided from the study give clearer insights into the broader personalities and behavioral characteristics of captains. The test is the DISC personality assessment, which is a well-known assessment tool. Questions are asked of the participant and patterns are formed. The results should not be assumed to be anything more than a tool that can be applied to get better insights into personality characteristics. Our understanding is that the test was probably a first in the industry. The outcomes were not surprising nor unexpected, given the nature of the jobs that yacht captains are both asked and expected to do. The fact that the findings, even with such a small sample, confirmed the views that yacht captains are taskoriented, having the natural styles of D (dominant and direct) and C (cautious and consistent). This collective study, although not extensive nor probably completely academically rigorous, is remarkable from a wider yachting industry point of view, in that it breaks new ground with respect to introducing testing tools widely used in the corporate world and not normally undertaken in the yachting industry. Although we should not draw any extensive conclusions about broader behavioral tendencies of yacht captains from this study, it serves to probe into the collective personality characteristics of captains and sets forth a challenge for further follow-up
research. The findings potentially have significant relevance for the ongoing topic of leadership competencies of yacht captains. The predisposition of yacht captains toward task orientation and resultant opposite disposition toward people orientation may provide some wider interpretations as to the “leadership gap” discussion previously written about by myself, following on from a previous Triton survey. My contention is that if we can better understand (through rigorous research analysis) what the predominant behavioral features are for yacht captains, we may well then better understand what leadership attributes and learnings should be considered in any continuous professional development framework for yacht captains. By undertaking a process of research and investigation we can be better informed about the emergent professional development needs of yacht captains. The Yacht Captains Association (www.yachtcaptains.org) advocates the strengthening in professionalism of all yacht captains. The YCA endorses activity that improves the standing of yacht captains within the yachting industry. The YCA plans to enhance and facilitate career and professional development opportunities for yacht captains. Researching the views and opinions of yacht captains about their place within the industry and matters affecting them is a fundamental tenet of the Yacht Captains Association. The YCA envisages undertaking future research initiatives by partnering with industry and external bodies so as to better understand the various dimensions of the industry. Capt. Ian Bone is involved with a group of yacht captains launching the Yacht Captains Association. Read more on his blog at yachtingleadership.wordpress. com. Comments are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.
Both D and C captains are taskoriented, so stick to the topic DISC, from page A12 Examine an argument from all sides. If you disagree, do it with facts, not opinions. Avoid new solutions; use proven ideas instead. Listen carefully, and answer questions calmly. Slow down, speak calmly and politely, and be patient. A few tips of what not to do with C captains: Don’t move too fast; don’t
spend time on small talk; stay on task; don’t debate or introduce conflict; don’t lose patience answering questions or providing details; don’t withhold information; and don’t expect a decision right away Lucy Chabot Reed is editor of The Triton. For more information about DISC, visit http://discpersonalitytesting. com. Comments on this story are welcome at lucy@the-triton.com.
May 2014 A13
A14 May 2014 FROM THE BRIDGE: Managing millennials
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Millennials only know life online and bring that to yacht BRIDGE from page A1 use or abuse as it is the captain’s interpretation of that activity. “They have been a blessing, I can’t lie,” one captain said of smart phones, noting all the apps available on them. “I don’t mind using a tool on a boat to get things done. The mate’s constantly checking the tide and weather. “But I tell them, no one needs a phone in front of the boss,” this captain said. “It’s an addiction, this social networking thing.” And therein lies the root of the issue: how one captain interpretes use as an “addiction” when another doesn’t. “The technology is so great on these boats,” another captain said. “I don’t mind my crew using it, just as long as the work gets done. I have a stew who listens to music in one ear, has a Skype conversation going and she’s making menus and researching on the Internet. She doesn’t miss a beat. She gets it all done so I don’t have a problem with it.” 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 the photograph above. An entire psychological industry has popped up around explaining
Attendees of The Triton’s May Bridge luncheon were, from left, Don Stanbro, Denise Fox (looking), Herb Magney (freelance), Paul Preston (freelance), Mark Macioce, Lee Rosbach (freelance), Jason Halvorsen of M/Y Camarina Royale, and Kelly Esser of M/Y Cheers 46. PHOTO/LUCY REED the millennial generation to the generations who will manage them. Books have been written to point out the chasms between them (and we’ve included a few tips in an accompanying story on page 16). Millennials have never known life without Internet. Being connected and constantly available is part of who they are. It’s not bad, the experts say, just different. And middle-aged captains just don’t get it. “We’re enabling this younger generation to use their phone as an excuse not to do work, and we’re
ruining the crew experience,” one captain said. This captain told the story of the change he saw in a green stew he hired five years ago. A lovely young woman back then, he encouraged her to get experience on larger yachts. When he hired her back recently, she returned a completely different creature. “She had a great personality so I brought her back, but she didn’t fit,” this captain said. “She would sit in the crew mess on her phone, not listening to us, or participating.” The change in her saddened him. “She was addicted,” this captain said.
“She was absolutely stunned when I fired her.” But in that time, just the past five years, really, smart phones do so much more than ever. And who can blame a crew member for reaching out to family, friends and lovers when traditionally, yachting has made all those things so hard to have. “We’re competing with a culture that says it’s OK to use the phone,” another said. “You have to ask the owner, ‘what are your rules at work for devices?’ and then use those same rules onboard.”
See BRIDGE, page A15
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www.the-triton.com FROM THE BRIDGE: Managing millennials
Phone use may hinder good crew relations BRIDGE from page A14 “It comes down to a responsible use of the phones,” a captain said. “As captains, you have to explain what the issue is and lay the ground rules.” A lot of the conversation revolved around the tendency for crew to use their phones while on break in the crew mess, a time when traditionally crew got to know each other a little better. On the one hand, that’s the time the captains have set aside for their crew to interact with their world. But on the other, it takes away from camaraderie on the boat, they said. “It’s simple: if you’re at lunch, have good manners,” one captain said. “That means no hat, be clean, and no phones because it’s rude.” “We have to show them what the good behaviors are,” another said. “And there have to be swift, severe consequences,” said a third. “You take the phone away and, by the way, guess who’s on watch this weekend?” “I’m not taking your phone away,” another captain said, and others agreed. “If it gets to that point, you’re out the door.” “If I have to come to you and tell you I’m disappointed in your actions, you better look for another job,” still another captain said. “When I hire people, I set the standards,” said a captain who requires crew to leave their phones in their cabins. “I’ve never had to fire anybody [over it]. If you remove the temptation, they’re more focused.” One captain disagreed, noting that when he feels stressed, even he will take a break, sit on the bridge and surf the Internet for a few minutes “to unplug.” “And afterward, I look up and feel better,” this captain said. “It’s like ‘wow, I really needed that.’ ”
As the millennials enter yachting and begin to move up, several captains wondered how it will all shake out. “Is this something that’s going to work itself out over time?” one captain asked. “The younger captains don’t seem to have as much a problem with it as the older guys.” “It’s a shift in the culture, so how do you blend?” one captain said. “Yachting’s a service industry. In a restaurant, you wouldn’t expect your server to do it.” “There is no established code of conduct for cell phone use,” another said. “On cigarettes, it says they can kill you, and the alcohol industry now tells us to ‘drink responsibly,’ ” said a third. “No one teaches them courtesy with their phone. There’s no code of ethics for social interaction.” “Part of what’s missing is that it’s about safety, and it’s up to us to instill that,” another captain said. “Put it in the rules and we have to watch them.” Most of the captains said they don’t want to worry about watching their crew, catching them using their phones inappropriately. They expect the rules they set to be enough. Several captains noted that with crew radios, there’s no need for crew to have their cell phones onboard. “We’re mariners first,” a captain said. “It’s about safety, not service, at this level. The radio is your communication device if you get trapped or something.” But then one captain told a story of the stew who, coming off the 124 a.m. watch, went into the walk-in for something to eat and got trapped inside. She didn’t have her radio, but she did have her smart phone so she got on Facebook to communicate with family in Southeast Asia, who called the yacht to have someone open the door.
“It’s the culture, it’s not the technology” a captain said. “It’s like saying we’re not going to use GPS because we have sextants. But there’s this entitlement feeling when crew say ‘I’ve got to have Internet access.’ No, you don’t. It’s always me, me, me. Social media entitles them to be more selfcentered. We’re a service industry; it’s not about them.” There was a subtle debate about this “service industry” view. Whenever that idea was brought up, another captain would bring yachting back to safety. “You can’t multitask and totally know what’s going on,” this captain said. “We’re mariners first. Shit can go wrong quick if you aren’t paying attention. There’s no way people can multitask and be aware of what’s going on.” It’s about awareness, this captain said, and then told the story of a woman who got hurt onboard while a deckhand was working nearby with earbuds in, completely unaware. “You have to set the ground rules,” this captain said. “There are always exceptions, but it’s about safety.” “To me, it’s more about the job,” another captain said. “How productive is your crew in an eight-hour day versus how super productive can your crew be when they’re multitasking? I’m fine with it because she’s getting the job done.” We didn’t resolve the issue of smart phones and yachting, but we did discover that appears to be more about the captain than the phone. Lucy Chabot Reed is editor of The Triton. Comments on this story are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com. If you make your living working as a yacht captain, e-mail us for an invitation to our monthly Bridge luncheon.
May 2014 A15
A16 May 2014 FROM THE BRIDGE: Managing Millennials
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Key to manage millennials is grasp of how they see world Entire books, many of them, have been written on how older generation managers can more effectively manage millennials, those born in the 1980s and 1990s. A quick Internet search revealed a few helpful hints.
Tips for managing millennials
According to Susan Heathfield, a human resources consultant in Michigan, millennials are used to working in teams, work well with diverse co-workers, and want to make friends with people at work. They need to see where their career is going and they want to know exactly what they need to do to get there. Heathfield offers these tips for managing millennials on About.com: 1. Provide structure. Certain activities are scheduled every day. Goals are clearly stated and progress is assessed. Define assignments and success factors. 2. Provide leadership. Millennials want to look up to you, learn from you, and receive daily feedback. Plan to spend a lot of time teaching and coaching and be aware of this commitment when you hire them. 3. Encourage their self-assuredness, “can-do” attitude, and positive personal self-image. Millennials are ready to take on the world. Encourage, don’t squash or contain them. 4. Take advantage of their comfort level with teams. Used to working in groups, millennials believe a team can accomplish more and better. You can mentor, coach and train millennials as a team. 5. Listen to them. Millennials are used to loving parents who have scheduled their lives around the activities of their children. They have ideas and opinions, and don’t take kindly to being ignored. 6. Provide a life-work balance. They work hard, but they are not into the 60-hour work weeks defined by Baby Boomers. Spending time with family is a priority. Don’t lose sight of this. Read the full article on About.com.
Myths about millennials
Things aren’t always what they seem with millennial employees, says Cam Marston, a writer about generations and their impact on the marketplace. “If you are like most business leaders, you’ve no doubt noticed a trend in the way employees behave in recent years,” he writes in a story pointing out the myths of millennial employees on About.com. “Most likely you consider it a negative trend – too much entitlement, not enough loyalty, only interested in themselves, etc.,” he wrote. “But I challenge you to consider that perhaps
these are not negative trends, just different ones. Things aren’t always what they seem with millennial employees.” The key is understanding how millennials view the world and using that knowledge to motivate them. He offers this hint: meet them where they are and they will achieve your underlying goals; try to force them to fit your definitions and they will run for the door every time. Marston debunks a few myths about millennials in an article on About.com. Myth: Millennials have no work ethic. Reality: Millennials have a selfcentered work ethic. This is not necessarily a negative. They are dedicated to completing their task well. They ask “what is my job” and figure the best, fastest way to complete it. Then they consider themselves done. Understand that being at the job isn’t as important as completing the assigned task. Myth: Millennials don’t put in the hours to get ahead. Reality: While Baby Boomers tend to see time as something to invest, millennials view it as a valuable currency not to be wasted. They want to get the job done, then put it behind them and enjoy life. Millennials live in the now. Their world has proven that nothing is a guarantee – from nationwide layoffs to war to soaring divorce rates, they have decided that there’s not a lot you can count on. As a result they are not interested in promotion plans for five years from now. They don’t even want to know what will happen at the end of the summer. To reach millennials and reduce turnover, make it certain. Tell them you have a plan, in a time frame short enough for them to envision. And fulfill your promise; once fooled, millennials are forever jaded. This approach feeds into their reality, while building trust and buying you more time. Reward small successes, string these milestones together, and you will soon realize longer tenures among your staff. Myth: Millennials have no respect for authority. Reality: They don’t respect authority “just because.” For the younger generations, loyalty and respect must be earned. But when it is earned, it is given fiercely. Loyalty to the boss is the No. 1 reason millennials stay in a job, especially during the first three, tenuous years. Dissatisfaction with the boss is the No. 1 reason they quit. Read the full story on About.com.
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LEADERSHIP: Taking the Helm
Leaders influence and guide; managers handle the systems It is common to hear the terms management and leadership used interchangeably, as though they mean the same thing. Let’s crush that myth right now: leadership and management are not the same things. Both are critical to success as a leader, so an understanding Taking the Helm of each term is essential. Paul Ferdais Leadership is the ability to successfully influence people to achieve results and goals through vision, mission and purpose. Leadership deals with people. It focuses on alignment of individuals toward a common goal and inspiration for every follower. Leaders create a sense of purpose and meaning in the work followers do. Leaders exhibit enthusiasm and establish an environment that brings out the best in people. At its most basic level, leadership requires an understanding of broad social tools: communication, engagement, organizational culture and self-awareness. Influence is the core component of leadership, and it is through influence that a leader creates loyalty and buy-in from followers. Management, on the other hand, is a set of processes that keeps an organization running. It is the controlling, planning, organizing, monitoring, tracking and directing of resources. In short, it’s about stuff: schedules, inventory, timelines and other things that can be systemized. Authority is the core component of management, and it is often the cause of workplace issues. Managers think their authority creates unquestioning obedience from their crew. Because of this expectation of obedience, a manager may perform their job perfectly but never develop loyalty from subordinates. Trust, loyalty and respect are all behaviors that must be earned, not demanded or commanded from employees. Because “stuff ” is straightforward, leaders and managers run into trouble when they try to apply the same concepts of control on people as they do with things. Unlike inanimate objects, people have thoughts of their own and balk at being treated like stuff. People cannot be controlled the same way “stuff ” can be. People are more complex than equipment, but this difference is often overlooked when planning takes place or systems are created. Widgets do not walk off the boat at the end of the day
with the expectation they will walk back on the following morning. The challenge created when leadership and management are considered the same thing is that people are commonly only seen as resources, or cogs in a large machine. The following describes some differences between a leader and manager: A leader has vision, creates purpose, influences others, focuses on people, inspires trust, understands the big picture, has superior listening skills, challenges the status quo by asking “why” and “what can be improved”, looks for opportunities to develop strengths, and develops others into leaders. A manager administers, maintains the status quo, creates systems and procedures, focuses on control and structure, follows the plan, asks questions such as “how” or “when”, sees people as part of the machine, expects obedience, and generally avoids risk. Reflecting on these descriptions should make it clear they are different activities. One concept deals with people and the other deals with things. Unfortunately, the paradigm of good management being seen as leadership holds strong today. After examining the differences between the two, we need to bring them together. We do this because leadership and management are interconnected. Leaders who do not manage will not know what is going on around them; a manager who does not lead will have followers who do not know where they are going. Leaders need to both lead and manage at the same time. As a manager of things, you will get results through organizing, controlling and systemizing. As a leader of people, creating engagement and displaying enthusiasm will bring out the best in followers. Create and share your vision to get buy-in. Supervisors who do not take the time to understand the difference between leadership and management will have high crew turnover, low crew morale and no loyalty. For those supervisors, it’s a mistake to think that they are only managing a team. They’re actually leading as well. Paul Ferdais is founder and owner of The Marine Leadership Group based in Ft. Lauderdale and Vancouver (www. marineleadershipgroup.com). He has a master’s degree in leadership and spent seven years working as a deckhand, mate and first officer on yachts. Comments are welcome at editorial@ the-triton.com.
May 2014 A17
A18 May 2014
WRITE TO BE HEARD
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Scored a daywork gig? How to be a star and get asked back By Chief Stew/Purser Angela Orecchio Dayworking is not to be taken lightly as many crew have been hired based primarily on their dayworking performance. Despite how fantastic your CV is, we still want to see how you work, get to know your personality and see how you interact with our crew. Dayworking is basically a long interview. Here is how to be a star and make them want you back again: 1. Be on time. When a dayworker is late, it not only shows a lack of commitment to the position that might be available, it is disrespectful to those doing the hiring and the rest of the crew. If you are going to be late, call well in advance and apologize. 2. Walk in fresh, in appropriate clothing and with a smile. Wear what the chief has specified or khaki skorts or shorts and a plain white T-shirt or polo. Take your shoes off before boarding the boat. When you walk on board, it’s your defining moment. If you walk in looking messy, harried and lacking a smile, the chief might think that this is how you walk in every day, not a risk the chief is willing to take. 3. Take direction well. Don’t act like you know everything. Let the chief tell you what he/she would like you to do and how to do it. Every boat is different. Talking over the chief stew, captain, first officer or chief engineer is not only disrespectful, it shows a total lack of understanding of your role on board a boat. We want to see that you listen, take direction well and are intelligent enough to ask questions and execute the job easily and efficiently. 4. Show your personality but don’t make a scene. Making jokes, laughing loudly and being the center of attention while dayworking is a sign that you don’t have enough experience or awareness to work in a small space with other crew members. This is where the crew live and work. Show that you can blend in by assessing the vibe on board and letting your personality shine within that framework. 5. Show respect and commitment. Address all crew with respect and courtesy. Say please and thank you. You are a guest on board, so allow the permanent crew their space and priority over things like the coffee and toaster. If you make a mistake, apologize sincerely right away and move on. Always, lend a hand to help when
the opportunity arises as this shows your character and potentially how you would add value to the crew if you were hired more permanently. 6. Pay attention to details. You need to show that you are detail-oriented person who takes pride in going above and beyond in any task you do. This does not mean taking excessive time to complete a task, however. The chief wants to see that you will be a perfectionist at everything you do because this is the level of quality we demand in this industry. For example, say you are tasked to clean and organize the crew toiletry and linen cupboard. Someone worth hiring will take everything out of the cupboard, clean the cupboard with the appropriate cleaners, clean all toiletries, line them up neatly, take note of anything that is low in the closet, and fold all linen based on instructions from the chief. This shows your ability to understand a task, your ability to listen, and the quality of the work you do. Organizing the linen and toiletry cupboard may seem like a small task, but it is a reflection of how you work. Make it count. If you want to score extra points, straighten a runner when you’re walking by or anything else that shows how you will take care of the boat as if it were your own. 7. At the end of the day, say thank you. Tell the chief you really enjoyed working on board and meeting the crew. Thank the chief for the opportunity with a confident smile and handshake. Make sure to address and thank the captain if you have the opportunity. Follow up with a thank you e-mail later that day or the next day, even if you are not asked to come back. Treat dayworking as if it were a job interview and show that you will be a pleasure to have on board. Remember, no one wants to work with someone who complains, doesn’t smile, causes drama, or disrespects the crew or the boat. If you follow these tips, you will have passed the most crucial question the chief wonders: Does he/she have what it takes to be a fantastic, permanent crew member? Angela Orecchio is a chief stew/purser on a 50m yacht and a health coach. She has a blog (The Yachtie Glow, www. angelaorecchio.com) dedicated to helping yacht crew be happy, healthy and successful on board. This column was edited for space. To read her entire entry, visit her blog. Comments are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.
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WRITE TO BE HEARD
May 2014 A19
CREW EYE
Sandy Taylor, left, and Michelle Dunnette reunited at the Newport show last summer. ‘I think this photo says it all,’ Taylor said. PHOTO/TOM TAYLOR
Sharing cancer stories kept friends close All I can say is thank goodness for The Triton, or I would not have known of the passing of my friend and chef Michelle Dunnette [“Yacht chef maintained positive attitude through cancer battle,” page A3, April issue]. I am still reeling from the news. When you live out of the Ft. Lauderdale area and live in remote but historical Natchez, Miss., the only way to find out about our industry cohorts is going to boat shows or through your newspaper. Michelle and I had a special bond. It all started when I was placing crew at Bob Saxon Associates, and I needed a really strong chef for M/Y Aspen Alternative. After placing Michelle, she stayed on that yacht for a very long time, and I could not move her off it. You see, once Michelle committed to anything, she always would establish strong ties to the owner and the crew. She always would become family wherever she worked. I had not seen her in a while, until Tom and I decided to go to the 2013 Newport Yacht Show. When she saw me, I heard a squeal, turned around and Michelle was putting her arms around me. We both were thrilled to see each other. She said, “I so need to tell you how much you are my hero.” I was certainly puzzled, until she
C
apt. Jared Burzler finds all the angles with his GoPro Hero3 Black HD. For this shot, he climbed up on the bow of M/Y Pipe Dreams to accentuate the shape of the yacht and the Pitons in St. Lucia. He shot the image using ISO 100 with a 2.8mm lens.
Crew Eye is a forum for images from the eye of yacht crew. Send your photos to us at editorial@ the-triton.com. Tell us where and when you shot it, and what kind of camera or phone you shot it with.
began to tell me what she had been through in the last couple of years with breast cancer. She knew that I had been through it, but continued to work, and Tom and I even started Taylor’d Yacht Charters while I was still recuperating. Truly, I was no hero. I just needed to work so as not to have to think about my chemo, radiation, surgeries, healing, and recovery. We talked a long time about each other’s lives, living with cancer and life after cancer. She truly thought she was on her way to being healthy. She was always happy. Now I realize, she is my hero. I am so upset that I did not know that she had become ill again. I don’t know what I could have done, but I know that I could have at least talked to her, so she would not feel alone.
Feeling alone is certainly a negative in having cancer, but thank God, I had Tom. There are so many heroes in our industry who are cancer survivors. I hope Michelle did not feel alone in her last hours. I apologize if I am going on and on, but writing to you was the only thing I could think of to do to help me grieve for Michelle. She was an incredible, beautiful and selfless person. I know that when Tom and I go to the Newport Show this year, I will remember where Michelle and I sat and talked, and also the fun and laughter we had in seeing an old friend. I will miss her, and thanks again for letting me know. Sandy Taylor Taylor’d Yacht Charters Natchez, Miss.
Editor Lucy Chabot Reed, lucy@the-triton.com
Contributors Carol Bareuther, Capt. Ian Bone, Capt. Jared Burzler, Chief Stew Laura Cubie, Capt. Jake DesVergers, Paul Ferdais, Capt. Denise Fox, Capt. Rob Gannon, Chef Mark Godbeer, Chef Mary Beth Lawton Johnson, Chief Stew Alene Keenan, Keith Murray, Chief Stew Angela Orecchio, Rossmare Intl., Capt. John Wampler
Associate Editor Dorie Cox, dorie@the-triton.com Publisher David Reed, david@the-triton.com
Production Manager Patty Weinert, patty@the-triton.com
Advertising Sales Mike Price, mike@the-triton.com
The Triton Directory Mike Price, mike@the-triton.com
Gannon’s advice for crew ‘very true’
I have to say, I just read Rob Gannon’s article [“Being a good crew member, a good follower, helps leaders lead,” page A16, April issue] and thought it superb. Uncluttered, straight to the point, insightful and very true. Actually, the acceptance and humility aspects are relevant for so many parts of life and run equally well alongside the skills that someone needs for great leadership. A compassionate leader is, to my mind, always the best. I like the idea that these negate the need for anger and resentment. I hadn’t thought of it this way before but I think this is right, too. Well said. Thank you Fiona Williams Director and Charter specialist Indigo Bay Yacht Charters Hampshire, UK
Vol. 11, No. 2
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May 2014
B Section
Heartburn, sore elbow? Believe it or not, you could be having a heart attack. B2
Changes under way Diesel emission, fuel from seawater top tech news.
B3-5
Game from down under Captain, crew take the ball and run with Australian sport. B6
TECHNOLOGY AND CHARTS
Virtual navigation aids coming online By Capt. Denise Fox The age of virtual, electronically produced aids to navigation (ATONs) is upon us. The new AIS ATON is being tested and deployed in many areas of the world. Unlike traditional physical aids such as buoys, beacons and lighthouses, the new AIS ATON will appear on electronic charts and ECDIS via AIS. The surprising thing, however, is that the aids may no longer be physically present in the water or on land. The AIS ATON appears on AIS-integrated electronic navigational displays via the AIS communication system. AIS, the Automatic Identification System, is an internationally adopted communication protocol that enables a continuous exchange of automatic tracking information used for identifying and locating vessels by electronically exchanging data with other nearby vessels, AIS base stations, satellites and aids to navigation. AIS typically supplements marine radar as a method of collision avoidance. It is a system that is becoming more widespread on vessels recreationally due to its utility, affordability and ease of use, as well as commercially due to international regulations. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) mandated the use of AIS by all vessels covered by the SOLAS convention (those over 300 tons or carrying passengers) by July 2004.
Types of AIS ATONs
There are three types of the new AIS ATON. l Real AIS ATON: The AIS signal is transmitted from a physical aid fitted with AIS transceivers and transponders. l Synthetic AIS ATON: The signal originates from an AIS base station in another location, but broadcasts where a physical aid exists. l Virtual AIS ATON: The physical aid does not exist and is broadcast via AIS from another location. Unlike physical aids to navigation, the AIS ATON may appear on a display as though it was coming from a physical
AHOY, WHAT LIES AHEAD?: Aids to navigation using AIS require new symbols for real, synthetic and virtual aids. GRAPHIC/WWW.VESPERMARINE.COM
aid, but that physical aid is not physically there. Depending upon the type and purpose of the ATON, official nautical charts and electronic charts will use new standardized symbols for various conditions. To see a list of these symbols, visit www.nauticalcharts. noaa.gov, search for “ATON symbols”, and click on the first link. The AIS ATON is part of the enavigation strategic process initiated back in 2008 by the IMO. This research and development has encompassed testing and creation of international standardization for virtual ATONs and is supported by international authorities such as IHO (International Hydrographic Organization), IALA (International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities), ITU (International Telecommunications Union), IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) and national coast guard agencies including the USCG and MCA. These authorities have announced that testing, evaluation and transmission of AIS ATONs has begun in selected areas globally. These notices appear mostly in written marine safety notifications such as Local Notice to Mariners (LNMs) and Federal Registers. In the U.S., these
tests are being done in many coastal areas. Unless mariners read the LNMs or other governmental notifications regularly, they might not have come across the reports.
Pros and cons
By far, the main benefit that governmental authorities put forward is the significantly lower cost of maintaining and repairing a virtual ATON as compared to a physical ATON. Examples of potential benefits as far as safety and security are concerned include: l Timely “temporary” marking of a new wreck or obstruction whereby sea conditions or other factors may not permit the fast deployment of a physical aid. l The use of virtual ATONs to “fill in gaps” in addition to existing physical ATONs or in locations where physical ATONs are challenging to deploy or maintain. l Use for temporary operations or activities. The America’s Cup in San Francisco used virtual buoys during the races to mark the safety boundaries for spectator vessels. l Ease and speed of deployment to replace missing physical buoys due to natural disasters. Virtual ATONs were
See ATONs, page B10
Where has The Triton been? Faithful readers send their photos from inside and out. B15
Unpaid wages top list of crew complaints on ships, yachts “How would you like to come to my yacht and work for me? What? You would also like to be paid? How is an owner supposed to survive these days? Never mind, I can find people who will work for free.” While written in jest, does this sound familiar? As regular readers know, Rules of the Road the course of Jake DesVergers my daily work involves the representation of several yachting registries. In the past year, the most common complaint that our offices receive from crew is unpaid wages. In the merchant fleet last year, there were about 1,500 complaints reported to the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF). This organization represents more than 700 unions in some 150 countries. Most of the complaints indicated that the crew’s employer was unwilling or unable to pay their wages. It may have been all of the crew who were affected, or it may have been only one person. Even in the most horrific cases, most crew do get their wages in the end. Unfortunately, some crews are never paid. In rare cases, some of them have to wait for months or even years for a final settlement of their outstanding wages. In many of those instances, the owners involved will use bullying tactics, promises of future payment, or small advances on the total amount outstanding. By doing so, they are attempting to maintain the operation of their ship with the smallest possible investment. One would think that such actions are unheard of in yachting, especially with the amount of wealth and highvalue assets involved. Regrettably, See RULES, page B13
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ONBOARD EMERGENCIES: Sea Sick
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Sometimes, symptoms can be signs of something worse Recently, my friend Capt. Rob noticed he was feeling tired earlier in the day. He was also sweating more than usual but, being out in the hot Florida sun working, that did not raise any concerns. About the same time, he noticed indigestion or heartburn so he started taking Zantac. He wasn’t Sea Sick sure what it was Keith Murray but he knew he did not feel well. After several days of this, he decided to go to the doctor. Upon his arrival to the doctor’s office, he was informed that he was having a heart attack. Happily, my friend survived. While teaching a class in Pennsylvania last month, a student shared a similar story. When he was only 40 years old, he started to experience really bad heartburn and indigestion. He started to drink Maalox antacid. For two weeks this feeling continued, and he continued to drink the Maalox. One morning, a new symptom began. He said it felt like someone stabbed him with a 2x4 between the
shoulder blades and lit it on fire. At this in the esophagus, GERD, a gallbladder point, he dialed 911, and was flown by attack, or pancreatitis. Often, these helicopter to the hospital for surgery. conditions can cause chest pain and Happily, he survived. symptoms that are similar to a heart Many, however, are not so fortunate, attack or angina. especially those who wait too long. Angina is chest pain or discomfort These two stories are not that occurs if an area of your heart uncommon. Chest pain may be an muscle doesn’t get enough oxygen-rich indication of blood. Often, a heart attack angina feels or it may only like pressure be heartburn. or squeezing The problem is in your chest. that it can be Some patients difficult to tell describe it the difference. as though Sometimes an elephant our body sends were sitting signals to the on their chest. brain that The pain also don’t always can occur in sound logical. the shoulders, I had two arms, neck, students who A small symptom, like chest pain or jaw, or back. experienced And angina indigestion, could be the sign of a heart pain may heart attacks, GRAPHIC/BIGSTOCK.COM feel like attack. and they both felt the pain indigestion. in their elbows. Normally, we don’t Part of the problem in detecting associate elbow pain with heart attack, where the pain is coming from is that but it can happen. the nerves in the chest are not as well Chest pain can be a heart attack, tuned as those in our hands. Your brain but it can also be a gastrointestinal knows which hand or finger hurts. But problem such as ulcers, muscle spasms when the chest hurts our brain often
has difficulty determining if it is the heart, lungs, pancreas, esophagus, or stomach. The brain just knows the chest hurts. The key is to recognize the symptoms early and seek immediate medical attention. The longer you wait for medical treatment, the greater the chances the situation will worsen and potentially lead to death. I always tell my students “If you delay or deny, you can die.” The problem is that most of us can’t usually tell if these symptoms are from something innocuous like heartburn or if it’s as serious as a heart attack. Often only trained professionals can tell the difference. If you notice these symptoms in any guest or crew mate at the dock, seek medical treatment before departure. If you notice these symptoms while at sea, contact a doctor immediately via satellite phone or radio. Keith Murray, a former firefighter EMT, owns The CPR School, a first-aid training company. He provides onboard training for yacht captains and crew and sells and services AEDs. Contact him at 877-6-AED-CPR, 877-623-3277 or www.TheCPRSchool.com. Comments on this column are welcome at editorial@ the-triton.com.
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TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Diesel emission rule delayed; yachts now have until 2021 The looming deadline for large diesel-powered recreational vessels to install emission controls has been delayed five years. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has delayed the implementation of a U.S. EPAsponsored rule that would have required diesel-powered recreational vessels over 24m (about 80 feet) to install emission control after treatment, according to a statement by the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA). The EPA rule proposed a 2016 implementation date for all vessels. The five-year delay that the IMO adopted in early April sets the date for recreational yachts as Jan. 1, 2021. The EPA has already finalized catalyst-based diesel regulations on ships sold in the U.S., excluding recreational yachts. By working with the IMO, the agency had proposed the new rule to control emissions from
vessels that enter U.S. waters, including recreational vessels. NMMA and the International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA) lobbied for the delay, saying the technical and economic challenges of a catalyst-based rule for yachts was too large. The size of a catalyst often requires a re-design of the boat’s engine compartment, NMMA said in a statement. In addition, diesel catalyst requires urea, an ammonia solution not stored at marinas that are often visited by recreational yachts. “Recreational yachts are insignificant contributors of emissions and their benefit is not supported by the cost of the rule,” the NMMA statement reads. NMMA, ICOMIA, and the U.S. and Marshall Island representatives on IMO, supported delaying the rule for recreational vessels for five years, providing yacht builders and engine manufacturers time to prepare.
Researchers turn seawater into fuel to run radio-controlled plane Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have demonstrated proof-of-concept for making fuel from seawater. The research is based on NRL technologies developed to recover carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen (H2) from seawater and then convert them to a liquid hydrocarbon fuel. Fueled by a liquid hydrocarbon – a component of NRL’s gas-to-liquid (GTL) process that uses CO2 and H2 as feedstock – the research team demonstrated sustained flight of a radio-controlled P-51 replica of the legendary Red Tail Squadron, powered by an off-the-shelf and unmodified twostroke internal combustion engine. Using an NRL electrolytic cation exchange module (E-CEM), both dissolved and bound CO2 are removed from seawater at 92 percent efficiency by re-equilibrating carbonate and bicarbonate to CO2 and simultaneously producing H2, the NRL said in a statement. The gases are then converted to liquid hydrocarbons by a metal catalyst in a reactor system. “In close collaboration with the Office of Naval Research P38 Naval Reserve program, NRL has developed a game-changing technology for extracting, simultaneously, CO2 and H2 from seawater,” said Dr. Heather Willauer, an NRL research chemist. “This is the first time technology of this nature has been demonstrated with the potential for transition, from the laboratory, to full-scale commercial implementation.”
CO2 in the air and in seawater is an abundant carbon resource, but the concentration in the ocean (100 milligrams per liter [mg/L]) is about 140 times greater than that in air, and 1/3 the concentration of CO2 from a stack gas (296 mg/L), the statement said. Two to three percent of the CO2 in seawater is dissolved CO2 gas in the form of carbonic acid, one percent is carbonate, and the remaining 96 to 97 percent is bound in bicarbonate. NRL has made advances in the development of a gas-to-liquids (GTL) synthesis process to convert CO2 and H2 from seawater to a fuel-like fraction of C9-C16 molecules. In the first patented step, an iron-based catalyst has been developed that can achieve CO2 conversion levels up to 60 percent and decrease unwanted methane production in favor of longer-chain unsaturated hydrocarbons (olefins). These value-added hydrocarbons from this process serve as building blocks for the production of industrial chemicals and designer fuels. In the second step these olefins can be converted to compounds of a higher molecular using controlled polymerization. The resulting liquid contains hydrocarbon molecules in the carbon range, C9-C16, suitable for use a possible renewable replacement for petroleum-based jet fuel. The predicted cost of jet fuel using these technologies is in the range of $3-$6 per gallon. This approach could be commercially viable within the next seven to 10 years, the NRL said.
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TECHNOLOGY BRIEFS
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Biofuel tests show no difference in performance, economy, noise Biofuel doesn’t impact engine
The Maritime Administration (MARAD) has recently completed tests of renewable biofuel onboard the training ship State of Michigan that determined it reduced air emissions without any significant difference in engine performance. The project was part of a MARAD initiative to conduct “at sea” tests of advanced renewable fuels and assess its impact on the ship’s engine. The tests compared operational, vibration and air emission differences between regular ultralow-sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel and a 76/33 blend of ULSD and Amyris Renewable Diesel (ARD) fuel, which is derived from sugar. No significant differences were found between the test vessel’s use of neat ULSD and the blend in terms of engine performance, fuel economy, air emissions, engine vibration, underwater radiated noise, and effect on the engine itself. The test also found that after seven months storage of the blended fuel at the test location there was no appreciable change in fuel composition or biological
contamination. The State of Michigan is owned by MARAD and operated by the Great Lakes Maritime Academy in Traverse City, Michigan. The vessel is a diesel-electric drive vessel with four propulsion diesel generators and two propulsion motors. To read the full 360-page study, visit www.marad.dot.gov, search for “Amyris renewable diesel”, and click on the first link. At the bottom of the abstract, click on “The study can be found here.”
Recorder meets new rules
Denmark-based Danelec Marine has introduced its third-generation marine Voyage Data Recorder (VDR). The DM100 meets all the new VDR requirements as defined in MSC.333(90) and IEC 61996-1 Ed. 2 that come into effect July 1, including a float-free capsule, 48-hour data storage in both the protective fixed capsule and float-free capsule, separate audio track for outdoor microphones, as well as data recording from the ship’s ECDIS, both radars, AIS and inclinometer. “The DM100 VDR provides a solid,
safe and simple solution for new ships, as well as retrofits to existing vessels,” said Ottosen. “In addition to the minimum IMO requirements, we have designed our new-generation VDRs for the future, with new features such as playback software for real-time monitoring and replay of recorded data, along with remote access for maintenance, annual performance tests and remote data capture and analysis.” The new DM100 also incorporates Danelec’s SoftWare Advanced Protection (SWAP) technology, a new approach to shipboard servicing of marine electronics. “Danelec’s exclusive SWAP solution is nothing short of revolutionary when it comes to servicing shipboard electronics,” Danelec CEO Hans Ottosen said in a news release. “It saves time by removing the repair from ship to shore, reduces labor costs for service calls, protects valuable shipboard data and eliminates in-port delays for repairs.” Danelec has designed the compact VDR data acquisition unit for easy plug-and-play replacement, with all system programming and configurations stored on a hotswappable memory card. The service technicians bring a new unit when boarding the ship, disconnect and remove the old unit, insert the new one in its place and slide the memory card from the old VDR into the slot on the front of the replacement. The old unit can then be taken ashore for repair without holding up the ship’s departure. “This is a paradigm shift in shipboard service,” Ottosen said. “With traditional techniques, it can take days to make repairs to a ship’s critical electronic systems. In some cases, Port State Control authorities may hold
up the ship’s sailing. Even if the ship is allowed to sail, it means another expensive service call at the next port to accomplish the repairs. With SWAP technology, the entire process is completed in hours, not days. “We are incorporating SWAP into all our products moving forward,” he said. More than 5,500 vessels are equipped with a VDR or S-VDR designed and manufactured by Danelec. The company has a service network with certified sales and service representatives in more than 50 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www. danelec-marine.com.
National partners with FunAir
Ft. Lauderdale-based National Marine Suppliers is the exclusive partner for FunAir Inflatables in North America and Europe. Since FunAir co-founder Mark Anastasia invented the first hookover-the-railing and leg-supported, sealed air yacht slide for M/Y Lazy Z in 2009, he has custom designed and created inflatable slides for hundreds of megayachts around the world. He leads the team to create inflatable yacht toys that are fun for yacht owners and guests, while being easy for the crew to deploy and simple to store. Its newest product is the spacemaking Swim Platform Extension, which provides additional space for fun, relaxation and personal watercraft docking. It also manufactures an inflatable climbing wall and sea pool in addition to its assortment of slides. For more information, visit www. nationalmarine.com and click on Superyacht Toys.
No contract for DeLorme service
Maine-based DeLorme has introduced a contract-free subscription plan for its line of inReach satellite communicators. The new Freedom Plans are designed to make it easier for more people to experience inReach on boats, aircraft or backcountry adventures. “The launch of Freedom Plans is in response to feedback from our customers who want to use their inReach devices multiple times per year but not necessarily several months in a row,” said Jim Skillings, vice president of commercial products for DeLorme. “Freedom Plan subscribers can pay for inReach satellite service only when they need it on a monthly basis. Freedom See TECH BRIEFS, page B5
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TECHNOLOGY BRIEFS
Custom rub rails available; Yacht Solutions named TECH BRIEFS, from page B4 Plan subscribers can suspend their service when not in use and still retain access to their data, such as messages and tracks from previous trips.” The company now offers four distinct plans – safety, recreation, expedition and extreme. It has also enhanced several of its plans with expanded options, such as unlimited preset messages for the safety plan and unlimited text messages for the expedition plan. The new extreme plan offers unlimited use of all the product’s features, including the ability to have two-minute tracking intervals instead of the standard 10-minute intervals. All four plans are available in the standard annual contract or the new Freedom offerings. In addition to sending and receiving 160-character text messages to any cell number or email address anywhere in the world, inReach provides GPS tracking and interactive SOS features, using the Iridium satellite network for 100 percent global coverage. For more information, visit www. delorme.com.
Custom rub rails launched
Deerfield Beach, Fla.-based Mate USA has introduced two patented ranges of heavy duty, high impact rub rails specially designed for yachts, commercial vessels, docks and piers. The new Bumper and Bino rub rails feature double and triple layers of marine grade PVC and are highly
resistant to abrasion and marking. Both can be manufactured to custom lengths and bend to create a solid, onepiece installation with no visible screws or fittings. For more information, visit www. mate-usa.com.
Azimut picks agent in Thailand
Pinnacle Marine, exclusive dealers for Azimut Yachts in Thailand, has appointed Yacht Solutions as its service agent for Azimut clients in Thailand. Yacht Solutions offers shore support service including refit, management, charter, after-sales service, safety equipment servicing and maintenance. “We have been in the marine refit and maintenance business in Thailand for over 12 years and we have been looking to partner with an international brand that has an active interest in expanding their business into Asia,” said Gareth Twist, managing director of Yacht Solutions. “The arrival of Azimut Thailand shows both great confidence in Pinnacle Marine and the Asian yacht market.” Recent trends show that the superyacht industry has had a yearon-year increase in the number of superyacht purchases in Asia, and Azimut has expanded its network into Thailand. “This agreement represents each company’s strong commitment to providing Azimut customers with a single source and point-of-contact for all their service requirements,” said Grant Saunders, managing director of Pinnacle Marine. “Yacht Solutions will support Pinnacle Marine both with pre-delivery and after-sales service for all the new and second-hand yachts we sell.”
Volvo Penta adds DR dealer
Virginia-based Volvo Penta has
appointed Inversiones Bastilla de Caribe (IBC) Shipyard as a full-service dealer for its marine gas and diesel engines and drive systems in the Dominican Republic. Located in Marina Chavon at Casa de Campo Resort on the DR’s south coast, IBC is also the exclusive dealer for Azimut and Benetti yachts, as well as Chris-Craft and other brands. The company’s shipyard has 100,000 square feet of working area, including a 120ton travel lift, 25-ton motorized trailer, dock service for vessels of all sizes, including megayachts, and engine and mechanical repair facilities. IBC is part of IB Nautica Group, a network of boating businesses in the Caribbean. “The appointment of IBC Shipyard is another step in our ongoing strategic plan to expand our sales and service distribution channels in the Caribbean,” said Marcia Kull, Volvo Penta vice president of marine sales for North America. “Mauro Caslini and his team at IBC have many years of dedicated focus on marine customer satisfaction.” For more, visit www.ibinautica.com.
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Today’s fuel prices Prices for low-sulfur gasoil expressed in US$ per cubic meter (1,000 liters) as of April 15. Region Duty-free*/duty paid U.S. East Coast Ft. Lauderdale 881/916 Savannah, Ga. 885/NA Newport, R.I. 878/NA Caribbean St. Thomas, USVI 1,100/NA St. Maarten 1,111/NA Antigua 977/NA Valparaiso 692/NA North Atlantic Bermuda (Ireland Island) 971/NA Cape Verde 872/NA Azores 953/1,250 Canary Islands 835/1,218 Mediterranean Gibraltar 903/NA Barcelona, Spain 840/1,637 Palma de Mallorca, Spain NA/879 Antibes, France 869/1,804 San Remo, Italy 1,009/2,322 Naples, Italy 995/2,253 Venice, Italy 1,036/2,143 Corfu, Greece 1,057/2,107 Piraeus, Greece 1,043/1,872 Istanbul, Turkey 948/NA Malta 987/1,803 Tunis, Tunisia 867/NA Bizerte, Tunisia 871/NA Oceania Auckland, New Zealand 911/NA Sydney, Australia 906/NA Fiji 937/NA
Outboard adds teak
Wisconsin-based Seven Marine has introduced a 557 hp outboard engine with what looks like a teak finish. The popular Seven Marine engines have Steve French’s AirTeak finish, an allcomposite finish that is durable, won’t allow water intrusion and requires less maintenance than real wood. Examples of all the engine’s highgloss finishes can be found at www. seven-marine.com.
One year ago Prices for low-sulfur gasoil expressed in US$ per cubic meter (1,000 liters) as of April 15, 2013 Region Duty-free*/duty paid U.S. East Coast Ft. Lauderdale 878/935 Savannah, Ga. 898/NA Newport, R.I. 897/NA Caribbean St. Thomas, USVI 1,090/NA St. Maarten 1,108/NA Antigua 1,060/NA Valparaiso 986/NA North Atlantic Bermuda (Ireland Island) 1,109/NA Cape Verde 866/NA Azores 953/1,789 Canary Islands 975/1,861 Mediterranean Gibraltar 907/NA Barcelona, Spain 1003/1,723 Palma de Mallorca, Spain NA/1673 Antibes, France 878/2,024 San Remo, Italy 956/2,201 Naples, Italy 982/2,253 Venice, Italy 1,055/2,692 Corfu, Greece 1,186/2,037 Piraeus, Greece 1,068/1,854 Istanbul, Turkey 876/NA Malta 976/1,723 Tunis, Tunisia 896/NA Bizerte, Tunisia 896/NA Oceania Auckland, New Zealand 979/NA Sydney, Australia 987/NA Fiji 908/NA *When available according to local customs.
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CREW NEWS
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Schmidt is the captain both onboard and on the football field By Dorie Cox
Capt. Ben Schmidt hits the ground after catching the ball in a practice game of The Fighting Squids, the Fort Lauderdale Australian Football Club, in March in South Florida. Both Schmidt and Chef Henry Gordon (shown here wearing yellow shorts) work on M/Y Running on the Waves. PHOTO/DORIE COX
Ben Schmidt is two types of captain. He earns his living as yacht captain of M/Y Running on the Waves, a 118-foot Gulf Craft. But he fuels his passions as captain of the Fort Lauderdale Australian Football Club. The sport is popular in the yachting industry and several of Schmidt’s crew of M/Y Running on the Waves have joined the recreational club. Chef Henry Gordon and Eng. Rob Watson play for the team and Schmidt’s fiancee, Chief Stew/Cook Sara Wild, is an enthusiastic fan. “It’s great for training and everyone is friendly,” Wild said as she watched a recent practice game from the sidelines with Stew Stephanie Reed of M/Y Top Dog.
“It can be a hard adjustment to travel halfway across the world, and it’s comforting to find a native sport to join in on with a good group of friends,” Wild said. “This is an excellent platform for networking in yachting. It provides connections for everything from those looking for work to what product would work best on teak.” Schmidt said the game was created for cricket players to stay in shape during off season. Equipment is sparse: a ball that is thinner than a rugby ball and goal posts. The size of the field isn’t regulated at the recreational level, and neither is the number of players. Although the game is not easy to describe, several Squids gave it a shot after Friday night training in March at the Central Broward Cricket Stadium in Lauderhill. “I call it a combination of rugby, NFL [the U.S.’s National Football League], Gaelic football and soccer, with no padding,” Schmidt said. “It’s entirely unique, so fast and physical.” “It’s different from anything I’ve ever played,” said Watson, who is from New Zealand and had not played the game before this season. “A lot of it goes against everything we ever learned in rugby,” he said. “It’s not just big guys getting the ball. It’s more about quick reactions and reading the field. Quite a lot of it is your mind.” “The biggest asset is endurance,” said Thomas Hecker, a player and an engineer on an LNG ship. “Everyone doesn’t care how good you are as long as you keep the ball.” Head coach Manny Pegler called it organized mayhem. “It’s a combination of the best of all sports,” said player Matthew Riley. The recreational sport, known as “footy”, has a lot in common with life on megayachts, Schmidt said. Both have an international appeal and create strong personal bonds. “We take all nationalities,” Schmidt said. “We have Kiwis, French, New Zealanders, about eight or nine nations on the team.” He said the club includes about 30 yacht crew and the roster has previously included members from South Africa, Argentina, Colombia, Canada, Ireland and United Kingdom. “The biggest part is the team camaraderie; we are really a social club,” Schmidt said. “And like yachting, it’s an instant family.” Memberships are available and there are several benefits for crew to join the Squids. “It’s a way for crew to get away so they don’t have to devote their whole lives to yachting,” Schmidt said. “Your captain been bothering you all month? It’s a great way to release some frustration, get your anger out.”
See FOOTBALL, page B7
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CREW NEWS
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‘Footy’ a good fit for yacht crew’s travel, health and fun FOOTBALL, from page B6 And because yacht crew travel, they can sometimes practice with a local club. When his boat is in New England, Schmidt practices with a team there. There are about 40 clubs in the United States, according to United States Australian Football League’s Web site (usafl.com). Not being familiar with the sport can be intimidating, but the club has a development coach that helps first-timers. Club CEO Cameron Pinnock said it’s really more about meeting people and networking anyway. At least, that’s how it started 12 years ago when Pinnock put up a sign in a Ft. Lauderdale bar looking for likeminded guys to play. As word-of-mouth spread, there was a need to organize a team for those who really wanted to
play versus those who just wanted to play socially. And that’s how the Fighting Squids were born. The guy keeping the list together couldn’t spell squad and instead wrote squid, a bit of fortuitousness that worked out. “We decided to keep it, and it was voted ‘best name’ at Nationals,” Pinnock said. Weekly practices can be grueling, but rewarding, Schmidt said. “I can be at work onboard with five people, five crew, the accountant and the owner all needing my attention,” he said. “This club helps me keep it together. It keeps me calm. It is a critical release for me.” Dorie Cox is associate editor of The Triton. Comments on this story are welcome at dorie@the-triton.com.
To contact the Fort Lauderdale Australian Football Club e-mail info@fightingsquids.com and visit www.fightingsquids.com. Memberships are $100 for players; $50 for social.
With arms outstretched, Capt. Ben Schmidt jumps to catch the ball in a practice game. At left, that’s yacht Eng. Rob Watson in black, warm-up. PHOTOS/DORIE COX Below, members pose before practice.
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OBITUARY
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Southern Boating’s voice of marine industry remembered By Dorie Cox The founder and chairman of Southern Boating magazine, George Lyle “Skip” Allen, died on March 23 after a short battle with lung cancer. He was 84. Mr. Allen was remembered by family and friends as a man with a cause, and that cause was always recreational boating. In his monthly column, Allen “View from the Pilothouse”, Mr. Allen took on regulations that seemed overbearing, rallied support behind issues, and shared stories of his family’s life on the water. Mr. Allen began his publishing career in New York City in the 1960s with Charles Chapman at Motorboating, later called Motor Boat and Sailing. He moved to Florida in the late 1960s to work as vice president of sales and marketing at Bertram before starting Southern Boating in 1972. “He was active with a pen,” said his son Skip Allen Jr., publisher and editor of Southern Boating. “He was singleminded about his passion; it was all about yachting.” Mr. Allen used his column to oppose what he considered excessive laws on recreational boaters, including speed zones introduced to protect manatees and mandatory personal flotation devices (PFDs). “Regulators picked on the weakest link instead of bigger impacts from commercial, the Navy, the cruise industry,” Allen Jr. said. “It’s like the PFD regulations. They would make everyone wear a PDF at a formal party on the dock in gowns.” To Mr. Allen, boating was about people, how they interacted with boating, how their boating was affected by rules, and how they were treated by authorities. “He was easy to talk to, but could be a curmudgeon,” his son said. “He had a crusty exterior but there was a softer heart in there.” Mr. Allen had long-time friends and many of his closest were boating pioneers such as Jim Wynne, a prominent boat designer and speed racer. Sparkman & Stephens broker Peter Grimm met Allen in 1961 at the New York Boat Show. “Skip was honorable, a characteristic that was more prevalent back in those days,” Grimm said. “If he knew you and liked you, it was a handshake. We never had a contract, just a handshake, and that is not typical
today.” Mr. Allen’s magazine weathered several recessions, but even so, he often looked for ways to help others. “During those times, it was not uncommon for him to call a business that was having a hard time and say, ‘Look, I know you can’t afford to advertise right now. How about you send us over an ad and we put it in to see if it helps generate a few calls,’ “ Allen Jr. said. “Since he died, lots of people have said, ‘Your dad did so much for me when I was starting out.’ “ Mr. Allen and his wife of 14 years, Helen, lived aboard their 58-foot trawler M/Y Press on Regardless at Lauderdale Yacht Club in Ft. Lauderdale and spent a lot of time socializing. “The boat was an open house,” Helen Allen said. “He loved to talk about yachting with anyone.” “Everyone knew him,” said Grimm, who stopped by the boat four or five times a week. “He was a fixture on the waterfront, at shows, race weeks, regattas. Whether janitor or president, they all knew him.” A creature of habit, Mr. Allen was always in khaki pants, top-siders with no socks, a golf-style shirt and aviator glasses that he wore both indoors and out. “He never wore a watch or wedding ring, he didn’t want to be fettered,” his wife said. His strong beliefs about boating carried through to the way he ran Southern Boating. He never had partners – and said he never would – and the company never took out a loan. And he has a policy against writing boat reviews because, “a magazine that accepts revenue for profit won’t write unbiased results,” his son said. “He said, ‘Who are we kidding? This is a recreational sport. It’s for fun. You’ll never read a bad boat test,’ “ Allen Jr. said of his father. “Dad said, ‘What we are doing is to benefit the builder and to share the fun.’ “ Bottom line: Mr. Allen wanted people to enjoy boating as much as he did. Besides his wife and son, Mr. Allen is survived by daughters Cathryn Allen-Zubizarreta, Jody Lewis, and Paige Conlan; son George; and seven grandchildren. His previous wife, Joanne, and son Frederick George “Rick” Allen predeceased him. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Bahamas Air-Sea Rescue Association (BASRA), a nonprofit voluntary organization at basra. org. Dorie Cox is associate editor of The Triton. Comments on this story are welcome at dorie@the-triton.com.
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BOATS / BROKERS
Lynx Yachts builds support yacht, Azimut launches RPH Lynx Yachts launched M/Y YXT One in Zaandam, The Netherlands as the first in a series of pocket support yachts to act as a support vessel for yachts between 30-70m. The 24m boat is designed to carry water toys and tenders to free deck space and prevent towing on the main yacht. The support yachts can be configured below deck with sauna, spa, gym or extra accommodation for guests, staff or crew. Both M/Y YXT and previous yacht, M/Y Heliad II, a 33.40m twin screw canoe stern, were designed by Diana Yacht Design. YXT One is offered for sale through Fraser Yachts and M/Y Heliad II is offered for charter through the Fraser Yachts Charter Marketing team in Monaco and will be at the MYBA Charter Show in Genoa. Azimut Yachts launched the Azimut Grande 95RPH as part of the Grande Collection. The 29m is named for the raised pilothouse. The collection includes five models that range from 95 to 120 feet. Heesen Yachts launched M/Y Monaco Wolf in March. “The Heesen production team was on hand for the launching and it was a privilege to meet them in person,” said Rupert Nelson, a director at Burgess. “So often we meet the project front men and women, but it is equally important to know the production team - especially where there are shortened delivery schedules. Their support is crucial during the final stages prior to delivery,” he said. Equipped with MTU engines, the yacht has top speed of 23 knots and a range of over 3,100nm. Designed by Frank Laupman of Omega Architects, the hull has the Heesen reverse sheer ‘pelican beak’ bow. Interior design is by Italian designer Francesco Paszkwski. “I am very pleased to have had the chance to work with Heesen again. I like the way they challenge the designers while working on the project and defining its details. The result is a virtuous circle that combines technical and safety aspects with design and style, while keeping Heesen’s outstanding quality standards and our proposals. Team work played a crucial role in bringing this project to fruition,” Paszkowski said. M/Y Monaco Wolf also offers safe passage for canine companions. The yacht will be tested in the North Sea before being delivered to the owners at the end of May. Tankoa Yachts announced the sale of a 69m hull S693 to be delivered by July 2015. The company describes
itself as a boutique shipyard with a multi-cultural approach to yacht construction. The yacht is under construction at the Tankoa Yachts facilities in Genova. Francesco Paszkowski designed this project as well as Tankoa’s original first two projects. The full displacement yacht with a 1,300gt is expected to have maximum speed of 16.5 knots with a cruising speed of 15 knots, long range speed of 12.5 knots and a 5,000nm range. Jason Dunbar has been named vice president at Luke Brown. Andrew Cilla, the firm’s president and sole stockholder since 1968 said Brown will assist in the management of the firm and will also gain an equity position. Brown began in the marine industry in South Florida shortly after his graduation from college and has been a broker for Luke Brown Yachts for 19 years. He is a Certified Professional Yacht Broker, former board member for the Marine Industries Association of South Florida and the Florida Yacht Brokers Association. A licensed USCG captain since 1994, Brown worked to create a sales tax cap of $18,000 in the Florida legislative tax code. He is a member of the American Society of Appraisers and has served as an expert witness and a court appointed appraiser. Thomas C. Joyce, an executive with Hargrave Custom Yachts in Ft. Lauderdale, died on March 7 under the care of hospice at the Manor Pines skilled nursing facility. Mr. Joyce was 79 and is survived by two sons, Thomas and Edward Joyce of Haverford, PA, a sister Rosemary and brother Michael Joyce of Ft. Lauderdale. Prior to moving to Florida to work with his brother and sister at Hargrave, Mr. Joyce was the corporate secretary of Raymond Rosen & Co. in Philadelphia, the RCA and Whirlpool distributor for the Delaware Valley. He worked for the American Management Association and Dale Carnegie and Associates in New York City. He graduated from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania and was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army. He was known for his gentle disposition and sense of humor. When asked on his death bed what message he wanted to leave behind he replied simply, “Be kind to everyone.” A celebration of life was held for family and coworkers at the Coral Ridge Yacht Club in Ft. Lauderdale and the burial will take place in late spring in Philadelphia at the Calvary
See BOATS, page B11
May 2014 B
B10 May 2014
FROM THE FRONT: AIS AIDS TO NAVIGATION
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Tech gap onboard restricts detection of AIS ATONs ATONs, from page B1 used for approaches to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 when many buoys were displaced or missing. As with all methods of navigation, redundancy is important, therefore a synthetic ATON, which is coupled with a physical ATON, is a practical combination. Virtual AIS ATONs, however, are more troubling for smaller vessel operators such as those on yachts and recreational boats. There is discussion among authorities about the possibility of replacing physical ATONs with virtual aids for more
widespread use to mark shallows or obstructions, Vessel Traffic Separation Schemes, harbor approaches and restricted waterways channels, and even lighthouses. Research and development has concentrated upon the commercial sector and has not taken into consideration the safety of smaller vessels such as yachts or recreational boats. Millions of yachts and smaller vessels do not have the technology to detect virtual ATONs and may not universally have this capability for a long time. Of those vessels that are AIS
equipped, the displays available can range from no display at all to the mandatory Class A MKD (Minimum Keyboard and Display) to full ECDIS and radar overlay. The Class B-type AIS transceiver is designed to enable a simpler and lower cost AIS and has been developed with reduced functionality for smaller vessels. AIS Class B is usually optional and is widely used by smaller commercial craft and recreational vessels such as smaller yachts under 300 tons. In the absence of ECDIS or radar overlay, users will not be able to fully
use the AIS ATON functionality. There is also a variance of information that will be displayed by different manufacturers on ECDIS or radar equipment. There have already been instances of corruption or “spoofing” by hackers of existing AIS ATON signals. In some tests, the AIS system has been found not to be as secure as it should be, making it possible for a terrorist to hack the signals to an AIS ATON to either harm a vessel or capture it.
Tradition disappearing
There is also a concern that navigators may spend more time looking at the electronic displays to navigate and won’t look outside, as a proper lookout should. Traditionally, prudent mariners use a buoy to visually verify set and drift or to determine the flow of currents. They often use a buoy, beacon or lighthouse as a visual range marker. Taking physical ATONs away becomes an awareness concern. Too much reliance on electronics for navigation, especially if a vessel is not fitted with redundancy of the equipment and back-up power, could be dangerous, especially if virtual ATONs disappear when power is lost or a sole electronic navigation system crashes. Virtual ATONs also cannot be seen on display equipment unless the vessel is in range of the AIS signal for that aid. These ATONs may not be seen on paper and electronic charts for pre-voyage planning if the vessel does not have the most recent released or updated paper or electronic charts. With the trend toward virtual ATONs, reading the LNMs and keeping charts consistently updated becomes critical, yet many recreational boaters do not do this regularly. Generally mariners embrace advances in electronics and improvements to aids to navigation. Any technology that can improve the operation and safety of a vessel is welcome, if it has safety as its goal. However, the safety focus surrounding virtual ATONs, if they are intended to replace all physical ATONs, is a bit blurry and should be of concern to the yachting sector. Hopefully, the future will bring some prudent decision-making by those in control of implementation to do the right thing for the safety of vessels of all sizes. Capt. Denise Fox has more than 20 years of experience working on yachts worldwide. As an environmental awareness advocate, she is active in the promotion of environmental practices and innovations in the yachting industry. Visit her Web site at www.ecoyachts.com. Comments on this article are welcome at editorial@the-triton. com.
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BOATS / BROKERS
McMullen & Wing contract for M/Y Big Fish follow-up yacht BOATS, from page B9 Cemetery. Donations can be made to the charity of your choice. New Zealand builder McMullen & Wing announced a contract to complete a 50m steel and aluminium expedition yacht with yard number 1016 to be delivered in early 2016. The yacht will have a focus on liveaboard amenity, outdoor living and extended cruising range. The contract follows the successful world cruising and charter record of 45m M/Y Big Fish built by McMullen & Wing in 2010. Styling, naval architecture and engineering will be by the same collaborative effort of Gregory C Marshal Naval Architects and McMullen & Wing’s in-house design team. The interior will be designed by Gregory C Marshall Naval Architects for up to 12 guests in 5 cabins. Fraser announced the sale of M/Y Alpha, a 149-foot (45.4m) Newcastle Marine by Stuart Larsen and Josh Gulbranson of Fraser Yachts of Ft. Lauderdale, M/Y Alumercia, a 123-foot (37.7m) Heesen by Peter Jones of Fraser Yachts of London, M/Y Esperanza and a 78-foot (23.8m) West Bay by Eric Pearson and Michael Gardella of Fraser Yachts of San Diego. New to its central listings are M/ Y White Cloud, a 221-foot (67.3m) Feadship which underwent an extension from 60m in 2005, listed with Stuart Larsen of Fraser Yachts of Ft. Lauderdale, M/Y Jupiter, a 100-foot (30.5m) Giorgetti & Magrini with Giulio Riggio of Fraser Yachts of Spain, M/Y Najade, a 92-foot (28m) Feadship with Jan Jaap Minnema of Fraser Yachts of Monaco and M/Y Drumfire, a 78foot (24m) Bloemsma with Thorsten Giesbert of Fraser Yachts of Spain. New to its charter fleet are M/Y L’Albatros, a 143-foot (43.6m) Sterling in the Med and Caribbean with Frances Edgeworth of Fraser Yachts of Monaco and M/Y Aurelia, a 122-foot (37m) Heesen in the Med with Frances Edgeworth of Fraser Yachts of Monaco. Merle Wood & Associates announced new central listings for sale, a 94-foot Ferretti M/Y Lady Breanna, a 75-foot Riva M/Y Namedropper, a 62foot Azimut Sport M/Y Quantum, and a 50-foot Atlantis Sport M/Y Quantum. The company announced the sale of M/Y Lazy Z, a 168-foot (51m) Oceanco as a joint central listing with Burgess. And added to its charter fleet M/Y Lazy Z, a 168-foot Oceanco and M/Y Katya, a 151-foot (46m) Delta, for
charter in New England this summer. The company launched D’Natalin IV, a 164-foot (50m) Christensen which will be christened by the owners after commissioning and sea trials and a maiden voyage around Seattle and Puget Sound, Wash. Camper & Nicholsons International announced the sale of M/Y Illusion I, a 151-foot Benetti, and M/Y Aqua Libra, a 122-foot (37m) Sunseeker, by Alex and Gaston LeesBuckley, and M/Y Why Worry, a 130foot (39.6m) Maiora by Arne Ploch. M/ Y Zsi Zsi, an 80-foot Vitech, is for sale and new to CNI’s central listings for charter, M/Y At Last, a 145-foot (44.1m) Heesen Yachts and M/Y Vantage, a 150foot (45.7m) Palmer Johnson. Camper & Nicholsons International announced new sales broker Simon Turner to the London office. Turner lived in Asia for seven years while working in the yachting industry.
Azimut Yachts (above) signed a partnership as exclusive dealer for H Marine International as Azimut Yachts Indonesia. H Marine International is a new company of ten top Indonesian entrepreneurs, led by Hengky Setiawan, owner of the biggest telecommunication company in Indonesia. The Azimut Yachts showroom will open in North Jakarta in May. Sunseeker launched its largest yacht, a tri-deck 155 in Poole, UK. Commissioned by Formula 1’s Eddie Jordan, the first 155 Yacht underwent sea trials earlier this year in Poole. “We were incredibly proud to launch the 155 Yacht here in Poole with Mr Jordan. The 155 Yacht is a truly iconic British yacht,” Robert Braithwaite, group president, Sunseeker International, said. “From drawing board through to testing, the yacht was designed and built in Poole, so it really is British through and through and the fact the launch took place in Poole made it all the more special,” Braithwaite said. Frank Grzeszczak & Frank Grzeszczak, Jr. of IYC announced the central listing of M/Y Chevy Toy, a 142foot (43.3m) Trinity, for $13,900,000.
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B12 May 2014
MARINAS / SHIPYARDS
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Marina di Loano unveils berths for megayachts up to 250 feet Megayacht berths open in Italy
Marina di Loano in Italy opened a new area for megayachts 180-250 feet (55-77m). With the new mooring plan the marina has more than 800 berths for boats between 6-25m and 32 berths for yachts up to 250 feet (77m), of which seven are in the megayacht area. “Our aim was to create a dedicated area on floating pontoons that on one hand would assure the strength and efficiency of a fixed pier and that on the other would offer the flexibility of a floating dock,” said Marco Cornacchia,
director of Marina di Loano. “This was a challenge from a design point of view as we wanted to make sure that the walkways would aesthetically fit in with the existing curving fixed pier: the floating quay is 122 metres long and 3.5 metres wide.” The mooring system is anchored by 24 steel poles, 14m high and 810mm wide, that have been driven into the harbour bed up to half their length. Interprogetti and Bellingham Marine spearheaded the design and construction.
Fipa Italiana names River Bend
Italian builder Fipa Italiana Yachts named River Bend Marine Center as official service and warranty center for Maiora, CBI Navi and AB Yachts. “Our confidence in River Bend, to service the needs of captains and owners of our vessels, is very high,” said Rudolf Berglehner, Fipa’s head of sales and marketing since 1995. “We trust their quality and workmanship to be on par with the level of craftsmanship that comes from our own yards.” Maiora builds semi-custom fiberglass yachts of 20-47 meters. CBI Navi motor yachts are custom steel and aluminum boats of 24-100 meters. AB Yachts builds yachts of 17-52 meters using composites, aero spatial-deriving structures, and water-jet propulsion. “We are pleased to be recognized by the Fipa Group as having the capabilities and skills to service their yachts,” said Jeff Garcia, president of River Bend. “Over the past 24 months we have made significant upgrades to our yard, aligning the skill sets of our workforce with the most modern equipment available.” River Bend Marine Center is a division of Nautical Ventures Group.
Bimini Sands joins Harvey Outpost
Bimini Sands Resort and Marina in Bimini, Bahamas joined the Guy Harvey Outpost Expedition Collection. Bimini Sands remains an independently owned and operated resort with opportunity to use the Outpost’s marketing, outfitting and online reservation system. Guy Harvey Outpost will cohost fishing tournaments with Bimini Sands. “We are delighted to partner with Guy Harvey because his passion for conserving the environment matches our own,” said Frank Cooney, president and CEO of Bimini Sands. “Keeping our resort and marina, our island, and the incredible blue water surrounding it pristine is a priority for us here at Bimini Sands. In addition, our world-class dive operation, Neal Watson’s Bimini Scuba Center, and the Bimini Sands Activities Center, which offers a long list of eco-adventures from shark encounters to stand-up paddleboarding, makes Bimini Sands an ideal destination for any Guy Harvey Outpost Expeditions guest.” Bimini Sands Marina is the only Blue Flag-certified marina in Bimini, and one of four marinas in the Bahamas to achieve this standard. It also was the first marina in the Bahamas to become a certified shark-free marina, aiding in the preservation of endangered shark species, a cause Guy Harvey supports.
Nigel Upton Joins Marina Port Vell
Marina Port Vell (MPV) in Barcelona announced Nigel Upton as senior sales manager in March. Upton brings
a diversified megayacht background with direct experience in sales, management, customer service and time at sea. “Since January, we have experienced a remarkable upsurge in interest for the berths we are creating here at Marina Port Vell in Barcelona,” said Norma Trease, director of Salamanca Group’s Marine Division. “We met Nigel when he sold us our beautiful Windy tender, so we know first-hand that he understands how to work with clients and close deals. Further, he is remarkably customer service Upton oriented, a top priority for us.” Upton most recently served as director of both Superyacht Tenders and MGMT Yacht. His previous landbased experience included sales for EYOS and service as managing director and RYA Instructor at Ribeye Balearics. He was bosun aboard a 48m motoryacht and deck hand and dive instructor aboard a 44m motoryacht. His yachting credentials include Commercial Yacht Master Offshore, RYA motoryacht instructor, and PADI dive instructor. He holds a BA in Hospitality Management and Tourism and an HND in Business and Finance.
Resorts World Bimini joins IGY
Marina at Resorts World Bimini has joined IGY Marinas. The marina is part of the Resorts World Bimini, a 750 acre luxury resort with residences, casino, and a marina hotel scheduled to be completed this fall. The 230-slip marina takes vessels up to 180 feet with 10 foot draft. Amenities at the Marina at Resorts World Bimini include an open-air lounge, bait and tackle shop, laundry service, a fitness center, grocery and liquor store. Marina guest can use the resort’s six onsite restaurants, outdoor shopping, two pools, a beach club, a children’s center and tennis courts, plus Resorts World Bimini Casino and Sports Book. “Resorts World Bimini is a worldclass destination that fits perfectly into the IGY marina network. We are excited to now have a location in the Bahamas,” said Eric Simonton, vice president of real estate and business development for IGY Marinas. “The Marina at Resorts World Bimini will be an extremely popular destination and stopover point for our clientele and it is with great anticipation and excitement that we welcome this fantastic destination to the IGY network.” Marina at Resorts World Bimini makes the fourteenth IGY destination in eight countries.
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www.the-triton.com FROM THE TECH FRONT: Rules of the Road
Be aware of rights, get a signed contract, and read it carefully RULES, from page B1 we are starting to see an increase in these types of wage complaints from yachting crew. First, as a crew member, you need to be aware of your basic rights. While the term is seldom heard in yachting, yacht crew are seafarers. As such, there are multiple international labor standards that provide for the protection of seafarers, including the most recently enacted Maritime Labour Convention (MLC). MLC applies to all vessels of any size (including yachts) that are normally engaged in trade. Some of the crew protections include minimum hours of rest, repatriation, frequency of pay, and mandatory vacation. These international standards are implemented into the national law of the country in which your yacht is registered. While MLC compliance is enforced primarily on commercial yachts, many of the Convention’s directives may be applicable to crew on private yachts through the national law of the yacht’s flag of registry. Second, before beginning any work on a yacht, get a contract. It is the best guarantee of proper employment conditions. Some key points related to your agreement: l Never sign a blank or incomplete contract; l Ensure that the duration of the contract is stated. It need not be a set date, but should explain how the contract can be cancelled by either party. Many dismissed crew mistakenly assume that two week’s advanced notice is a law; l Never sign a contract that allows alterations to be made to the contractual period at the sole discretion of the owner and/or captain. Any change to the agreed duration of the contract must be by mutual consent; l Ensure that the contract clearly states the wages payable, frequency
of payment, and if any additional monies are owed (i.e. charter bonus, commissions, etc); and l Never sign a contract that contains any clause stating that you are responsible for paying any portion of your joining or repatriation expenses. Of course, there are exceptions to the above guidelines. From personal observation, whatever the terms and conditions, any contract or agreement that you enter voluntarily, in most jurisdictions it will be considered legally binding. Lastly, what do you do if there is a dispute? Nearly all yachting flags have a system in place to deal with seafarer complaints. It is a requirement in the MLC. Approach the flag and see what type of assistance or guidance it can provide. When doing this, it is important to remember that there are three sides to every complaint: your side, their side, and the truth. As endearing as your telling of events may be, do not expect immediate action. A certain process must be followed to protect all parties involved. The flag must remain objective at all times. Patience is the best virtue to use. In addition, regardless of if the flag can assist you, crew members can always speak with an attorney. They are the experts in this subject and will certainly provide you with the best advice on how to proceed. Capt. Jake DesVergers is chief surveyor for International Yacht Bureau (IYB), an organization that provides flag-state inspection services to yachts on behalf of several administrations. A deck officer graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, he previously sailed as master on merchant ships, acted as designated person for a shipping company, and served as regional manager for an international classification society. Contact him at +1 954-596-2728 or www.yachtbureau.org. Comments on this column are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.
May 2014 B13
B14 May 2014
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
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May events highlight Europe, Med shows, regattas, seminars EVENTS OF THE MONTH May 2-7 East Med Yacht Show Poros, Greece
www.eastmedyachtshow.gr
May 3-7 Mediterranean Yacht Show, Nafplion, Greece.
Organized by the Greek Yachting Association (GYA), this year will include a yacht chef competition. www.mediterraneanyachtshow.gr
Monaco. Hosted by Automobile Club de Monaco. www.acm.mc
May 14-25 67th Cannes Film Festival,
Cannes, France.Considered the premier film event. www.festival-cannes.com
May 15 The Triton Bridge luncheon,
noon, Ft. Lauderdale. A roundtable discussion of the issues of the day. Yacht captains only. Request an invite from Editor Lucy Chabot Reed at lucy@ the-triton.com or 954-525-0029.
May 15-17 17th annual Trawler Fest, Anacortes, Wash. trawlerfest.com
May 16-17 Classification and Ongoing through July Viva Florida
500, events throughout the state of Florida. El Galeon, 16th Century Spanish galleon replica and Nao Victoria on display. www.vivaflorida.org
April 28-May 2 MYBA Charter Yacht Show, Genoa, Italy. Trade-only show. www.mybashow.com
April 30-May 4 Palma Superyacht
Show, Palma de Mallorca. Runs concurrently with the Palma Boat Show. www.palmasuperyachtshow.com
April 30-May 11 23nd annual St. Lucia Jazz Festival, St. Lucia. www.stluciajazz. org
May 2 Connecting You to Your Future seminar with e3, Palma. Keynote speakers: Håkan Olsson from Kymeta Corporation, Tore Morten Olsen from Airbus Defence and Space and Tony Holland from e3 Systems. Free. www. e3s.com
May 2-4 6th annual Strictly
Boaters Boat Show, Cape May, N.J. StrictlyBoaters.com
May 6 Connecting You to Your Future
seminar with e3, Monaco. www.e3s.com
May 6-8 American Boating Congress, Washington D.C. A legislative conference of recreational boating industry leaders. www.nmma.org
May 7 Triton networking (the first
Wednesday of every month) with VKool in Ft. Lauderdale from 6-8 p.m. Visit www.the-triton.com for details.
May 9-11 Hong Kong Gold Coast Boat
Show, Castle Peak Bay, Hong Kong. www.hongkonggoldcoastboatshow.com
May 9-11 Monaco Grand Prix,
Statutory requirements for yacht training course, Nice, France. By Lloyd’s Register. www.lr.org
May 16-18 Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing! Saltwater Seminar, Stuart, Fla. www. ladiesletsgofishing.com.
May 17 Sailorman 24th annual We
Must Be Nuts Sale and Absolute Auction, Ft. Lauderdale. Informal auction of new and used equipment and supplies. www.sailorman.com.
May 21-22 5th Annual Tackling
Kidnapping, Hijack and Hostagetaking, London, UK. The conference is for ship operators, governments, regulatory bodies, industry associations, private security organizations, insurance companies and coastguards. www.quaynote.com
May 22-25 Sanctuary Cove
International Boat Show, Queensland, Australia. www. sanctuarycoveboatshow.com.au
May 26-31 4th Pendennis Cup,
Falmouth, UK. Modern and classic superyacht races. www.thependenniscup.co.uk
May 30 14th PYA (Professional
Yachtsmen Association) Open Golf Tournament, France. www.pya.org
MAKING PLANS June 23-26 Newport Charter Yacht Show, Newport, RI
Dedicated to yacht charter professionals, agents, owners, brokers and captains showcasing yachts up to 225 feet. Includes seminars, yacht hops and culinary competition. www.newportchartershow.com
The Triton
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SPOTTED: Ft. Lauderdale, Provo
Triton Spotters
Extra, extra, read all about it: The front office staff of Maritime Professional Training in Ft. Lauderdale said they keep their fingers on the pulse of the yachting industry with The Triton. Thanks to Cristina, Ann, Terry, Julie, Sheryl, Kerry and Leslie for their enthusiastic support.
Capt. John Wampler sent a selfie from IGY Blue Haven Marina and Resort in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos. Wampler used the remote shutter and tripod with the Canon T1i that he takes on his yacht deliveries. This trip, he was in Provo as captain of the 90-foot S/F Pole Position (seen in background left).
Where have you taken your Triton lately? Whether reading on your laptop, tablet, smart phone or in print, show us how you get your crew news. Send photos to editorial@the-triton.com.
May 2014 B15
C Section
We can enhance yachting Encouragement can do the trick for crew. C3
May 2014
Rush of endorphins Hot peppers offer pain relief and nutrition with a kick. C4
Down to the last spoonful Galley staff master the minute details in food budget. C5
Anticipate, foster relations, give feedback to ‘manage up’
TRITON SURVEY: $1,000 a foot
captain of a yacht less than 80 feet. “The owner had to buy me away from coming home each night to my family. ... All this needs to be considered when calculating salary: experience, workload (vessel size), travel (especially if the captain leaves a family behind). “Our vessel owners make lots of money,” this captain said. “If they want to play as hard as they work, they need to step up and pay the price. They need to generously compensate their captains and crew in order to get the best they can get.” Still, more than a fifth – 21.3 percent – are paid less than $1,000 a foot. “Our owner was not willing to pay the going rate, so we negotiated for more vacation time,” said the captain of a yacht 160-180 feet in yachting more than 20 years. “It’s great but we struggle to pay the bills.” “Jealous? No, but I see a lot of new crew earning more than I feel they are worth for their roles,” said the captain of a yacht 140-160 feet in yachting more than 20 years. “Captains’ wages have not increased in line with the junior crew’s wages.” “I guess there are too many skippers out there so the market pays ‘the going rate’, what people will work for,” said a captain in yachting more than 20 years. “Perhaps owners lose out as far as
The following is one of my favorite quotes from Peter Drucker, management consultant, educator, and author: “Most of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done.” Managers come in all shapes and sizes and with all levels of skills and effectiveness, whether they are Stew Cues the department Alene Keenan head, the captain, the management company, or the owner. Not everyone does a great job managing others. Some managers are just plain bad, so crew have to learn to effectively deal with the situations they create. In effect, we have to learn how to manage our own relationships with our superiors to have a successful career. Have you ever heard the phrase “managing up”? Simply put, managing up means taking the responsibility for doing a great job, whether you agree with your manager’s style or not. It means being a good follower. The more accomplished your department head is at being a manager, the less managing up there is to do. But everyone should do at least a little bit in order to be pro-active and help, not hinder, your boss. When you manage up, you anticipate needs. This comes easily in the interior department because this is what we do with our guests every day. To manage up, you think ahead to make sure you have completed all of the tasks on your checklists, and plan for any situations that may develop. By staying a step ahead, you are in a position to assist your team with unexpected developments and schedule changes. If your manager
See SURVEY, page C8
See STEW, page C12
BY THE FOOT: Less than half of yacht captains surveyed say their base pay is near $1,000 a foot.
TRITON FILE PHOTO
$1,000-a-foot guideline used, but off course By Lucy Chabot Reed We are often asked for an industry standard on salaries. We did a survey about salaries once, years ago, but have purposefully not done it again. It’s impossible to imply a standard for compensation in yachting, even though every industry on the planet does this. So when a veteran captain recently lamented about the difficulty he’s having finding an owner willing to pay for his 40-plus years of experience on a mid-sized vessel, I listened patiently. Despite how desperately many of us wish the yachting “industry” would follow some semblance of standardized best practices, the reality is that every yacht is different. Every floating entity of three, 12 or 35 crew can operate as it chooses. We’re not sure what a Triton survey could do to change that. But then this captain mentioned the $1,000-a-foot guideline that the industry has cited for decades as a base salary. It got me thinking. It’s been 30, maybe 40 years since that “guideline” was created. Is that number still right? Our veteran captain doesn’t think so. Even with all his experience building, running and managing yachts, he’s still offered $1,000-a-foot. Doesn’t experience count? More than 120 yacht captains took this month’s Triton survey and indicated that it does. Actually, a whole
Tantalize your tastebuds Create savory Osso Bucco and tantalizing spring salad. C6,7
host of criteria come into play when it’s time to pay the captain, experience included. But let’s not forget skills and license, miles traveled, familiarity with a cruising ground, the yacht’s program, maintenance/refits and tenure. First, the basics. We asked captains When just considering your base salary, are you paid according to the $1,000-a-foot guideline? About 43.5 percent of respondents said their base pay was either exactly that amount or pretty close to it. (Remember, this is just base salary, not tips or bonuses or benefits such as flights or health insurance.) “We have lost track of inflation and are way behind what we should be getting paid nowadays,” said the captain of a yacht 140-160 feet in yachting more than 20 years. “It is more and more becoming a normal-paid job and not what the job deserves.” We were relieved to learn that about 35.2 percent of respondents said their base salary is more than $1,000 a foot. “We give up large chunks of our lives for the privilege of running other people’s boats,” said the captain of a yacht 120-140 feet. “We need to be adequately compensated for the dedication and professionalism we provide.” “My compensation is double the $1,000-a-foot mark (salary plus bonus) and it had to be,” said the
C May 2014 TRITON NETWORKING: ISS GMT Global Marine Travel
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bout 200 yacht captains, crew and industry professionals joined Triton networking with marine travel specialists ISSGMT on the occasional third Wednesday in April. Networkers enjoyed burgers, hotdogs and beverages despite a few clouds and raindrops. The SaltHub hosted a raffle and The Roasted Fig brought tasty treats. PHOTOS/DORIE COX AND LUCY REED
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YACHT CAREERS: Crew Coach
May 2014 C
It’s time yachting encourages, rewards training, mandatory or not I recently had the opportunity to speak along with The Triton’s Stew Cues columnist, Chief Stew Alene Keenan, at the Triton Expo. It was an interesting and informative session, though not what we set out to give. One reason for that is because the audience was not mostly newbies looking for advice Crew Coach (as it had been Rob Gannon in the past) but, rather, veterans of the industry. Our “presentation” turned more into a discussion, and it was good. Alene gave her perspective as a veteran stew. She has a lot of miles and experiences in her wake and is a valuable resource. I gave my view on crew dealing with each other with emotional intelligence from my perspective as a captain and life coach. We both changed it up on the fly a bit due to the make-up of the audience and opened the room up for discussion. There was a lot of knowledge and experience in that room, and both Alene and I wanted to let it flow. Besides the veteran captains, there
were a couple of leadership experts and rewarded? they all tended to agree that changes I could see a combination of the two to the way yacht crew are trained and being successful, but I would be careful to the way captains lead are needed in with how much is made mandatory. yachting and, indeed, on the way. There may be enough mandatory Change to any industry tends to hoops to jump through right now and move slowly. It usually doesn’t take certainly more out-of-pocket expenses hold until that critical mass, that for training before you even have a job tipping point number might make it difficult of people, are in the financially for many. There is a big discussion. I think We could compare the ball has begun to yacht training time difference in what roll but I wonder, will and costs to other someone takes enough people want careers and it may away from training to get on board? come in cheaper and Let me first say less time consuming, depending upon that I believe better but let’s not compare. whether they were yachting-specific This industry is forced to be there training for crew unique and attracts and captains and a different breed. It or they really want those in leadership always has and I hope to be there. roles can only benefit always will. the individuals and Do we really the industry. The want to drive the majority of complaints we hear today adventurous, free spirits away? from leaders and non-leaders could Professional is what’s important and be greatly reduced, leading to a better how we develop them is the issue work environment. moving forward. People who do what they enjoy I would like to see this industry start and feel good about the way it’s done to encourage and reward additional produce higher quality results. optional training. A big way to But here’s the thing to be careful move that forward is for owners and with and to ensure enough folks buy management companies to understand in: are the new training programs the benefits and get behind this. There mandatory or are they encouraged and should be yacht-specific training,
seminars and coaching made available. Owners should encourage their crew to partake in it and should seek out those crew who are willing to improve themselves. The results would be less turnover plus a more knowledgeable and stable crew, which leads to fewer crew issues for owners and management companies. These accomplishments should be respected and noted on a CV. That could help drive more folks to the training and that is an important factor in all of this. There is a big difference in what someone takes away from training depending upon whether they were forced to be there or they really want to be there. There are more yacht-specific training opportunities already being discussed and created. I believe the creativity and quality of programs will improve as more interest is shown. I also believe more interest will be shown when further optional selfimprovement is encouraged and valued in the industry. That kind of culture will steer more and more toward growth and development. Rob Gannon is a 25-year licensed captain and certified life and wellness coach (www.yachtcrewcoach.com). Comments on this column are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.
C May 2014 NUTRITION: Take It In
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Eating peppers can provide a host of health benefits.
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PHOTO/DEAN BARNES
Hurts so good; the fiery facts for eating hot chili peppers The desire for hot, hot, hot cuisine has transcended chili-heads and is now a national and international obsession. So how healthy is it to indulge in something that produces a potent mouth burn and may leave your body tingling all over? Actually, eating hot peppers, or chili peppers, can provide a host of Take It In health benefits. Mankind Carol Bareuther has enjoyed the fiery flavor of chili peppers since at least 7,000 B.C. Native to Mexico and the Americas, and botanically a fruit rather than a vegetable, chili peppers are members of the plant genus capsicum. It is the amount of a compound called capsaicin in chili peppers that gives them their heat plus their antiinflammatory, analgesic, anti-cancer and even anti-obesity effects. The Scoville scale is a measure of how much spicy heat a particular type of chili pepper packs. For example, a poblano pepper is relatively mild at 1,000 to 2,500 Scoville units. Serrano peppers are 10 to 20 times hotter while Habaneros have 100 to 300 times the firepower of a poblano. Two of the hottest chili peppers in the world, measuring in at more than 1 million Scoville units, are the Bhut Jolokia or Ghost pepper and the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion pepper. Christopher Columbus brought the first chili peppers to Europe after his second voyage to the New World in 1493. However, it was the explorer’s physician, Diego Alvarez Chanca, who first wrote about the medicinal advantages of these fruits. Interestingly, it is the rush of endorphins, or chemicals in the brain produced by the painful heat stimulus in chili peppers, that can make them an effective pain remedy. Studies have also suggested that capsaicin may play a role in killing off cancer cells, especially in cancer of the prostate.
In addition, researchers in 2012 at the University of California Los Angeles’ Center for Human Nutrition showed that test subjects who ate the equivalent of 1 jalapeno pepper daily burned an extra 80 to 100 calories each day, twice as many calories as the subjects who took a placebo. Other health benefits linked to the capsaicin in chili peppers includes reducing inflammation and preventing sinus infections. In addition to capsaicin, chili peppers are a super source of nutrients. They are rich in vitamins A and C and also provide vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin E and the mineral potassium. What’s more, chili peppers are high in carotenes and flavonoids, which are phytonutrients that function as antioxidants. There are different types of phytonutrients in different color chili peppers so it pays to eat a rainbow variety of these fruits. If you’re thinking of lighting a fire or turning up the heat in your diet, consider these points: First, don’t sit down to a big bowl of chili peppers if you’ve never eaten these before. Start gradually with mild chilies and work your way up in heat. The heat in a chili pepper is concentrated in the white membrane inside the fruit. This is where there is the richest concentration of capsaicin. The seeds are often hot, too, because they are usually attached or next to this white membrane. If you do feel an uncomfortable burn, drink some milk. The milk protein called casein is a great cooling remedy. And when cooking with chili peppers, wear plastic gloves to prevent capsaicin from getting on your hands and transferred to your eyes or other sensitive places. Chili peppers taste great in a variety of dishes from salsas and soups to stirfries. They can also be baked, grilled, steamed and stuffed. Carol Bareuther is a registered dietitian and a regular contributor to The Triton. Comments on this column are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.
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IN THE GALLEY: Culinary Waves
Costing recipes key to setting, sticking to budget in the galley The captain got the orders: the yacht needs to rein in food costs. So as chef, you now must account for costs. Be prepared to cost a recipe so that every ingredient, every spoonful has a number attached to it. Be prepared to live within a budget. The first rule for keeping food costs low is to buy locally you can. I Culinary Waves whenever was once on a yacht Mary Beth where the chief Lawton Johnson stew wanted to order food from her favorite provisioner in England instead of from the markets of St. Maarten. The food bill was, of course, astronomical. And guess who got blamed. Sure, sometimes the owner or guests want what they want, and finding it on a remote island is not possible. But in general, shop locally when you COSTING A RECIPE can. Ingredients Quantity Another way Chicken breast 2 to lower food Lemon juice 2 tbsps costs is to buy Cashews, ground 1/2 cup in bulk. When Cashew butter 1 cup Coconut oil 2 tbsps you buy preRed pepper flakes pinch portioned fillets, for example, you pay more for each item for the added convenience. Instead, buy the whole fish and fillet it yourself. Buy the whole tenderloin and fabricate the meat. Any leftover from fabrication can be used for other meals. And finally, the best way to control costs onboard is to start with a menu and follow it. Start with the first recipe on your menu and break it down on paper in four categories. Let’s examine this technique with a recipe for Cashew Chicken. Start with a row of columns on paper, the first labeled “ingredients,” the second “quantity,” the third “ingredient cost” and the fourth “recipe cost.” The recipe ingredients are listed in the first column, followed by the amount you will use of each ingredient in this recipe in the next column. Under “ingredient cost,” we have to consider two costs: the as-purchased (AP) cost and the as-served (AS) cost. The as-purchased cost is the total cost for the product. For a package of 10 organic breasts, for example, you likely paid about $22. The as-served cost is the amount paid for each breast, or $2.20. This is the figure to put in the “ingredient cost” column. To get this price, simply divide the AP (the amount paid to buy the item) by the number of items in the package.
In this case, $22 divided by 10, or $2.20. Another example: a dozen eggs costs $3; divide the AP of $3 by the number of items in the package (12); each egg costs 25 cents, the ingredient cost. This can get tricky. Say you are dealing with volume measurements. You have to break it down even more, down to tablespoons or teaspoons. Sometimes you have to convert from U.S. measurements to metric. There are some great conversion sites on the Web to help do this. So for our Cashew Chicken recipe, we use 1 cup of cashew butter. There are 30.23 tablespoons in the 16-ounce jar, which cost $19. Divide it by half and you have $9.50 for 1 cup or 8 ounces. In the “recipe cost” column, take the ingredient cost and multiply by the quantity. Then tally up that final column to get the total cost for the recipe. In this case, it’s $23.53, but since there are two servings, our per-serving cost is $11.77. Costing a recipe can be labor intensive, Ingredient Recipe Cost Cost but you only have $2.20 $4.40 to do it once. $0.69 $1.38 When the boss $4.50 $4.50 complains that he $9.50 $9.50 $1.70 $3.40 is spending too $0.35 $0.35 much on food for the boat, it might be that he’s spending too much on alcohol, not food. Break that down, too. Show him where he is spending money. It might surprise him. Mary Beth Lawton Johnson is a certified executive pastry chef and Chef de Cuisine and has worked on yachts more than 20 years. Comments on are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.
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C May 2014 IN THE GALLEY: Top Shelf
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Petit Osso Bucco with Smokey Apple Slaw and Oven-dried Heirloom Tomatoes Food is art. That’s true on so many levels, from the visual to the taste to the complimenting contributors such as wine, table setting and location. However, with all the modernism smoke and mirrors such as molecular chemicals, over-thetop garnishes, and bells and whistles, we distract from the true star of the show -- the melt-in-your-mouth, eyeshutting, mind-blasting flavor. Simply, flavor. Don’t get me wrong. I love the bells and whistles, plating is essential and even an omelet cannot go without the sliced cherry tomatoes, fresh herb salad or some other form of color pop. But I am starting to notice a significant crossroads in my own culinary path: misconception. Let me explain. Rustic does not mean simple; braised does not mean boring. Less can mean more. By brining the veal we add an extra punch to this dish, just that great boost of moisture and flavor. Topping it with a simple smokey apple slaw lightens the plate and balances it texturally. Marrying the fresh (salad) with the mature deep taste (veal) allows it to be served as an opening course and even paired with a chardonnay. Enjoy. Ingredients for the brine : (serves 12) 1/2 gallon water 1 cup Kosher salt 4 onions, peeled and halved 4 sprigs thyme 8 cloves garlic, halved 5 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped 1/3 cup caper water from jar (capers not needed) 1/3 cup red wine vinegar 10 peppercorns 4 bay leaves 6 cups ice 12 petit veal osso bucco (I get mine from Kathy at Bush Brothers) Ingredients for the braise: 5 tbsp salted butter 5 tbsp all-purpose flour 4 cups beef stock, heated 4 red onions, chopped 4 sprigs thyme, tied together with cooking string 1/3 cup Craisins 2 tbsp dried rosemary 1 tbsp fresh cracked pepper 3 garlic cloves, crushed Ingredients for the slaw: 2 Granny Smith apples, finely sliced 1/2 lemon, juiced 1 tbsp smoked sea salt 4 green onions, finely sliced Oven-dried tomatoes: 1/2 punnet yellow cherry tomatoes 1/2 punnet red cherry tomatoes 1 tbsp olive oil Salt and pepper to taste Directions to brine: In a pot on medium-high heat, place all the ingredients (except ice and veal) and bring to a boil. Once a rolling boil is achieved, reduce to
medium-low heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add ice. Set aside. Using cooking string, tie a knot around each veal shank, tightening the meat surrounding the bone. Place in an oven dish. Pour the brine over the meat, making sure to cover each shank. Cover and refrigerate for 48 hours. Directions to braise: Set oven to 350 degrees F. In a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add the flour (we are making a roux) and whisk. Slowly pour in the heated beef stock, whisking as you pour to completely incorporate. Bring mixture to a simmer and let simmer for 10 minutes on medium-low heat. Add the rest of the ingredients and take off heat. Pull the brined veal shanks from the brine and place in a deep-sided baking tray. Carefully pour braising mixture over the shanks, being sure to evenly distribute. Cover the dish twice with tin foil and place in oven for 1 hour, then reduce oven to 300 degrees F. After another hour, reduce oven to 250 and continue to cook for two more hours. Pull from oven, carefully peel back corners of the foil to release steam. Remove the shanks and place on an oven tray. Remove the cooking string. Pour the braising liquid into a saucepan, remove thyme sprigs and using an immersion blender, blend the mixture to thicken. Slowly simmer over medium-low heat, whisking occasionally.
See TOP SHELF, page C7
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IN THE GALLEY: Crew Mess
Springtime Citrus Salad The late pianist and composer Arthur Rubenstein once said, “The seasons are what a symphony should be: four perfect movements in harmony with each other.” I love springtime. Clear blue skies, greening of the grass and bare twigs sprouting leaves. It is also a time for reawakening our senses. And it is in the spirit of spring that I have prepared a salad that is no less tantalizing to the palate. Ingredients: 1 10 oz. bag mixed salad greens 3 ruby red grapefruit 1/2 cup (10 oz.) lemon curd (found in the jam section of the supermarket) 1/2 tsp minced garlic 1 tsp black sesame seeds (found in the sushi section of the supermarket) 1 tbsp canola oil 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 4 slices bread 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese 1/4 cup parmesan cheese Directions: Thoroughly wash the salad mix and drain. Cut and juice two of the three grapefruit. In a large bowl, whisk the juice, lemon curd, garlic and sesame seeds together until smooth. Place in refrigerator. Heat a large sauté pan to medium-high
heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add oil to pan and then add chicken; cooking 3-4 minutes or until browned. Reduce heat to medium, add 2 tbsp. water and cover, cooking for an additional 4-5 minute or until internal temperature of chicken is 165°F. While the chicken is cooking, lightly toast four pieces of bread. In a baking pan, place toast and cover with the two cheeses. Bake on the top rack until cheese is melted. Once cooled, slice toast into strips. With remaining grapefruit, peel and carefully remove membrane from the fruit sections. Slice chicken and arrange with grapefruit over the salad mix. Drizzle with the grapefruit-lemon curd dressing. Garnish with cheese crisps. Serves four. Capt. John Wampler has worked on yachts big and small for more than 25 years. He’s created a repertoire of quick, tasty meals for crew to prepare for themselves to give the chef a break. Contact him through www.yachtaide.com. Comments on this column are welcome at editorial@thetriton.com.
Ingredients meld together to create simple, yet mature meal TOP SHELF from page C6 Directions for slaw: Add all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl and toss. Place the salad in a container with tight fitting lid and place in fridge. This can be made hours before service; the smokiness will develop as the salt draws the moisture out of the apples. Directions for tomatoes: Toss the ingredients in a bowl. Place in an oven dish and, once the oven decreases to 250 degrees F, add them to the oven with the veal. Keep an eye on the tomatoes, but they should roast in an hour or so, depending on your oven. What you are looking for are crispy, semi-dried tomatoes, halfway between sun-dried and fresh. They can be served room
temperature or hot (or even reserved for salads). Plating: Place a shank in a serving bowl. Ladle with gravy, covering shank. Place a handful of slaw on top, garnish with tomatoes and serve immediately. Mark Godbeer, a culinary-trained chef from South Africa, has been professionally cooking for more than 11 years, 9 of which have been on yachts (chefmarkgodbeer. com). Comments on this recipe are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.
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C May 2014 TRITON SURVEY: $1,000 a foot
Is $1,000-a-foot base salary Has the job changed since guideline still appropriate? the guideline was created? Yes, less complex – 2% Yes – 44%
No – 56 %
No – 36%
Yes, more complex – 62%
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Have you received cost-ofliving increases and raises? Yes, always – 17%
No – 38%
Should pay be based on experience not yacht size?
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Have you taken lo salary than you w
No – 2% Yes, with some owners – 45%
Depends – 46%
No – 27%
Yes – 52%
Captain salaries unchanged in 20 years, crew rates increased; re SURVEY, from page C1 experience goes, and win by not spending as much for skippers.” We looked at just these respondents a little closer to see if any patterns emerged that might explain why they were paid less, but none did. Most of them were on smaller vessels – 57.6 percent run yachts of 120 feet or less – but some ran vessels as large as 220 feet or bigger. And most have been in the business a while – 53.9 percent between 15 and 25 years. (In fact, a third of the captains who get less than $1,000 a foot have been in yachting more than 30 years.) Setting aside the realities of being paid $1,000 a foot (or not), we asked Do you believe the $1,000-a-foot base salary guideline is still appropriate today? More than half (56.1 percent) said it wasn’t. “Consider two captains, both driving the same size boat: One is a master mariner, one has a yacht master ticket; one knows engine rooms, one is scared to go there; one is on deck seven days a week; one is late five days a week (and leaves before the rest of the crew); one saves the owner money and gets the best possible return for his investment, one costs the owner money on a daily basis,” said a captain in yachting more than 20 years. “The length of the yacht has nothing to do with how these two should be paid.”
“The base salary calculation has not been adjusted to align with the requirements of today, let alone the regulations imposed on yachts nowadays or the responsibilities of the captain in terms of SOLAS or MARPOL, for example, resulting in heavy fines and maybe even loss of qualifications, uninsurability, etc.,” said the captain of a yacht 120-140 feet in yachting more than 30 years. “Salaries should be paid in accordance with the ‘risks’ that surround the industry today.” “A boat that was once crewed with five full time is now being run by two, maybe three people,” said the captain of a yacht less than 80 feet in yachting more than 20 years. “The work loads have gone up and the pay has not. The $1,000-per-foot has not kept up with cost-of-living and tax increases. Look at the cost of diesel alone; it was 53 cents in the late 1990s and now it’s almost $4.50. I wish our pay went up like that.” “That [guideline] is used by ‘middlemen’ people who have an ulterior motive,” said the captain of a yacht more than 220 feet in yachting more than 30 years. “As salaries have risen, their aim is to make the salaries lower so there is money in the vessel’s budget to pay them. It’s as simple as that.” “The $1,000 a foot should be a starting point for younger, less experienced captains,” said the captain of a yacht 80-100 feet. “When I first started out, this was the base. That was over 25 years ago.” “Experience should dictate what a captain
could ask for,” said the captain of a yacht 120-140 feet in yachting more than 30 years. “I don’t buy the argument that a 30-year-old captain is doing the same job as a 50-year-old veteran.” “I would have expected it to move as all the other pay rates,” said the captain of a yacht 200220 feet. “I have not seen it shift in 20 years, while engineer and junior crew pay has gone up.” Still, a sizable amount of respondents – 43.9 percent – said yes, the $1,000-a-foot guideline is still appropriate today. “A guideline is just that, it is something to use as a starting point,” said the captain of a yacht 100-120 feet in yachting more than 15 years. “The responsibilities of a captain on similar size vessels do not change, but as you move up in size they do. That is why the pay-per-size has stayed around. “But as with any guideline, you can start with that and show the owner you are worth more,” this captain said. “If you are, he will step up. If he doesn’t, then he’s probably not worth working for.” “As a starting point, yes, but it should be revised and increased yearly by a stipulated contract,” said the captain of a yacht 120-140 feet in yachting more than 10 years. “Another point is when the captain is able to keep the budget of running expenses under control; that should be another compensation.” “It’s an arbitrary guideline someone lobbed out there quite a few years ago that gets people in the
ballpark when captain of a ya than 25 years. Many variables “It’s a good that, in my exp percent more b captain of a ya than 10 years. With our ca $1,000-a-foot i feel that the j much since th guideline was Interestingl “Everything more demandi 100-120 feet in owners are far have nearly en industry. The o salaries and m “For yacht c even in the com has increased d demands of reg and SMS polic STCW training said the captai more than 35 y
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TRITON SURVEY: $1,000 a foot
Are you fairly compensated Are you fairly compensated for your time? for your experience?
No – 33% Yes – 73%
Yes – 56% Yes – 67%
No – 44%
ecalculate for risks, cost of living
n negotiating a position,” said the acht 100-120 feet in yachting more “It’s a good guideline only, not a rule. s apply to compensation.” base rule of thumb, but I’ve found perience, I’m usually paid 10-15 because of my experience,” said the acht 100-120 feet in yachting more
aptains nearly split on whether is appropriate, we wondered Do you job of yacht captain has changed he days when the $1,000-a-foot s created? ly, nearly two-thirds said it has. g has become more complex and ing,” said the captain of a yacht n yachting more than 15 years. “The more demanding and many don’t nough money to play in the yachting only way they can afford it is to cut maintenance. It’s a sad state, really.” captains – or captains in general, mmercial industry – our workload dramatically due to increasing gulatory agencies, enforcing ISM cies and the paperwork it generates, g and working with class societies,” in of a yacht 140-160 feet in yachting years. “Captains are held much more
accountable today than ever before. Working on boats in general is not as fun as it used to be years ago, but it is safer with better safety training.” “The overall responsibility of the job and time requirement to the operation as a whole sometimes is not adequately represented by the strict $1,000-a-foot guideline,” said the captain of a yacht 120-140 feet in yachting more than 10 years. “There is no hard-and-fast rule and those numbers can be north or south of that benchmark no matter how much experience you have.” “To be a captain these days is a lot harder than before,” said the captain of a yacht less than 80 feet in yachting more than 15 years. “More expensive schooling over years of boating. More requirements, more stress, more rules. It’s no longer a few weeks’ course or who you know.” Most of the rest – 36.4 percent – said the job of running a yacht is pretty much the same as it’s always been. “An annual wage between $100,000 and $150,000 is what most industry and boat owners think is a fair compensation,” said a captain in yachting more than 15 years. Just 1.7 percent said it has become less complex, less demanding. We aren’t sure why more captains feel the job has changed yet still feel the $1,000-a-foot guideline is still appropriate. Perhaps because, as See SURVEY, page C10
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Inexperienced use $1000 for more, owners use to pay less A few more thoughts from captains about the $1,000-a-foot salary guideline: Do not compensate for the sacrifice of extended periods away from family. Yes, we know what we were getting into when we first went to sea, but many opportunities are lost due to being away, at times out of touch and stuck in some location that you would rather not be stuck in. Money is not the only remedy. l
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Expenses increase without any increase in compensation, unless you’re one of the lucky few with a generous owner. l
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Inexperienced captains use [the guideline] to justify a bigger salary than they deserve, and owners use it to justify not paying a qualified captain/ engineer what they deserve. l
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There are too many young, inexperienced captains with some sort of licensing working for less. It is lowering the pay scale with new and younger owners who do not have the old class and professional elegance of true yachting. l
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I wouldn’t expect to make $180,000 on a 115-foot boat. l
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Salary should be based on the owner’s satisfaction with the captain. l
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I will be in the job market soon and hope that my years of experience will bring me more compensation than someone with much less. l
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Most of my fellow experienced captains who are in a good-fitting
program (i.e., their personality fits the boss’ intentions for the yacht) are compensated well over $1,000 a foot. These are also the guys that don’t move around much. l
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Many of the yachts I have worked gave no benefits and very few perks, but they paid very, very well indeed, and the owners were awesome. I stayed with the awesome owners for years. The vessels with more money perks and benefits often had not-so-awesome owners. Those programs were short lived. l
l
l
It’s quite amazing that most owners don’t take experience into account or won’t pay more for it. Would they have an unqualified or novice pilot fly their private jet? Let’s face it, our salaries are quite good. Most of us find it difficult to leave this industry because there are few other opportunities that offer the same remuneration. l
l
l
I came into this job having to fight for what the last captains didn’t have the backbone to stand up for. In the end, it is about standing up for what’s right and gaining owners’ respect. l
l
l
Experience doesn’t seem to affect what owners expect to pay. That’s a big mistake as more experience usually equals savings in operating expense. l
l
l
As the cost of living goes up, the salary should match. Our yacht owners are making more now than they did last year and so should we. l
l
l
The smallest full-time boat is about 60 feet and, at $1,000 a foot, still not a bad salary.
C10 May 2014 TRITON SURVEY: $1,000 a foot
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More regulations, rules, school, accountability warrant increase SURVEY from page C9 many have said, the guideline is just a starting point, and that experience moves a captain up in his/her earning potential. Perhaps they are confident that their experience will be recognized. In fact, when we asked that question Do you feel you are fairly compensated for your time?, a full two-thirds said they are. “It has taken me a very long time to get to the stage where I feel that I am fairly compensated,” said a captain in yachting more than 15 years. “As soon as you get over 80 feet, you are making more than you will almost anywhere else, unless you are highly educated,” said the captain of a yacht 120-140 feet in yachting more than 10 years. “We are paid well for what we do and the financial perks can be many.” We also asked, considering all forms of compensation including salary, tips, bonuses and benefits, Do you feel you are fairly compensated for your experience? Although less, still a majority – 56.4 percent – said yes. “Being in the same position as this [veteran] captain, working for the same owner for many years, at this point I am highly compensated for the size boat I run,” said the captain of a yacht 120-140 feet in yachting more than 20 years. “It would be difficult to find another job on a similar boat for the same salary.” “For me, it is still probably the best paid job I will ever have, and I accept that if I decided to go down in size I would be looking at less money,” said a captain in yachting more than 25 years. Another part of land-based jobs are the periodic performance reviews and the raises that go with them, something many in yachting say they don’t get, so we asked Over the course of your career, have you received cost-ofliving increases and general raises? Here’s where any semblance of standard practices goes out the window. Less than half our respondents said they received these raises in their careers, but only with some owners. “Captains should not be stuck at the $1,000-per-foot salary if they keep the same command for a long period,” said the captain of a yacht less than 80 feet in yachting more than 20 years. “They should be subject to annual compensation reviews based on performance and tenure, just like in any other industry.” Almost as many – 38 percent – said they have never received raises, that they still earn a base salary of about $1,000 a foot. Additional compensation has come via bonuses and benefits. “Another impediment to this base rate is the fact that if you happen to have an owner who is not prepared to
review or provide for pay increases due to experience, longevity or stability then the only way to obtain more salary is to jump to a larger yacht,” said the captain of a yacht 120-140 feet in yachting more than 30 years. “This does not promote stability or loyalty. There should be a mechanism in the contract that allows for genuine reviews and salary increases. Any agreed loyalty packages are also contained within the contractual agreement from the very beginning of the term of employment.” Just 17.4 percent of captains said they always get raises on any vessel they run, that annual increases are part of their employment agreements. “Longevity should always be compensated,” said the captain of a yacht 120-140 feet in yachting more than 10 years. “Keeping under budget and keeping long-term crew should be generously compensated because it shows the devotion of the captain to protect the owner’s interest.” But not getting a boost to the base salary wasn’t a bad thing to everyone. “Taxable income has its drawbacks,” said the captain of a yacht 100-120 feet in yachting more than 35 feet. Considering the market of the past half decade, we wondered Have you ever taken a lower salary than you wanted just to have a job? Nearly three-quarters of our responding captains have. “If owners are hiring strictly based on who they can get the cheapest, they will not have a very happy yachting experience,” said the captain of a yacht less than 80 feet in yachting more than 15 years. “Hiring a captain is a relationship; you have to find the right fit, and then determine what that is worth to you. I have taken lower-paying jobs because I liked the owners and program better, so my life was better.” “I’m on the U.S. west coast where the ratio of captains to boats is about 12-to-1,” said a captain in yachting more than 30 years. “The owners are, therefore, in the driver’s seat.” The final question went back to our original veteran captain who was at a loss to find an owner willing to pay him for the knowledge he brings to the boat, so we asked Should yacht captains be paid based on experience instead of the size of the yacht? We didn’t get the results here that we expected. Just over half said yes; the bulk of the rest said “it depends.” “If you take a job on a smaller boat than you are qualified for, you will take smaller pay,” said the captain of a yacht 80-100 feet in yachting more than 30 years. “Look at it from owner’s view.” “It should be on experience and size and the type of job you are doing,” said a captain in yachting more than See SURVEY, page C11
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Captain/owner relationship often defines rates and raises SURVEY, from page C10 20 years. “It’s the pay-peanuts-getmonkeys scenario, too.” “If experience is gained on the same yacht over a period of time, why should the captain be stuck on the $1,000-afoot rule?” said the captain of a yacht less than 80 feet in yachting more than 20 years. “This would mean to get a raise, the captain would have to get a bigger boat, which is not reasonable. It tends to breed employee turnover if a captain cannot get at least cost-ofliving allowances each year.” “It should be a mix of both,” said the captain of a yacht larger than 220 feet in yachting more than 25 years. “Owners should look at what they want in a captain and if they pay less, then they have to accept a less experienced captain. The problem is supply and demand, and presently there are more captains than yachts in the industry.” “It depends on how active you have to be on the yacht,” said the captain of a yacht less than 80 feet in yachting more than 35 years. “It depends upon the type of experience,” said the captain of a yacht 100-120 feet in yachting more than 10 years. “Has he spent years traveling off the beaten paths, or just sitting at the dock, basically running a hotel?” “You can’t expect an owner to pay huge amounts for an experienced captain to run a small boat when there are plenty of 200-ton guys out there who will work for $1,000 a foot or less,” said the captain of a yacht 120-140 feet. “Just because you’re extremely experienced but work on a small boat doesn’t mean you should get more money than a less experienced captain on a big boat with more responsibility,” said the captain of yacht less than 80 feet. “It should be based on everything: the owner’s usage, size, experience, itinerary, benefits.” “Experience matters when going to a small boat, meaning if the owner wants a small boat, my salary will not change,” said the captain of a yacht 140-160 feet. “When my owner went down in size, he paid me the same to keep me.” “Size does determine some amount of the pay but it is unfair to pay someone with 10-plus years experience the same rate as someone who has 2 years experience,” said the captain of a yacht 100-120 feet. Just 1.6 percent said captains should not be paid based on experience. We filtered all our results by length of time in yachting, and interestingly, the results didn’t change much. About 62 percent of our respondents have been in yachting at least 20 years, and the breakdown of answers in all questions was roughly the same. Even when we looked at just the most veteran – those in yachting more than 30 years, which was about 26 percent of our total respondents – the answers
didn’t change much. But his last question – should captains be paid on experience – was the only one to show any noticeable difference. While our group as a whole split between yes (52.5 percent) and “depends” (45.9 percent), among captains in yachting more than 30 years, 62.5 percent of captains said yes, 34.4 percent said “depends.” “I do tend to agree with the veteran captain,” said the captain of a yacht less than 80 feet in yachting more than 20 years. “We do not get paid for time on the job. We should be paid for the
value we bring to the marketplace. Experience and track record should count for something. “The ultimate question is: What is that skill and experience worth, and who determines that worth?” this captain said. “As yacht captains, it really is up to us to help the marketplace understand the value we bring. “In my last job, besides being the captain, I eventually took on all the engineering work as well, saving the owner lots of money,” this captain said. “In return he gave me the three raises
I asked for over time. As a result, I was paid more than the $1,000-a-foot rule because I deserved it and asked for it. “There is a ton of power in that three-letter word: Ask.” Lucy Chabot Reed is editor of The Triton. Comments on this survey are welcome at lucy@the-triton.com. We conduct our Triton surveys online. All captains and crew members are welcome to participate. If you haven’t been invited to take our surveys and would like to be, e-mail lucy@the-triton. com to be added.
C12 May 2014 INTERIOR: Stew Cues
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Manage your boss from within your rank, avoid negativity STEW, from page C1 is struggling, ask yourself what you can do to help, what you can do to be proactive and to be a better follower. Relationships are based on trust. The first step in managing up is to build a positive relationship with your boss by showing that you are responsible and accountable. There is lot you can do to be proactive without overstepping your boundaries. Show up on time, finish your work in the time you are expected to, and do as you are told to do to the level that is expected of you. Keep your boss informed about your work and interactions with guests and crew as needed. There are some common complaints from stews about the people who manage them. In order to improve these situations, we have to learn how
to manage up. Avoid complaining endlessly or going behind your superior’s back. Follow the chain of command. Here are some suggestions for dealing with these common issues. l A hands-off manager may not provide any direction or feedback. He or she may think they are empowering you by not being involved. Let your chief know what you need in terms of direction, feedback and support. l At the other extreme, if you’re working for a micromanager, you’re always trying to avoid the next incident. This kind of direction can be insulting to a competent, self-directed crew member. Ask for clarification of the task at hand. Pay attention and match the boss’s goals and priorities. l Maybe your manager lacks the training to remain supportive when
they get overwhelmed. Pitch in. Think in terms of the overall success of your department and vessel. l Perhaps he/she has been promoted too quickly and does not have the skills to handle all of the responsibilities that go with the job. Instead of being critical of a situation, ask what you can do to help. l You may have different values and priorities. If your values are out of sync with those of your boss, you may have a problem. Figure out the boss’s work style. Identify what she considers important in an employee. l Everyone has areas of weaknesses and feels challenged in some areas. No matter what the issues are, you have to work together. Your chief stew or captain has information that you need to succeed, yet at the same time he or she can’t do her job or accomplish
goals without your help. Your team won’t succeed without the information, perspective, experience, and support of proper management. l Whatever your issues are, remember that you can’t change others; you can only control your own responses. You can be more proactive about the way you respond. Here are some guidelines for managing up. l Be direct with people when you need to discuss things. When done with care, you build a relationship with everyone. l If you’ve made an error or something was broken or used up, tell your chief or the captain. It’s better to hear it directly from you than to have the captain confront you later in response to a complaint from the owners or guests. l Treat each other with respect. Remember that you and your own feelings are not always the center of the universe. l Focus on the good. Just about every person has both good points and bad. When you’re negative about your boss, the tendency is to focus on their worst traits and failings. This does not have a good effect on the situation. Compliment your boss on something they do well. Everyone needs positive reinforcement and everyone wants to be a success. You would expect the same consideration for yourself. l Learn from your boss. Although some days it may not feel like it, your boss has much to teach you. The personality you are dealing with at work every day has taken years and years to form. All of us have made unfair judgments of at least one management decision by someone above us. It sucks when you are the one being criticized. I remember how challenging my first few weeks as a new chief stew were. I relied on the guidance of my second stew to help me out. There were definitely times when I felt like I was doing more harm than good. She could have been critical of me, but she wasn’t. Being in service for long periods of time is tough. One of the best rewards for sticking it out is the team camaraderie we feel. Managing up is challenging and requires some personal sacrifice, but ultimately, it develops your team and is well worth your time. Alene Keenan has been a megayacht stew for more than 20 years. She teaches at MPT in Ft. Lauderdale and offers interior crew training through her company, Yacht Stew Solutions (www. yachtstewsolutions.com). Download her book, The Yacht Service Bible: The Service Manual for Every Yacht, on her site or amazon.com. Comments on this column are welcome at editorial@thetriton.com.
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