PSV founder Haze Richardson has died after a swimming accident in Costa Rica.
A6 TWIC question
MIBS Photo pages from the show.
A24-25
Vol. 4, No. 12
Time off – it’s the law, but it’s often not the case One of the most frustrating topics in yachting is time off: the shortness of it, the lack of it, the unavailability of it. We’ve heard captains condemn the boat and the owner for not granting it, and empathized with crew who can’t take it. But whose FROM THE BRIDGE fault is that? LUCY CHABOT REED Owners for not being understanding enough to allow it? Captains for not being good enough managers to encourage it? Crew for not taking enough initiative to actually take it? Our survey last fall showed that most captains and crew “get” four weeks off a year. We didn’t ask in that survey if they actually take it, so we decided to pose that question to the captains assembled for this month’s discussion. How do you take time off, and how do you handle crew time off? “You’ve got to quit or sell the boat to get time off,” one captain said, not even remotely in jest. “Even then, you’re always working on getting another job, working on your resume, making calls,” another said. As always, individual comments are not attributed to any one person in particular so as to encourage frank and open discussion. The attending captains are identified in a photograph on page A20. One captain pointed out the law for Red Ensign vessels: Merchant Shipping Regulations 2002 (described in Merchant Shipping Notice 1767). There are two paragraphs among the 20-page rule that say mariners are to receive at least four weeks leave a year, and that those days cannot be replaced
See BRIDGE, page A20
www.the-triton.com
Is new identification card a must for yachties, too? A8 March 2008
SURVEY
ANTIGUA AND BARCELONA FIRES
Hey, Europe: Size matters in planning crew quarters By Kelly Cramer
After burning for several hours on Jan. 21, crews continue to fight the fire PHOTO/ELI FULLER on the S/Y Keturah in Antigua.
Two fires consume five yachts By Kelly Cramer Two fires destroyed five yachts in Barcelona and Antigua recently, leaving one captain hospitalized. Capt. Brett Daw was injured in the Antigua fire aboard the 94-foot S/Y Keturah owned by businessman Larry Ecclestone of Palm Beach. Calls to Ecclestone’s South Florida office were not returned, but Ecclestone’s wife told the Palm Beach
Daily News that Daw was burned when he opened the door to the engine room after being alerted to the fire. He was flown to the United States for treatment but no further details on his condition were available. A lightning strike apparently ignited the fire on Jan. 21, according to the Daily News. Antigua native Eli Fuller, who owns
The verdict on crew quarters from more than 100 crew members surveyed in our latest poll: European-built boats “suck” when it comes to designing these living spaces. “The Italians just don’t get it,” a captain said. “You have to be a hobbit to fit into the bunks on the yacht I just got off of – and yes, it was a major reason I left.” The size of the yacht is less important than the care taken to accommodate the crew during the design process – although captains on larger yachts are more likely to have their own staterooms. On refit, many owners take the chance to improve too-small rooms with tiny bunks and even smaller showers, but until then, many captains report suffering the cramp of living in a tiny box. For some, comfy quarters make a job worth taking while others said their passion for being at sea gives them the resolve to tolerate the tiny. “My wife and I worked on boats for years (12 plus) where we had to sleep in separate bunk beds or even have separate cabins,” one captain said. “The love for the water surpassed the inconvenience. Now we are on a boat with the best crew cabin arrangement possible. “Sometimes things work in your favor, sometimes not,” he said. Would this captain turn down a job if he or his wife would have to share a bunk with another crew member? Maybe not, but another did. “Not acceptable,” this captain said. Another said his wife refused to work on a Ferretti 760 that had three bunk beds in two rooms.
See FIRES, page A23 See SURVEY, page A10