Yacht seized M/Y Force Blue faces VAT issue in Italy.
Captain aids
Gimme shelter
Schooner on mission for Haiti relief. A8 Vol.7, No. 3
‘Busy season’ predicted for hurricanes.
www.the-triton.com
Earning your captain’s license should be hard
Licensing is an ongoing issue for
See BRIDGE, page A14
TRITON SURVEY: PAPERWORK
A17
June 2010
‘Devastated’ by the death of Capt. Hopkin in plane crash
SHARK! SHARK! WAIT, IT’S FRIENDLY?
Being a captain on a megayacht is tough, but actually getting the license can prove even tougher. It takes instructional courses, paperwork, time at sea, time away from work and money. “My guess is, it costs at least $25,000 to get a license,” a captain From the Bridge said at this month’s Dorie Cox Triton From the Bridge captains luncheon. Captains were invited to discuss obtaining and maintaining licenses and certifications and the future of licensing in the yachting industry. The captains in attendance have varying licenses and levels. Included were MCA, USCG and Royal Yachting Association (RYA) tickets varying in size with experience ranging from several years to several decades in the industry. Each captain had a different course in their licensing story. “I took the 200-ton, then straight to 1600-ton,” a captain said. “I started with a 500 MCA, so I’m not affected by Coast Guard changes,” another said. “I’m on my seventh renewal,” said a third. 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 14.
Problems with licensing
A4
By Dorie Cox
Cook/stew Melissa Smith, left, and Stew/deck Courtney Seyster of M/Y Current Issue get friendly with a shark in Sampson Cay, Exuma. More photos from the yachting world, A16. PHOTO/Capt. Craig Jones
36 to 40 – 2%
More than 40 How many hours each month in 31 to 35 – 2% – 14% 26 to 30 – 6% the upcoming summer season 21 to 25 – 6% would you estimate will be spent 16 to 20 – 10% on paperwork? (Consider only 11 to 15 – 11% regulatory paperwork) – Story, C1
Less than 5 – 22%
5 to 10 – 27%
Capt. Don Hopkin had passions for the sea and for flying and they came together the day he died, said friend and employer Scott Niswonger. Capt. Hopkin died on May 15 when the single-engine plane he was flying crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Nettles Island off the southeast Florida coast. He was 60 years old. Capt. Hopkin was in command of M/Y Hopkin Scott Free, a 157-foot Christensen often docked at Sunrise Harbor Marina in Ft. Lauderdale and had been in yachting for more than three decades. His passenger, photographer James B. Doom, 39, of North Palm Beach, also died in the accident. The cause of the crash was unknown. “It started as an employer/employee relationship, but that didn’t last long,” Niswonger, owner of M/Y Scott Free said. “He was more like a brother that just happened to be the captain,” he said. “We’ve been together almost 10 years,” “We’re all devastated; we’re in shock,” said Scott Free Chef Sherry Ellis, who has worked with Capt. Hopkin for five years. “He was the nicest, most polite and diplomatic captain I’ve ever met.” “Captains confide in us as dockmasters and I can tell you, Don really cared about the crew and the boat,” said Mike Voelker, dockmaster at Sunrise Harbor Marine. “He did a good job of keeping a strong crew together as a team. That crew is family.” The marina has been the home base for the yacht for nine years, and Capt. Hopkin lived in Jensen Beach, he said. “Don was always very professional and responsible,” Voelker said.
See Hopkin, page A10