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December 2014 Join The Triton for networking on the first Wednesday, Dec. 3, see C3.
C2
Captain shocked on sail Scientific mission trawls the seas on way to the Arctic. B1
It’s all uniform Top tips to dress crew of every shape and size.
C1
Yacht crew sets record Southernmost sail and marine industry charity make news. A3
Lots of fingers in crew management pie It’s a common refrain that the No. 1 reason owners get out of yachting is because of crew. I’m not sure what that comes from, but it’s repeated as gospel throughout various sectors of the industry to justify everything from better recruitment techniques to management to From the Bridge leadership training. Lucy Chabot Reed Hidden inside of that assertion, however, is the charge
that captains are somehow responsible. They are in charge of the crew, after all, so if crew discourse is the reason owners get out of yachting, the captain must surely be to blame. So I asked a small group of captains gathered together for our monthly captains luncheon if they accept that blame. They don’t, for the most part. And a few questioned if that claim is really true to begin with. “I’m not so sure crew are the main reason people get out of yachting,” one captain said. “Some of them go
bankrupt.” “It’s about communication more than anything,” another captain said. As always, individual comments are not attributed to any one person in particular so as to encourage frank and open discussion. The attending captains are identified in a photograph on page A10. “It depends on two things, really,” a captain said. “A: a conversation the captain has with the owner about how
Your right to write Readers, staff speak their minds on green crew, labels, more. A18
TRITON SURVEY
Are you responsible for more than one vessel? No, other vessels have captains 10% No, just the one 29%
Yes, multiple yachts, one captain 42 %
Yes, with what we tow 18%
See BRIDGE page A10
– Story, C1
Having fun on yachts all about crew As a yacht (they are all just boats to me) owner and avid reader of The Triton, I suggested to Editor Lucy Chabot Reed that Triton readers might benefit from an owner’s perspective. I believe that the most important element of owning a large boat is the crew. They can singlehandedly Owner’s View make or break the entire experience. Peter Herm I have had 30+ meter boats off and on for more than 25 years, selling my last one in 2008 at the exact right moment in time. I chartered while watching the turmoil in the yachting world until about a year ago when two friends interested in the thrill of yacht ownership asked me to join them as their guide and co-check writer. After much searching, we acquired a 35m boat this spring and began the adventure. As before, the primary challenge has been crew. A great crew can make any boat fun, and a poor crew will ruin the experience on even the $100 million
See OWNER, page A4
BACK IN BLACK FRONT AND CENTER: The crew of M/Y Unbridled give off good vibes on the bow during the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show last month. See news and more photos on page A14. PHOTO/TOM SERIO
World is limitless for sailing deck and stew By Dorie Cox Many a yacht drama includes a deckhand, a stew and a boat. This one started on M/Y Limitless, the 316-foot Lurssen where Deckhand Jordan Wicht and Stew Desiree Golen met. But the set has changed. Instead of working on one of the world’s largest private yachts, the couple will sail the world on a 30-foot sailboat. The stage was set when Wicht, 27, and Golen, 28, fell in love about a year ago.
“We’re dating two or three weeks and Jordan said, ‘I have a dream to sail around the world’,” Golen said. “He said, ‘I would like you to come with me. Is it too early to ask?’.” Golen said she would. They put their plan to paper and left the yacht for Project Atticus. Friends and sailors say the challenge that awaits Wicht and Golen suits them. They are dreamers with the ability to make it real, and the sea is an inspiring backdrop.
Jolene Geil was chief stew on M/Y Limitless when the three worked together. “The work came natural for Desiree and that is hard to find,” she said. “She took anything and rolled with it. … [Jordan] would absorb everything he could from the first mate, the bosun, everyone. He’s wildly intelligent. “They can conquer anything, I feel in my heart,” Geil said.
See ATTICUS, page A16