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Network with The Triton on the first and third Wednesdays in January. See C3,4.
C2
Owner’s preference (sheet) Running a yacht is much like a marriage or a business. A3
January 2015
Bosun dies; bridge breaks News from St. Thomas, Miami, Bermuda and New Zealand. A5
New rules are in effect Emission, fire safety, BNWAS, enclosed space, MLC on list. B1
No one will find us here Captain’s new Web site features remote anchorages. B10
Ship’s cook requirement reduced for yacht chefs
ANTIGUA WINNERS
By Dorie Cox
The interior crew of the 130-foot Christensen M/Y Sweet Escape took home top honors in their category, yachts 100-159 feet, in both the chef’s competition and the table-setting competition. Celebrating, from left, are 3d Stew Kerrie “Kiki” Slater, 2d Stew Nicola “Nic” Shaw, Chef Kdn Lyne, and Chief Stew Amy Cook. Find the results of all the winners on pages A10-11. PHOTO/LARA-JO HOUGHTING/CHURCHILL YACHTS
Captains resolve to make yachting better Welcoming in the new year seemed like a good excuse to ask yacht captains if they had any resolutions for the industry for 2015. Their answers surprised me. They were a lot tougher on themselves – and on all captains – than I thought they would be, and they even From the Bridge took a different Lucy Chabot Reed tack when it came to owners getting out of yachting, which we talked about tangentially last month. The conversation began slowly, as it often does, with the assembled captains first honing in on crew attitudes as the top thing they would change in 2015. “Crew attitudes have all gone
downhill rapidly,” one captain said. “Their whole approach to the job is off. They come in demanding, complaining.” “Crew agents should explain to them what to expect,” another said. “Don’t come on my boat demanding anything. When I got my first deckhand job, I was just happy to have a job.” “The first thing they ask is ‘do we get weekends off?’ “ 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 A12. The captains felt today’s technology was a primary culprit in what they saw as crew misbehavior, and so their first resolution would be to require crew – as well as vendors – to put down
their cell phones. “I hired three guys and told them it was just for a day or two,” one captain said. “I didn’t tell them I was looking for one full-time crew member. After one day, I fired one because he was on his phone. Three days later, the most experienced guy was goofing off so I fired him, too. “I ended up hiring the least experienced guy,” this captain said. “Now I’m teaching him everything I can and he’s working out really well.” “We can be more clear and tell these kids, ‘this is what our expectations are’,” another captain said. This turned into a conversation about how relaxed the industry has become, how less formal operations onboard have become. Not less
See BRIDGE, page A12
International regulations can take time to filter down to the yachting industry, and such is the case with the Ship’s Cook Certificate (SCC). It is only required for a specific group, but its impending compliance deadline of Feb. 15 has chefs, managers and flag states looking for answers. The certificate is required for UK-registered commercial yachts compliant with Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006) that has 10 or more crew capable of operating more than 60 miles from a port. Yachts that want to remain MLC compliant must designate a crew member to hold the SCC. That person, typically the yacht’s chef, must be assessed and then apply for the certificate. Even culinary-trained and experienced yacht chefs must be assessed, said John Wyborn, training director at Bluewater in Antibes, and
See COOK, page A14
TRITON SURVEY
Does your yacht provide water in plastic bottles? No 9% Yes, owner/ guests only 29%
Yes, for all 62%
– Story, C1