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June 2014 First Wednesday of month, Triton networks with Global Satellite. See A9.
B1 Keys to motivate crew Recognition, empowerment and support a good start. A13
From top to bottom Arctic, Antarctic waters face new cruising requirements. B1
It’s not just about the dirt Enhance your life and clothes with fresh view of laundry. C1
New River power lines cross about 100 feet up
TRITON NETWORKING: FINGER-LICKING GOOD CRAYFISH, CRAWFISH, LET’S CALL THEM DELICIOUS: About 300 yacht captains, crew and industry professionals tasted a bit of the bayou on the first Wednesday in May at Triton networking with V-Kool. That’s V-Kool owner Scott Frischhertz, third smile from the right, a native of New Orleans who flies the little critters in fresh each spring for what has become our most popular monthly networking event of the year. See more networking photos on page C2, and our mid-month event with Culinary Convenience on page C3. Make plans to join us this month; detailson page A9. PHOTO/DORIE COX
By Lucy Chabot Reed
World of choice, yet many choose Ft. Lauderdale The premise of this month’s From the Bridge captains luncheon might seem a little odd, but recent events in Ft. Lauderdale (discussions of a highspeed train, for one) have many business people worried about the future. Because yachts are moveable – and because more cities From the Bridge here and around the Lucy Chabot Reed world are investing in infrastructure to lure more vessels their way – some local officials fear that if anything happens to create an inconvenience for yachts, that captains will take their yachts someplace else. According to the six captains in our most recent lunch, it would take much more than an inconvenience to get them to leave Ft. Lauderdale. Granted, we’re only talking about the opinions of these six captains, and granted, they were already here so perhaps they are already biased toward the city. But this story wasn’t intended to be a survey of all captains and their thoughts of Ft. Lauderdale. We’re sure there are plenty of yacht captains in the world who never come here, or perhaps those who used to, but no longer do.
Chill out for summer Test your tastebuds with tangy and tantalizing treats. C6-7
I grant you all of that. This is simply the viewpoint of these six captains on this day in Ft. Lauderdale. It’s worth it to note that these captains are all veterans of more than 20 or 30 years working on boats. Several are between vessels; one is preparing for a new build. Most have a home in the city or nearby. They are not all American. Our conversation began a bit awkwardly. When I asked them why are they here, they looked at me as though I hadn’t really asked a question, so obvious was the answer to them. I prodded. “It’s where we source our work,” one captain began. “And it’s cheaper to be here than Europe.” 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. “Good old America; you can source anything here in three days,” another captain said. “Overseas, it takes three weeks.” They talked about the language making things easier, the American work ethic, the proximity of yards and services, the convenience of getting things done. The bottom line, they all
agreed, is that Ft. Lauderdale makes their jobs maintaining vessels easier. “You can get anything you want here,” a captain said. “There’s a simplicity to everything.” One captain knew exactly how the yacht came to be in Ft. Lauderdale during maintenance time. The management company used to decide where the yacht would go, but had two episodes, including one that nearly ended in a lawsuit. Then the owner turned to the captain for advice on where the yacht should go. This captain chose Ft. Lauderdale. “I come here because it’s home,” this captain said. “I always brought the boat here, use the same suppliers. It’s comforting to come here. There are people I can rely on. We do two yard periods a year. For that loyalty, I get treated well.” And that may be the gist of a yacht’s locale, at least the ones under a captain’s control. And it holds true whether we’re talking about Ft. Lauderdale, Palma or Antibes: Yachts tend to return to the shipyards and cities where the captain wants it to be based. And that usually translates to home.
See BRIDGE, page A14
Knowing what he knows now, the captain whose sailboat was hit by an electrical arc in January says he wouldn’t have taken the 70-plus-foot vessel up the New River and under those power lines. A 3D scan of the power lines, performed for The Triton by S-E-A- Ltd. of Ft. Lauderdale, measured them in a dip across the river that ranges from 103.5 feet on the north bank to 92.6 feet on the south bank. In the navigable portion of the river, the lines dip from 101.6 feet to 95.2 feet above the “apparent average high water line on adjacent banks,” said Christopher Karentz, senior maritime consultant with S-E-A- Ltd. who offered to measure the lines after reading last month’s story. On that January afternoon, the sailboat with a 98-foot air draft was hit by an electrical arc, causing it to stop dead in the river with a fire in the engine room and destroyed electronics
See ARC, page A8
TRITON SURVEY: Water activities
Can you use the yacht’s waterrelated equipment or toys? No 13.8%
Yes 86.2%
– Story, C1