www.The-Triton.com | March 2020
Fire losses a warning: Know insurance details By Dorie Cox No one wants to burn through a $20 million loss like the 102-foot M/Y Polar Bear in 2014. The yacht was in for repairs when welding started a fire. Neither the yacht owner nor captain had notified the insurance company of the work. The yard contract had been signed and subsequently, the loss was not covered by the insurance company.
The yacht owner signed the ‘I’m holding you harmless’ clause, said John Jarvie, vice president of Oversea Yacht Insurance, who served as an expert witness on the M/Y Polar Bear case. The owner reasoned the cost of repairs would be below the deductible, according to a story in riskandinsurance.com. “That voids your insurance policy,” he said. “If you hold harmless, you void.” The Polar Bear case eventually
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Celebrating 15 years
settled, but it highlights something that insurance experts urge their clients to do regularly: Talk to your broker before doing anything to the yacht, even going in for “affordable” repairs. After last year’s fires on the 161-foot M/Y Lohengrin, the 107-foot Reflection, and Andiamo, the 120-foot Benetti, yacht captains, owners, insurance com-
News USCG will no longer offer walk-in mariner exams as of April 6. 5
Where in the World Crew from 18 yachts gather in St. Thomas for fun and learning at the Caribbean Crewfest. 30
See INSURANCE, Page 44
STANDING ORDERS Some of the crew of M/Y Claire, a 150-foot Trinity took a break for a photo during the Miami Yacht Show. The main part of the event was held in downtown Miami for the second year at One Herald Plaza. The larger yachts in the show were docked at Island Gardens Deep Harbour Marina with water taxis connecting the two locations for the show that ran Feb. 13-17. For more see Page 22.
Rules of the Road Noncompliant bareboat charters in U.S. face severe penalties. 12
Crew photo galleries N&J hosts Winter Captain and Crew Cocktails at LMC. Crew enjoy Triton pizza party and informal networking.
PHOTO/DORIE COX
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Secure@Sea Guard against coronavirus and other contagions on board. 16
Crew dream of moving up, captains aim smaller From the Bridge Dorie Cox
A group of yacht captains with experience at the helm of yachts from 100 feet to more than 250 feet gathered to address a common assumption: Cap-
tains and crew want to work on larger yachts. Each month, The Triton’s From the Bridge lunch meets with a different group of captains to discuss a yacht issue, so we asked this mix of veteran and newer captains if they agree that many in yachting want to go big. We were surprised at the answer: Bigger is not always better when it comes to life at the helm.
“I like 90 feet. It's a good manageable size, you get to do a little bit more and you don’t have a 10- to 12-person crew to deal with all the personalities,” a captain said. “I'm fine with smaller yachts with less than 9 to12 crew,” another captain said. “I'm comfortable in the 120 to 160 range.” See BRIDGE, Page 46
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