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May 2014 Triton May networking with Mega Yacht Mart and V-Kool See A7.
A10 Markers are missing Virtual navigation aids appear on charts, but not in water. B1
The language of captains Personality styles guide best type of communication. A12-13
Is he after my job? New business offers vacation and time-off options. A3
Not an average day on the New River Arc of electricity stops sailboat dead, leaves questions By Lucy Chabot Reed To hear the captain tell it, his last trip up the New River in Ft. Lauderdale was interesting, puzzling, comical even. But he’s lucky to be alive. We couldn’t describe the events any better than he does. He has asked that neither he nor the vessel be named as insurance claims continue to be sorted out, but he wanted to share his story to help other captains. “It was early afternoon on a bright and sunny day in mid-January as I navigated a 70-plus-foot sailing yacht up the New River. I have been captain of this vessel for a while and she had me firmly in her grasp. “I felt comfortable as we motored up this rather narrow, winding river in
the heart of the city, passing through the many open bridges. I held the leathered wheel with a light touch. “We were headed to a shipyard up river, 3.5 miles from the sea. My crew members were smiling and chatting as they set up dock lines and fenders. We had only two more bridges to go. “As we passed through the railroad bridge in the heart of downtown, the mate had the binoculars in hand as he focused on marine traffic and the next bridge. The deckhand stood on lookout on the side deck. “I was looking aloft at a set of overhead high power lines we were about to pass under. I knew we had plenty of clearance, as this vessel had been under these wires many times before, and yachts with even taller rigs navigate this river on a regular basis. “Suddenly, a white fireball flashed around the upper two thirds of the mast followed by a massive explosion. It was so loud I thought there had
been a bombing in the condos at the river’s edge and I instinctively spun around, bracing for impact. “Instead of a building crashing down upon us, I observed a brilliant blue orb surrounding the boat, and then contacting and dissipating into the river astern of us. “I now believe this blue orb was a plasma discharge released as the air molecules split apart, due to the electromagnetic arc that zapped us. This arc was so powerful and loud, that it pushed me down a little and stunned me for a moment. Or maybe I was just cringing from the blast. “I took my hands off the wheel and looked at my crew. I know I said something before asking if they were OK, but events were happening very fast. The steering failed as hydraulic oil poured into the bilge from melted piping. A spatter of melted aluminum was visible part way up the mast.
She’s the boss, but... Ways to ‘manage up’, promote more efficient leadership. C1
TRITON SURVEY: Compensation It’s been 30, maybe 40 years, since the industry began using $1,000-a-foot as a guideline to pay captains. Is it still used today? Should it be? More than 120 captains gave us their thoughts in this month’s Triton survey.
Are you paid according to the $1,000-a-foot guideline?
See ARC, page A8
Exactly – 7.4 % Less – 21.3%
Pretty close – 36.1% More – 35.2% – Story, C1
Pervassive smart phones make managing a challenge
THE POWER OF PASSION: The crew of S/Y Aglaia held a dock party fundraiser in Palma in April and raised more than 30,000 euros for two local charities. Photographed here are some of the folks who made it happen (from left): Natalie (Hawaiian helper), 2d Stew Maxine, winter Chef Tina, Stew Sanchia, Capt. Mark Stevens, Chief Stew Laura Cubie, and Tom, the owner of Complete Marine Freight. For the whole story, see page A4. PHOTO PROVIDED
The past few years have changed things in the cell-phone-andwork-arena on yachts. Thanks to technological advances, phones are much more than things with which to make phone calls or even send texts. Accessibility to social media From the Bridge has changed Lucy Chabot Reed how we interact with our cell phones, now known as smart phones, and to many middle-aged captains, the fascination younger crew have with these devices verges on addiction. But to yacht crew born in the 1980s and ’90s, who experts call the millennials, it is simply a part of their lives. Their smart phone is part of their dress code. Last month, we asked captains
and crew to share their thoughts about cell phones in our Triton survey and learned that the rules about their use onboard – when there are rules – vary widely. Because statistical surveys can only go so far, we wanted to bring this topic up again with captains in our more intimate monthly captains lunch to learn if smart phones have impacted their ability to manage young crew. It has, and it has them at a loss as to what to do about it, other than lay down the law. Our assembled captains varied in how much cell phone use they permitted onboard. But most of them agreed, like most of the yacht captains and crew who took our survey last month, that it’s a thin line between use and abuse. And I’ve come to understand that it’s not so much about phone See BRIDGE, page A14