WORKIN' IT
WORKIN’ IT
What the Deck! ➣ Try to use battery-powered tools whenever possible. Yachts are wet environments exposed to rain and sea spray, and power cables falling into water or being wet are very dangerous.
➣ Always carry tools in a bucket or tool box.
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t’s a fact, says Mark Anastasia, founder and CEO of AquaBanas: Inflatables and slides are great fun for owners and charterers — not so much for captains and crew. Enter AquaBanas: floating, inflatable entertainment centers designed in easily launchable modules. By connecting components, crew can manifest an instant party city, complete
FEBRUARY 2022 | TritonNews.com
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Brian Muston, Doug Norden and Nick Gray take a hands-on approach at Savvy Maritime Academy in Fort Lauderdale. At left, Chief Stew Irma Malabanan is in charge of the 10-day interior course.
so it can be fixed right away rather than be a problem further down the line.
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➣ If something breaks, report it immediately
➣ Always mark off any inventory you take, so that there is a record of what is on board. Have a deck-related question or concern? Send it to First Officer Wesley Walton at Crew@TritonNews.
with floating bar, picnic area or even a private pool within the ocean. When the fun is done, the Banas can be easily disconnected and stored away. The typical charter package includes a slide, a pool, a push-off platform that connects to the yacht’s transom, a lounger, and a tent, with a price tag of about $30,000, says Anastasia. “And two to three crew can put them all together in about 45 minutes.” For more information, visit aquabanas.com. – By Christine Davis
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Dropping a bucket is less damaging than dropping individual sharp objects or paint cans.
TOY BOX Oh, no, not the slide again!
By Dorie Cox
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Deckhands Andrew Van Rhyn and Ryan Pretorius operate the antiquated emergency steering system aboard M/Y Itasca during a drill. In order for that old wheel behind the stack on the bridge deck to turn the rudder, some hydraulic valves in the steering flat must be changed over. There is a compass readout in front of the steering pedestal to help crew stay on course. The 54m J&K Smit explorer yacht built in 1961 has a new owner and is currently undergoing maintenance at a shipyard in Greece.
after dropping something, you can sometimes draw the dent out of the teak by using an iron over the wet teak.
A new yacht training facility in Fort Lauderdale aims to better prepare novice crew.
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TURNING BACK TIME
PHOTO CAPT. GRANT MAUGHAN
➣ When you have made a dent in the teak
Making the Grade
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s a yacht captain, Brian Muston used to ask his departing crew, “How was it? Was this job what you expected it would be?” During his entire 30-year career, not one crew member said yachting was what they expected. And that is the impetus for Savvy Maritime Academy, the newest yacht crew training facility in Fort Lauderdale. In an effort to better prepare novice crew, Muston teamed up with instructors Nick Gray and Doug Norden, both yacht crew veterans with more than 23 years between them, and interior instructor Irma Malabanan, a chief stew with more than 20 years’ experience. The first training sessions were scheduled to begin in January, and they
include the eight-week Deck Academy, a 10-day interior course, and a 10-day tender-driving course. When new and young crew are hired, they are expected to perform like seasoned veterans, Muston said. “When they mess up, they get yelled at, they get fired, and they have a miserable time. Most owners and captains are not interested in training new crew.” To prevent that, students at the academy will be immersed in boat handling, polishing, painting, fire plans and other practicals, with ongoing assessment quizzes and a completion certification, Gray said during a tour of the 10,000-square-foot warehouse facility in December. Afterward, new crew will have the
ability to succeed on any vessel they go to. “If it's a good yacht program, they won't be lost. If it's not so good of a program, then they'll know enough to know better,” Gray said. Muston said he designed the school’s model from the commercial world, where, for example, an AB (able-bodied seaman) is required to have at least six months of maritime training. “Yachting is one of the only industries where there is no experience required for such a high level of responsibility, and crew don’t even know what they don’t know. It's not their fault.” “I think this type of training is the future,” he added. “This is ambitious, but yachting will be a safer place and that’s the goal.” ‹
Savvy Maritime Academy is located at 1885 W. State Road 84 in Fort Lauderdale. For more information, visit savvymaritimeacademy.com.
TritonNews.com | FEBRUARY 2022
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