July 12, 2011
Have you ever noticed that the most serious, career-minded crew rarely talk about their job changes?
I try to fill this column every month with the moving around of yacht crew. A lot of times, it’s hard to keep up. We’ll get wind of a change, confirm it and print it, only to learn two months later that it didn’t work out.
That’s made me a little leery of who we write about, and what sort of minimum time we should let pass before we set the news to ink. We wait too long, of course, and it isn’t news anymore. (The root word of news is new, after all.)
In recent months, we’ve heard about a lot of captains and crew hired to babysit yachts awaiting sale. Those don’t seem like wise tidbits for this column. Boats have been selling every day around here. That news would always be old.
And we’ve heard a lot, too, of crew freshly on the market because the yacht they were babysitting just sold. More often than not the new owner brings along his old crew so the sitters are left looking.
One recent sale worked out well for the existing captain. Capt. Don Vogt, six years with the boss on the 112-foot M/Y Inch By Inch, stayed aboard with the new owner. His two fellow crew mates have gone on to different adventures.
Now called M/Y Mambo, the yacht will hang around Miami and the Bahamas this summer, head to the Caribbean this winter, and next summer hit the Med.
Speaking of the Med, a recent charter flier came through my e-mail bragging about two beautiful Lurssens in the Med this summer: the 220-foot (67m) M/Y Apoise and the 192-foot (59m) Capri. Turns out, I know the captains on both.
Capt. Guy O’Connor is on Apoise and has been since January. (He’s one of those career guys who rarely talks about what boat he’s one. You have to ask him directly, and then sometimes more than once.) I just spoke with him via e-mail this spring. Didn’t say anything about it.
Capt. Don Anderson is running Capri. He’d been on Newvida for the past few years, always busy in the charter market or at shows. I just visited with him in Lauderdale this spring. Didn’t say a word.
As I said, it’s hard to keep up.
Capt. Craig and Chef Danielle Mitchell have left their berth in Thailand where we last saw them and took M/Y IFA to Singapore to present her for sale. They just rave about Singapore.
“The city is brilliant,” Capt. Craig gushed in a recent e-mail. “It’s safe (unlike Thailand), sophisticated and clean, albeit a bit expensive.”
They have prepared the yacht to charter from Singapore and await word they can do it. That’s one way to keep the boss from selling -- and keep crew working.
“I met with the minister of marine tourism of Indonesia two weeks ago and the potential for dive cruising there is huge, plus the government of Indo is prepared to support the entry of large yachts, provide security where necessary (there are still pirates in some Indo areas) and provide a smooth and easy processing of the cruising permits," he said.
"Malaysia also has some wonderful spots to cruise. So we are very keen to get the charter business running here.
“Singapore has the potential to be the Ft. Lauderdale of Southeast Asia in the next few years,” he said. “It is the natural drop-off/pick-up point for yachts being shipped from or to the U.S. and Europe, the personal income tax is 7 percent, the import duty is 7 percent and the company taxes are zero for the first three years.
“There is a lot of skill here, predominantly from the big ship repair business that could be converted to the big white boat side and the industry is still in its infancy at the moment.
“So, we are very excited about being here at this time. I see there are opportunities for us and we love the lifestyle here. Living in One 15 marina is great with all the facilities.”
And then I get an e-mail from a captain who likes to sail under the radar, saying he is on the market. This is a long-term sort of guy who, even after years in the same job, was never interested in being interviewed or profiled.
A few days later, he e-mailed again to rescind his availability. Turns out the deal to sell the boat fell through and he was still employed. Even when I can’t print it, it’s hard to keep up.
Have you made an adjustment in your latitude recently? Let us know. Send news of your promotion, change of yachts or career, or personal accomplishments to Editor Lucy Chabot Reed at lucy@the-triton.com.
About the Author
