Gary Carroll, an independent insurance guy here in Ft. Lauderdale, just spent three months as the mate on a charter yacht in the Caribbean and is a bit aghast at what he saw.
"I’ve seen a chef get too drunk to cook for guests (more than once)," he writes on his blog. "I’ve seen an engineer forget to start the water makers and swear we went through 1,200 gallons of water in three hours while the guests complained they couldn’t shower or flush toilets. I’ve seen a stewardess open the crew hatch to smoke, ash on the deck and leave her butts on the deck."
When I talked to him this morning, that was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
"There was much, much more than this," he said. "I now have a more in-depth insight into this industry."
I was a bit surprised to read his account. The captain, he said, was a very good mariner and could drive the 100+-foot yacht like a 10-foot tender. But he wasn't the best planner, often skipping what Carroll saw as important safety measures to keep charter guests happy.
I'd be curious to know if Carroll's experience is the exception or the rule.
Read his blog here and let us know what you think.
Wow. In the 17 years I spent in the industry on yachts large and small - charter and private - formal and casual - I have NEVER seen this degree of unprofessionalism. Shocking!
Some similar situations here and there - sure. I've been left "in charge" or even left as the only crew member onboard with no idea how to deal with any emergency other than switching to generator (and sometimes no one had time to explain even that to me). So I have to ask - where is the captain on this vessel and what is he doing with his time? I would venture a guess that he is a captain who sees his job as strictly driving the boat and not as managing it. He doesn't see himself as responsble for everything that happens on the vessel, which ultimately he is.
This sort of bad or non-management combined with crew who take advantage of it can really give the entire industry and all of the hard-working professional yachties out there a bad name. So here's a questions I would pose - as a crew member (or departing crew member) at what point, if ever, would you let a yacht owner know what is happening on his vessel? The chain of command is so strong within crew as part of our professionalism that it's sometimes unthinkable to take that step.
Just thinking ... hmmm ...
We all see these situations around us, but they are the exception NOT the rule. There are many, many professional people in this industry, and they all work hard under completely abnormal conditions and should be applauded for such.
It's unfortunate that the short experience where such things were witnessed should shape the view of an industry as a whole. It is no different than any other industry, if that were the norm there would be no industry.
Yes, those things happen every day somewhere, but for every program like that there are 100 that are the opposite end of the spectrum.
Unfortunately, I do believe that Gary Carroll experienced the 'exception' rather then the norm!
After spending nearly 50 years in the crewed charter yacht industry; running charter yachts and in the crew placement business and as a crewed charter yacht broker (past president of The Charter Yacht Brokers Assoc., Inc Int'l) I have been a first hand witness to the charter fleet, its crews, and owners for far too many years.
There is always a boat or two that slip through the cracks of the discerning and demanding professional charter yacht broker. If there is any single body of the charter industry that sets the standards; it is the charter brokers. Unfortunately, the boat the Mr. Carroll was aboard happened to be one, unless it was only in private service.
Lets place the blame for such an situation that Mr. Carroll experienced directly where it belongs...at the top of the chain of command; the owner! Why so many crew changes, crew not being paid, so many mechanical failures, lack of crew training, etc, etc?
Likewise, some of the problem lies with the yacht/charter management companies. Often times they will not inform the owner of the necessary requirements for a particular vessel or the boats problems for fear of losing a client and income. Sadly, in some cases the sales broker has mis-informed the buyer as to their responsibilities for manning and specific regulations regarding the vessel they are selling. Why, because the brokers don't know the rules and regs! ( I know a lot of brokers will take me to task for this statement, but the truth of the matter is facts are facts and all too often the only thing that matters is the SALE!)
I don't for one moment condone the behavior of the captain and crew of the boat the Mr. Carroll was aboard!
However, after all my years in the industry; I strongly believe that his experience was 'the exception rather than the rule!"
I've been in the biz for 30 years and have many similar stories and cannot agree more with Mr Carroll. Its amazing the lack of respect and basic common sense that occurs on yachts both private and charter. Every boat is going to have issues, it how they are handled that separates the men from the boys so to speak...(no offense ladies). Someday I hope to compile a collection of these stories and publish it so yacht owners and crew can read what really goes on.... When you are a captain you have to "make it happen" and deal with issues as they come up. Its something I actually enjoy about what I do. Some of the stories are quite entertaining, perhaps we can establish a forum for stories without mentioning names.
my 2 cents
I have been a Marine Emergency Response Trainer for quite some time now, and I am always stunned to see young men and women heading out to work the chartered yachts come through my BST class's who seem to be clueless at the beginning of the week. It really is shocking the misconceptions these crew men and women have as to the incredible responsibility they have for the safety of the passengers and their fellow crew members.
I run a charter boat and we wake at 5am working till the stars shine. Never drink, no smoking, always water, and always a good time for the guests. Soon as I read the article on a bad charter experience I thought two things- owner and choices.
The first Tboat covered with-
Let’s place the blame for such an situation that Mr. Carroll experienced directly where it belongs...at the top of the chain of command; the owner! Why so many crew changes, crew not being paid, so many mechanical failures, lack of crew training, etc, etc?
And the second I believe is the responsibility of the guest to choose his boat carefully. We live in a world of instant feedback. Before anyone chooses a yacht vacation spend a few minutes running the yacht's name and company name through Google.
It is up to the buyer of the charter to choose his vacation wisely and with the tools the Internet we have the ability to choose carefully.
Scott