www.the-triton.com September 2011Vol.8, No. 6

B1

It will never end But keeping ahead of scams may help.

A6

Tales from crewNew Zealand to the Virgin Islands.

Malaysia marinaMeet new friendsin a new facility.

A12, A14

Although longevity on yachts is desired and a goal, at some point in their careers, most captains join a new boat. With the myriad things to grasp

in those first few days and weeks, we gathered captains this month to talk about how they do it – and the lessons they learned the hard way about how not to do it.

But first thing’s first.

“The first thing I do is check the insurance policy to make sure it covers the captain in case of a collision or anything,” one captain said. “You also want to see what the manning regulations are, and if they’re not good, I’m going back to the owner to change them.”

As always, individual comments are not attributed to any one person in particular so as to encourage frank and open discussion. The attending captains are identified in a photograph on page A16.

“I check the insurance, too,” said another captain, who went on to describe a scenario where a crew

Captains: Lots to do when joining a new yacht

Does your yacht have an operational budget ?

TRITON SURVEY:

– Story, C1

See THE BRIDGE, page A16

Sept. 11 marks the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania.

In the fall of 2001, Alene Keenan was the new chief stew on the 163-foot M/Y Mystique docked at Chelsea Piers in New York City and witnessed the event. Here are her thoughts from that day.

We were called out on deck moments after the first plane struck and, of course, were confused and disoriented. When the second plane

hit, there was no question that this was no accident. I have never been so afraid in my life. I expected more planes to fall from the sky, and probably bombs, too.

The U.S. Coast Guard closed the port immediately.

We could not move the boat, so we sat at what rapidly became Command Central.

Along the sidewalks on Westside Highway came a flood of people heading north. There was a hush to them, hardly anyone spoke, and here and there people were caked in fine beige powder.

By 11 a.m., the authorities had established a security perimeter at Canal Street, a demarcation line between civilization and madness that civilians would not be allowed past.

The problem was, the police detailed to this task were just as lost and stunned as the rest of us. Once past this line, authority had little to do with rank

or uniforms; in the peculiar kind of meritocracy that takes over in a place of chaos, leadership now fell to anyone with the surety or charisma to seize it.

Our crew volunteered as soon as we could. We met two recruits, Ben and Laura, who instructed us that we would be patient administration volunteers. Our job was to accompany the stretchers from the ambulances to the doctors, getting as much patient information as possible to maintain records and so we could inform family of the patient’s whereabouts.

We were told to expect 20,000 casualties that first night.

The number of volunteers increased every minute. There were so many of

us that we were asked to wait outside for the ambulances to start arriving. It was a shock to suddenly be out in the beautiful sunshine, with the carnage just a few blocks away.

By this time – it must have been 4 p.m. – ferry service had been set up at the pier and thousands of people waited patiently in line to get on boats going across the Hudson to New Jersey.

A man noticed that most of us volunteers had respirator masks around our necks. He cried out something about chemical or biological attacks, but was quickly silenced by the response,”they’re volunteers,” after

10 years later, grief and love of 9-11 still real

From the Bridge

Lucy chabot Reed

Yachts deal with grounding, crash, fire

Yacht Stew Alene Keenan watched history unfold in New York City 10 years ago, waiting for the injured to arrive. They never did. FILE PHOTO

Stew CueS

Alene KeenAn

No formal, but be careful

– 58%No formal, I spend what I need – 14%

Other– 6%

Yes, annual– 15%

See STEW CUES, page A18

By Dorie Cox

Three yacht incidents made news last month in separate stories in the U.S. and the Mediterranean. In Massachusetts, M/Y Cocktails beached after hitting an underwater obstruction and taking on water; in Croatia, M/Y Kai ran into other boats at a dock, causing injuries; and in Sicily, M/Y Godspeed caught fire and burned.

Yacht captains are trained for such incidents, but an accident, by definition, is unplanned and

unexpected.Crew usually adhere to emergency

procedures, secure their vessel and check that all involved are attended to. But, after that, Michelle Otero de Valdes, partner at the law firm of Houck Anderson in Ft. Lauderdale, said yacht captains and crew need to take care of the bigger picture.

“These captains are very knowledgeable, and know right from wrong,” she said. “But they may not realize the best ways to protect their commercial interests.

“No. 1, call your insurance company,” she said. “No. 2, consult personal counsel, maritime or not, for advice on what to do. No. 3, send a surveyor or someone to document what happened.”

At press time, the causes of the three incidents were still under investigation. But, Internet forums and Web sites are full of speculation.

Many witnesses and friends of witnesses have communicated with The Triton, but they spoke on condition

See INCIDENTS, page A9

Yes, monthly– 6%

A� September 2011 www.the-triton.com The Triton WHAT’S INSIDE

Don’t shoot. We surrender.

A police escort for yacht industry professionals in Ft. Lauderdale.Find out more on page A8. PHOTO/TOM SERIO

Advertiser directory C15Business Briefs B12 Business News B13 Boats / Brokers B10-11Calendar of events B14Columns: Crew Coach A17 Fitness: Keep It Up C12 In the Galley C1 Latitude Adjustment A3 Nutrition: Take it In C11 Personal Finance C12 Onboard Emergencies B2

Photo Expose C7 Rules of the Road B1 Sound Waves C7Crew news A12,13 Fuel prices B5Tech Briefs B4 Marinas / Shipyards B5Networking Q and A C4,5Networking photos C3News briefs A4Triton spotter B15Triton Survey C1Write to Be Heard A19

The Triton www.the-triton.com September 2011 A�LATITUDE ADJUSTMENT

News about new boats come from far and near (really near)

In all my chats with captains and crew about destinations and cruising grounds, most everyone wants – at least once in their career – to cruise the

South Pacific.There are

captains and yachts that never leave there, of course, but in this great shifting world of yachting, a couple have crossed my path recently.

Capt. Paul Stengel has taken command

of the 135-foot Feadship M/Y Odyssey and is in Tahiti as I write this. It’s his first time in Tahiti, and he’s enjoying the newness of it all.

He took the yacht across on its own bottom, moving slowly into the place instead being dumped there all at once by an airplane.

(Call me crazy, but I believe it makes a difference. Capt. Winston Joyce-Clarke of M/Y Big Fish first told me of that theory in our chat about his trip to Antarctica. He and the crew took a month to get down there and were adapted and slowed down enough to appreciate it. Unlike guests or perhaps even crew who fly in in less than a day.)

Anyway, the yacht had an 18-month refit in Holland and spent five months in Lauderdale before Stengel joined the yacht and took it to the South Pacific. He’s hoping to turn the yacht -- the old Bullish, which was 125 feet before the refit -- into a busy charter yacht based out of Papeete.

“I have a great crew and we are looking forward to having some great times with guests and owners here,” he wrote in a recent e-mail. His wife, Melanie, was on her way to join him.

I last saw Capt. Stengel at the Palm Beach show, flashing his great smile to people checking out the 124-foot Delta M/Y Sea Owl. It wouldn’t be three weeks before he was headed for Tahiti.

Here’s hoping for a Triton spotter out of the South Pacific soon.

As one captain goes to the South

Pacific, another has returned. Capt. Michael “Murph” Murphy

left his last command in the South Pacific in November after two seasons in Australia and was back in Ft. Lauderdale this summer, refitting a condo for some land time.

He planned to finish that refit before finding another yacht, but the yacht found him first.

Starting Sept. 1, he’s the new captain of the 140-foot Broward M/Y Just Enough.

In some news a little closer to home, Capt. Paul Knox and his wife, Lo-ami Knox, of M/Y Huntress have announced the launch of their son, Pieter Warner Knox, born on July 28 in Savannah, Ga.,

The birth announcement included more nautical references, including LOA (20 inches) and Gross Tonnage (6 lbs 12 oz.). Sorry, it’s still cute.

And in news even close to home, I have a 26-foot Herreshoff Eagle sitting in my front yard. Yup, I’m the proud owner (with my husband, David, and daughter, Kenna) of a sailboat. Allow me just this one moment to sound like I know what I’m talking about:

It’s a gaff-rigged schooner, complete with her topsail, original brass and kerosene running lights, barn-door rudder, and teak bright work. She has a full keel and we’ll keep her name, Skater. The gentleman we bought her from is the original owner. Built in 1974, we think it’s Hull No. 7.

Can you tell I’m excited? It’s been torture to be on deadline when I have a sailboat in my driveway.

She needs some basic cosmetic work but basically she’s perfect and ready to go sailing. We go to press tonight; I think I’m calling in sick tomorrow.

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.

Latitude adjustment

Lucy chabot Reed

Murphy

Capt. Paul and Melanie Stengel

A� September 2011 www.the-triton.com The Triton

Volvo alters route to avoid pirates The scheduled route for the Volvo

Ocean Race – the nine-month, round-the-world race that begins in Spain in October – has been redrawn to avoid pirate-heavy areas.

In a press statement, organizers said that instead of the route along the eastern side of Africa in the Indian Ocean from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi (the second leg) and then on to Sanya in China (the third leg), the route will now leave Cape Town, take sailors to an undisclosed “safe haven” port where their vessels will then be transported closer to Abu Dhabi, and then complete the leg from there.

The process will be reversed for the third leg before the race continues on to Sanya.

Abu Dhabi will host the race from Dec. 30-Jan. 14 with a purpose-built race village at its Corniche waterfront site and a New Year’s Eve concert for the more than 100,000 visitors expected.

Couach owner murderedFabrice Vial, owner of the French

yacht builder Chantier Naval Couach, was shot in the back while on a yacht moored in Porto Vecchio, Corsica, on Aug. 12.

Vial, 43, was chartering the 115-foot

(35m) Team VIP at the time.

Somalis jailed for kidnappingA Dutch court sent two Somalis to

jail for up to seven years on Aug. 12 for hijacking a South African yacht last year and seizing a South African couple who are still missing, according to a story by the Associated Press.

Prosecutors could not link three other men to the sailboat Choizil, which was seized off Tanzania’s coast.

The yacht was run aground and the captain rescued, but a South African man and his wife who were taken hostage remain in pirates’ hands with a $10 million ransom demanded for their release.

The sentences handed down by the Rotterdam court ranged from 4 ½ to 7 years imprisonment.

Surveying course offeredThe London-based MPI Group

offers a course for yacht and small craft surveying. The course offers three levels of professional training, with the first level beginning Oct. 1.

For more information, visit www.mpigroup.co.uk and click on “education and training” and click on “surveying”.

USCG takes comments on STCWThe U.S. Coast Guard is accepting

public comments on its supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking on implementation of the 1995 Amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) for Seafarers, 1978, and changes to domestic endorsements.

This proposed rule enhances maritime safety by ensuring U.S. mariners meet the standards laid out in the STCW Convention, including amendments adopted in June 2010. It also increases transparency by reorganizing, clarifying, and updating regulations regarding domestic endorsements.

This notice revises the notice published on Nov. 17, 2009, addresses comments received in response to that notice, and incorporates provisions from the 2010 STCW amendments.

Mariners are invited to comment

NEWS BRIEFS

Threats of piracy cause Volvo Ocean Race to alter course

Data in the U.S. government’s Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is now more accessible online.

Licensed crew are governed by rules and regulations in the CFRs. This information regulates topics from sea time to rules of the road. The Government Printing Office announced an upgrade to the next generation of online technology with the Federal Digital System (FDsys).

Originally, the CFRs’ 50 titles were only available in book form. In 1994, the U.S. Congress passed a law requiring electronic access to the information. The latest upgrades were made available this summer.

Answers are now more easily

available to captains, engineers and deckhands researching boat requirements including documentation, personal floatation devices, fire extinguishers, ventilation, marine sanitation devices, waste management plans and more.

And crew studying for licenses will more easily be able to reference topics such as navigation and anchor lights, visual distress signals, horns and bells, and negligent boat operation.

The new link has the CFRs organized by number, title, subject and most recent revisions.

Crew can find the link at www.gpo.gov and look for FDsys.

– Dorie Cox

Crew have new way to search CFRs online

See NEWS BRIEFS, page A10

The Triton www.the-triton.com September 2011 A�XXXXXXXXXX

A� September 2011 www.the-triton.com The Triton

By Dorie Cox

For years, the Internet has been a vehicle for a variety of fraudulence. For yacht crew, online fraud continues as scams on respected Web sites, phishing in personal e-mail accounts and posts on social media sites.

A position posted on a familiar Web site does not ensure a valid job offer, said Stacey Geddis owner of Crew4Crew in Ft. Lauderdale.

“We can’t constantly police our site, but we go on several times a day to remove scams,” Geddis said. “We get them on our Web site all the time, like everyone does.”

Crew4Crew checks out questionable ads and talks with each person that registers for its crew placement services. Geddis said she can tell when they are not legitimate when she calls them.

“They never have the right answers,” she said. “They will have the wrong build, name, or the size is off on the yacht. And they are using stolen credit cards.”

Scammers can post ads on sites such as Crew4Crew without joining, but posters can’t communicate or get data on members. Geddis cautioned crew to check out jobs and remember that a local phone number does not mean a local contact. She said the majority of scammers use a Skype or VoIP number.

Crew have alerted The Triton about disturbing e-mails that have come directly into their in-box. These phishing e-mails are an attempt to get personal usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a known person or something familiar.

The following e-mail came to Louise Steynberg, account executive at MHG Insurance Brokers. She said it is plausible for some crew, considering the traveling nature of yachting.

Following is the e-mail in its entirety, that was sent to friends in her e-mail address book:

“It’s me, Louise. I really don’t mean to inconvenience you, I made a trip to Scotland and I misplaced my luggage that contains my passport and credit cards. I know this may sound odd but it all happened very fast. Please, I’m short of funds to pay for my hotel bills and other miscellaneous expenses. Can you lend me some funds? I’m willing to pay back as soon as I return home.

“Please respond as soon as you get this message, so I can forward

you my details to send fund to me, you can reach me via the hotel’s desk phone if you can. The numbers are, +447045733705 .

“I await your response”Steynberg said as soon as it went out

she started getting calls.“My mother knew I wasn’t in

Scotland, but she still was worried,” she said.

To alert her friends, Steynberg wrote an e-mail to send, but found her entire e-mail address book had been wiped out. She said there were clues to the fraud that her close friends spotted, including the sender’s e-mail address, it was similar to Steynberg’s but with a different domain host.

Steynberg doesn’t want any more crew to fall victim.

“People need to change their passwords and understand their security settings,” she said.

“Crew always ask how the scammers get their e-mail address,” Geddis said. “Crew forget how much they post their information online.”

Geddis fields calls from concerned crew on a regular basis. She said she explains

that scammers are following online postings and social media sites such as Facebook for personal information.

“Maybe crew should consider using a special e-mail account specifically for job postings,” Geddis said.

That could separate personal accounts and allow more vigilance against fraud, she said.

Several people in the yachting industry have posted that their social media sites, such as Facebook, have been hacked.

“I was officially hacked; apparently it’s a photo of a woman and a caption with something like “i cant’ believe she made this video” w/ a link,” a Triton reader who doesn’t want to be named, posted on her personal Facebook page.

“I did not send this, and you should not click on this,” she posted immediately in response.

Scammers realize crew rely on the Internet as an important tool to search for jobs, send CVs and communicate with prospective employers. And while they can be difficult to stay ahead of, crew must educate themselves on the most recent scams.

Dorie Cox is associate editor of The Triton. Comments on this story are welcome at dorie@the-triton.com.

Scams continue with false job offers, pleas for money transfer

CREW NEWS

Scammers realize that yacht crew rely on the Internet as an important tool to search for jobs, send CVs and communicate with prospective employers.

A� September 2011 www.the-triton.com The Triton

Yacht crew played more than 500 hands of poker on the third Wednesday in August to benefit The Triton scholarship at Broward

College. More than $2,600 was raised to help students in the marine training program. Riders picked cards at Hall of Fame Marina’s south docks, Crew Unlimited, Maritime Professional Training Institute, Universal Marine Center with the final stop for networking at National Marine in Ft. Lauderdale. PHOTOS BY TOM SERIO AND DORIE COX

NETWORKING LAST MONTH: Poker Run

The Triton www.the-triton.com September 2011 A�

of anonymity pending legal inquiries.

Cocktails hits reef in Woods HoleOn Aug. 5, the 97-foot Hargrave

M/Y Cocktails hit an underwater obstruction near Woods Hole, Mass., and began taking on water.

No injuries or pollution were reported, but the yacht sustained a 20-foot hole in the bow and was beached near Nobska Beach to prevent sinking, according to a Coast Guard news report. Salvors from both TowBoat U.S. and Sea Tow were on the scene.

An account from a towboat captain at the scene, who could not talk on the record at a lawyer’s insistence, said the yacht was probably eastbound through Woods Hole from Buzzards Bay when a stabilizer was sheared off on an underwater ledge.

“There are three ledges,” the towboat captain said. “The captain made it past the first two, but ran up on the third, called Great Ledge. It pushed the stabilizer pad up into the hole creating the water source. The captain had no control after he hit.”

The towboat captain said the yacht had a 30-foot tender and everyone was put onboard except the captain and mate. The towboats maneuvered Cocktail’s bow close to the beach, stabilized the vessel and continued pumping. Next, foam float noodles were wedged into the hole.

“Sometimes you have to be creative,” the towboat captain said. “I don’t know the captain. I understand they were up from Miami for a few months. They are not allowed to talk. There are a lot of attorneys involved.”

The tow companies pumped water from the yacht and temporarily plugged the hole for transport to MacDougalls’ Cape Cod Marina.

Another witness who declined to be named said it was later determined that the Travelift at MacDougall’s was insufficient to haul Cocktails and it was towed back through Woods Hole to Fairhaven Shipyard in Fairhaven, Mass.

Kai hits yachts in CroatiaAlso in early August, the 120-foot

Benetti M/Y Kai hit the docks at a marina in Hvar Town, Croatia, hitting five vessels, according to several news reports.

News reports in the region blamed the captain for leaving the engines running, but sources familiar with the yacht said those reports come from reporters unfamiliar with yachts and were exagerrated.

“When I contacted Fraser Yachts early today, I was told that the media reports coming out of Croatia are ‘much sensationalized’,” Kim Kavin reported on Charterwave on Aug. 10.

Later, Kavin posted an official statement from Fraser, the yacht’s

management company, that said, in part, “The incident was reported by the captain in an appropriate manner at the time and has subsequently been investigated, and we are in the process of making the proper reports to the flag state. There has been no damage to Kai and the yacht continues with her charter with no restrictions. One crew member was slightly injured and after evaluation at a local hospital has returned to duties onboard with no further treatment.”

Sources at Fraser did not return phone calls or e-mails by press time.

Godspeed catches fire in SicilyAnd, the 130-foot Westport M/Y

Godspeed caught fire near Sicily on Aug. 8, according to news reports. There were no reports of injuries.

Internet videos, apparently taken

from land, show fire-fighting vessels and the yacht offshore. The incident occurred off the coast of Santa Teresa di Riva, in the province of Messina, about nine miles from Taormina, according to Superyacht Times.

Each yacht situation is unique, but often, captains don’t involve other people early enough, and they should, attorney Otero de Valdes said.

“When a captain is in a situation where he even thinks there may be a problem, he should ask for help,” she said. “The captain may think the incident was caused by X, but an expert could find that the actual cause was X,Y and Z.”

In her example, she said, X may have been human error when in fact Y and Z were hardware or something else not apparent at the time.

Captains continue to travel to new

and unfamiliar areas and they need someone with some idea of what is possible in those areas, she said. It is a lot of responsibility added to running the vessel.

Yacht accidents often spur captains and crew to re-evaluate procedures and clarify what they would have done in a similar situation.

“Good on the captain for avoiding further damage, injuries, or pollution liabilities,” a witness to the M/Y Cocktails incident said. “For whatever went wrong, he must have kept a cool head and kept the situation from getting worse. We feel for the captain and crew as we’re sure that this was a very traumatic event for all involved.”

Dorie Cox is associate editor of The Triton. Comments on this story are welcome at dorie@the-triton.com.

In accidents, captains must remember to call reinforcementsINCIDENTS, from page A1

FROM THE FRONT: Yacht incidents

A10 September 2011 www.the-triton.com The Triton

on the supplemental notice at www.regulations.gov before Sept. 30.

To read the 175-page PDF of the supplemental notice, www.regulations.gov, docket number: USCG-2004-17914.

Newport to upgrade sewage plant Under the terms of a settlement

reached in federal court on Aug. 11, the city of Newport, R.I., has agreed to eliminate illegal discharges of sewage into Narragansett Bay from its wastewater treatment plant and wastewater collection system.

According to a statement from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the city has also agreed to take actions to reduce the pollutants associated with storm sewer discharges to Easton’s Beach; purchase and distribute rain barrels to residents in order to capture stormwater for reuse; and take other actions to encourage low impact development.

The EPA estimates that Newport will spend about $25 million to address these issues.

The city will also pay a $170,000 penalty to be split between the federal and state governments.

The settlement, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court.

A copy of the consent decree is available on the Justice Department Web site, www.usdoj.gov.

All of Cape Cod no-discharge areaThe EPA also in August designated

the coastal waters of Outer Cape Cod as a “No Discharge Area.”

This designation means that both treated and untreated boat sewage is prohibited in the coastal waters around Chatham, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro and Provincetown, most of which are in the Cape Cod National Seashore.

The Outer Cape waters join no-discharge areas for all Cape Cod Bay waters, as well as all Massachusetts coastal waters north to New Hampshire.

Other New England coastal waters designated as no-discharge areas include all state waters of Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire; all of Massachusetts except Mount Hope Bay, Nantucket and Vineyard Sounds and Martha’s Vineyard waters; and Maine’s Boothbay Harbor, Casco Bay, Kennebunk/ Kennebunkport/ Wells,

NEWS BRIEFS, from page A4

See NEWS BRIEFS, page A11

Newport fined, will upgrade its wastewater facilities

NEWS BRIEFS

The Triton www.the-triton.com September 2011 A11

Southern Mount Desert area and West Penobscot Bay (Camden/Rockport/Rockland).

Work on Panama Canal locks beginsPermanent concrete work for the

Atlantic and Pacific new set of locks on the Panama Canal began in July.

In July, Grupo Unidos por el Canal S.A. (GUPCSA) poured structural marine concrete to shape the floor of the upper chamber in Gatun, on the Atlantic side.

The concrete was poured into specialized industrial formwork that included a significant amount of rebar to ultimately shape the 100 cubic meter blocks that make up the lock floor. The concrete mix is designed to guarantee a minimum service life of 100 years.

On the Pacific side, concrete pouring activities also began with the construction of the pit for the first of three lock tunnels through which trays and pipes will carry communication and electricity wires, drinking water pipelines and other components needed to operate the lock complex. Each set of locks will have three tunnels.

NZ forum asks about best marinasThe New Zealand Marine Export

Group is hosting a superyacht captains forum Sept. 15-16 during the Auckland International Boat Show to determine what factors make the best marinas.

The forum’s social program includes a welcome cocktail function, dinner at The Cloud and a match race in the 11-strong Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron’s MRX fleet, prior to watching the New Zealand versus Japan game at the squadron.

Forum speakers include Master of Ceremonies Peter Montgomery, the voice of New Zealand Sailing for 35 years; Bob McDavitt , president of the Cruising and Navigation Association of New Zealand; lawyer Matthew Flynn; Capt. Max Cummings of the 90m S/Y Athena; and Rudolphe Holler, a yacht dive master and guide.

For more information and to register (NZD $900 +15% gst), visit www.nzmarine.com.

Study: fewer containers lost at seaA report by the World Shipping

Council states that fewer than 1,000 shipping containers are lost overboard per year, a fraction of the 10,000 that some organizations have reported in public hearings, according to a story in Maritime Executive magazine.

Several factors can cause containers to be lost at sea, including severe weather, collisions and groundings. Partially submerged containers present serious navigational hazards to yachts

and ships.The WSC surveyed its members,

which represent more than 90 percent of the global containership capacity, and asked for the actual number of containers lost overboard for three previous consecutive years. Including catastrophic losses, the members averaged about 675 containers lost per year.

While the number of containers lost at sea is unlikely to be zero, several efforts in recent years aims to lower the number, including the industry/government project called Lashing@Sea (3), led by the Maritime Research Institute of the Netherlands.

The International Maritime Organization begins this month a review of an industry proposal to require that the actual weight of every loaded container be verified and provided to the vessel operator prior to stowing aboard a ship.

Misdeclared container weights have contributed to the loss of containers overboard, the WSC said in a statement.

Pirates team up to swarm vesselsNeptune Maritime Security

company recently issued the following statement to draw attention to two piracy attacks that might reveal a new trend among pirates in the Red Sea.

“Following a report on Sunday, Aug. 7, which saw suspected Somali pirates attempt to hijack a vessel off the coast of Eritrea in large numbers, Neptune Maritime Security raised concerns over this apparent change of tactics.

“Unfortunately, it would appear that pirates in the area are banding together in an attempt to swarm vessels.

“On Thursday, Aug. 18, the IMB Live Piracy Reporting Center listed an attempted hijacking on a bulk carrier under way about 22nm northeast of Assab, Eritrea, in the Red Sea.

“The report states that seven high-speed boats suddenly approached the carrier and that each boat contained three to five men, each armed with automatic weapons. This mirrors the previous attack of Aug. 7, which saw an estimated 60 pirates mount an unsuccessful attack on a vessel protected by an armed security team.

“Even underestimating the number of pirates in Wednesday’s attack to just 21, it would still seem to confirm that pirate gangs have adopted a new tactic of mass attacks in the waters surrounding Eritrea.

“In Wednesday’s incident, the master increased the speed of the bulk carrier and adopted evasive maneuvers while the crew, with the exception of the bridge team, mustered in the Citadel.

“Fortunately, the pirates aborted their attack and moved away.”

NEWS BRIEFS, from page A10

Survey: Not as many shipping containers lost at sea as believed

NEWS BRIEFS

A1� September 2011 www.the-triton.com The Triton

By Carol Bareuther

More than 300 yachts jam into Great Harbour on the British Virgin Island of Jost Van Dyke for the huge New Year’s Party at Foxy’s Tamarind Bar.

Less than a tenth of this fleet are at anchor on the Fourth of July.

Deserted anchorages are just one reason why George Custer, captain of the 120-foot Broward M/Y Freedom, bases out of the Virgin Islands year round.

Custer began his career in the BVIs in the 1980s. He first worked as a dive instructor at a sailing camp for kids. In this Caribbean charter mecca, Custer met a couple who ran a mid-size charter sailboat.

The lifestyle and career opportunities appealed to him and he soon moved on to running a 65-foot Hinckley for seven years out of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In doing so, he became intimately acquainted with all the best anchorages and he also discovered that his heart was in chartering.

“What I like about chartering is the running of a business, the watersports and the hospitality end,” Custer said.

In 1996, en route to fulfilling his professional desire to run large megayachts and travel the world, the owners of the 105-foot Broward M/Y Lady Bebe asked Custer to bail them out. Their crew had abruptly left and brokers were frantically calling to find out if they needed to re-schedule their guests.

Custer’s stint with Lady Bebe eventually ran seven years and the St. Croix-based yacht was among the busiest in the Virgins.

When Lady Bebe sold, Custer

realized his dream of running a large yacht when he landed the job running a 153-foot Feadship. Off to the Mediterranean he went, but found this scene wasn’t for him.

He wasn’t fond of the see-and-be-seen nature of the Med compared to the watersports-oriented Caribbean, nor the running a vessel with a dozen international crew steeped in politics and a management company hierarchy that prevented him from talking directly to the owner.

He left on good terms, he said, moved back to Georgia and prepared for a life ashore selling yacht interiors.

That is, until a charter client from the Lady Bebe made him an offer he couldn’t refuse: Reinvent the Lady Bebe program in a new yacht. He did just that in 2009 when he embarked aboard M/Y Freedom.

“I realized that I was happiest, made the most money, and enjoyed the quality of lifestyle best when I was in the Caribbean,” Custer said. “There was a void when Lady Bebe pulled out and I wanted to fill it. That is, to stay in one place so that the brokers could rely on us.”

But the summer of 2011 was far different from those busy summers of a decade ago. But a light charter schedule didn’t daunt Custer.

“In the Bebe years, we were busier in the summer than the winter,” he said. “That’s because we were the only boat of any size to stay.

“I’d tell guests who chartered with us in the winter that I could provide them with a whole different experience in the summer. The anchorages are quieter and there are some great anchorages

Captain loves the ‘freedom’ to summer in the Virgins

Capt. George Custer, center, said being based in the Virgin Islands all year lets his crew have a normal life in addition to a job. This was the M/Y Freedom crew during the St. Thomas Fall Charter Show in November. PHOTO/DEAN BARNES

See FREEDOM, page A13

CREW NEWS: Summer in the Virgins

The Triton www.the-triton.com September 2011 A1�

you can’t get into during the winter because of the north swell.”

Staying put in the Virgins, Custer said he can market an all-inclusive price that gives him an advantage.

“I know my costs because I know where to get my food and liquor wholesale,” he said. “Fuel is a fixed price because I know just where I’ll go and how much fuel it takes. I think the worst way to end a wonderful charter is to be handed a bill.”

Another reason Custer likes to stay in the Virgins year-round is because it gives his crew the chance for a normal personal life.

“During a normal work week in the summer, when it’s slow and we’re focused on maintenance or training new crew, it’s pretty much a regular work week for them,” he said.

“For example, at the end of the day they can take our 38-foot Intrepid dive boat out and go diving. Or, they can sit at the restaurant in Christiansted and have a cup of coffee and breakfast in the morning.”

Custer conceded that yacht maintenance and haul-out facilities in the Caribbean aren’t akin to Ft. Lauderdale.

“You need to be more self-sufficient,” he said. “When we pull into the yard at St. Croix Marine, either my crew or I do the work or we work with the local workmen. It might not get done exactly as it would in a high-tech yard, but it gets done well and there’s no wear and tear on taking the boat up to Florida and back.”

Hurricanes are the only downside to basing in the Virgins all summer.

“With technology today, you can track a storm from the time it comes off the Azores,” Custer said. “I don’t share my hurricane holes with anyone because my biggest concern is that I get into the hole and a lot of other boats are already there.

“That’s how I’ve come through major hurricanes [down here] with a minimum of damage.”

Carol Bareuther is a freelance writer in St. Thomas. Comments on this story are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.

Hurricanes only downside but hideaways keep danger at bayFREEDOM, from page A12

NEWS: America’s Cup

Emirates Team New Zealand won the first race leading up to the America’s Cup. The Kiwis came from behind in the winner-take-all fleet race in the America’s Cup World Series on Aug. 14 in Cascais, Portugal.

Nine boats started and Oracle Racing Spithill had an early lead. Emirates Team New Zealand moved out front on the second lap.

Artemis Racing placed second and Oracle finished third. Spanish Green Comm Racing came from last place for a fifth place finish.

The series is next held in Plymouth, UK, Sept. 10-18. Then competition will be held in San Diego in November.

Italy’s challenge defaulted this summer on the requirements to compete in both the America’s Cup World Series and the 34th America’s Cup and has been excused from further participation, according to reports.

The final stop in the World Series races will be held in Newport, R.I, June 23 through July 1.

Newport will be the first American host of the AC45 wing-sailed catamarans and will be the site of the winner-take-all fleet race.

During the Cup’s 160-year history, Newport has been the location for legendary competitions, but it has not been host to the race in almost 20 years.

There will be several new media options for fans to experience the regatta, including YouTube and Versus.

Event organizers have combined America’s Cup Television (ACTV) and YouTube’s media platform and live streaming capabilities.

Online viewers will have the choice of different video and audio streams. They can choose from live footage onboard with a team, a graphical overview or an eagle’s eye view as part of the daily live streaming from race events, according to press releases.

And viewers will have the option to select audio tracks, either expert sailing or standard sports commentary. This feature will be available on both the America’s Cup YouTube channel and the America’s Cup Web site.

The initial America’s Cup World series racing off the coast of Portugal was seen on America’s Cup Television (ACTV).

Fans in the United States, are able to see highlights broadcast on sport-oriented cable television channel Versus.

The next two events are the Plymouth highlights on Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) and the San Diego highlights on Nov. 22 at 5 p.m. The first broadcast of the competition in Portugal was shown on Aug. 16.

Kiwis win first in America’s Cup series, Newport added

By Capt. Michael Pignéguy

The 295-foot (90m) S/Y Athena, the world’s largest three-masted schooner, was berthed at Orams yard in Westhaven, just a stone’s throw from downtown Auckland, and I arrived at the shoes-off-at-the-gangway ready to press the bell for a crew member to take me to meet her captain, Max Cumming.

Just then, a man appeared in a grubby work outfit, carrying an electric grinder, wearing goggles and face mask, and covered in aluminum dust. Must be one of the crew, I thought, and asked where I could find the captain.

“That’s me,” the man said. “Come on board.”

When I questioned him about his hands-on approach to what is reportedly the largest superyacht refit in New Zealand history, he said that until he’d had a good look at the job and proved to his own satisfaction that the job could be done, he was not keen on getting someone else to do it.

It was my first sign that Cumming would know what he was talking about.

Taking off his protective hat, goggles and face mask revealed a rugged seafarer’s face whose clear blue eyes had seen a whole lot of sea miles, and a smile that was never far away. Being responsible for such a large refit didn’t

seem to faze him, as was evident in the way he spoke to crew members and their friendly, but respectful, responses to his orders.

“I like career-orientated people who come to sea not just for the money, but for travel, adventure and the thrill of sailing large yachts,” Capt. Cumming said of his crew. “I prefer a multi-national crew as that keeps life onboard interesting, not only for other

crew members, but also for the owners and their guests.

“When the owners and guests come aboard, it’s like showtime and it’s when I need crew who not only have good maritime skills, but who can also entertain when needed, and keep a respectful distance at other times,” he said.

“Our job is to run a safe and efficient operation, but at the same time ensure

that the owners and guests have an enjoyable time while they are with us.”

Born in Sydney of an Aussie father and a Kiwi mum, Cumming is the 6th generation of his family who have followed a career at sea. His great-grandfather was the well-known Capt. William Farquhar, the longest serving captain on the New Zealand coastal Northern Steamship Company’s steamer Clansman.

Like many of today’s practical seafarers, Cumming started his career by messing around in dinghies and receiving good instruction while a Sea Scout in Melbourne where the instructors were ex-Navy. His father was a lieutenant commander in the Australian Navy, and so there was no shortage of nautical influence at home.

The family were true ANZACS, often spending time in New Zealand, making Russell in the Bay of Islands their base. He was 12 years old when his family moved to the remote island of Manihiki in the Cook Islands, where his mother and father started the world’s first black pearl farm.

It was 1974 with no airport, electricity or radio on the island, and the Cummings were the only white people (papaa) on the island with 300 locals.

S/Y Athena refit has captain up to his elbows in work, literally

Capt. Max Cumming is nearing the end of what may be New Zealand’s largest superyacht refit ever, the 295-foot S/Y Athena. PHOTOS/MICHAEL PIGNEGUY

See CUMMING, page A15

CREW NEWS: Capt. Max CummingA1� September 2011 www.the-triton.com The Triton

The Triton www.the-triton.com September 2011 A1�

Schooling was by correspondence, with a lot of time being spent either in or on the water.

By the time he was 16, Cumming and his older brother worked the family farm, diving to between 10m and 30m each day, harvesting wild shells to put into the black pearl farm. His first sea-going job was on the old island trader Manuvai, owned by Don Silk of the Silk and Boyd Shipping Company of Rarotonga.

Island hopping gave Cumming a thirst for the wider world. When he was 20, he returned to Russell and bought the 24-foot (7.8m) launch Polaris, did her up and became a commercial fisherman in 1981.

Fishing forays with the Polaris took him some 300 miles out into the Tasman Ocean, to the Wanganella Bank south of Norfolk Island, to “borrow” some fish off the Aussies, he said. After earning his inshore fisherman’s ticket, he started crewing on the New Zealand tallship R.Tucker Thompson in the Bay of Islands, gaining experience in the art of sailing vessels with both fore and aft sails and a square-sail.

The traditional sailing vessels of the UK beckoned, and Cumming spent time as a volunteer crew on old sailing vessels there. His first real square-sail delivery trip was on the Norwegian fully rigged ship The Sorlandet, which at the time was the oldest operative vessel of its type.

While delivering the old Belgian fishing ketch Goedewill, the English Channel provided Cumming with his first real storm at sea. While it frightened the life out of him, he said it gave him a new respect for the sea, and for the rules and regulations that

are necessary to keep vessels in a seaworthy condition.

His own first sailing yacht was an original 1936 Virtue (V6), the same as renowned world cruisers, the Hiscocks, used on their circumnavigations back in the 60s and 70s. By then, Cumming was based in Devonshire, and being short of money to make a voyage in her, he unbolted his new VHF that he had just mounted and sold it at the Pandora Pub in Helford, only to spend it on beer, he said.

Not a great start to the voyage, he admitted, but he did make it to Lands End before sensibly turning around. Money was getting tight when he heard that there were paying jobs for crew on superyachts in the Caribbean. He got a deckhand’s job on the 240-foot (79m) M/Y Katalina purely because he knew how to attach a fishing line to a fishing hook, he said.

Cumming said his motivation for staying on superyacht has been the beautiful boats he gets to sail on, and travelling the world. His desire for knowledge has not decreased over the years, and he has paralleled his advancement through his tickets by obtaining both N.Z. and U.K. certifications, now holding a N.Z. offshore master’s certificate and a UK/MCA yachtmaster 3,000 tons.

In working his way up, Cumming has crewed on some of the world’s better known superyachts, including M/Y Boadicea and M/Y Itasca when Capt. Alan Jouning (of 37 South Ltd.) was skipper for the voyage through the North West Passage and down to Antarctica.

Cumming’s first command came in 2000 on the 44.7m performance ketch S/Y Mari Cha III, with a combination of cruising and racing. Some great years were then spent aboard the 190-foot (59m) expedition yacht Senses when it was owned by New Zealanders Sir Douglas and Lady Barbara Myers, who were good bosses, he said.

Cummings took a heap of photographs along the way and the Myers commissioned him to write a book of the adventure: “Senses – a Circumnavigation with Style”.

His time on superyachts has been half motor, half sail, but it would be hard to beat the beauty of the Athena under sail. Now, more than a year into his command, it is clear that Cumming is a man happy in his job, and with a depth of knowledge that must give confidence to owner and crew.

Capt. Michael Pignéguy is a relief captain on charter boats and superyachts around the world. He is an RYA instructor and examiner in Auckland, NZ, and the author of three boating books (www.boatingfun.co.nz).

Youth and career at sea keep Cumming at home in yard, too

The shrink-wrap covering of Athena hides her beauty at the Ormas yard in Westhaven, near Auckland.

CREW NEWS: Capt. Max Cumming

CUMMING, from page A14

A1� September 2011 www.the-triton.com The Triton FROM THE BRIDGE: Joining a new boat

member was injured on the boat who then tried to sue the captain. “After that, I started checking the boat’s insurance policy so see what the liability coverage is for the captain. I don’t carry my own liability insurance.”

“I don’t carry liability insurance either,” a third captain said. “I’m covered on the boat’s policy or I don’t work for them.”

“All the boats I’ve worked on have had issues with insurance policies,” another said. “Sometimes, they don’t even address the coverage for boats in Florida during hurricane season.”

Not all captains are so insurance savvy.

“I just spent three days with the owners, asking them what they want to use the boat for, what they can expect in operational costs, what equipment and toys they want,” one captain said. “I never worried about insurance. After hearing what these guys say, I will definitely check the insurance policies.”

This wasn’t a roundtable discussion about insurance, but these captains discussed it at length, and several times thoughout the lunch.

We wanted to know more, like what does a captain new to a yacht do with existing crew?

“You clean house,” one captain said.Really?“If there are crew aboard who

have been with the owner for a while, it’s ugly,” another captain said. “You don’t have a chain of command. They go straight to the owner anytime something happens that they don’t like.

“But you have to be amenable,” this captain continued. “You have to show the owner that’s not the best situation.”

“You can go through a boat pretty fast,” the first captain said. “After about 48 hours, it gets really uncomfortable

and you just want them to go. In three to four months, you get rid of everyone anyway. … I keep thinking it’s going to be better this time, ….” He shook his head “no.”

“I take my core group with me,” another captain said. “It’s critical to have a good fit with new crew, so I bring my crew and then see who fits with us the best and keep them.”

The captains discussed the practice of hiring some or all of the existing crew as day workers, seeing how they work, and then extending it from a day to a week to three months, and then long-term if the crew fits.

As with crew, captains also must quickly assess the yacht’s relationships with vendors. Do you clean house here, too, bringing in trusted vendors, or do you stick with the ones the yacht used

in the past.“It’s in the owner’s interest to keep

everything running smoothly,” one captain said. “Of course, I’d like my own vendors, but if it’s working out, I’ll keep the ones who know the boat.”

“It’s the same as with crew; you give them a day,” another captain said. “If you look at the system and it’s been maintained, keep them. If not, they go.”

“My boss had the boat 19 years,” another captain said. “I got burned when I recommended a new guy.”

So once aboard and the boss is about to make that first trip with his new captain, how do you prepare? Their first instincts were to go over the top.

“Just blow them away,” one captain said. “Exceed all their expectations.

Hard for new captain not to clean house of crewBRIDGE from page A1

See THE BRIDGE, page A17

Attendees of The Triton’s September Bridge luncheon were, from left, Kent Kohlberger of M/Y Goose Bumps, Sharon Buttemer of M/Y DreaMer, Clay Thomas on S/Y Duende, Rick Rahm of M/Y Sharing II, Michael Murphy of M/Y Just Enough, and Steve Steinberg of M/Y Illiquid. PHOTO/LUCY REED

The Triton www.the-triton.com September 2011 A17

Treat it like a high-end charter.”“Even if he says he wants to be

casual,” another captain said.But a few captains advised against

that.“Pay attention to what they ask for,”

one captain said. “You create your own monster by doing too much.”

“Never do anything you don’t always want to do,” said another, who explained how he learned that lesson.

“We got the bikes ready every day, even though they never used them. Every day they’d be on the docks. The one day we didn’t do it, he’s asking ‘where are the bikes?’”

In general, though, these captains said they aim to please, and to learn from the owner what they can do to make yachting fun. Starting a new job has its fun moments, too.

“It’s always fun to go through everything, the logs, the manuals,” a captain said. “It’s amazing what you’ll find.”

“I start by setting up accounts,” another said. “You should make sure very quickly that you have funds. You

don’t want a reputation for not paying on time.”

Several captains said they sort out the funding process and budget levels in the interview, but not all captains do that. (See this month’s survey on this topic on page C1.)

And once again, dealings with insurance companies were discussed in relation to destinations and where the yacht is allowed to travel, and where the captain is allowed to take the yacht.

“Joining a new boat has a lot to do with the math on a boat,” a captain said. “A one- to five-million-dollar boat is different from a proper boat where the owner has a lot of money. In the lower end, you’re fighting for your life to run a 100-foot boat that’s not worth anything, relatively. Running a $5 million-$10 million boat is much easier [as far as insurance companies are concerned].”

Lucy Chabot Reed is editor of The Triton. Comments on this story are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com. If you make your living working as a yacht captain, e-mail us for an invitation to our monthly Bridge luncheon.

BRIDGE from page A16

Be careful how you begin; do too much and it’s the norm

YACHT CAREERS: Crew Coach

I recently went to lunch with two yachtie couples and as the conversations got going, I noticed they were constantly interrupting each

other. Scary thing

is, I don’t believe they were aware of it.

This all-too-common habit of interrupting seems to be more prevalent and, sadly, more accepted these days. That

doesn’t change the fact that it’s kind of annoying and definitely rude.

For one, it sends a terrible message to the one being interrupted: Whatever it is you’re saying, I find it so unimportant that I will jump in with my thoughts before you finish yours.

Man, talk about self-centered. Also, when you interrupt others you

actually interrupt yourself because you jump in with whatever pops into your head. This hinders your ability to focus, listen and think things through.

In his book “Coming to Our Senses,” author John Kabot-Zinn used the term “ADD nation.” We are a nation of short-attention spanners.

For anyone heading for an interview on a yacht or crew agency: Stop, take a breath and focus your thoughts before speaking to anyone in position to hire.

Three main points to keep in mind;1. Don’t interrupt. Wait a second

or two before answering to make sure a question is finished. This shows you are in control of your reactions.

2. Maintain good eye contact. Don’t have wandering eyes that are distracted by the simplest of things like, somebody walking by on the dock or an osprey flying by.

Your attention must stay on the interviewer, their face and the words coming out of their mouth.

3. Don’t exaggerate. A coaching client who was diagnosed ADD as a child told me that people who are attention-span challenged will jump at jobs and tasks and get themselves in over their heads. They just didn’t think it through before answering.

Oh, and if you fall into the ADD category, or even if you don’t, lay off the energy drinks and caffeine before an interview. Just a thought.

Rob Gannon is a 25-year licensed captain and certified life and wellness coach (yachtcrewcoach.com). Comments on this column are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.

Interrupting proves you neither listen nor think

Crew CoaCh

Rob GAnnon

A1� September 2011 www.the-triton.com The Triton INTERIOR: Stew Cues

which we were greeted with applause.It was amazing to see how people

treated each other then, with so much kindness and respect and concern, trying to do or say anything to help someone else’s suffering. Some peoples’ eyes were desperate, or terribly sad and vacant, as if the mind was trying to erase what the eyes had seen.

At our triage station, we ran out of supplies to give volunteers so our crew went to the boat and gathered all the pens and legal pads we could

find to create makeshift admin forms, and masking tape to make armbands to label ourselves as patient administration volunters.

My co-worker, Melinda, later commented that she looked over and saw that I was one of the people giving instructions. It was organization for organization’s sake, coming up with a plan of action in the absence of either plan or action.

But if it was absurd, it was also inspiring. It was the very first steps toward rebuilding an ordered society in a corner of Manhattan where it had

suddenly vanished, and it was being done with black magic markers and masking tape by the natural leaders among us.

Here, authority stemmed from staying calm and focused on each person as instructions were given. But in our collective impotence, we were all hoping for someone to tell us what to do.

We – the hundreds of volunteers – waited for hours for the injured to arrive. But they didn’t come.

No one was coming out alive from that awful cloud a few blocks away,

and we were all just there – doctors, nurses, volunteers like me – stacking boxes, erecting eyewash kits, making neat little trays of gauze bandages and syringes. It was only by staying busy that our minds could detach from the enormity of what had happened and let us believe we were helping.

The sun set over the river and for a while, maybe a half hour, there was a stunning gold tinge to the sky. Up and down the highway stretched a line of emergency vehicles and knots of waiting firemen and medics and police. Just waiting.

As night fell, it became clear that no one would be coming out of the ruins and flames anymore. We knew that many more had died than first expected. No victims meant no survivors. The next day paramedics sat on the sidewalk and cried.

After all these years, what I remember as having been the hardest to see was all of the people going around with photos of their loved ones asking everybody if they had seen them. There was not much hope that anybody else was coming out alive.

I felt like an imposter, someone who was there, witnessing the grief of so many. And yet there was hope and joy in the hundreds of people who lined the sidewalks bearing signs and cheering on those who were going into the site.

Things seemed a little more normal after a few days. Traffic came back on the streets and the hundreds of taxis that had been parked along the streets began to move again.

I had some interesting conversations with taxi drivers in these first few days. One overwhelming sentiment was, “Why is your suffering any greater than ours? Other peoples of the world have lived through terrorist attacks for years.”

It made me think about all that we have and take for granted every day. In the Sept. 24 issue of New Yorker, Anthony Lane wrote “Thousands died on Sept. 11 and they died for real; but thousands died together and therefore something lived.

“The most important, if distressing, images to emerge from those hours are not of the raging towers; it is the shots of people falling from the ledges, and in particular, of two people jumping in tandem. …

“On Sept. 11 – in uncounted ways, in final phone calls, in circumstances that Hollywood should no longer try to match – it was proved true all over again: What will survive of us is love.”

Alene Keenan has been a megayacht stewardess for 20 years. She offers interior crew classes, workshops, seminars, and onboard training through her company, Yacht Stew Solutions (www.yachtstewsolutions.com). Comments on this column are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.

Amazing to see people being kind to each other in tragedySTEW CUES, from page A1

The Triton www.the-triton.com September 2011 A1�WRITE TO BE HEARD

PublisherDavid Reed, david@the-triton.com

Advertising SalesMike Price, mike@the-triton.com

Becky Gunter, becky@the-triton.com

EditorLucy Chabot Reed, lucy@the-triton.com

News staffDorie Cox, dorie@the-triton.com

Production ManagerPatty Weinert, patty@the-triton.com

The Triton DirectoryMike Price, mike@the-triton.com

Contributors

Mike Avery, Carol Bareuther, Stew Franki Black, Capt. Mark A. Cline,

Jake DesVergers, Rob Gannon, Jeff Gibbs, Beth Greenwald,

Sue Hacking, Capt. Stephen Hill, Chef Mary Beth Lawton Johnson,

Chief Stew Alene Keenan, Capt. Rick Lenardson, Keith Murray, Capt. Michael Pignéguy

Rossmare Intl., James Schot, Tom Serio

Vol. �, No.� The Triton is a free, monthly newspaper owned by Triton Publishing Group Inc. Copyright 2011 Triton Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.

Contact us at:Mailing address: 757 S.E. 17th St., #1119

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Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33315(954) 525-0029; FAX (954) 525-9676

www.the-triton.com

Shoes onboard have always been an issue

Crew abuse nothing new, from mates or owners

The shoe story [“From the Bridge: Solid footing for wearing shoes onboard,” page A1, August 2011] makes me laugh because in all my career there was always the shoe issue. I would take them off to go onboard and put them back on in the engine room but what I did not see was reference to the old story I was once told:

If you see a picture of people on the bow of a yacht, how do you know who the owner is? He’s the one with his shoes on the rail.

Malcolm Forbes told me that story when I worked at Sun Power Diesel in the early 1980s. At that time, Elmer Morley (who started the maritime academy on Andrews Avenue [Editor’s note: Maritime Professional Training]) was my boss and we wore shoes.

Having worked for a lot of people (including Dave Thomas and many I cannot mention), shoes were a constant issue. Even today, when I visit boats at Los Suenos Marina, shoes are still an issue. I always enjoyed shipyard work where I could wear my steel-toed work boots all the time. (Far more comfortable to wear than Top-Siders.)

Carl Hallberg, retiredM/V Busted Flush

Costa Rica

I’m surprised there is no mention of stewardesses in your article about shoes.

After nearly a decade working barefoot (at the insistence of owners or captains), on my feet 16+ hours a day, I developed hip and foot problems and began to insist on wearing shoes. Shoes with good support. Shoes that never left the boat.

As a freelancer, it was one of my first questions: Can I wear shoes? If they said no, I wouldn’t take the job.

On one boat, it was fine until the owners walked on and started giving my never-touched-the-dock shoes the stink eye. Their compromise was that I could wear a pair of flip-flops they provided.

Seriously? Shoes became a big issue for me the

longer I worked on boats. Stew Dawn Kuhns

As a veteran of 30 years in this business, I can tell you that chefs, along with other crew, have always been subject to abuse [Culinary Waves: “When did we start abusing each other while aboard?” page C1, August issue].

However, if the captain is throwing the chef ’s food over the side, that chef is on the wrong boat. Crew have always been the most finicky of eaters on board, but a good captain should be able to mediate the crew conflict, and prevent abusive comments or actions.

Owners are hardly off the hook these days, however. Recent economic situations have given some owners the idea that they can once again abuse crew. The days of too many jobs and not enough qualified crew ended in 2009.

That is not an excuse for abusive behavior however. Mary Beth is correct in stating that such behavior shows a lack of respect and professionalism. Crew can act like spoiled brats, as long as their supervisors do nothing to discourage it. Unfortunately, the example set by some spoiled-brat owners is beyond our control.

Capt. Paul Canavan

Young guys not better for industryI completely disagree with the

author of “Those young whipper-snappers might be right” [page A18, August issue].

Why he feels up-and-coming skippers are better in any way is beyond me. He may know about planes, but he knows diddly about boats. These young captains may be better at avoiding litigation, but the older ones avoid it by knowledge and skill.

The young ones I have watched over the years never figure wind and tide in their mental computations.They have no common sense anymore. They may be great when we get to the age of push-button running of vessels, but monkeys are, too.

When crew worked their way up the ladder in a career, they had a well-rounded background. Now they work as crew for a year and think they know it all.

It may be hard to fake time toward an air license, but it isn’t in boating. Most of the ones coming up know squat.

Capt. Erik GoodwinM/Y Madcap

Stressed? Feel the sea sprayNice article on sailing [Latitude

Adjustment: “Sailing is rewarding, even if you don’t know how to do it,” page A3, August issue]. We all need the “latitude adjustment” therapy of sailing.

I feel sorry for people who never learn to sail. They miss one of the greatest opportunities for self-appreciation, solace, serenity and unsullied pleasure. Nothing like a dash of sea spray bathing the face.

Chuck BortellCrew Insurance Associates

Survey on towing tenders usefulWhat a terrific, useful, and

informative survey on towing tenders [Triton survey: “Yacht standards for towing tenders vary,” page C1, June issue].

This is a huge issue for all of us in the yacht insurance sector. Your research was the topic of conversation among underwriters and agents for a while. Thanks for your research.

Laura J. SherrodSenior Vice President

Atlass Special Risks

www.the-triton.comSection B September 2011

Yacht shows around globe

Monaco, Genoa,Cannes

Technology in yachting grows

New products for the next season B4

Newspapers and shirts

B15The Triton’s name is in The Bahamas

“May I help you?”

First question for choking victim B2 B14

Rules of the Road

Jake DesVergers

Penang: Food, cultures, history and nature

See PENANG, page B6

Straits Quay Marina, on the northeastern shores of Penang Island, has 40 berths for yachts up to 82 feet (25m). PHOTOS/SUE HACKING

Marina offers options in Penang, Malaysia, for larger yacht visits

By Sue Hacking

Until recently, yachts larger than 15m had few docking options on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, and virtually none on the historical island of Penang.

When we arrived in Penang in S/V Ocelot last summer, we tied up at the disintegrating, unmaintained Tanjung City Marina whose only advantage is its proximity to Georgetown’s tourist sights.

We were pleased to hear that a new, private marina had opened in April, one that has a real breakwater (rare

in Malaysia) and is close to shops and public transport.

Straits Quay Marina, on the northeastern shores of Penang Island, is part of a new complex of up-

scale shops, restaurants and private apartments.

The marina features 40 pontoon

Exploration in Malaysia can be done by bus, car or foot-power.

Port State Control begins concentrated inspections

As the summer months come to an end, a surprisingly active season of regulatory announcements, updates, and enactments took place in Europe,

Asia, and the Americas.

Here is a summary of the more important topics that affect yachts.

Launch of CIC on safety and lines

The 45 maritime

authorities of the Paris and the Tokyo memoranda on port state control will begin a joint concentrated inspection campaign (CIC) with the purpose to ensure compliance with structural safety and the Load Line Convention.

This inspection campaign will be held for three months starting Sept. 1.

The background for this CIC is that, as an average for the past eight years, deficiencies related to structural safety and load lines account for 15 percent of deficiencies.

Furthermore, structural safety for ship types other than bulk carriers, and compliance with the Load Line Convention in general, has never been addressed with the special attention typical for a CIC. Yachts are grouped into this section of other vessel types.

During this campaign, Port State Control Officers (PSCOs) will verify applicable documents and aspects such as stability books; the protection of hatch openings; the condition of the hull, bulkheads, and deck areas; and structural integrity in more detail.

For this purpose, PSCOs will be guided by a questionnaire listing a number of items to be covered during

See RULES, page B8

Over the past few years I have received reports from students with successful save stories, thanking me for teaching them how to save a life.

Here are a few:A female

accountant who took my CPR, AED and first aid class was eating lunch in the employee cafeteria when a co-worker stood up and placed his hands on his throat, the

universal choking sign.The man looked scared as he was

unable to cough, talk or breathe. Remembering her training, she asked him if he was choking; he nodded yes.

She asked him if he needed help and again he nodded yes. She went behind him, wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed.

After only a few attempts, a piece of food that was previously lodged in the man’s throat popped out and he began breathing.

A new father called to tell me he had to perform back smacks on his infant son who had an airway obstruction.

And one of the more interesting stories is of a woman who called me after saving her new puppy.

The puppy was choking and she performed back smacks, similar to those performed on a child, and saved the pup’s life.

These stories are true, and scenes like this happen every day. Some are successful saves, yet many people die from choking, also called foreign body airway obstruction (FBAO).

Choking injuries are one of the leading causes of unintentional death in the United States.

In 2002, more than 5,500 people died from unintentional choking or suffocation, of which 636 were under the age of 1, according to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

Choking is a condition caused by inhalation of a foreign object that partially or fully blocks the airway. If the airway is not cleared quickly the victim will most likely die.

When you are not breathing, you are in respiratory arrest. Respiratory arrest will ultimately lead to cardiac arrest, which means your heart stops and you are dead.

Often, choking happens with adults in restaurants or at dinner parties where the combination of food, talking, laughter and a few cocktails can be deadly if food accidentally becomes lodged in the airway.

But you can help, and here are the

steps to save a choking person’s life:Step 1: Ask the person, “Are you

choking?” Remember, someone that is truly choking will not be able to answer you but they should be able to nod their head.

Step 2: Ask the person, “May I help you?” Again, let them signal “yes.” In the United States, you need permission to touch a conscious person.

Step 3: If they are choking, and want your help, go behind them. If the choking person is sitting down, ask them to stand up.

Wrap your arms around their waist as if you were hugging them. Make a fist with your stronger hand and place it, thumb side toward the victim, about one inch above their belly button.

Wrap your other hand on top of the first.

Step 4: Strongly squeeze in an upward manner, thrusting your fist into the person’s abdomen.

You are trying to squeeze the body, forcing any air out of the body, which should dislodge the food stuck in their throat.

Continue doing this until the food is dislodged, the victim can breathe or the victim passes out. If the person passes out and is still not breathing, you will most likely need to begin the steps of CPR. Contact 911 or emergency medical services immediately.

If you have ever had the wind knocked out of you, you understand what we are trying to accomplish here. We are literally trying to knock the wind (and lodged food) out of our victim.

Beware of the bathroom as this is the worst place for a choking person. Often, a choking victim senses there is something stuck in their throat and they leave the dinner table thinking they might throw up.

This, however, is a big mistake. They need help and quick action must be taken, otherwise they could die.

If you see someone who appears to be choking head to the restroom, it is wise to ask if they need assistance.

This information is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional instruction by a qualified CPR and first aid instructor. All captains and crew should re-certify every two years.

Keith Murray, a former Florida Firefighter EMT, is the owner of The CPR School. The CPR School provides onboard CPR, AED first aid safety training for yacht captains and crew as well as AED sales and service. Contact The CPR School at +1-561-762-0500 or www.TheCPRSchool.com. Comments on this column are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.

ONBOARD EMERGENCIES: Sea Sick

sea sick

Keith Murray

Being prepared increases chance for a successful saveB� September 2011 www.the-triton.com The Triton

B� September 2011 www.the-triton.com The Triton TECHNOLOGY BRIEFS

Enhance with stairs, lights and new safety raftsBristol introduces boarding stairs

Bristol Yacht Components introduced new carbon fiber boarding stairs. They have self-leveling steps actuated by a single, reinforced, carbon fiber center spar that eliminates pinch points during deployment and handling. They have positive angle pivoting to prevent damage to the stairs and the vessel when tides change and have pentagonal side spars, polished stainless steel fixtures and inlaid teak stair treads.

Bristol Boarding Stairs fold flat and can be mounted or stowed in an available padded storage bag. All models feature hidden fasteners for clean lines, and are finished with UV-resistant polyurethane clear coat on the carbon fiber surfaces. Custom paint matching is available.

Bristol Boarding Stairs are available with 4 through 14-steps. For more information +1 860-883-4904 and www.bristolyachtcomponents.com.

New battery-powered light towerLarson Electronics’ Magnalight.com

introduced a new battery powered light tower that can be extended to eight feet in height and recharged from 115VAC or 12VDC power sources. Resistant to water and dust intrusion, the portable light tower contains a 10 watt LED light head producing 800 lumens

and operates for 40 hours on a single charge. For use on construction sites, emergency scenes or as a work area illuminator. The unit can illuminate an area 50 by 50 feet and can be ordered in a spotlight configuration to produce a well focused wide spot beam 900 feet in length. The light head is vertically and horizontally adjustable and a set of collapsible polyethylene legs provide stability in windy conditions.

For details visit Magnalight.com, call 1-800-369-6671, for international inquires call +1 214-616-6180.

WheelHouse launches Mobile WheelHouse Technologies

announced the WheelHouse Mobile to provide real time maintenance alerts and maintenance update capabilities from any smart phone through the cellular network. It is available to all WheelHouse yacht and fleet users and is included at no additional cost in their WheelHouse subscription. Users will receive maintenance alerts via a brief email message as they are triggered. They can then update the maintenance task, identify parts used, and record other maintenance notes. Data entered on the smart phone is dynamically uploaded to the WheelHouse cloud and is available on any web-connected device.

For more information contact Barry Kallander at barry@wheelhousetech.com, +1 978-562-5211, or visit www.wheelhousetech.com.

Alexseal Greece on NetworkMankiewicz Gebr. and Co. and

Alexseal Yacht Coatings announced the addition of Greece’s Technochrom to their global network of service and product distributors. Founded in 1965, Technochrom quickly became established as a well-known specialist

in the production and distribution of industrial and marine coatings.

For visit www.alexseal.com.

Oceanview debuts stabilizationOceanView Technologies introduced

SteadyView video stabilization as an option to its Apollo night-vision cameras. The option eliminates the effects of unwanted camera motion on a marine display and turns shaky, unclear video into crisp, clear information. SteadyView can be added to all existing Apollo and Apollo II installations and can be combined with either thermal or low-light cameras. It requires no additional motion sensors, is contained in one unit with no moving parts. The video stabilization can be turned off when not in use and it can be installed in less than an hour. Price starts at $2,995.

Contact OceanView Technologies, 1181 South Rogers Circle, Boca Raton, FL 33487. 954-727-5139; Fax: 954-302-2476. sales@oceanviewtech.com; www.nightboating.com. ResQLink beacon FCC approved

ACR Electronics announced that ResQLink personal locator beacon (PLB) is FCC approved and is for sale to consumers in the U.S. The ResQLink can guide rescuers to within 100 meters or less of the user’s position in a life-threatening emergency and is 4.6 oz. (130 g) and 3.9 inches (10.0 cm) tall.

ResQLink can be tested through

See TECH BRIEFS, page B5

The Triton www.the-triton.com September 2011 B�MARINAS / SHIPYARDS

Today’s fuel prices

One year ago

Prices for low-sulfur gasoil expressed in US$ per cubic meter (1,000 liters) as of August 15.

Region Duty-free*/dutypaidU.S.EastCoast

Ft.Lauderdale 840/895Savannah,Ga. 815/NANewport,R.I. 820/NA

CaribbeanSt.Thomas,USVI 990/NASt.Maarten 1,080/NAAntigua 1,060/NAValparaiso 845/NA

NorthAtlanticBermuda(IrelandIsland) 980/NACapeVerde 895/NAAzores 1210/NACanaryIslands 1000/1,180

MediterraneanGibraltar 865/NABarcelona,Spain 900/1,600PalmadeMallorca,Spain NA/1,810Antibes,France 910/1,880SanRemo,Italy 1,100/2,260Naples,Italy 1,090/2,230Venice,Italy 1,085/1,860Corfu,Greece 1,050/1,840Piraeus,Greece 950/1,820Istanbul,Turkey 935/NAMalta 985/1,840Tunis,Tunisia 870/NABizerte,Tunisia 875/NA

OceaniaAuckland,NewZealand 975/NASydney,Australia 980/NAFiji 985/NA

*When available according to local customs.

Prices for low-sulfur gasoil expressed in US$ per cubic meter (1,000 liters) as of August 15, 2010

Region Duty-free*/dutypaidU.S.EastCoast

Ft.Lauderdale 615/655Savannah,Ga. 600/NANewport,R.I. 605/NA

CaribbeanSt.Thomas,USVI 740/NASt.Maarten 820/NAAntigua 925/NAValparaiso 645/NA

NorthAtlanticBermuda(IrelandIsland) 780/NACapeVerde 625/NAAzores 660/NACanaryIslands 650/720

MediterraneanGibraltar 640/NABarcelona,Spain 645/1,410PalmadeMallorca,Spain NA/1,440Antibes,France 660/1,485SanRemo,Italy 825/1,715Naples,Italy 750/1,360Venice,Italy 770/1,425Corfu,Greece 715/1,380Piraeus,Greece 695/1,360Istanbul,Turkey 690/NAMalta 830/1,580Tunis,Tunisia 635/NABizerte,Tunisia 640/NA

OceaniaAuckland,NewZealand 680/NASydney,Australia 695/NAFiji 750/NA

*When available according to local customs.

Maintain compliance with life-saving vessels

the Cospas Sarsat satellite system, to verify the beacon is ready using Cospas-Sarsat International network of rescue satellites.

It has three levels of integrated signal technology, GPS positioning, a 406 MHz signal, and 121.5 MHz homing capability. There are no monthly service fees required for 406 MHz beacons.

The retail cost for the ResQLink is $325.00.

For more information contact Chris Wahler at chris.wahler@cobham.com or go to www.acrelectronics.com.

Viking offers compliance optionsAccording to new US Coast Guard

regulations, vessels carrying life floats or rigid buoyant apparatus must remove them and replace them with other approved survival craft by no later than January 1, 2015. Viking Life-Saving Equipment offers new inflatable

life-saving appliances. Special pricing is available and customers can schedule now for a fixed price on advance orders. Viking keeps track of servicing requirements and renewal dates, automatically arranging for certified servicing when needed.

Contact Viking at +1 305-614-5800 usasales@viking-life.com.

Ecospeed addresses cavitationBelgium-based Ecospeed has

published a white paper titled “Rudder Cavitation Damage Solved” that provides a study and overview of the subject along with best available practices for preventing cavitation damage to rudders, and a case study of these practices in action.

Ecospeed coating provides a ship’s rudder with a protective layer while its flexibility enables absorption of the forces that are produced by cavitation. This prevents the damage normally caused by this phenomenon, according

to a company statement. This report, called White Paper No.

6, is available for download at www.shiphullperformance.org/publications, then click on Hydrex White Papers.

For more, visit www.ecospeed.be.

Product for sun-faded canvasUK-based Renovo International has

launched its marine line of products in North America through distributor Boat Canvas and Vinyl Care in British Columbia.

The water-based products revive color in sun-faded biminis, sail covers, wave runner and tender covers or other exposed canvas, according to a company statement. They are available in a three-step, do-it-yourself kit, and come with a money-back guarantee.

Originally developed for the auto industry, Renovo products were re-formulated for the marine industry.

For more information, visit www.boatcanvasandvinylcare.com.

Millions of dollars in grants to U.S. shipyards Shipyards to improve with grants

Small shipyards in 13 U.S. states including Alaska, California and Florida, have been given nearly $10 million in grants to modernize facilities and increase productivity and global competitiveness.

Some yacht-related yards that received awards include Ketchikan Shipyard in Alaska (for a one-side welder and CNC cutting machine), BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards in Alabama (for a steel profile processing system), and Bay Ship & Yacht in northern California (for an air compressor and electrical upgrades).

The U.S Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) Small Shipyard Grants

Program provides money to invest in production equipment, provide technical skills training for employees, and maintain and create jobs.

New edition of marina guideAtlantic Cruising Club has published

the eighth edition of its Guide to New England & Canadian Maritime Marinas, and for the first time have included rating symbols to identify megayacht capabilities.

The new edition also adds coverage of 45 marinas east of Bar Harbor along the coasts of Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the St. John River. This edition also has added an icon for catamaran-friendly marinas.

The new guide is the most recent in the ACC’s series of seven regional guides to marinas, which now cover more than 1,600 marinas between Halifax, Nova Scotia and Pensacola, Fla., on the East Coast and Desolation Sound, BC to the Oregon/California border on the West Coast.

ACC’s Guides to Marinas are available at West Marine, Bluewater Books & Charts, Landfall Navigation, Defender Industries, Amazon.com and other major booksellers. They can also be purchased through ACC’s Web site, www.atlanticcruisingclub.com. The company plans to publish the Atlantic Cruising Club’s Guide to MegaYacht Marinas next summer.

TECH BRIEFS, from page B4

B� September 2011 www.the-triton.com The Triton

berths to accommodate yachts up to 25m, with an approach channel dredged to more than 3m below chart data.

There are side-tie spaces for large yachts along both the outer pontoon and the central finger pontoon, which is more than 50m long.

We visited Straits Quay by taking a 45-minute bus ride (60 cents) from Georgetown, getting off at the new Tesco Mall, and following signs to the marina (a 5-minute walk from the bus

stop.) Operations Manager John Ferguson

was proud of this marina, and noted that it is already in demand, but that he welcomes private transient yachts.

“Malaysians are not yet really into yachting, but they love to see the boats,” he said.

Straits Quay offers 24-hour security, toilet/showers, laundry facilities, wi-fi, water, pump-out station, and

power to 63-amps, single phase. Fuel is obtainable from a fuel barge, although Ferguson said he is lobbying for a

dedicated fuel dock.

Why visit Penang?So, with a place to

moor the yacht, why visit Penang?

This green, hilly island is easily explored in a day by

rental car or (for those with patience) the public bus system.

Near Straits Quay is the famous

Batu Ferringhi beach area with its local seafood restaurants, miles of sand, and opportunities for water sports.

For those with an interest in botany or just natural beauty, the Spice Garden beckons with jungle trails on a hillside where you can see torch ginger, spider lilies, and heliconia in bloom.

In the trees above the café, while sipping a cool nutmeg drink, you might see Malaysia’s giant squirrel (a meter long) leap from branch to branch.

On the northwestern corner of the island is the Penang Butterfly Farm, one of the best in Asia, and a national park that offers miles of wild trails that lead to isolated beaches far from habitation.

Farther south, in the local kampongs (villages) on the east coast, 6-foot monitor lizards lurk beneath the careened fishing boats and white-bellied sea eagles circle above the sea in search of sea snakes or fish that venture too close to the surface. Long-tailed macaques live in troops in the botanical garden and surrounding forest.

Blend of culturesPenang’s history dates back to

1786 when it was purchased from a local sultan by an enterprising Brit to establish a duty-free port.

Although it never took off the way Raffles’ Singapore did, it attracted European planters who tried to re-create the spice plantations of the Celebes.

By the mid-18th century secret Chinese societies controlled the lucrative opium trade and rival gangs ruled the city of Georgetown until the British established a full-time police force.

Today, Georgetown is a peaceful

PENANG, from page B1

Penang weathered drug trade, but is now peaceful and diverse

See PENANG, page B7

Colorful history remains with Hindu and Buddhist temples, including the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia. PHOTOS/SUE HACKING

TRAVEL: Penang, Malaysia

In the trees, you might see Malaysia’s giant squirrel (a meter long).

The Triton www.the-triton.com September 2011 B�

blend of many cultures: predominantly Chinese, Indian and Malay, each adding its own customs, religions and cuisines to the charm of the city.

Sights include the magnificent Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, built to exacting feng shui precepts by the “Rockefeller of the East”, Fort Cornwallis, and countless Hindu and Buddhist temples (including Kek Lok Si, the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia).

No visit is complete without a ride up the funicular railway to the top of Penang Hill where you can enjoy a famous steamboat meal while watching the lights of the city come on.

Little India near the commercial ferry terminal is a cacophony of lights, sights, sound and color as the gold shops attract women in long saris and the DVD stores blare out competing soundtracks from the latest Bollywood films.

Don’t miss the foodPenang is world-famous for its

cuisine that includes the distinctive flavors of Straits Chinese noodle dishes, Indian curries and Malay rice and coconut specialties.

Our favorites are nasi lemak (rice

boiled in coconut milk with curry and peanuts), roti canai (flaky unleavened bread fried on a hot plate), butter tikka masala, and tandoor chicken with hot garlic naan.

Whether you add a cold Tiger beer or a refreshing iced limau (fresh limeade) it’s always fun to head to

Little India to top the meal with a cool mango lassi.

Penang is well-connected by courier services, good Internet, an international airport, easy access to mainland Malaysia via a 15-minute ferry ride or the 9-mile bridge with modern bus service to the cool tea-

growing region of Cameron Highlands, or the dynamic capital, Kuala Lumpur.

From Penang Island, it’s a 60-mile voyage to the northern-most Malaysian island, Langkawi, where both Royal Langkawi Yacht Club and Telaga Harbour Marina welcome larger visiting yachts.

Sue Hacking is a writer based on her 45-foot catamaran Ocelot. She has been sailing the world with her husband and children since December 2001. They have spent the past five years in Indonesia. To read more about their travels, visit http://hackingfamily.com. Comments on this story are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.

Straits Quay Marina

Channel entrance: south from Wreck Buoy at 05º 28.43’N 100º 19.09’E.Flat daily berthing rate: RM3 (about $1) per meter, with discounts for long-term visits.Tel: +604 890 6521E-mail: marina@straitsquay.comVHF: Channel 71Web: www.straitsquay.com

No visit is complete without a ride up the funicular railway to the top of Penang Hill where you can enjoy a famous steamboat meal while watching the lights of Georgetown come on.

Penang is world-famous for its tasty blending of cuisinesPENANG, from page B6

TRAVEL: Penang, Malaysia

B� September 2011 www.the-triton.com The Triton FROM THE TECH FRONT: Rules of the Road

this concentrated inspection. The questionnaires were published on the Web sites of Paris MoU and Tokyo MoU in August.

When deficiencies are found, actions by the port state may range from recording a deficiency and instructing the master to correct within a certain period to detention of the yacht until deficiencies have been rectified.

If detained, it will be publicized in the monthly list of detentions.

Mandatory energy efficiency measures adopted

Mandatory measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from international shipping were adopted by parties to MARPOL Annex VI. This was completed in July at IMO

headquarters in London. This meeting represented the first ever mandatory global greenhouse gas reduction regime for an international industry sector.

Amendments to MARPOL Annex VI Regulations for the prevention of air pollution from ships add a new Chapter 4 on energy efficiency.

It makes mandatory the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for new ships, and Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) for all ships.

Other amendments to Annex VI add new definitions and the requirements for survey and certification, including the format for the new International Energy Efficiency Certificate (IEEC).

The regulations apply to ships of 400 gross tons and more, and are expected to enter into force Jan. 1, 2013. As a reminder, for regulatory purposes,

yachts are considered cargo ships. MARPOL applies to all vessels, both private and commercial yachts alike.

The EEDI is a non-prescriptive, performance-based mechanism that leaves the choice of technologies to use in a specific ship design to the industry. As long as the required energy-efficiency level is attained, ship designers and builders are free to use the most cost-efficient solutions for the ship to comply with the regulations. The SEEMP establishes a mechanism for operators to improve the energy efficiency of ships.

Two more flags ratify the ILO Maritime Labour Convention

Singapore ratified the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006 with the full support of its tripartite partners – the seafarer unions and the National Trades Union Congress, as well as the maritime industry and the Singapore National Employers Federation.

Loh Khum Yean, secretary of Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower, said, “This is a significant step for Singapore, as we commit to applying the convention’s provisions to Singapore-registered ships and ships that call at our ports, as well as to achieve decent working conditions for seafarers.”

Antigua and Barbuda became the third Caribbean country, after the Bahamas and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, to ratify the MLC 2006.

Dwight Gardiner, representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the International Maritime Organization, said, “With more than 90,000 seafarers serving on its vessels, Antigua and Barbuda by ratifying this convention demonstrates its commitment to ensuring that these seafarers and those on ships that call at our ports enjoy decent working conditions.

“The shipowners as well will be beneficiaries of this convention which promotes fair competition in this ever increasing competitive industry.”

Antigua and Barbuda is ranked among the top 20 flag states, with more than 1,300 ships registered under its flag, representing more than 11 million gross tons.

Now, 17 ILO member states have deposited with the ILO their instrument of ratification of this important convention, which establishes a level-playing field for shipowners while ensuring decent living and working conditions for the world’s more than 1.2 million seafarers.

While the first requirement for entry into force of the convention – coverage of 33 percent of the world gross tonnage – has already been attained, Antigua and Barbuda’s ratification is an important step toward achieving the second requirement: 30 ratifying countries.

It is expected that the additional 13

ratifications will be obtained before the end of the year, which would enable the MLC, 2006 to enter into force in 2012.

Paris MoU offers new target listAt its 44th meeting, the Paris

MoU Committee approved the 2010 inspection results and adopted new performance lists for flag states and Recognized Organizations (ROs).

The new lists took effect July 1. The “black, grey, and white (BGW) lists” present the full spectrum, from quality flags to flags with a poor performance that are considered high or very high risk.

It is based on the total number of inspections and detentions over a three-year rolling period for flags with at least 30 inspections in the period.

The BGW lists for 2010 comprise a total of 84 flags: 18 on the black list, 24 on the grey list, and 42 on the white list.

In 2009, the number of flags listed totaled 82 flags, with 24 on black, 19 on grey, and 39 on white.

Most flags that were categorized as very high risk in previous years remain so in 2010. The poorest performing flags are DPR Korea, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Togo, Sierra Leone, and Montenegro.

New on the black list are the flags of Tanzania United Republic and Azerbaijan.

The Paris MoU also announced its performance listing of Recognized Organizations (ROs). These organizations have been delegated with statutory responsibilities by flag states.

Among the best performers were:1. Registro Italiano Navale (RINA)2. American Bureau of Shipping

(ABS)3. Det Norske Veritas (DNV)The lowest performing ROs were:1. Phoenix Register of Shipping

(PHRS)2. Albanian Register of Shipping

(RSA)3. International Register of Shipping

(IRS)On July 1, the new performance lists

were incorporated into the process for calculating the ship risk profile.

Capt. Jake DesVergers currently serves as Chief Surveyor for the International Yacht Bureau (IYB), a recognized organization that provides flag-state inspection services to private and commercial yachts on behalf of several flag-state administrations. A deck officer graduate of the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, he previously sailed as Master on merchant ships, acted as Designated Person for a shipping company, and served as regional manager for an international classification society. Contact him at 954-596-2728 or www.yachtbureau.org. Comments on this column are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.

How to meet new energy efficiency measures left up to industryRULES from page B1

B10 September 2011 www.the-triton.com The Triton

Fincantieri, the Italian builder of cruise ships and naval vessels, has delivered its first megayacht.

The 134m M/Y Serene has seven decks, a hangar and two heli-pads. The vessel also features a sea-water swimming pool that can accommodate service craft and a submarine with a diving depth of up to 100 meters.

Interior designer Pascale Reymond of London-based Reymond Langton Design provided the styling for most of the Serene’s 4,500 square meters of interior space.

The yacht was built at Fincantieri’s Muggiano (La Spezia) shipyard.

IYC has sold the 161-foot (49m) Trinity M/Y Lohengrin by broker Frank Grzeszczak in Ft. Lauderdale.

The brokerage has added eight yachts to its central agency listings, including the 132-foot (40m) Heesen M/Y Mirage for $4.95 million, the 118-foot (36m) Benetti M/Y Shalimar for $6.2 million, the 116-foot (35m) Azimut M/Y La Dea (ex-Mi Vida) for $7.8 million, the 115-foot (35m) Benetti M/Y Blind Date Too for $9.1 million, the 112-foot (34m) Westport M/Y Symphony II (ex-Perseverance) for $4.65 million, the 88-foot (27m) Broward M/Y Essence for just under $3 million, the 86-foot (26m) Azimut M/Y Black Pearl III for $2.5 million, and the 83-foot (25m) Moonen

M/Y Happy Daze for $2.7 million.The brokerage has added the 106-

foot (32m) Lazzara M/Y Stop the Press to its charter fleet. The yacht is based in the Bahamas in summer, and the Caribbean in winter.

Fraser Yachts has sold four yachts recently, including the 147-foot (45m) Cheoy Lee M/Y Marco Polo by broker Josh Gulbranson in Ft. Lauderdale; the 127-foot (39m) M/Y Sud, built by Fratelli Rossi, by broker Richard Earp in Monaco; and the 110-foot (33m) M/Y Samra’s by Jan Jaap Minnema in Monaco.

The brokerage added seven to its central agency listings for sale, including the 180-foot (55m) M/Y Geo, a new yacht being built by Mariotti, for 33 million euros; the 139-foot (42m) M/Y Cameleon B built by Proteksan for 11 million euros; the 131-foot (40m) M/Y Loretta Anne IV built by Alloy yachts for $21.9 million; the 122-foot (37m) Azimut M/Y Andiamo for $2.95 million; and the 106-foot (32m) Westport M/Y Dulcinea for $4.75 million.

In other Fraser news, the brokerage has been appointed one of the operational partners for the 34th America’s Cup superyacht program, connecting superyacht owners and charterers to opportunities with the America’s Cup World Series currently under way and the 34th America’s Cup to be held in San Francisco in 2013.

Boats will serve as virtual boundaries for the race course, helping to create a floating stadium.

“The new course format is completely different to any previous America’s Cup, allowing superyachts to be a part of the racing action,” said Patrick Coote, marketing director of Fraser Yachts. “This is America’s Cup meets Formula 1.”

Fraser joins Hansen Bridgett as official suppliers to the America’s Cup.

The Feadship Royal Van Lent shipyard in Holland has launched the 146-foot (45m) M/Y Helix (pictured below), the fifth in the series and the first in the series with a nautical interior theme. The yacht was designed by De Voogt Naval Architects and Sinot Yacht Design.

After sea trials, Helix will cruise to the Mediterranean and will make her first public appearance at the Monaco Yacht Show in mid-September.

The F45 series has the guest and master cabin on the main deck. The yacht can carry 10 crew in five cabins.

Baglietto launched the 43m M/Y Why Worry in late July in Viareggio, Italy (pictured above). It is the seventh hull of this design.

The yacht makes its public debut at the Monaco Yacht Show this month. It is listed for sale with YPI for 17.7 million euros.

Following the decision to build a 141m yacht designed by Ken Freivokh Design and Dykstra and Partners Naval Architects, Turkey-based Dream Ship Victory CEO Valeriy Stepanenko set in motion a project at its base on the Aegean Sea.

Land has been reclaimed from both sea and mountain, and a 200m-long construction shed built, flanked by two additional sheds, each capable of taking on construction work on yachts up to 80m each.

Also at the yard, work is progressing on the 55m S/Y Princess Maria and the 43m S/Y Imagination. The 63m S/Y Mikhail S. Vorontsov is nearing completion at its fitting-out base at Balk Shipyard in the Netherlands.

For more information, visit www.dsvyachts.com

YCO has sold its central listing S/Y Wally B, a 107-foot (33m) sailing yacht built by Wally Yachts of Monaco. In a statement, the brokerage thanked Capt. Marko James for his support and assistance in the sale. The yacht will join the YCO charter fleet.

Moran Yacht & Ship has added the 151-foot (46m) Heesen M/Y Sweet Doll to its central agency listings for 15.9 million euro.

Merle Wood and Associates had added the 124-foot Broward M/Y Heritage III to its charter fleet.

Luke Brown Yachts broker Ron Morgenstein recently sold the 103-foot Broward M/Y Lady Andrea, the ninth transaction for the buyer with the brokerage. Broker Dana Cambon, with the assistance of Brad Hunt at Atlantic

BOATS / BROKERS

New yachts launched and sold during summer

See BOATS, page B11

The Triton www.the-triton.com September 2011 B11

On Aug. 11, Florida-based Newcastle Shipyards launched its largest yacht, the 180-foot (55m) M/Y Harbour Island.

The yacht, hull No. 1 of the Newcastle 5500 Series, planned to spend a few weeks in St. Augustine, Fla., for sea trials before heading to Rybovich Super Yacht Marina in West Palm Beach.

The yacht will make its world debut at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in October.

Ft. Lauderdale-based Cape Ann Towing was on hand to tow the yacht from the shipyard in Palm Coast the 20 miles to St. Augustine.

Capt. Courtney Day, owner of Cape Ann, said the tow was one of the more

interesting and challenging yacht towing jobs he has performed in his 22 years at Cape Ann.

Harbour Island has six staterooms, including two king master suites (main deck and skylounge deck forward) and a VIP king guest suite (below). Additional amenities include an infinity pool on the split-level sundeck, and a raised “veranda” on the main aft deck. The Newcastle 5500 is MCA compliant and has trans-Pacific range.

Exterior styling and engineering is by Murray and Associates and interior design is by Claudette Bonville Associates. IYC is the worldwide central agent and will offer the yacht for charters in the Caribbean this winter and the Mediterranean next summer.

Yacht & Ship, sold a 135-foot Broward. Brokerage President Andrew Cilla sold the 92-foot Palmer Johnson M/Y Le Club Tarpon, and the 92-foot Monte Fino M/Y Offtrack with broker Wes Sanford of Northrup & Johnson.

Ft. Lauderdale-based Denison Yacht Sales has opened its first international office in San Carlos, Mexico.

Located on the Sea of Cortez in the Marina San Carlos near the historic port of Guaymas, the new Denison office will focus on brokerage sales of yachts and sailboats and exclusive new boat sales agreements with Pirelli Yacht

Tenders, Selene Ocean Trawlers and the Italian shipyard, Tecnomar.

Denison partner and former yacht captain Roger Madigan will lead the new office.

“Pioneering Mexican-owned yachts such as the Star Wars Feadship twins Paraiso and Azteca and the incredibly innovative Blohm and Voss Eco were so advanced that they pushed and forever changed the boundaries of concept, yacht design, engineering and construction,” Madigan said. “I believe that among some of the new generation of potential Mexican owners it is only a matter of time before the national characteristics of free spirit and passion return to influence yachting once again.”

BOATS / BROKERS

Newcastle launches largest yacht in time for FLIBS debut

M/Y Harbour Island approaches the Crescent Beach bridge along the Intracoastal Waterway under tow by Cape Ann Towing of Ft. Lauderdale.

Denison opens Mexico office; Capt. Madigan to lead teamBOATS, from page B10

B1� September 2011 www.the-triton.com The Triton

HELP WANTEDMarine Repair and Service:

Experienced only with references full and part time positions available

•Finish Carpenters•Gelcoat Matching and Repairs

•Fiberglass Lamination and Repairs•Bottom Sanding and Painting

•Detailing, Compounding, Wash and Wax•Project Managers minimum of 5 years in Shipyard

All positions require minimum 5 years experience with references and all applicants will be given an aptitude test that is required.

Please fax 954-524-9096 or email to smithgroup@me.com

YCO sells bunkering businessWorld Fuel Services Europe has

acquired YCO Group’s Yacht Fuel Services, a 20-year-old bunkering business. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

World Fuel Services will retain the Yacht Fuel Services brand and key personnel, YCO announced in a press release. YCO is divesting itself of periphery businesses to focus on its core services of yacht brokerage and management, the release said.

World Fuel offers online purchasing with its Bunkerline Web-based procurement system.

AIM acquires ‘Soundings’Active Interest Media has acquired

assets from Dominion Enterprises including magazines, events and Web sites. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“These acquisitions allow AIM to expand our marine, consumer enthusiast and B2B portfolios with highly differentiated print, digital and event properties,” said AIM chairman and CEO Ephram “Skip” Zimbalist.

Included are Passagemaker and Passagemaker’s Trawlerfest events, Soundings, Soundings Trade Only and Woodshop News.

For details visit www.aimmedia.com and www.dominionenterprises.com.

Dive and boat shows merge The 71st annual Miami International

Boat Show will partner with US Dive Shows to produce the 2012 Dive and Travel Harbor.

US Dive Shows produces shows in Maryland, Texas, Colorado, Georgia and Florida.

Agency offers free placement trialJF Recruiting, an international

on-line recruiting resource for yacht crew, launched a free 30-day trial crew-finding service for U.S. flagged yachts. To apply, e-mail Jonathan Franklin, JF Recruiting managing director to info@jf-recruiting.com with your yachts details or contact +33 760 22 44 09 +1 954 604 6298.

West Marine’s largest store to open California-based West Marine

has been quietly building its largest superstore on the corner of South Andrews Avenue and State Road 84 in Ft. Lauderdale.

At 50,000 square feet, the store will be twice as big as the company’s current largest store. It is expected to open in early December.

West Marine has opened or will open five flagship stores in the United States this year, including Woburn, Mass. (now open); St. Petersburg, Fla.

(now open); North Palm Beach, Fla. (now open); and Honolulu (to open this winter).

Nominations open for awardNominations are now being

accepted for the 2011 Perseus Award, in its second year of honoring superyacht owners who have demonstrated exemplary effort and contribution toward marine wildlife conservation.

Organized by Pacific Bound Yachts, the award will be given during the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show.

For nomination information visit www.pacificboundyachts.com and click on “blog”.

E3 signs deal with VeritaisUK-based Veritais has reached an

agreement with marine electronics company e3 Systems to act as a distribution partner for the Mallorca-based company.

Under the new arrangement, Veritais will supply VSAT, 3G Europe, GSM and Air time products, plus the full range of e3 IT and data services. The agreement also allows for Veritais technicians to support e3 customers.

“The border between entertainment and communications systems has been blurring for some time as Internet and satellite TV services increasingly come supplied via the same hardware as voice and data communications,” Veritais managing director David Milner said in a company statement.

E3 Systems is based in Mallorca with offices in Malta, Barcelona and Antigua, and associate companies in France and Italy.

For more information, visit www.e3s.com or www.veritais.com.

Master Fender Covers acquired Connecticut-based Ocean

Accessories, a manufacturer, importer and distributor of specialty boating products, has acquired Master Fender Covers. Terms of the purchase, which includes all inventory and intellectual property, were not disclosed.

Master Fender Covers are made from durable, fade and stain resistant acrylic fabric and fit fenders from leading manufacturers, including Polyform, Taylor Made, Freedom, AERE and Novurania.

For more information, visit www.masterfendercovers.com.

Ward’s dealer for Yacht ControllerYacht Controller, the Miami-based

manufacturer of remote controlled docking systems, has appointed Ward’s Marine Electric as its master dealer for sales and service in South Florida.

For information yachtcontroller.com and www.wardsmarine.com.

Bunkering division sold; media acquired; dive, boat show merge

BUSINESS BRIEFS

The Triton www.the-triton.com September 2011 B13BUSINESS NEWS

By Franki Black

When Stewart Donaldson received a phone call from his pal, Capt. Paul Stengel of M/Y Odyssey, saying that he had four trailers of excess boat items up for grabs, little did Donaldson know that it would be the beginning of a fruitful business.

“I collected the four trailers of left-over equipment and started selling,” Donaldson said. “Most of the items were as good as new.”

Since that phone call in May, Donaldson has put 30 years of experience building and refitting yachts to work and has taken advantage of the business opportunity presented by excess items that clutter yachts.

With the help and industry contacts of business partner, Capt. Debora Radtke, he opened Mega Yacht Mart in Ft. Lauderdale.

“Captains contact me, I pick up their excess items and sell them to other yachts that need it,” he said. “Once the item has been sold, 50 percent of the money goes to the captain who originally gave it to me.

“It’s a win-win situation,” he said. “Captains declutter their boats and make money from it, while captains in need obtain items that are in great condition at a reduced rate.”

Donaldson has a talent of sourcing yacht parts that are obsolete, but still in demand, Radtke said.

“Not only are captains saving money and time, but they are able to

find items that are unobtainable from wholesalers,” she said. “The response has been excellent. Captains are more than eager to get rid of stock, especially after a refit, and we are more than happy to play the middle man.”

Capt. Roland Brown recently bought a fuel cleaning system from Mega Yacht Mart.

“I ordered the system and picked it up straight away,” he said. “It was a convenient and affordable exchange.”

Everything from mechanical generators to compressors to industrial-sized cleaning products are available at Mega Yacht Mart.

“We pretty much cover the whole scope of boating items,” Donaldson said.

Mega Yacht Mart is run from a warehouse and all available items are catalogued on a Web site, making it user-friendly.

“We present the items as transparently as possible by including photographs, thorough descriptions of condition, weight and dimensions,” he said. “Most of the items on offer are either slightly used or still in the box.”

For more information, visit Mega Yacht Mart at www.megayachtmart.com. To see categories of consignment items for sale and to see featured item, click on “inventory” at the top, or call +1 954-533-8837.

Franki Black is a freelance writer and yacht stew. Comments on this story are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.

Clutter from boats makes for a profitable business for everyone

Stewart Donaldson, standing in front of his warehouse of consigned yacht gear, turned a favor for a captain friend into a new business.

PHOTO FROM STEWART DONALDSON

B1� September 2011 www.the-triton.com The Triton

Sept.1 The Triton Bridge luncheon, noon, Ft. Lauderdale. A roundtable discussion of the issues of the day. Yacht captains only. RSVP to Associate Editor Dorie Cox at dorie@the-triton.com or +1 954-525-0029. Space is limited.

Sept. 2-4 32nd annual Classic Yacht Regatta. Sponsored by Panerai. www.moy.org

Sept. 4 SunTrust Sunday Jazz Brunch (first Sunday of every month) at Riverwalk, Ft. Lauderdale. Free 11a.m. to 2 p.m. www.fortlauderdale.gov

Sept. 6-11 34th annual Cannes International Boat and Yacht Show, France. Before Monaco Yacht show and for smaller yachts, the exhibitions include new vessels in the “old” Port and the pre-owned in Port Pierre Canto. www.salonnautiquecannes.com

Sept. 7 The Triton’s monthly networking event on the first Wednesday of every month from 6-8 p.m. Sponsored by Ward’s Marine. No RSVP necessary www.the-triton.com

Sept. 9-10 Recycled Fish 24 Hour Fish-A-Thon. Anglers raise awareness for the problems facing fisheries. www.recycledfish.org

Sept. 9-11 Eastport Pirate Festival, Maine. Pirate ball, parades, lobster boat race, pirate skydivers, fireworks and more. www.eastportpiratefestival.com

Sept. 15-18 41st annual Newport International Boat Show, Newport, R.I. Expecting 750 exhibitors with over 600 boats ranging in size from 16 to 100

feet. +1 401-846-1115, 1-800-582-7846, www.newportboatshow.com

Sept. 16-18 Florida Marine Flea Market and Seafood Festival, West Palm Beach, Fla. flnauticalfleamarket.com

Sept. 16-18 Jekyll Island Shrimp and Grits Festival, Jekyll Island, Ga. www.jekyllisland.com Sept. 21 The Triton’s monthly networking event on the ocassional third Wednesday of each month from 6-8 p.m. Sponsored by Thomas Marine Systems. No RSVP necessary; just bring business cards and get ready to meet new people. www.the-triton.com

Sept. 21 Art Walk Las Olas, Ft. Lauderdale. www.artwalklasolas.com

Sept. 26-30 World Maritime Day. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) events to focus attention on shipping safety, maritime security, the marine environment and IMO’s work. This year’s theme is ‘Piracy: Orchestrating the response’. www.imo.org.

Sept. 28- Oct. 1 National Marine Electronics Association presents International Marine Electronics Conference and Expo, Sanibel Island, Fla. www.NMEA.org

Oct. 1-9 51st International Boat Show, Fiera de Genova, Genoa, Italy. www.genoaboatshow.com Oct. 2 SunTrust Sunday Jazz Brunch (first Sunday of every month) at Riverwalk, Ft. Lauderdale. Free from 11a.m. to 2 p.m.. www.fortlauderdale.gov

Oct. 5 The Triton’s monthly networking event (the first Wednesday of every month from 6-8 p.m.) at Maritime Professional Training Institute in Ft. Lauderdale. Stay tuned for details. www.the-triton.com

Oct. 6 The Triton Bridge luncheon, noon, Ft. Lauderdale. A roundtable discussion of the issues of the day. Yacht captains only. RSVP to Associate Editor Dorie Cox at dorie@the-triton.com or +1 954-525-0029. Space is limited.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

MAKING PLANSOct. 12, 5-8 p.m.Triton Expo

The Triton is once again hosting its popular Expo for the people who earn their livings working on yachts.

The Expo is open to yacht crew and industry – both working and looking – to help them develop the contacts that can make their careers better. Stay tuned to www.the-triton.com for more details.

Sept. 21-2421st annual Monaco Yacht Show, Port Hercules, Monaco

This year includes 100 yachts from 25m to 90m, 500 exhibitors and 27,000 attendees. The show brings together ship-builders, designers, equipment suppliers, brokers and service providers. www.monacoyachtshow.org

EVENT OF MONTH

Monaco, Cannes, Newport and Genoa shows

The Triton www.the-triton.com September 2011 B1�

Triton Spotters

SPOTTED: Spanish Cay, Bahamas; Greenwich, London

Where have you taken your Triton recently?

Send photos to editorial@the-triton.com.

Capt. Rick Lenardson and his crew in Triton shirts visit the fuel dock at Spanish Cay, Bahamas, where M/Y Status Quo spent the summer. Matt Fugundes (right) is mate and Lenardson’s daughter, Hannah, holds The Triton. The couple in the middle were on a delivery on a sport fish, Lenardson said.

“We all pitch in helping dock and fuel and repair boats as well as taking folks on dive and fish charters, golf cart rentals and maintenance,” Lenardson said of his summer. “Pretty much filling in wherever needed.”

PHOTO FROM CAPT. RICK LENARDSON

Susan Grandinetti took her Triton to the Prime Meridian of the World in Greenwich, London. Always thinking nautical, she works freelance in the yachting industry with her cleaning service and worked for years with Ardell Yachts. She also has captain brothers, Russ and Tom Grandinetti.

PHOTO FROM JEFF GIBBS, JEFF GIBBS TEAK DECK REPAIRS

Since there appear to be a lot of e-mail based job scams now targeting the yachting industry, chefs and stews – all yacht crew, really – must be aware that

a real job offer that comes from a yacht captain will have with it, most of the time:

1. A plane ticket to the yacht. You should not have to spend your own money to get to a yacht for work.

2. No requests for money whatsoever. All those job offers that

say you will be asked to pay half your travel as a sign you are serious about the job are baloney. A yacht will never ask you to pay to process paperwork or for uniforms or for incidentals. Period.

3. Paperwork sent to you via e-mail or overnight, stamped and signed, detailing the hailing port, the registration numbers, a copy of the ship’s papers and a copy of the itinerary.

Ask the captain to include in the paperwork a copy of the cruising permit for the port into which you are flying. After hundred of visits to Nassau in the Bahamas, I was stopped and almost sent home when I showed up for a new job because I didn’t have the yacht’s cruising permit. Humor helped me get through that time. (The control officer was laughing hysterically as I walked on through.) But I’ll never arrive without it again.

Another thing you might want to consider is that once a salary is agreed upon, do not accept less. A captain tried pulling this on me recently and it was a red flag. I accepted because

www.the-triton.com September 2011Section C

September-networking

C4With Ward’s and Thomas Marine

It’s not the potato’s fault

The preparation changes calories

Moves that work for health

Well-rounded work-out for all C12

Augustnetworking

With Poseidon and Poker Run C3 C11

Proper job offer has plane ticket, papers and no prepay

See WAVES, page C6

Nothing formal about running costsBy Lucy Chabot Reed

The subject for this month’s survey came up in several conversations with captains recently, most often with captains considering leaving their jobs. That decision came down to money – not salary, but operating budgets and the availability (or lack thereof) of money to run the yacht to their standard.

So we were curious to find out how yachts are actually funded.

Every yacht, of course, is different, but we were surprised to learn that most captains said they operate without a formal budget.

“The owner knows I am doing everything reasonable to save on expenses, so there is never any issue with running costs,” said the captain of a yacht of 81-100 feet.

We received responses from more than 130 captains and a handful of deck officers and interior managers, the vast majority on yachts more than 10 years. They work on all size of yachts, the largest group between 100-120 feet.

We started with the basic question Does your yacht have an operational budget you must adhere to?

More than three-quarters of respondents – 78.7 percent – said no, they do not have a formal budget.

“I have worked with all types of accounting except the strict budget set in advance with consultation with the relevant parties first,” said the captain of a yacht of 181-200 feet in the industry more than 25 years. “I would really like to experience this as I have never really had to sit down and plan a yearly budget.”

“The owner does not want to put a strict budget on the boat as he is afraid some needed repairs might get overlooked,” said the captain on a yacht of 81-100 feet.

Most in this group (about 80

percent) agreed they are expected to be reasonable with expenses.

“No formal budget but cost measures in hand now,” said the captain of a strictly private yacht of 81-100 feet. “The open-checkbook policy went away a while ago. That said, safety and appearance are still a priority, but upgrades take a back seat unless essential.”

“Each fall after cruising season, I would submit a list of significant projects that I foresee for the winter maintenance period,” said the captain of a predominantly private yacht of 101-120 feet. “These are discussed and prioritized and I’m generally given the go ahead. This past year for the first time, I was asked to do only those things I considered mandatory.”

The remainder of the no-formal-budget group, perhaps unbelievably, said they don’t have a budget because

they can spend what they want. “Each department orders what

they need,” said the bosun of a yacht larger than 220 feet onboard more than 10 years. “Myself, I try to keep everything topped up so I will not run out of any product.”

That left about 20 percent of our respondents who must follow a budget, three-quarters of them follow an annual budget; the rest monthly.

“We operate on a great budget and I have full autonomy to make decisions within that budget,” said the captain on a strictly private yacht of 101-120 feet. “Shipyards and other major maintenance are separate from the operational budget.”

“Budgets are only as good as the projections,” said the captain on a yacht of 101-120 feet who creates

Culinary Waves

Mary Beth Lawton Johnson

Eighty percent of yachts don’t have formal operational budgets; yet just as many captains give advance reporting to the boss. FILE PHOTO

See SURVEY, page C8

TRITON SURVEY: Operational budgets

The Triton www.the-triton.com September 2011 C�NETWORKING LAST MONTH: Poseidon Promotions/Sag Harbor

More than 200 yacht industry pros ignored the thunder after a day of heavy rains to enjoy networking with The Triton and

Poseidon Promotions on the first Wednesday in August.

About 60 yacht crew and industry pros networked Triton style at our first event in Sag Harbor, sponsored by The Sunseeker Club,

Sportable Crew and Tim’s Prime Meats. See photos from that event at www.the-triton.com (click on “gallery”, click on “networking”.

PHOTOS/LUCY REED

C� September 2011 www.the-triton.com The Triton NETWORKING THIS MONTH: Ward’s Marine Electric

Ward’s takes seriously its place in LauderdaleJoin us for networking with Ward’s

Marine Electric on the first Wednesday in September (Sept. 7) from 6-8 p.m. at Ward’s (617 S.W. Third Ave.) in Ft.

Lauderdale. There will be music, food, and the chance to tour the facility. Until then, meet Ward’s COO Kristina Hebert.

Q. Tell us about Ward’s Marine Electric. What do you do for yachts?

The short, quick answer is everything marine electrical. The longer answer is peace of mind.

Ward’s is involved with every aspect of power generation and distribution on yachts. From our 10,000-square-foot parts warehouse, we sell and distribute more than 15,000 marine electrical components.

Our staff of 20 ABYC-certified marine electrical technicians diagnose, repair and upgrade electrical systems on vessels ranging from 20 feet to 450 feet, worldwide.

We have a marine electrical engineering department, a switchgear manufacturing division, a panel manufacturing division, and a state-of-the-art laser/CNC engraving facility.

Owners and captains know that whether it’s parts they purchase in our showroom or service performed by our technicians, the electrical systems on their vessels are in safe, capable hands.

Inviting our customers to our facility lets them see aspects of Ward’s they might not come into contact with, and it gives us an opportunity to thank them personally.

Over the last 60 years, our core principles have been safety and innovation, and these still hold today.

Q. Being in business 60 years gives

you a lot of perspective. How has Ft. Lauderdale changed?

Ft. Lauderdale and South Florida have the greatest concentration of marine services in the entire world.

Ward’s Marine has grown over 60 years to accommodate every electrical need a yacht may have. We have created and expanded our divisions. In doing so, we have created jobs for this community.

The marine industry is No. 1 in Ft. Lauderdale and supercedes tourism in both economics and jobs. Local legislators, businesses and residents understand the importance of these boats coming to our area and recognize the crews’ position in making that decision.

Q. You have recently been re-elected president of the board of a local business trade group. Captains probably don’t care much about that. Why do it?

In addition to being a third-generation member of Ward’s Marine Electric, I am also a third-generation board member of the Marine Industries Association of South Florida (MIASF).

As president, I can strategize with business and community leaders to create incentives for yachts to come to South Florida. When our voices are united, the message is louder.

I would love to have yacht crew participate in discussions with legislators. They have choices on where to bring the vessel for repair, pleasure or charter. We want Ft. Lauderdale to be their first choice.

Ward’s Marine looks forward to celebrating our 100th anniversary and will do what it takes to see the industry strong.

Q. The closest most crew get to MIASF is the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show, which MIASF owns. What role do crew

really have in the boat show? Yacht crew drive the economic

engine of the show. Fuel, provisioning, repairing, dockage fees, presentation and communication with current and potential clients play a significant role in the success of FLIBS.

Ward’s Marine is a founding exhibitor of the show and we are delighted to see such a large cluster of crew in one location.

Q. A common crew complaint is that the United States makes it hard to come and stay. Some skip the U.S. altogether. Does that concern you?

Visa entry issues are a great concern for Ward’s Marine. To have a yacht delayed entry costs time, money and frustration. To have a yacht denied entry could cost the industry its future.

MIASF and USSA (U.S. Superyacht Association) have worked to simplify this process.

Q. Captains and crew bring a lot of revenue to a community, but often local officials don’t appreciate them. What are you doing to change that?

Local officials care about the needs of the marine industry. It is up to businesses to protect and promote the needs of their clients.

It is our job at Ward’s Marine to make sure we let our legislators know how important our industry is.

Ward’s Marine is an active member in MIASF, USSA, FYBA, MMA, MIAPBC and ABYC.

It is only half the job if you are providing customer satisfaction. A business must also provide promotion, professionalism and protection of the industry in which it operates.

Join us Sept. 7 at Ward’s Marine Electric, 617 S.W. Third Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, 33315. Contact the company via its Web site, www.wardsmarine.com, or by phone at +1 954-523-2815.

Hebert

The Triton www.the-triton.com September 2011 C�NETWORKING THIS MONTH: Thomas Marine

Thomas Marine opens its new Lauderdale office for networking

Thomas Marine Systems will sponsor Triton networking on the third Wednesday of the month (Sept. 21), from 6-8 p.m. Join us at its new office in

Ft. Lauderdale for food, beverages and music.

Until then, learn about the business from owner John Thomas.

Q. So tell us about Thomas Marine Systems.

We focus our business on

all aspects of air conditioning and refrigeration for yachts only. No vessel is too small or too large.

We service and sell all of the major A/C brands, such as Marine Air, Cruisair, Technicold and Condaria, and we are the U.S. representatives for NR Koeling bv. We also service all brands of refrigerators, icemakers and watermakers.

Q. How did you get started in the yachting business?

Born and raised in Miami, my father, John Thomas Sr., started an A/C business in 1955 and crossed over to the yachting industry in 1960. I started working with him at age 12.

After my career in the U.S. Navy, I decided to return to the yachting industry in 1989 and picked up where he left off.

Q. After 40 years in Miami, your company has just opened an office in Ft. Lauderdale. Why the expansion? Why now?

Many years ago, the shift from Miami to Ft. Lauderdale started and companies like mine just followed the shift. Since we have always had a firm

base of customers in Miami, we just drove the 20 minutes to Ft. Lauderdale.

We rented space in Lauderdale two years ago but with the recession, property values dropped and we were able to make a deal and acquire our property on State Road 84. So, sometimes, it’s in the timing.

Q. There are a lot of companies that handle air conditioning and refrigeration on yachts. How do you differentiate your company from all the others? Captains mostly complain about unskilled technicians. How do you protect against that?

Our mission is to provide superior service. This is what we work on perfecting daily.

Basically, all of the A/C companies are able to sell the same product. I believe the only way we can grow is to continue to provide quality service.

Frankly, unskilled A/C technicians are a problem. We started looking outside the box for solutions, such as certification organizations like NATE (North American Technician Excellence). Our efforts are paying off, but it takes time.

Q. Did the closing of Merrill-Stevens and its purchase by Marlow impact your company much?

Merrill-Stevens had been slowing down for some time, so it did not impact us much. I think its great that the facility will remain an option for the yachting industry in Miami. We can’t afford to lose another boatyard.

Thomas Marine Systems can be reached in Ft. Lauderdale at 2200 West State Road 84, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33312 ; +1 954-727-1674, www.thomasmarinesystems.com.

Thomas

C� September 2011 www.the-triton.com The Triton IN THE GALLEY: Culinary Waves

Mary Beth’s Whole Wheat Multi Seed Grain Bread

By Mary Beth Lawton Johnson

Although enticing, consider each offer before jumping on

he led me to believe the temporary job might become permanent. I won’t do that again, either. If you agree on a salary, that’s what you should receive.

And finally, be aware of the “possibility of long-term employment” phrase that captains attach to their job postings. In reality, many offers for chefs and probably stews as well these days are just to get the yacht out of a jam. I’ve discovered that, in many cases, the yacht’s regular chef just went on leave or the owner is only on for the month and the captain needed someone to finish out the season.

If you are looking for long-term work, resist the urge to hop on the first plane at the drop of a hat for just any old yacht. Take time to consider a job offer and weigh what is being presented. Do your homework on the vessel, on the owner, on the captain, and on the crew.

Ask your crew agent or another trusted person in the industry what they feel about that particular owner, yacht and captain. I cannot tell you how many times I wish I had known about a yacht before I took a position, only to find out later how bad the reputation was.

I don’t know why I make the same mistake. I guess when you are looking for work, every offer is enticing. But when you don’t ask around, you can make bad choices.

With my most recent offer, I took the time to ask around and decided not to take the job. Let us all try to develop a new mentality when it comes to job searches and employment opportunities.

Mary Beth Lawton Johnson is a certified executive pastry chef and Chef de Cuisine and has worked on yachts for 20 years. Comments on this column are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.

WAVES, from page C1

2 envelopes rapid rise yeast

2 cups warm water2 tablespoons sugar

Combine the above, stir to mix. Give the yeast about 5 minutes to proof (foam up). Once proofed add:

3 cups whole wheat flour, plus as many more in the mixing step

1 cup rye flour1/2 cup warm milk1/4 cup steel cut oats3 tablespoons molasses1/4 cup dark brown sugar3 tablespoons flax seeds3 large tablespoons sunflower seeds3 large tablespoons pumpkin seeds or

any nuts or seeds

Combine in a mixer until incorporated.

Add slowly the whole wheat flour until it forms a pliable, non-sticky dough. (This recipes uses a lot of flour. Flour amounts are not exact. I usually add 3-4 cups more flour.) You can use any type of flour mixed with whole grains for a more hearty texture.

Remove from mixer, and knead with your hands for 5 minutes, incorporating any remaining flour or seeds left in bottom of the bowl.

Spray or oil a separate bowl and place

dough in bowl. Coat the bread with oil or non-stick spray. I use olive oil.

Sprinkle with corn meal or wheat flour. Cover with saran wrap and a heavy towel and place in a warm spot to rise for about 45 minutes.

Once risen, punch down. Divide dough and form into rounds or pan in molds, depending on how you would like your bread to look. Be sure to oil these molds or spray with non-stick spray.

Cover once again and let rise for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Once risen, place bread dough in oven, and bake until the center is done. Remove from oven, turn out and let cool. Enjoy with some honey butter.

This recipe will make many small loaves, or two giant ones.

PHOTO/MARY BETH LAWTON JOHNSON

The Triton www.the-triton.com September 2011 C�SOUND WAVES / PHOTO ExPOSé

Welcome aboard photo enthusiasts. Let’s get back to basics.

I received an e-mail from an aspiring photographer asking if he could enter

into a career with an inexpensive camera.

I began my photography career with a 35mm Canon Ftb. I still have it and use it to demonstrate certain functions in my workshops that cannot be

demonstrated with a digital camera. It was, in its time, far from top of the line.

The feature this old film camera does have is manual control over the photographic process, ISO (the capture device’s sensitivity setting), the aperture (the ability to control depth of field), the shutter (the ability to control motion), and a meter (to set the ISO, aperture, and shutter).

Do you need to buy an expensive SLR to have these features? No. A good pocket camera costing a few hundred dollars will have these features, so technically you could begin your career with a pocket camera.

Of course, having good quality

professional equipment is part of the goal to aspire to, but more important in this equation is your knowledge and skill level on which you can build your experience. Having the best, most expensive equipment doesn’t do much good without true ability.

This brings me back to basics. Teaching my last workshop I noticed participants struggling to grasp how the ISO, aperture, shutter, and light meter work together. So let’s review:

The ISO, setting the sensor’s sensitivity, is something that can be set before your shoot. Is it daytime or is it nighttime? This determines how to set the ISO, the lowest setting possible (usually ISO 100) is the optimum.

Next, will you be shooting action, portraits or landscapes? This determines whether your priorities are the shutter (in the former) or aperture (as in the latter).

The final action is meter reading for the right exposure, but I’m out of time for this column…to be continued. Until then I take permission to come ashore.

James Schot has been a professional photographer for more than 35 years and has a studio/gallery in Ft. Lauderdale. Send questions to james@bestschot.com.

Old film camera demonstrates old fashioned manual control

Each year, vendors from all over the world go to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show to show off the latest, greatest, and coolest products of the

year. Here are six of the top picks:

Motorola Atrix 4G. Soon, the mobile phone will double as the CPU of a laptop. The Atrix is a game-changer because of its laptop and HD multimedia docking systems.

When you plug the phone into a dock, a browser launches, the apps scale up, and you leave thumb-typing behind. The dock has USB and an HDMI port so it can power entertainment gear. Runs about $500.

Motorola Xoom Tablet. It will be a principal challenger to the Apple iPad. It is a step ahead when it comes to connectivity. The first Xooms launched on Verizon’s 3G network in 2011, and can be upgraded to the 4G LTE network next spring. HDMI compatibility means it can share with a home entertainment center. Price starts at about $500.

Samsung LED 8000 Series TV. It’s LED backlit, 3D-capable, and packed with apps, such as Skype and Facebook. Samsung whittled the bezel down to just 0.2-inches. The series will be available in 46-in., 55-in. and 65-in. sizes, starting at $2,800.

LG LW5600 Series 3D LED TV. In 47-inch and 55-inch, LED-backlit, full 1080p. Uses passive 3D glasses (any kind will work). Prices about $1600.

Vizio Cinemawide LED LCD HDTV. It has a 21:9 aspect ratio, far bigger than typical HDTV’s 16:9. Scheduled to go on sale in October; retail prices to be determined

Cobra Phone Tag. This little keychain works as a two-way alarm between itself and your smartphone. When your keys get out of range of your phone, you get an alert on either device, and can even make both devices chirp like a homing beacon to help you hunt them down. Price starts at $60.

Mike Avery is a founder of MC2 (Music, Cinema and Control), which specializes in design, engineering, and installation of audio/video, lighting and theaters for yachts. Contact him at 954-914-4755. Comments on this column are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.

The hottest in new electronics, best phones, TVs and alarms

Photo ExPoséJames schot

sound WavEs

mike avery

C� September 2011 www.the-triton.com The Triton TRITON SURVEY: Operational budgets

Do you have a limit over which you cannot spend?

If so, what is your limit? How do you have access to funds?

No, I spend what I need

– 41%Yes – 46%

13

10

14 13

655

9<$500 $500-$1K

$1K-$2.5K

$5K-$10K

$25K-$50K

$10K-$25K

$2.5K-$5K

Other

CC, no limit

CC w/limit

Chkg, w/deposits

Chkg w/credit

Chkg, no limit

the monthly budget together with the owner. “If the owner decides to change cruising areas and go from predominantly anchoring out to mostly at the dock then the costs change accordingly.”

“Communication should be the start of any budget or expense system,” said the captain of a yacht 81-100 feet in the industry more than 10 years. “If the owner understands what is going to be required over a period of time, it is easier for all of us. If, as his captain, we understand what his limits (or not) are, then we know to what extent we are able to produce.”

An interesting thing developed in this month’s survey. We asked what seemed like the same question (do you have a budget?) in a different way and got a hugely different response.

We were curious to know how boat expenses were tracked and if captains were responsible for tracking them, so we asked What kind of reporting is expected of you?

Nearly 60 percent provide a combination of advanced reporting (in true budget fashion) followed up

with expense reports. And 16 percent are expected to provide just advance reporting.

Added together, we have nearly 80 percent of captains who provide the owner with, in essence, a budget. (Compared to 80 percent who said they operate with no formal budget.) Perhaps the word formal was confusing, but it certainly proves that question structure plays an important role in the outcome of a survey.

“Budgets are tough,” said the captain of a yacht 121-140 feet with the owner less than a year. “Boats are not predictable and when something breaks it needs to be fixed, even if it does not fit in the budget, and especially on a charter vessel.”

For this reporting question, about 23 percent of respondents said they only are expected to file expense reports.

“A captain must be punctual in sending the owner accurate, detailed accounting reports,” said the captain of a yacht of 101-120 feet in the industry more than 25 years. “Quicken is the accounting program most requested by owners. I also scan all receipts and send them in in chronological order and in established categories.”

For those captains with budgets, we asked who established it?

More than a quarter were established by the captains themselves, but an equal amount were created by the captain and owner working together.

“It’s important to be able to accurately forecast expenditures and work to budgets, both monthly and annually,” said the captain of a yacht of 201-220 feet who established the operational budget on his yacht. “A well-written and adhered-to budget gives the owner confidence in the vessel’s management by the captain.”

The next largest group of budgets, almost 18 percent, were established by the owner alone.

With or without a budget, often a captain has some requirements on what is spent, so we asked Do you have a limit over which you cannot spend without permission?

These groups were more evenly matched with about 45 percent admitting they had a spending limit, 55 percent without one. Of those without a spending limit, about 13.5 percent indicated that was because they needed approval for every expense.

And once again, more than 40 percent said they can spend whatever they want.

“I have no pre-set spending limit, but I instinctively know my boundaries and will ask about large, single-item expenses before going ahead,” said the captain of a yacht of 101-120 feet.

“Whereas no specific limit on spending has ever been established, I still use personal discretion on what to tell the owner I’m spending money on,” said the captain of a yacht 121-140 feet who has been with the owner more than 10 years. “For the most part, 14 years of employment has given me considerable leeway in the way I spend his money. Before I spend a dime, I ask myself, is it something that benefits his enjoyment of the boat.”

One of the main things we wanted to know in this month’s survey was how the boat’s operations were funded, but when we tested that question, captains we spoke to didn’t know what we meant. (Again, it’s all in the wording.)

So we asked instead, How do you have access to money for the boat’s operations?

More than half of yachts give their

captains a credit card with a limit.The next most common way was

through a checking account with a monthly deposit from the boss.

Nearly as popular as those two options was “other” , but we didn’t ask respondents to elaborate because we thought we had covered all the bases.

One “other” captain said it’s a combination of yacht accounts and the owner’s accounts paid directly by the owner, “particularly if he happens to be onboard at the time the expense is incurred.”

A few captains did offer some observations that it’s not about how the yacht is funded, but how much (or, rather, how little).

“The way that bills are paid is not nearly as important as having the owner understand the true costs of running and maintaining his yacht,” said the captain of a yacht 81-100 feet in the industry more than 10 years. “I am happy to try to get the best prices for the boss; that’s part of our jobs as captains. The worst case in this business is an owner trying to save

SURVEY, from page C1

Though not formal budgets, most captains give the boss advance reports

No, I need OK for it all

– 13%

What kind of reporting is expected of you?

A combo of advance and follow-up – 58%

Advanced – 16%

After the fact – 23%

None really – 3%

1

3

$50K-$75K

>$75K

The Triton www.the-triton.com September 2011 C�TRITON SURVEY: Operational budgets

How do you have access to funds?

38

38

81

14

the monthly budget together with the owner. “If the owner decides to change cruising areas and go from predominantly anchoring out to mostly at the dock then the costs change accordingly.”

“Communication should be the start of any budget or expense system,” said the captain of a yacht 81-100 feet in the industry more than 10 years. “If the owner understands what is going to be required over a period of time, it is easier for all of us. If, as his captain, we understand what his limits (or not) are, then we know to what extent we are able to produce.”

An interesting thing developed in this month’s survey. We asked what seemed like the same question (do you have a budget?) in a different way and got a hugely different response.

We were curious to know how boat expenses were tracked and if captains were responsible for tracking them, so we asked What kind of reporting is expected of you?

Nearly 60 percent provide a combination of advanced reporting (in true budget fashion) followed up

with expense reports. And 16 percent are expected to provide just advance reporting.

Added together, we have nearly 80 percent of captains who provide the owner with, in essence, a budget. (Compared to 80 percent who said they operate with no formal budget.) Perhaps the word formal was confusing, but it certainly proves that question structure plays an important role in the outcome of a survey.

“Budgets are tough,” said the captain of a yacht 121-140 feet with the owner less than a year. “Boats are not predictable and when something breaks it needs to be fixed, even if it does not fit in the budget, and especially on a charter vessel.”

For this reporting question, about 23 percent of respondents said they only are expected to file expense reports.

“A captain must be punctual in sending the owner accurate, detailed accounting reports,” said the captain of a yacht of 101-120 feet in the industry more than 25 years. “Quicken is the accounting program most requested by owners. I also scan all receipts and send them in in chronological order and in established categories.”

For those captains with budgets, we asked who established it?

More than a quarter were established by the captains themselves, but an equal amount were created by the captain and owner working together.

“It’s important to be able to accurately forecast expenditures and work to budgets, both monthly and annually,” said the captain of a yacht of 201-220 feet who established the operational budget on his yacht. “A well-written and adhered-to budget gives the owner confidence in the vessel’s management by the captain.”

The next largest group of budgets, almost 18 percent, were established by the owner alone.

With or without a budget, often a captain has some requirements on what is spent, so we asked Do you have a limit over which you cannot spend without permission?

These groups were more evenly matched with about 45 percent admitting they had a spending limit, 55 percent without one. Of those without a spending limit, about 13.5 percent indicated that was because they needed approval for every expense.

And once again, more than 40 percent said they can spend whatever they want.

“I have no pre-set spending limit, but I instinctively know my boundaries and will ask about large, single-item expenses before going ahead,” said the captain of a yacht of 101-120 feet.

“Whereas no specific limit on spending has ever been established, I still use personal discretion on what to tell the owner I’m spending money on,” said the captain of a yacht 121-140 feet who has been with the owner more than 10 years. “For the most part, 14 years of employment has given me considerable leeway in the way I spend his money. Before I spend a dime, I ask myself, is it something that benefits his enjoyment of the boat.”

One of the main things we wanted to know in this month’s survey was how the boat’s operations were funded, but when we tested that question, captains we spoke to didn’t know what we meant. (Again, it’s all in the wording.)

So we asked instead, How do you have access to money for the boat’s operations?

More than half of yachts give their

captains a credit card with a limit.The next most common way was

through a checking account with a monthly deposit from the boss.

Nearly as popular as those two options was “other” , but we didn’t ask respondents to elaborate because we thought we had covered all the bases.

One “other” captain said it’s a combination of yacht accounts and the owner’s accounts paid directly by the owner, “particularly if he happens to be onboard at the time the expense is incurred.”

A few captains did offer some observations that it’s not about how the yacht is funded, but how much (or, rather, how little).

“The way that bills are paid is not nearly as important as having the owner understand the true costs of running and maintaining his yacht,” said the captain of a yacht 81-100 feet in the industry more than 10 years. “I am happy to try to get the best prices for the boss; that’s part of our jobs as captains. The worst case in this business is an owner trying to save

See SURVEY, page C10

The yacht needs to be able to pay as needed and not have to go through a management company but also not have to be sent to the owner’s office so that subcontractors have to wait 30 or more days to be paid. All things should be discussed and agreed upon prior to doing, since not doing so is the best way for a captain to lose his job.

l l l

I have a cash account on board of $10,000US for occasional expenses such as dayworkers and tips and other vendors who might not take credit cards.

l l l

I wish there was a checking account or access to petty cash for the occasional item that cannot go on the credit card.

l l l

The captain, chief engineer and chief stew would all have company credit cards and petty cash to fully fund their departments, with a system of monetary threshold permissions. If the management gets too obstructive, the captain should have an open line to speak directly to the owner to make the case for the expenditure, without any fear of reprisals from the management company.

l l l

Just like this boat: credit card and cash advances for petty cash sent by check or advances on the credit card.

All repairs would be promptly paid.

l l l

It would be nice to have a checking/debit account for cash access and to pay small bills.

l l l

Credit/debit card paid by

accountant/boss with an option for necessary petty cash advances documented by the captain.

l l l

Current arrangement works well. Funds are requested monthly or bi-monthly, depending on how much cruising and/or maintenance is being performed. Once approved by the owner’s accountant, the management company is given approval to release the requested amounts from an escrow account into the yacht’s relevant operating accounts, namely the captain, chef and chief stew accounts.

l l l

No problems with the present system: Credit cards and boat cash available with a week’s notice to the management company.

l l l

Negotiated minimum balance for checking account. Owner pays credit card bill; captain pays for all boat-related expenses, and manages payroll.

l l l

I prefer to have accounts (checking, credit card, and cash) that I can sign for myself to pay bills. My ideal situation was a job with a credit card that had a limit and a checking account that typically kept about $5,000 in it. When I needed to pay a larger vendor bill, I would get authorization and extra funds would be deposited. All reporting is done on Quicken and my expenses are accounted for to the penny.

l l l

I have a credit card with a limit that is too low if I’m provisioning for the winter in the Bahamas and for yard work. I also have petty cash. I’m terrible with expense reports and have never

submitted one. But all the receipts are filed, scanned and in a spreadsheet.

l l l

The best method is to, first, have yacht accounts with vendors such as National Marine and B.O.W. that crew members can be signed onto and deleted easily. Second, have a company credit card in the captain’s name with a $50,000 monthly limit with the owner’s accountants paying monthly. (The captain submits original receipts and itemized lists with explanations for each item.) Third, access to the company checkbook and petty cash, with the same itemized system as the credit card receipts.

l l l

A captain most certainly needs to have use of the following:

1. An appropriate credit card (an American Express card in Europe is almost useless so Visa is better)

2. Petty cash replenished as per reasonable and substantiated request upon submission of accounts. This depends on the size, usage and location of the yacht. A private 120-foot yacht used bi-weekly with guests in Florida and Bahamas should have a consistent petty cash fund of $3,000-$5,000. If based in the Med, a fund of $5,000-$10,000 euros would be reasonable.

3. Checking account that can be quickly funded. I have used this as a back up and it usually comes from a different account source than the credit card. It helps when a contractor does not take a credit card, when petty cash is needed for owner visits, or when the credit card is not accepted due to owner not replenishing or paying into the account in a timely fashion. I say “when,” not “if,” because it happens to pretty much every captain I have known.

Captains: Here’s how yachts should be funded

Though not formal budgets, most captains give the boss advance reports

34

C10 September 2011 www.the-triton.com The Triton TRITON SURVEY: Operational budgets

money owning a yacht. That’s not how it’s supposed to be at all. Nobody wants to be taken for a ride, but this is not a middle-class hobby.”

“There’s nothing worse than an owner who doesn’t have the money to maintain a boat properly, or who doesn’t want to part with his money,” said the captain of a yacht of 121-140 feet. “They expect the boat to look great and function well, but don’t understand – or are reluctant to believe – that for that to happen, they need

to provide adequate funding, and regularly.”

We were curious to learn if access to money for operations changed throughout a captain’s career, so we asked In your career, have you re-negotiated these terms?

The largest group – 35 percent – said they haven’t had to because the terms were suitable to begin with.

“The owner told me five years ago when he hired me that he wanted his toy perfect, but that I should spend his money as if it was mine,” said the

captain of a yacht of 121-140 feet. “That is exactly what I do. I’m careful and spend what I need to be proud of our yacht without excessive spending.”

More than a quarter of respondents said that sometimes, depending on the owner, they were able to get more leeway with accounts.

About 21 percent felt that the longer they were with the boss, the more leeway they are granted with accounts.

Just 6 percent said they tried to re-negotiate but didn’t have much luck.

The next two questions were designed to see what actually happens out there in terms of operational accounts and what captains consider the ideal. Initially, we asked How are the yacht’s bills paid?

The largest group, more than 40 percent of respondents, pay the yacht’s running costs through the yacht’s accounts managed by the captain.

The next largest group, a tad more than 30 percent, paid through the owner’s accounts managed by his people. About 14 percent are paid through the yacht’s accounts that the owner manages.

And 10 percent are paid through the yacht’s accounts that the management company manages.

“I see nothing wrong with a reasonable system of checks and balances,” said the captain of a yacht of 121-140 feet in the industry more than 30 years. “The management personnel (who do not work on the yacht) are much more concerned with expenditure ‘perception’ with the owner than with what is necessary funding for a properly run yacht.”

About 4 percent of respondents said they pay the yacht’s bills through their own accounts, for which they are reimbursed. It seems many captains have learned the hard way not to do this, as it was the most often recited piece of advice in the final question.

“No more of my personal funds to cover operations,” said the captain of a yacht of 121-140 feet in the industry more than 20 years. “I am not short-term financing for the boat’s operation.”

When we asked If you had your way, how would the yacht’s operations be funded and paid?, less than half of our respondents answered, but 26 percent of those who did identified the ideal scenario as being through yacht accounts that the captain managed.

“Ideally, I would have complete control over unlimited funds with no monthly budget projections required, and I would not have to submit monthly accounting for the expenses,” said the captain of a 140-160-foot yacht in the industry more than 20 years. “Well, you asked.”

“I like the set-up we have,” said the purser of a yacht of 141-160 feet who answered “yacht accounts that I manage” for the previous question.

“I have the checkbook and am able to get money from the family attorney as needed. Vendors, shipyards and docks know we handle the bills directly and I believe this gets us great service as they all know they won’t be in a fight with the owner or a management company to be paid promptly.”

Actually, about 42.5 percent of the captains who answered this question said they like the way their yachts operate. The largest group is captains who manage the yacht’s accounts.

The next largest group of happy captains said they liked that the yacht was funded through the owner’s account managed by his people.

About 7.5 percent of respondents said they were happy with their system of the management company managing the yacht’s accounts.

“Our operating budgets are not capped but carefully reviewed throughout the year,” said the captain of a yacht of 121-140 feet whose accounts are managed by a management company. “The safety and sea-worthiness of the vessel is never questioned and, with the appropriate documentation to support a funds request for such items, approval is always granted. Owner comforts and entertainment is given similar priority.”

And finally, we were curious to know Do you consider how the yacht is funded/bills paid when considering taking a job?

More than 78 percent said yes.“I always ask what the budget is at

the interview and go into some details with managers on how it is structured,” said the captain of a yacht of 141-160 feet in the industry 10 years.

“I have red-flagged potential owners who operated without a budget,” said a captain in the industry more than 10 years. “If the owner says he just pays, run away.”

Several respondents offered advice on handling operational budgets:

“Be sure when you interview for the position to interview the owner. Make a list of all things that concern you, including accounts and money available. Write down the answers so things cannot change from what they says at the interview. Ask first.”

“Never bring in trusted service people if the owners are slow to pay. This will dis-ingratiate you to all of the people you have depended on.”

“Crew do not spend money; the owner does. Crew are just middlemen, though they are often blamed for the cost of yachting. The most important concept regarding yacht operations: spend money like it was your own, always.

Lucy Chabot Reed is editor of The Triton. Comments on this survey are welcome at lucy@the-triton.com. We conduct our monthly surveys online. Register online at www.the-triton.com.

SURVEY, from page C8

Captains weigh in on how yachts should be funded, ideally

The Triton www.the-triton.com September 2011 C11TAKE IT IN / YACHTING CAPITAL

A new study published by Harvard University researchers rehashes an old notion that potatoes are fattening. Unfortunately, this just isn’t true.

The study followed 120,000 healthy, normal weight men and women over a 13-year period and checked on their weight status – if they gained, lost or maintained their weight – every four years. The top

two foods participants who gained an average of 3.3-pounds every four years ate were potato chips and potatoes.

Walter C. Willett, one of the study’s key authors, claims that the reason for the potato’s ‘fattening’ reputation lies in this vegetable’s ability to increase blood sugar and insulin levels. It’s true that potatoes rank fairly high on the Glycemic Index (GI), the measure of how quickly a food raises blood sugar. However, other foods rank just as high or higher as a baked potato (85) in this index. These foods include a baguette (95), brown rice pasta (92), parsnips (97), and dates (103). Also, the GI of a potato depends on how it’s prepared. For example, the GI of a boiled (56), new (57), steamed (65) and mashed (70) potato are all lower than baked.

How a potato is prepared also has a lot to do with how many calories it

ultimately provides and how ‘fattening’ it is. Hence, it’s not hard to see why potato chips are pegged as a food that piles on the pounds. One medium (5.5-ounce) baked potato provides 145 calories and is fat-free, while the same weight of potato chips serves up 846 calories and a whopping heart-stopping 56 grams of fat. So, add fat to a potato – sour cream, butter, cheese – and you’ll send the calorie and fat count soaring. Or, top that tater with something healthier such as fat-free sour cream, salsa or a heaping helping of broccoli with sprinkle of part-skim mozzarella and you’ve got a much healthier and lower fat and calorie dish.

Some people think of potatoes as nothing but starch. Yes, potatoes are a good source of complex carbohydrates, but that’s not all. One medium-size potato also provides an excellent source of vitamin C, good source of potassium and vitamin B6, and is naturally low in cholesterol and sodium and is fat-free.

Perhaps the biggest reason why the potato isn’t fattening is that no one single food will be the make or break on your dress or pant size. It all comes down to the mix of food you eat each day. Variety, especially of nutritious foods, is the spice of a healthy life and a healthy weight.

Carol Bareuther is a registered dietitian and a regular contributor to The Triton. Comments on this column are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.

One medium-size potato an excellent source of vitamin C

takE It In

Carol Bareuther

Elections and taxes intertwine with your personal investments more than most people realize.

Most everyone has investments of some kind, and each of us chooses how closely we watch the growth of our investments.

Many changes have occurred since the last U.S. presidential election. In fact, that was the main slogan

change that everyone ran with as a vision. I have heard the comment many times now: “So how is that change working for you?”

I do not like politics. I am fortunate that my father follows politics. He can sit through and listen to both sides debate about topics and issues. For me, it is just too frustrating, depressing and sounds a lot like arguing.

Fortunately, we work together well

as a team so I use my dad as a filter. That way, I can focus on the positive for my clients.

The point is that we all need to be informed as to what is going on around us and how “change” affects our personal lives. Whatever your political views, I encourage you to look into the next election and what each candidate promises to do for you and the country.

Pay attention to these topics in the next election cycle, as they will likely affect your investment strategies: federal debt, energy policy, dividends tax, capital gains tax, estate tax, health care costs, federal flat tax, social security, Medicare and immigration.

Information in this column is not intended to be specific advice for anyone. You should use the information to help you work with a professional regarding your specific financial goals.

Capt. Mark A. Cline is a chartered senior financial planner in Ft. Lauderdale. Comments on this column are welcome at +1-954-764-2929 or through www.clinefinancial.net.

YachtIng caPItal

mark a. cline

Your elected officials can affect investments, taxes, and more

C12 September 2011 www.the-triton.com The Triton

The following workout includes combination exercises. These are exercises that include two to three different movements. Circuit through

these exercises three times and you will have completed a total body workout in a minimal amount of time.

Row, front and lateral raise

Stand tall holding a set of dumbbells in front of you, palms

facing your thighs.Upright row. Lift the elbows out

to the sides and pull the dumbbells up in front of your shoulders. Lower the dumbbells back down.

Front raise. Keeping your arms straight, lift them up in front of you, to

the height of your shoulders. Lower the dumbbells back down.

Lateral raise. Keeping your arms straight; raise the dumbbells to your sides to the height of your shoulders, forming a T. Lower them back down. This completes one repetition. Complete 10-15 for each set.

Front lunge, side lungeStand tall, and keep your hands on

your hips (hold your arms out to the sides if you need to for balance).

Take a big step forward with your right foot, bending the knee, lowering

your body. Make sure your knee does not cross over the toes.

Push off your right foot to standing. Take a big step to the right side with

the right foot, bending the right knee as you lower to the ground.

Push off with the right foot and return to standing.

Repeat on the left side. Keep alternating feet to complete 20 repetitions for one set.

Hammer curl with calf raiseHold a dumbbell in each hand with

your palms facing your sides. Lift the dumbbells, bend at elbows

to shoulder height, pause and lower back to starting position. Complete 10 repetitions.

Immediately following, bring your feet close together and hold the dumbbells at your sides. Rise onto the balls of your feet and slowly lower back

to the ground. Complete 20 repetitions. Perform 10 more hammer curls and

20 calf raises to complete one set.

Sumo squat with triceps extensionStand with

your feet a little wider than hip width apart and toes slightly pointed outward. Hold a dumbbell with both hands, extend your arms above and slightly behind your head with one end of the dumbbell pointed toward the ground.

Lower your body to the ground, bending your knees. Imagine that you are going to sit in a chair; try to bring your thighs parallel to the ground.

While lowering, keep your arms close to your head, bend at the elbows, and lower the dumbbell.

Push through your heels, to bring yourself up to standing as you extend your elbows to bring the dumbbell back to starting position.

Complete 20 repetitions for one set.

Low to high planks with walk

Lie facedown on the floor, resting on your forearms. Rise up from the ground to obtain a low plank position, distributing your weight between your toes and your forearms, keeping your core stable.

One side at a time, raise from your forearms to your hands to obtain a high plank position. Compete 5 repetitions and end in your high plank position.

Moving your right arm and right leg out to the side simultaneously, advance yourself to the right by doing the same with the left arm and leg.

Advance 5 moves to the right, 5 to the left and complete 5 more repetitions of low to high planks to finish the set.

Beth Greenwald received her masters degree in exercise physiology from Florida Atlantic University and is a certified personal trainer. She conducts both private and small group training sessions in the Ft. Lauderdale area. Contact her at +1 716-908-9836 or bethgreenwald@hotmail.com. Comments on this column are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.

Combine exercises to get a total body workout in minimal timeFITNESS: Keep It Up

kEEP It uP

Beth Greenwald

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