Choose Captains and Owners Wisely

I read here and I hear elsewhere of a lot of deliveries and other short term selections that don't work out well. Nearly all could have been avoided with better due diligence up front.

To the owner, the most common mistake is choosing based on cost. Understand captains know their value and those offering to do the work for the least are telling you that in the market they are worth the least. I see owners not allowing enough crew. I see deliveries with nighttime running and long days and exhaustion. You've got a million dollar boat and cutting corners for a few hundred dollars. One of the major questions is why the captain is available. If this is part of what they do regularly then it all makes sense. Then honestly assess whether you trust them to do the job properly and can let them go about it without micromanaging them. Have they outlined what they plan in a way that makes you comfortable.

To the captain, the best job you ever get may be the one you don't get. I realize how hard it is to turn down work, but there has to be a time you say "no." You have to walk away if they make you uncomfortable when discussing it. If they're wanting you to take shortcuts or run a schedule you're not comfortable with or not willing to provide an advance payment if new to you, then you need to really think. If they don't require your resume go to their insurer and you're not approved by their insurer, that's a bad sign.

There should be an interview or interviews and they should be two-way with the owner interviewing the captain and the captain interviewing the owner. When in doubt, whichever you are, don't proceed. If you do, you may find out the hard way that your instincts were right on target. Ask each other questions designed to gather the information needed. Be sure to discuss those things important to you.

Once you decide to go with each other then make it work the best you can. As owner, show respect for the professional Captain and don't try to micromanage or tell him how to do the job. For the Captain, show respect for your boss in this situation and try to meet their goals but also take time to explain why things might not go as they expected or you may change your approach.

95% of the time things don't work out, a more careful selection and interview process would have prevented the problems. Just be careful up front.

The industry isn't ready for my ideas. One of the things I found most disappointing when first looking at the industry was how poorly crew was treated and what an unnecessarily tough life it was. I saw the turnover and just felt there had to be a better way. I saw successful business persons owning yachts but owning and operating them in ways they never would have their businesses. Ultimately, it all comes from the top, like any business. However, it's been so established in the industry, that there is no pushback. Owners can get by with it. It reminds you of the industrial revolution and manufacturing where owners did nothing to protect the safety of employees nor to provide good living for them until the combination of employees, unions and government stepped in. Too many business persons today only provide adequate pay and benefits and workplace rules because they're required to by law and rules or by competition. Why are restaurants and over the road trucking so short of employees right now? Because they've traditionally treated their employees like dirt. People in yachting have accepted working 16 hour days and 7 day weeks or working 330 days a year (and if you have a day to go ashore but 3000 miles from home, I still consider that working). And why aren't Maritime Work Rules enforced on all boats? But mostly, why don't boat owners care more about the life and health of all their crew. I don't grasp how someone can own a $40 million boat and care so little about those who serve them so every moment they're on it. All over a few thousand or a hundred thousand but less money than they spend flying in and out or on fancy dinners or on fuel for a week.

I'm going to leave this post with a very simple question. Why are so many boats in South Florida flagged offshore? The answer is simple. It's to pay crew less and provide fewer benefits and to not pay the employer taxes. It's all to the detriment of crew and especially US crew. Has nothing to do with initial taxes. Florida has an $18,000 limit and no property tax on boats. It's the same reason as cruise ships, to circumvent US employment laws (although other laws circumvented by cruise lines).

Well, we treat our other employees well too which may also explain our low turnover in business. But I can't think of yacht crew as just employees, not when I live with them on boats 240-280 days a year. Perhaps if you only were aboard 30 or 40 days. They are employees but they're also housemates and friends.

As to "LOTS of people crew out just to enjoy the life style that goes with crewing on a luxury yacht", well that gets old quickly as they find the lifestyle on most not to be at all as they imagined. I look at retention rates and turnover rates of industries and of individual businesses, which in this case is boats. Those rates in yachting and with most boats reflect very poorly on the industry. Reasons are varied and debatable, but the numbers don't tell a good story. In almost 9 years, how many crew members have we lost? None. We do have four slowly easing into retirement though while their successors already in place and planning the new hires at the entry levels. But then our businesses also run amazingly high retention rates. I never forget employees are employees but I never treat employees as just employees.

You're right, different ways to do it. My methods work for me and pretty well for over 14,000 employees.

One sidebar. You can hire foreign crew for US Vessels. Requires a B1 Visa. Limited to six months at a time in the US, but Visa for 10 years. A bit of an effort. Then subject to all US employment laws and taxes. We received a resume this week from a student at a US Maritime School. Looks like excellent candidate.

Here is an interesting writeup of the subject:

https://121yachts.com/us-yacht-crew-regulations/

There was a discussion on this site years ago but so much misleading information, I don't know if anyone could gather the facts.

Likely recommend discussing with your immigration and your maritime attorney if one is seriously interested.

I have never found a problem finding US crew. We sure have great schools turning them out daily.

No, I consider Cal Maritime, SUNY, and Massachusetts Maritime excellent and have been impressed by the Engineering at the University of New Orleans as a grad program. We've found very good engineers from them. They also turn out good captains. I have no doubt Great Lakes, Maine and Texas A&M do also but don't have direct experience with them. Plus the US Merchant Marine Academy.

I also have respect for the basic training of some of schools like MPT for deck and stews and even Captains if they get good hands on training elsewhere.

Don't get me wrong, we've found excellent employees who came by totally different routes.

Good points and we have hired both ways. We hired one engineer who was always aiming for yachting, but went from Cal Maritime to the University of New Orleans for grad school and then did 21 months for Chouest to build up time and advance license, always clear with them regarding ultimate purpose. They wanted her to stay but referred her to us with a statement along the lines of "We were both crazy enough to be a perfect match."

Now we hired another from who went to Mass Maritime. She did say the program was geared nearly completely toward commercial. Her mother was career Navy, but her father, who is Italian, had introduced her to yachts. She went straight to yachts, very much outside the mainstream there.

So we have found an overwhelming emphasis toward commercial, port management, ship building and things other than yachting. Still, if you hit them, some excellent yachting candidates.

SUNY does an excellent jobs for captains, but the vast majority is commercial.

The reality is commercial offers quick money and rise in license.

To your point of only a few hands going up on yachting. Only takes one good candidate and since most are going the commercial route, those interested in yachting may be available.

We have not yet hired a captain from a major maritime school.

We have also built relationships with local maritime schools and found them a good resource for candidates for deck and interior at all levels. They have entry candidates but also those upgrading licenses.

To this point our captains have come from just general market talk. Some from agencies we used heavily in our early days for charter. Some sign up to with charter companies between long term jobs. Some from dock talk. Some from boatyards. One we were made aware of by MPT as she was here from the Virgin Islands upgrading her license and interested in the Fort Lauderdale yachting world.

Ultimately you have to consider all resources.