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August 30, 2010
'The industry should stop thinking that freelance crew are beach bums'

A few comments from survey respondents.

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August 30, 2010
Careful using 'freelance' if you aren't

Real freelance crew -- those who aren't looking for full-time work -- fill an important niche in yachting, captains said in this month's survey.

July 27, 2010
'Owners seems to think things are going to be alright'

We asked captains and crew to share their thoughts on the yachting industry’s Summer of 2010.

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July 26, 2010
Yachting's Summer of 2010

Nearly half of all respondents in this month's survey were either cruising with the owner or guests or between trips.

July 5, 2010
Do you put out the welcome mat for kids?

Most yachts not only expect kids this summer, they welcome them.

July 5, 2010
Kids on board must be 'watched by someone who likes kids'

Here are some comments from crew about having kids onboard.

July 5, 2010
Some ways to entertain kids

Here are a few of the suggestions yacht crew offered to keep kids occupied.

May 30, 2010
'Compliance and paperwork go hand-in-hand'

One captain offered this thoughtful, thorough perspective.

May 30, 2010
A few comments from captains about paperwork

A few comments from captains about paperwork.

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May 27, 2010
Awash in a sea of paperwork

Keeping up with paperwork takes hours out of every month.

May 3, 2010
'The old ways of yard doing business don't hold water in this economy.'

Captains' comments and tips on getting a paint job.

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May 3, 2010
Captains eye reputation, not price, to hire vendors

When we heard a businessman say that yacht captains go out for seven or eight bids, and then choose "the absolute lowest one," we had to know if that was really true, and if price really was the driving factor. We found out it wasn't, in both cases.

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March 29, 2010
Mentoring in yachting

Despite its differences to the corporate world, yachting has adopted a few of its traits that make career progression possible, including mentors. This month, as we gear up for our spring edition of the Triton Expo, we asked megayacht captains and crew if they have had mentors in their careers, and if they take the time to mentor others.

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March 1, 2010
Triton Survey: Crew Food Allowance

Prompted by an e-mail from a freelance megayacht chef on a bad gig, this month's survey seeks to find some industry standards for crew food. Unlike our unhappy chef, the majority of the 284 respondents in our survey not only enjoyed the food on their vessel, but often eat as well as the owner and/or guests.

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February 1, 2010
Quitting more common in past two years than being fired

With the yachting industry beginning to stretch its tightened cruising muscle and more crew seemingly gone back to work, we decided it was time to ask about quitting. 

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January 6, 2010
Crew: Owners would benefit from rotations

An engineer friend who has made a career on yachts is ready to semi-retire and has been looking for another engineer for a rotation. Sounded like an easy task.

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November 30, 2009
Survey: Onboard policies most often informal, verbal

A following breeze from last month’s survey about captains’ management styles brought several e-mails from captains and crew who wanted to know if there was an industry standard for onboard policies.

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October 28, 2009
What kind of manager are you?

Stories from captains have always led us to believe that managing crew is the single most time-consuming and unpleasant part of being a yacht captain .So we were surprised this month when our survey on crew management returned and showed just one of the 121 respondents said managing crew took more than 90 percent of his time. The bulk of captains said managing crew took 10 to 40 percent of their time. By “managing crew,” we mean hands-on training, working through employment problems, and building or guiding morale and behavior.

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October 1, 2009
Licenses evolve into ‘a big issue’

The operator of a private vessel isn’t required by law to have a license, but reviewing the results of our latest megayacht captain survey, you would think he/she was. Of respondents in this month’s captains’ survey, 99.6 percent said they hold a license. The remainder – one captain among the 257 who took the survey – has been with his boss so long he sort of got “grandfathered in”.

September 28, 2009
Triton e- survey: Licenses evolve into ‘a big issue’

The operator of a private vessel isn’t required by law to have a license, but reviewing the results of our latest megayacht captain survey, you would think he/she was.Of respondents in this month’s captains’ survey, 99.6 percent said they hold a license. The remainder – one captain among the 257 who took the survey – has been with his boss so long he sort of got “grandfathered in”. [For more conversation about rules and laws, see From the Bridge, page A1.]

August 26, 2009
Survey: Recession hits the yard as fewer yachts get major work

With the realities of a slowed economy keeping some yachts tied to the dock, it was no surprise to discover that fewer yachts are headed to the shipyard this fall than two years ago.

We tried an experiment this month by revisiting our November 2007 survey about fall shipyard periods. We were curious to see if times had changed much.

They have.

July 22, 2009
Triton Survey: Are brokers fairly compensated for their work?

In last month’s “My Latest Rant,” a captain ranted against a perceived inequality of reward for seemingly equal work in the selling of a yacht. Captains and crew do quite a bit, this captain opined, yet the commission goes entirely to the broker.So this month, we wondered if others agreed. More than 100 captains and crew responded to our survey this month and – somewhat surprisingly, since we’re talking about money – the results are pretty evenly split.

June 24, 2009
Survey: 3 of every 4 crew members are planning for retirement

Blame the economy, perhaps again. But this month we asked megayacht captains and crew if they were thinking about retirement.

Turns out that a full 75 percent of the 188 respondents to this month’s survey are not only thinking about retiring but have begun planning for it, including saving some of their salary and making plans to do other things ashore.

May 22, 2009
Survey: Is there loyalty onboard?

Talk about tempting fate. Asking about loyalty is like writing about grammar. We are bound to do it wrong. But we did it anyway.Perhaps the most interesting result in our eight-question survey is that nearly all respondents considered themselves a loyal member of the crew.

April 29, 2009
Identify the person or thing that most affected your career

We asked respondents to share who or what had the biggest influence on their time in yachting, good or bad. Many responses credited a thoughtful and experienced captain who offered words of advice or took the time to teach others what they know. Another large group of responses said the traveling and their love of the ocean had the biggest impact on their lives.