Month: April 2016

One of the reasons why Invisible Crew is specialised and passionate about the Pocket Superyacht niche is its personal nature. The confined space of a yacht smaller than 100ft dictates that the contact between crew and owner is more amicable and less formal than on larger yachts. One would think that such interpersonal dynamics make the job easier but it’s quite the opposite. Over the years I have witnessed how these dynamics result in blurred lines. The lines can’t be any more blurred than when alcohol comes into play. Sometimes playing hard is actually working hard. Without a fault, any owner I have worked for has invited me to join his family or guests when they went out for dinner and the occasional party that follows. I’m not complaining when I say that I have been forced to join in with the excesses numerous times. I would almost say it is part of the job. However, what’s also part of the job, is getting up in the morning before everyone else. One owner I worked for took us (a crew of 4) on a bender one evening. The next morning, as a logical result, we weren’t as fresh as usual. […]

Now I for one am not a fan of red tape and regulations, what I do like, however, is structure. I dare to say that structure is the one thing our industry is lacking. It starts with education and the legal requirements. Compared to industries such as aviation, the level of required training is extremely low. Anybody who claims to have sailed 2500nm can enrol in a yachtmaster course and two weeks later is entitled to captain a yacht up to 200 Tons. TWO HUNDRED TONS!!! That’s a big boat! Of course common sense applied by owners, management companies and insurers makes it a little harder for a fresh YM to take command of such a titan, but still, the thought… These qualifications are definitely valuable and necessary but by far not enough to prep someone to master a yacht as a professional. Then there’s the competition between the different schools, mostly franchises of the same company. But how is it even possible that they have different prices? How is it allowed that there are two franchises of the same company in the same street? Even McDonalds doesn’t allow that, and if they did, they would provide the exact same prices […]