ISSUE 72SPRING 2015

SEA TO SHOREWe hear from crewmembers who have started their own yachting business on land.

UNLIMITED TICKETSIs it worth getting your Master Unlimited? We look at the increasing trend and whether it’s worth it.

THE PYAWhat does the Professional Yachting Association really do for you? Why should – or shouldn’t – you join?

DIVINGAre the standards of operation high enough to ensure safe training and diving excursions?

FROM SEA TO SHORE

The crew industry’s focus on longevity has expanded not only to those working on board but to those making the transition from sea to land, understanding the importance of keeping

crewmembers’ learned skills within the wider industry. We hear from a number of crewmembers – two captains, two chief

stewardess and three engineers – about why they decided to start a business on land, why they decided to stay in the yachting

industry and how they found the transition from sea to shore.WORDS: LULU TRASK

45CAREER

CAPTAIN JASON DOWNES, CO-OWNER, THE CREW GRAPEVINE

After 15 years at sea on yachts ranging from 25m to 55m, Captain Jason Downes stepped ashore to manage family life, and set up Antibes-based crew house The Crew Grapevine with wife Jenn.

Why did you decide to leave life at sea and start a business ashore?We made the decision to start a shore-based business in order to avoid the ‘golden handcuff’ syndrome – career seafarers (typically captains in their 40s and 50s) struggling to balance their shore-based marriages and families with their sea-based careers.

What might the biggest challenge be for someone deciding to leave life at sea?Yachting is an amazing opportunity but it is all-consuming. When you sign on to each yacht you accept to forgo any real control over your own time and location, essentially trading freedom for money and making it very difficult to manage relationships and responsibilities ashore.

In your 20s and 30s it is easy to ignore shore-based obligations altogether – I certainly did – and there are many benefits that come with it. But I noticed that for many career seafarers there were some sharp edges to the silver lining. Up to 15,000 euros per month is pretty hard to give up when making a change would mean retraining and possibly starting again at the low salary end in any new industry.

What made you decide to set up your own crew house?Crew housing wasn’t our first idea – or our last – but we knew of too many crewmembers who had messed up their exit. I remember overhearing a story of a deckhand who left to start a bakery somewhere; it failed and he lost his savings and wound up back at sea. And this is by no means an isolated tale of yacht exit woe.

Yachties have earned a considerable insight into a growing, multi-national, exciting industry and I am not sure why so many want to turn their back and head in unknown directions. We noticed crew accommodation was an opportunity to move sideways rather than exit altogether, and we took it.

What patterns have you seen emerge from crew during your time running The Crew Grapevine?Crew from all over the world coming from home towns where the biggest yacht in the typical marina is 50ft, and within a week of arriving on planet yachting are writing off the possibility of working on anything smaller than 60m, as if somehow those impoverished owners of small 30m yachts don’t deserve their attention. Most yacht owners who have 30m yachts have towards 100 million euros of their own holdings under their direct management and they are often doing this on the phone right in front of you when on board – on 50m yachts this is rarely the case. This is an opportunity frequently overlooked by budding exit entrepreneurs.

What advice would you give crew considering setting up shop ashore?To make money one needs to look for gaps in the market. All you need to do is find something that is being done badly and do it better – this way you are tapping into a known market, not trying to create a new one. Dreaming about creating some business that piques your personal interest, and then trying to create a market for that, is a much harder road to follow, and I see the two are frequently confused.

Yachties have earned a considerable insight into a growing, multi-

national, exciting industry and I am

not sure why so many want to turn their back and head in unknown

directions.

46

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CAREER

AMY BOWLES, OWNER, OYSTER GLOBAL INTERIORS

Amy Bowles worked in yachting for four and a half years and as a chief stewardess for two and a half, and over her time in the industry has worked on superyachts from 43m to 72m. During her time on board, Bowles assisted with the outfitting of two new-build Feadships – 61m Rasselas and 71.6m Utopia. Now, having left life at sea, Bowles has founded Oyster Global Interiors – the name, she tells me is because “I believe the world is your oyster” – and, 18 months later, has worked on three projects, including the refit of Delta’s 50m Victoria del Mar and two 85m+ builds – as well as smaller projects involving the replenishment and selection of miscellaneous items.

How has your knowledge from being a chief stewardess helped you with your outfitting business?My first-hand experience as a chief stewardess has been invaluable and very appealing to my clients. I am a visual person and with every item I propose I envision the functionality for the guests and crew. For example, my client had narrowed down a cutlery selection to three patterns; I suggested that we remove one of the patterns because the knife stood on the edge of the blade – I reminded my client how nervous a junior stewardess can be clearing the table and we would not want the balancing knife to roll off the plate, damaging the carpet, floor or deck. While sourcing crew dinnerware I am quickly reminded of the many different types of soup and cereal bowls; once taken out of the cupboards and sea-fasteners they will fall over if stacked more than three or four high, especially underway. There is, however, an ideal bowl shape, which securely nests between 10 and 12 high, even while moving. Hands-on experience on board superyachts is extremely helpful.

What made you decide to find a land- based job?Years of having my possessions in storage, collecting many decorative items from around the world while travelling on yachts and my passion for interiors all led to my decision to come ashore, set up a home and establish a land-based career.

Did you know you wanted to work in outfitting?While on boats I really enjoyed having the opportunity to leverage my combined skills and interests with interior and outfitting projects. My degree is in interior design and prior to yachting I worked in residential interior design. During my yachting career assisting with the outfitting of two new Feadships [Rasselas and Utopia] was eye-opening and exciting. I have always loved the thrill of the hunt, determined to quickly find what is needed at the right price. Also, with such a strong retail background I knew where and how we could get good pricing. I was in my element and my captain and boss were pleased. After my new construction outfitting experiences I started to realise there could be a future business opportunity in outfitting as a career some day.

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Is there space in the industry for a chief stewardess to find a job on land in the superyacht industry when they decide they are done with being at sea?Absolutely. With the size of yachts, services offered and level of professionalism all continuing to grow, the opportunities to support the yachting industry on land are expanding as well. Most chief stewardesses are very talented and diversified. There are many niche opportunities to continue land-based work within the superyacht industry. When I came ashore I took a non-yachting position in luxury goods purchasing and high-end brand management. Yachting was clearly in my blood because every time I was on a buying trip for the company I worked for I found myself looking at items and thinking how perfect they would be for yachts.

How easy did you find the transition from working on board to working on land?Coming ashore was certainly an adjustment. I have always been quite nomadic, loving travel, especially after my yachting adventures. The thought of living and working in one location made me a bit nervous, but with a client base that is 100 per cent mobile, I am mobile and available to travel to my clients if needed.

What would have made the transition from sea to land easier?The yachting industry is moving to a higher level of professionalism, with training, certification and accreditations for all departments now. It would have been very helpful coming ashore with tangible qualifications achieved as a chief stewardess, which could have easily been understood and transferred to land-based employment. Like many crewmembers, I took courses to improve my skill set in yachting. Land-based employers do not hold much value or understand what is involved in a silver service, wine or advanced medical course, let alone a Yachtmaster captain’s ticket [which Bowles has] for someone working in luxury goods. At a minimum, you hope they see you are dedicated. Whether continuing a career at sea or planning to come ashore, I believe the increased level of professionalism in yachting and transferable accreditations across all departments is very beneficial.

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After my new construction outfitting experiences I started

to realise there could be a future business opportunity in outfitting as a career some day.

48

ROB BATISTIC AND JUSTIN GRUBB, CO-OWNERS, TNS YACHTING

Rob Batistic (left) and Justin Grubb (right) are ex-superyacht engineers. Batistic started yachting in 1999 and has worked on board yachts including 38.5m Sirenuse and 38m Betty; the latter began his yachting career in 1995 and has worked on board 37m sailing yacht Atlanta (now Genevieve). Both had worked for each other during their yachting careers, and in March 2014 the two joined forces once more and set up a chandlery business in Fort Lauderdale.

What made you leave yachting in the first place? RB: When I started in yachting I gave myself two to five years and I went past that. I’d spent my last two years in yachting trying to come up with a plan of what to do next. In the end I just came ashore and spoke to one of the local chandlery companies. I sort of got forced to make a decision because I got engaged and knew, for me, a relationship wouldn’t work if I were at sea most of the time. But I didn’t really have a plan of what to do next and that’s a hard issue for a lot of people working on board.JG: The move ashore was something that I hadn’t fully planned out, and when I met my fiancé it made everything so much easier and clearer in my mind. In 2012 I had the opportunity to come ashore and work for Megafend Mooring Products and after six months I realised it would not be so easy for me to reinvent myself, and went back to engineering – this time working for an AV company doing specifications for new builds in Europe. In 2013 I walked away from that and went back to working as an engineer, this time for myself in my own consulting company. Rob and I had been talking for quite some time about getting into something on our own and in March 2014 we took the opportunity and opened up TNS Yachting.

Did setting up a business with a partner ease the transition?RB: The transition was relatively painless, but starting a business isn’t easy, with or without a partner. There are so many things we didn’t even think about and little things that pop up along the way that can be hugely frustrating. So when trying to iron out the teething problems four hands are always better than two. We’ve both worked for each other and both work well together.

Why did you choose to stay involved in the yachting industry when you set up your business on land?RB: Most of us really like the marine industry and want to stay somehow involved. Which makes it harder again because what can I do that’s shore-based and still involved with the industry and where I can still hang out with the people I’ve hung out with for the past couple of years? Because yachtie folk are good folk. And this way, with a chandlery, I get to deal with everyone.JG: We decided to head down the chandlery route as it’s the closest thing we feel to still being on board a boat. At times you can’t help but get caught up in the pre-trip hype of getting ready for the guests. In some small sense we have been part of that – like supplying the seal for the main engine raw water pump that failed last minute and was replaced while everyone was sleeping so that the trip was still possible, or providing the beautiful flower arrangements that blew the guests away when they stepped into the main salon.

Does your experience on board create good levels of trust with potential clients?RB: Yes, and we saw lots of familiar faces coming to us. When talking to engineers we have an understanding about the machinery they are working on, and this especially helps when it comes to additional products they might need to make a job easier.

But you’ve still got to break down that barrier of, “You’re a new guy in the industry”. Even though they do know you, it’s like, “How long have you been doing supply?” But one of the things we tell people is, hey, we’ve been in your position. We know how demanding bosses are, and because of that we know what your requirements are, so we can take it to the next level and get you what you need for when you need it. Because some crew can be a little bit disorganised; some will leave things to the last minute.

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49

MARGARITA AMAM, OWNER, INTERIOR MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (IMS)

Margarita Amam began in the hospitality industry in 1993, working in hotels and on cruise ships, and for the past seven years has worked in yachting, working her way up to chief stewardess on board yachts of 40m, 60m, 75m, 100m and 134m. Early in 2014 Amam left yachting to set up IMS GmbH and associated product CRYSTAL – a software designed to support and educate interior crew and management of a vessel.

What made you decide to leave yachting and set up IMS?The culmination of frustrations and the growing unkept promises – it’s just not right. I don’t like how blame gets passed down to girls and stewardesses, resulting in being called ‘stupidesses’. In the upscale restaurants I worked at in the past there was no such blaming culture. We knew exactly the what, when, who and how of our tasks, and if we had questions our superiors – all highly educated in the profession – had the right answers and supported us with proper tools. Proper education and access to fundamental knowledge and tools is needed in the yachting industry. Interior management is not just rocket science.

Why do you feel the stewardesses get so much blame put upon them?Let’s face it, girls get lured into the industry by, “Hey, you can make great money and pay no tax”, but no one tells them, “Oh, by the way, you need to be an expert in leather care, couture treatment, French service, butler service and also be a mixologist, sommelier and PA.” It’s unfair and it obviously leads to frustration for the girl who gets thrown in there and has to be an expert on everything. They have to instantly operate at the highest level. The lack of time and energy for sourcing further development or education has led the industry to the “I’ll wing it” mentality. The industry is filled with individual opinions masquerading as guidelines which are not endorsed by a relevant and unbiased institution. It’s very confusing and just adds to the fog over interior operations. That’s why I think you can’t blame the girls who start at 20 or 25 years old, when they’re not being given concrete protocols.

What’s been the best part of being based on land?RB: Being in control of where I was going to be in the foreseeable future. And that big bed! Your personal space. And running. It’s something I couldn’t do on the boat. I joined a running club and I train regularly with them. If you’re somewhere for a month doing a refit, you’re there for a month and you’re off again and that’s the end of the routine. Being on land is much better for getting into routines. And for building a solid circle of friends who are always around. I’ve got some great yachtie friends who are here for six weeks at a time and I love it when we have the bi-annual visit, but in six weeks they’re gone and suddenly there’s a hole in your life.

What changes have you noticed change in the industry over your time on board and on land?JG: I think being crew on board these days has become more demanding than when I first got into it, from certification to the guests themselves becoming more demanding of your attention and service. RB: Communication has changed yachting incredibly. When I first started, most of us were on satellite connections that were so slow. God help you if one of your family members sent a photo. Now all boats have a good internet connection and one of the things that I’ve found odd opening a business is I get orders via text, cell phone, landline, Facebook, email and WhatsApp. How many apps do you download on your phone so people can keep in touch with you? Lots. Skype’s a good one because people just message you and it’s easy – it just pops up on your screen and says, ‘Hey, how are you doing? I need this please’. You can have a two-day discussion straight away – email takes longer because you’re waiting for the other party to reply. With Skype they get it straight away, which is useful because there are often questions associated with an order.

You’ve still got to break down that barrier of,

“You’re a new guy in the industry”.

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50

The mentality of the industry has to

change and the only way to achieve it is by improving the people

that you have.

How did this turn into the creation of IMS?The idea for IMS had been lingering in my head for six years, and five years ago I started to make the first advances with the content and getting patents on the various aspects. And I just felt this frustration was getting bigger and bigger. Crew were turning over faster and faster. Now, if you ask a stewardess a very basic question with basic terminology, such as, “What is the difference between silver service and butler service?” most of them will say silver service is the overall terminology, which is isn’t correct. Acquiring service knowledge is a long process and cannot be done within a five-day course. Offering an ‘instant help’ at high cost is only taking advantage of the desperate need of help from stewardesses and captains who send their crew to be trained. It’s the same trick companies use to sell ‘magic’ diet pills. Everybody knows they don’t help and that nobody got slim and fit through a five-day vitamin course and yet people still fall for it. That’s not a solution.

I believe all these girls are truly capable of doing the job, as long as you give them the means and as much guidance as they demand. And this is where the whole idea came from for IMS. Nobody writes the established protocols down in a meaningful way. I’ve seen attempts on yacht interiors that I took over; there was a document on

the desktop in the crew mess, then there was another document on the personal laptop, then some notes on an iPhone. But the IMS software allows you to channel what actually needs to be done – daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly. It gives you a skeleton of what needs to be done with key data and duty cards and you can add your own information on what needs to be done, when and how. You can assign them to the individual stewardesses and they can look them up on the cabin’s iPad. You can add time frames for standard duties such as how long crystal maintenance takes, so even management and owners can see, “Oh, it takes that long”, because how would they know otherwise? The set time frame gets blocked in your calendar and you automatically have your proof of work report in case the question arises.

Stepping in or up will be easier for all parties involved. It’s stressful for captains and management and ultimately for the owner having to adjust to new crew. Let’s say you have a chief stewardess who was there a few seasons and then suddenly left – the next girl can just step up because she knows the system and can easily look up her new duties. The mentality of the industry has to change and the only way to achieve it is by improving the people that you have, because you always have different people.

With so many frustrations from working on board, did you find the transition to being land-based an easy one?I found it easy because I always had my own place. I moved out when I was 18 so I’ve always maintained my own apartment. So the transition wasn’t difficult, but I was surprised that after so long in the hospitality industry I needed about three months to wind down before I could start setting up the business full time. I thought I could just run straight into it but because you’re under so much voltage all the time while at sea, ashore I felt like, “Did someone pull my plug?” I needed a couple of months to wind down but now I am ready.

CAREER

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51

TYRONNE GLENNIE, OWNER, MARINE VSAT

Tyronne Glennie spent 11 years on board superyachts, including positions as first officer and relief captain on 50m motoryacht Aquila and relief first officer on a 56m motoryacht. Prior to being a crewmember, Glennie’s background was in IT, and during his time at sea, with no ETOs on board his vessels, he took on the responsibility of AV and IT equipment. Moving shoreside, Glennie set up Marine Vsat, a Vsat and AV integration company, and hopes to provide yachts with those services he felt were lacking when he worked on board.

What was your biggest concern when deciding to step away from yachting and move shoreside?In my case, I spent 11 years on board vessels obtaining my Master 500gt, which can’t really do anything for me in any other field than the superyacht industry. Fortunately for me, prior to yachting I had come from an IT background, which I used while on the vessel, and with how the yachts have changed it has created a shore-based position for me.

What advice would you give a crewmember who is thinking of going shoreside?There is never the perfect time for leaving the yachts. Reality kicks in once you get off the boats. Bills add up quickly when you start having to pay for everything we took for granted while working on board a vessel. I guess you need to make a decision before going ashore, and that is what kind of lifestyle you want – one for the family or one for travelling? Personally, I reached my limit of being on board, and having kids helped make the choice a lot easier. Once you do decide to move on, no matter what you get into, the chances are there is no way it will be as stressful as the work done on a yacht. I see my friends now that have never worked on board a vessel stressing out for having to work past five o’clock in the afternoon. My sense of a work week has been corrupted by years of 24/7 standby with guests.

Would you recommend keeping close ties with the yachting industry when setting up shop on land?While opening my business I was still actively doing relief work. This constant cash flow has allowed me to be able to support my business while it grows. And since my company is still involved with yachts, it has been great for business. The yacht industry is growing and it is great to have it as a fall back, so completely cutting ties to it wouldn’t seem like a good idea.

Where do you see the company in five years?Honestly, I haven’t thought that far ahead. My goal is to have 15 to 20 full-time yachts that I do the remote support on and two full AV installs a year. Keep true to my core customers and not grow too big; yachting is a service industry and the support the yachts receive should be the same.

You decided to start a business in the AV/IT realm. Would you say this is a challenging business to run alone?I wouldn’t say it is challenging to run alone. I believe that when the vessel buys a system, they own it, and with that thought in mind I give the crew full access to everything I know. It is a catch-22 position: they may decide they don’t need me after a while and cut me from the budget, but in most cases they keep me around for remote support, and because they have been educated and have full access they are able to fix most issues without having to contact me. When guests are on board this is a key factor, as there is nothing worse than waiting for somebody else to fix the issue when you are the person getting hammered with all the questions about why it doesn’t work.

In the end we are all working for the same person, so I’m not really running the business alone. Another key factor to this working so well is most devices have gone to the point where they can be troubleshot remotely – this has really helped. It means that smaller vessels that don’t have space for IT crewmembers can get by.

When working on board what was the biggest problem you found with AV/IT?The AV/IT companies wouldn’t give you full access to the equipment you had bought and paid for. Systems were over-complicated. I like the keep-it-simple approach – especially on charter boats, where you may have all the best equipment with the most elaborate interface for picking a movie but it is not good when you have a 70-year-old charter guest who can’t get a movie to play or change channels on the TV.

What benefit do you feel you have in coming from yachts to offer this service shoreside?I have been there and done that. I know the stresses that the crew are under. And my systems are built as the complete package from the Vsat to the ship’s network to the AV, so no finger pointing when something goes wrong. Let’s face it, yachts are not the perfect environment for IT equipment, so something is going to go wrong. It may be something simple to fix, but the idea is to teach the crew what happened and the easiest way to fix it, so next time when it happens they have the answers.

I have been there and done that. I know the stresses that the crew

are under.

TO COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE, EMAIL LULU@THESUPERYACHTGROUP.COM WITH SUBJECT: TCR 72 FROM SEA TO SHORE

CAREER