How much chain do you need?
I was prompted to write this because of the increasing restrictions in France due to environmental concerns and the impact anchoring has been having on the sea grass/Posidonia. This means that in many places along of the French coast, yachts will have to anchor in water >30m depth. Although the French rules have perhaps highlighted […]
I can sleep when I’m dead
I suspect many captains and crew will have succumbed to the embrace of this maxim – I know I have in my past. Working long hours and having minimum sleep was often worn as a badge of honour, it demonstrated a grafter, someone who was willing to put in all the hours necessary to get […]
A Culture of Adjustment…Hours of Work and Rest
I must admit to a bit of plagiarism here as the title, in part, comes from the World Maritime University (WMU) Report1 into the hours of work and rest (HOWR) in the shipping industry – link at the bottom. When I saw the title, read, then reflected on its contents, it became clear there were […]
Crew Rotation In the Superyacht Industry – Part I
Written in collaboration with Captain Brendan O’Shannassy. Although commercial shipping has rotated crew for many years, it is a recent phenomenon in the superyacht industry. It started to become a reality on yachts first with engineers, and then on the larger yachts where manning regulations required officers with STCW qualifications. When rotation first started […]
Superyachts – A Question Of Manning
The quality of captain, officers and crew and, the onboard experience is, without doubt, key to the success of a superyacht and this can only be achieved with the right manning levels which, unfortunately, have not kept pace with the advances made in the rest of the industry.