As they say, the happiest day of a yacht
owner's life is the day he (or she!) buys the
boat...the second happiest being the one �
hopefully a long way into the future � when
the vessel is sold. In between, there is an infinite
variety of decisions to be made, one of the
most important, and potentially bewildering,
being the choice of captain and crew. Little
more can have such a profound affect on an
owner's satisfaction with his or her yacht than
the people who run it. After all, the captain and
crew not only operate and maintain the yacht,
a substantial financial investment in itself,
they also protect the most important qualities
any yacht owner enjoys: personal safety and
comfort � their own and that of their family and
guests. Peace of mind is a rare and wonderful
commodity that can and should be available
in abundance on board a private yacht � and
it is primarily the crew who can provide it.
When the relationship between a yacht
owner and his captain � and by extension
his crew � works well, it can be a wonderfully
rewarding one, offering owners a view into
the actual operation of perhaps their most
valuable personal investment. If � cynics might
say when � a captain and crew relationship
goes sour, there is not much worse an owner
can experience. Fortunately, there are ever
more resources available for making the right
The days when agencies or management companies did business like old boys'
clubs are gone forever.
Just as with choosing the right crew, working
with the right agent or manager can make the
difference between a happy and productive
relationship or a miserable experience. Talk to
your peers to discover which agencies they
recommend. Take the time to talk to agents,
personally or by telephone, and listen to what
they say. Are they prepared to learn about your
operation and style of yachting? Do they have
theexperienceandtechnologytobackuptheir
recommendations? Are they offering resources,
such as job descriptions, employment contracts
and verifiable references? If you do not have
the time, delegate this critically important
job to someone who truly understands your
yachting goals and desires, be it a family
member, trusted employee or even a yacht
manager who knows you well enough.
The days when agencies or management
companies did business like old boys' clubs are
gone forever � for today's yachting recruitment
and management, companies are offering
modern business tools which match the level of
sophistication expected by both yacht owner
and yacht captain clients. Laurence Reymann,
whose charming French accent does not
hide a serious, London-trained background in
professional executive recruitment, typifies
the way top crew recruitment and placement
agencies operate in the yachting world.
She opened YPI Crew, a division of Yachting
HAPPY CREWS � HAPPY CRUISING
11
decision when recruiting, hiring and retaining
crew aside from your friendly yacht broker who
will often have just the right person in mind. But
`buyer beware' is never more true than when
hiring yacht crew, so taking advantage of all
the knowledge and resources available to you
is a very wise move.
Increasedlegislationandlicensingstructuresare
designed to ensure that you hire the crew with
enough experience to safely run your yacht,
so always check with your insurance company
and Flag State or legal advisors first with regards
to the specifics of licensing, crew numbers
required for your yacht tonnage and planned
areas of operation. Next, there are several
highly specialised yacht crew recruitment,
placement and crew management agencies,
most of which are well qualified to offer advice
and indeed poised to submit the CVs of
captains and crew who will best suit you.
Partners International, in 2002, and it is an
operation she runs with an insistence on
providing both the personal touch coupled
with advanced technology. After more than
a year in development, a comprehensive
online database was launched this year by
YPI Crew offering an exceptionally powerful
tool for research on the infinite variables of
crew requirements and backgrounds such
as experience, languages spoken, hobbies
and of course the ever-important licensing
levels. The bespoke database also allows an
even-greater depth of record-keeping on
recommendations and references, allowing
YPI Crew to track crew job histories with the
ultimate goal of being able to match the right
candidate with the right job.
Yet despite the increased efficiency offered by
YPI Crew's electronic tools, Laurence's advice
to yacht owners and captains is much more
vrever.
The d

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