As a follow up to the previous mega yacht captain thread, Here is my first hand assessment. I recently had the opportunity to work with the gentlemen mentioned in the other thread. Upon first impressing he is very well spoken and appears to be somewhat competent, intelligent, and knowledgeable. About a week into my hitch it was obvious this guy had no idea what he was doing, IE how to handle a vessel, unwillingness to listen to senior officer that was trying to train him.As an observer i would think a training captain would revue manuals, and vessel specific documents instead of surfing the web, and playing on facebook all watch. All he did was brag about his abilities, education, and background, but when placed in a working enviroment he was clueless. So far to my knowledge he has been ran off of every vessel he has “worked” on. Apparently they continue to give him more chance. Why is it with all of the experienced oil field captains available company’s still continue to hire people that have no experience, or knowledge of this industry. Obviously this guy acquired his sea time by mixing martinis and being some rich guys bitch.
[QUOTE=expeditiously;15924]As a follow up to the previous mega yacht captain thread, Here is my first hand assessment. I recently had the opportunity to work with the gentlemen mentioned in the other thread [/QUOTE]
Expeditious Dude,
We’ve all had bad shipmates, and certainly it isn’t inappropriate to complain about that here (see this thread for my very own yacht captain rant), but a little more subtlety when trashing someone by name is in order. I get it that you were doing a “follow-up”, but again, a little judgement and professionalism.
Fran
I just fired a guy who was just like that. Doesn’t listen, knows everything, terrific skills, yeah right. As soon as anyone shows up talking up his skills I know instantly to watch carefully. It’s never true.
I don’t think it’s bad to comment on people’s abilities. It’s a necessary part of what we do. It matters. It’s incredibly important. I don’t care who gets their feelings hurt
I have an AB studying for his license downstairs right now. He’ll get it. If anyone needs a mate he’ll be ready in a few months. I’ll donate him. He’s great, just ask him.
-dennis
When slamming someone, it would help to have a moderate grasp of the English language. Thanks for the unbiased report.
even better yet who better qualified to run any boat from a fucking kayak to an OSV but a “work boat man”.
Now put you name in the hat of the high brow fuck head crowd in Florida using assholes with real or fake UK accents to run “mega yachts” oooohhhhh woowwww…I think I just peed a little thinking about it.
Who do you want on the bridge when SHTF and a real crisis is coming like out running a hurricane or calling on a local military to repel a drug cartel or skinny pirate attack?
A Limey that looks good in pretty uniform or a dirty old salty bastard covered in tattoos that will grab a SAW and start laying down suppressing fire while the “clientele” enjoy their mojitos?
Just like that pawn show…“we are too far apart to make a deal”…
[QUOTE=Mike Bolinger;191511]Who do you want on the bridge when SHTF and a real crisis is coming like out running a hurricane or calling on a local military to repel a drug cartel or skinny pirate attack? A Limey that looks good in pretty uniform, or a dirty old salty bastard covered in tattoos that will grab a SAW and start laying down suppressing fire while the “clientele” enjoy their mojitos?[/QUOTE]
Could “Mike Bollinger”, be Deep Sea Diver’s alter ego, or his evil twin?
[QUOTE=Mike Bolinger;191511]even better yet who better qualified to run any boat from a fucking kayak to an OSV but a “work boat man”.
Who do you want on the bridge when SHTF and… [/QUOTE]
The expression is all hat and no cattle. However you’ve got the cattle you’re still gonna want to have the hat. A captain that is both competent and polished is going to do better than competent and unpolished.
At sea you need to be able to back it up but most people judge things by appearance, just the way it is.
This thread is an insult to a lot of good people on yachts and workboats.
There is a hell of a lot more to running a large charter yacht than just driving the thing while looking pretty. Nearly anyone can drive a boat, we all know there are hundreds of morons doing it today on all kinds of boats and ships.
When you have a dozen very rich and demanding people paying $250K or more a week to charter a yacht the captain becomes the master of ceremonies as well as cruise director. He has to look and act the part on top of managing an asset that costs more than a containership. Their ship handling skills are just as good as many or most of the supply boat drivers, they anchor far more often than most commercial masters and dock like they have multimillion dollar paintjobs - which they do.
On top of that they manage both a 5-star restaurant plus hotel and its staff.
There are just as many yacht owners who can tell horror stories about commercial guys trying to be yacht captains and engineers as the other way around. There are good ones and bad ones on each kind of boat.
There are not many who can do all of the above and do it well. There are probably more “no cattle” types working commercial than yachting because all you have to do on a commercial vessel is get it from A to B and back without wrecking it or running off the entire crew.
[QUOTE=Steamer;191523]This thread is an insult to a lot of good people on yachts and workboats.
There is a hell of a lot more to running a large charter yacht than just driving the thing while looking pretty. Nearly anyone can drive a boat, we all know there are hundreds of morons doing it today on all kinds of boats and ships.
When you have a dozen very rich and demanding people paying $250K or more a week to charter a yacht the captain becomes the master of ceremonies as well as cruise director. He has to look and act the part on top of managing an asset that costs more than a containership. Their ship handling skills are just as good as many or most of the supply boat drivers, they anchor far more often than most commercial masters and dock like they have multimillion dollar paintjobs - which they do.
On top of that they manage both a 5-star restaurant plus hotel and its staff.
There are just as many yacht owners who can tell horror stories about commercial guys trying to be yacht captains and engineers as the other way around. There are good ones and bad ones on each kind of boat.
There are not many who can do all of the above and do it well. There are probably more “no cattle” types working commercial than yachting because all you have to do on a commercial vessel is get it from A to B and back without wrecking it or running off the entire crew.[/QUOTE]
Don’t forget constantly pulling in and out of marinas with depths and tight docking facilities intended for boats half the size of the yacht while the owners and guests are standing around with umbrella drinks watching your every move. Better not touch bottom or bump the dock 'cause the old geezers and their trophy wives will go down like bowling pins, you’ll be out of a job and you’ll be lucky if they don’t sue you.
I had a couple of guys on a workboat ask me how to get a job on one of them there yachts with all the gorgeous chicks in bikinis. Once they heard they might have to shower at least once a day and quit drooling brown shit in a spit cup, they lost interest.
[QUOTE=Lee Shore;191524]
I had a couple of guys on a workboat ask me how to get a job on one of them there yachts with all the gorgeous chicks in bikinis. Once they heard they might have to shower at least once a day and [B]quit drooling brown shit in a spit cup[/B], they lost interest.[/QUOTE]
Definitely a show stopper right there for me.
If that show on bravo is any indicator, count me out! I’ll give anyone credit for stellar ship handling skills and steadfast management prowess but if that show is representative of the crews I would have to deal with. No thank you sir! I also realize that my commercial shippIng demeanor and lack of respect for rich tools would not work in my favor in that particular segment of the industry. I’ll stick to my SIU allstars thank you very much.
[QUOTE=DamnYankee;191549]If that show on bravo is any indicator, count me out! I’ll give anyone credit for stellar ship handling skills and steadfast management prowess but if that show is representative of the crews I would have to deal with. No thank you sir! I also realize that my commercial shippIng demeanor and lack of respect for rich tools would not work in my favor in that particular segment of the industry. I’ll stick to my SIU allstars thank you very much.[/QUOTE]
It’s a set up. The show’s producers assemble the crews making sure they have the right balance of emotionally unstable misfits to create drama. Throw in some drunken flirting to stoke the fireworks. The charterers know the game and everybody turns it on for the cameras.
“Yacht Captain” might have been better than "Yacht Captain[B]s[/B]. There are all kinds of idiots in the world, and some are yacht captains and some are not. Going the other direction, I have had superb shipmates that came from the commercial fishing world, probably because everything else looks easy, and terrified+useless crew from big ships used to looking DOWN at waves instead of UP and just having one job, not whatever needed doing.
YMMV and all
I’m probably one of the few on gCaptain, but I run a yacht for a living. I’ve also been tugboat trash. I have immense respect for most commercial guys, as I have been one in years past.
I’ve been running private yachts for 12 over years. Currently run a 10 million dollar yacht. (Small for today’s standards.) I keep a low profile, don’t think I’m special, and I’m the first one in the bilge. As long as I get home to my wife and kids I could care less what I do. Been all over the world, been around plenty of yacht jerks. There are plenty, you are right. Over inflated egos for sure; but that is everywhere.
Don’t assume that because I work on a shiny fiberglass boat I have sub-par boat handling skills, seamanship, or a lack of engineering skills.
I do my job, my crew is happy, and the owner stays pleased.
Second mate I had a few years ago was a yacht captain, he had some pictures of himself on deck with some very famous people. He was a very sharp, hard-working second mate. Knew his stuff on deck and in the wheelhouse.
The whole idea that someone can be judged by what sector they work in is nonsense.
[QUOTE=Island_Sailor;191579]…terrified+useless crew from big ships used to looking DOWN at waves instead of UP and just having one job, not whatever needed doing.
[/QUOTE]
Idiot … that statement tells us all we need to know about your maritime experience. Maybe you and DSD need to become penpals instead of fouling this site with ignorant crap.
[QUOTE=Kennebec Captain;191592]Second mate I had a few years ago was a yacht captain, he had some pictures of himself on deck with some very famous people. He was a very sharp, hard-working second mate. Knew his stuff on deck and in the wheelhouse.
The whole idea that someone can be judged by what sector they work in is nonsense.[/QUOTE]
Exactly, there are d-bags on both sides, I have worked on both sides. This whole thread is ridiculous, a whole lot of ignorance and insecurities being thrown around here. My guess is that most commercial guys that are bitching about the yacht guys have never set foot on a yacht. And the same goes for the yacht captains never being on a work boat.
Fella from the that show Below Deck works for Moran in Baltimore. Seen some of his pics on social media.
[QUOTE=Kennebec Captain;191592]Second mate I had a few years ago was a yacht captain, he had some pictures of himself on deck with some very famous people. He was a very sharp, hard-working second mate. Knew his stuff on deck and in the wheelhouse.
The whole idea that someone can be judged by what sector they work in is nonsense.[/QUOTE]
Sorta like judging someone by how they got their license. . . unless they got it at KP. . .of course.
[QUOTE=cmakin;191628]Sorta like judging someone by how they got their license. . . unless they got it at KP. . .of course.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, everyone from KP is a worthless POS, except this one guy who became an inspector for ABS. He pissed off a ship so bad their company fired ABS from their whole fleet and even invoiced ABS for the cup of coffee the dude had. That dude’s kind of cool, despite being from KP…