As described in our interviews with Yacht Captain David Laird, and Yacht Manager Shirley Moyer.
Part 1, Interview with David Laird
Put simply, yacht management company’s are a partnership between the vessel, the owner, and the captain.
We look at the hierarchy and working out between the management company, the captain and crew, and the owner in a triangle. The owner functions at the top of the triangle, and always stays at the top. Within the triangle is the yacht management company and the yacht captain/crew. The hierarchy between these two can flip flop depending on the circumstances, but overall it’s one team functioning together.
For example when the owner is on board, it’s everyone’s job to take care of him. Although during this time, the people with the most direct communication and contact will obviously be the captain and crew, because they will be directly on board. And in this instance, the yacht management team functions as more of a supporting role.
On the other hand, if the boat is undergoing a big refit, budgeting, or a year end report is taking place, then the yacht management team will step in more so and take the lead in this administrative role.
What’s Your Perception of what the Yacht owners see the Yacht management team doing?
Most owners, especially working for the first time with a management company will see the value of working with them. The management team can assist and take away many of the concerns and headaches that the owner might have. This is especially the case when you marry the right owner, with the right captain, and right management company.
Working with a management team, and in this triangle takes a certain learning, and figuring out what everyone’s roles are. There is a figuring out of who communicates with who how much. With each owner there’s a bit of a different chemistry.
What is it like working with a management company, and what are some examples of a day in the life?
A typical day to day interaction consists of relying on the management company for cash and making sure the vessel’s vendors are getting paid. As well as simply allowing the yacht to ship things to the management’s office, or relying on the management company to get things shipped over to the vessel.
Unfortunately, sometimes there are more serious reasons to communicate with the management team. For example, when crew members get hurt on board, the management team helps out with whatever needs to take place. Whether it be: evacuation for that individual, simply getting them the medical care that they need, notifying the authorities, contacting the individuals’ family, or dealing with the insurance company. In the scenario that a person’s injured, the follow up settles whether they can or can’t return to work. In situations where they can’t, the management team takes care of housing, feeding, temporary disability, and insurance claims.
Part 2, Interview with Shirley Moyer
What yacht management is not…
A lot of people consider yacht management the day to day running of the vessel. This consists of the wash down, dusting the interior, repairing the main engine, and that’s not what we do here. At Reardon Yacht Consulting, we’re more on the backside of yacht management.
We support the vessel and the crew by providing financial administration, providing safety administration, crew management, and operational support.
A day in the life for someone on the operation side of things
(examples of what Yacht manager, Shirley does)
With yacht management you never know what to expect. A large part of Shirley’s day in yacht management is crisis management. This means that as a yacht manager she handles crises or issues that come up, some small and some large. A small one might be a credit card not working, or getting a package delivered to a vessel in a remote area. While bigger issues tend to be more of emergency situations.
One might not see a credit card not working as a crisis. But, if the chef is at the grocery store with seven carts of groceries, and the credit card isn’t working, we’d consider this to be some what of a crisis.
Something more hands on and unexpected, is the example of a medical issue that recently happened. This medical issue was suffered by a crew member on board, and we as yacht managers were able to get him the care that he needed. As yacht managers, the team got the crew member to the doctor. We then handled the necessary follow up, documentation, reporting, insurance documentation and communication that was required.
A mechanical situation can be just as big of an emergency if the vessel has an engine failure, or something similar to this. In these scenarios, the management team will be on hand getting the vessel the assistance that’s needed.
Overall in yacht management, there really is the range of small to large crisis management, and always a heavy load of administrative paperwork.
If you have any more questions regarding Yacht Management, check out more about us. Or if you would simply like to contact us, please feel free to at (954) 839-6001. We would love to help!
