ISSUE 63 EaRly SUmmER 2013 career training technology money operations advice delivering the goods A team of industry experts explain how to achieve a smooth new build delivery. mia elise Captain Ron Woods of busy charter yacht Mia Elise explains how his crew achieve the highest standards. millennium cup We interview the captains of New Zealand s regatta and speak to winning owner and captain of first timer Zefiro. social security We tell crew how they can find out if they should be making social security contributions under the MLC.
high standards When charter clients dip their toes into the waters of our industry they are buying into a service-based lifestyle, and the ability of a crew to provide impeccable service is fundamental, especially when the charter client is a potential owner. The Crew Report interviews Captain Ron Woods about charter competition and how his crew meet the targets of superior service on board busy charter yacht Mia Elise. Words by Lulu Trask, managing editor of The Crew Report
16 MENTORS Deckhand at 19 years old and captain at just 24 years old, Captain Ron Woods will accept nothing short of excellence on board Mia Elise. There is quite a contrast as I step into the wheelhouse of Trinity s 50m motoryacht. On the one hand the welcome I receive from the crew can only be described as perfect all smiles and immediate offers of refreshments contained within the boundaries of professionalism but speaking to Captain Woods I get the sense that the wheelhouse also acts as the hub of a business at the height of competition. As the captain of one of the busiest charter yachts in our industry he refuses to let the highest standards slip, so as I sit down with Captain Woods I m curious to discover the secret of service; one that, as charter bookings for the industry look to pick up this season, many can learn from. It s a busy industry, and to be successful with charters is tough, he says. You ve got to have your ducks in a row on a five-star boat. If you don t, you re going to lose. There are guys like me who will beat you every time. You ve got to have the right chef in the galley, the right stewardess inside, the right guys outside for water sports. Everybody s got to be incredibly enthusiastic and good at their job. You want proactive people working for you if you re in the charter business. 2009 Charter Captain of the Year on board busy 42m charter motoryacht Paramour, Captain Woods and his crew were sought after by the owner of Mia Elise. Captain, first mate, chief stewardess (the captain s wife), bosun, chef and engineer all moved to Mia Elise, ready for her delivery in 2010. But additional crewmembers were needed to make the perfect team, and to ensure standards didn t slip an inch, potential crewmembers were put through a challenging and gruelling recruitment process. Operations, Travel, Recruitment, Training... Officer & Crew Recruitment (Deck, Technical & Interior Positions) STCW Training Courses & Cadet Programs Extensive Marine Travel Personnel Planning, Organisation & Administration Offshore Employment & Payroll POEA Registered for Filipino Seafarers All our jobs can be seen live at jobs-at-sea.com www.vikingrecruitment.com +44 (0)300 303 8191 info@vikingrecruitment.com jobs-at-sea.com your next job is only a click away For instant job alerts join us on Facebook
MENTORS 17 You ve got to have your ducks in a row on a fivestar boat. If you don t, you re going to lose. Captain Ron Woods When we started on board Mia Elise we needed a deckhand, says Captain Woods. I don t need a lot of experience for a deckhand, I just need somebody who s like an act from Cirque du Soleil, who will swing round the sides and wash the windows, someone who s not afraid to get out there. We interviewed thirty people, got it down to ten guys, and I hired them all. I told them, You re all dayworking for the next three days. I ll pay you all for the three days, and we re going to weed you. And then, after weeding out nine, we found our deckhand. Résumés are not to be ignored, however, as they provide short and sharp answers to whether a crewmember should even be considered as capable of providing exemplary levels of service on a top charter boat. Longevity and the boats they ve worked on are the most important parts of the résumé, says Captain Woods. If you have three years experience in the industry you don t have enough experience to work on my boat. And if it s a private programme, that s not good for us, because you re used to what a single owner wants, not a constantly changing set of charter guests; Questions about MLC and your requirements? Ask MHG. Medical Dental and optical Disability income Personal accident Life insurance Travel insurance Europe US +33 (0)4 89 61 08 71 +1 954 548 3576 www.mhginsurance.com MHG Ocean Benefits Limited, trading as MHG Ocean Benefits and MHG Insurance Brokers is registered with the Isle of Man Insurance and Pensions Authority in respect of General Business. Registered in the Isle of Man, company number: 120885C MHG Services Inc is licensed by the Florida Department of Financial Services
18 MENTORS If you ask everybody who the best charter boat is in the business, our name will come up. Though it s always hard to outdo what you ve done in the past; you ve already set high standards and you re competing against yourself every time. Captain Ron Woods it s a different level of service. We hired a girl from a private boat last year and she told us we were all nuts after working with us for two weeks, seeing us do twenty-four-hour charter turnovers. And that s the mentality of a private boat they don t understand how hard we have to work to make it a success. My crew get tested, and if they can t keep up they re gone. When we re in the Med on our summer season, the days off you get are at the start in May, and then three months later at the end of the season in August. You re working from the time you get up to the time you go to bed every single day, but you re also going to make a lot of money. You re going to make loads in tips, plus salary, and it s a short season. Money doesn t just go into the hands of the owner and crew, however. Money remains an equally important aspect of the charter service, and dollars are constantly fed into the yacht itself, under the complete control of her captain. I don t have a budget. I bought a tender at the Fort Lauderdale boat show, I bought a water slide that s currently being built for us, I bought all the latest and greatest toys, and the reason why is the boat pays for itself, says Captain Woods. But the proof is in the pudding. The hard graft and long hours undertaken by the crew of Mia Elise, and the full financial control appropriated to her captain, have resulted in a very successful charter history for this young superyacht, even in times of economic difficulty. Last summer we were in the shipyard in New Orleans so we didn t do any charters, but the winter season before that we did ten-and-a-half weeks in the Caribbean and Bahamas. Nobody came remotely close to that last year. And before that we did about eleven weeks in the Med, he tells me. If you ask everybody who the best charter boat is in the business, our name will come up. We have one lady who books with us every year. We ve booked thirty weeks with her over the last five years, though it s always hard to outdo what you ve
done in the past; you ve already set high standards and you re competing against yourself every time. But for this crew, resting on their laurels is not an option. Motivation, enthusiasm and flexibility lie behind the scenes of this successful charter boat. I try to keep a very enthusiastic, hard-working crew that share the same passion for chartering as I do, and can get the job done and enjoy their time on board, says Captain Woods. Chartering is a much busier lifestyle and requires very positive people who are easygoing and able to roll with the punches. As a very busy charter captain I really enjoy what I do, and my wife and I have been very successful in our industry because we love what we do. To be a crewmember on a busy boat you have to really love what you do, otherwise it just won t work. To comment on This article, email lulu@thesuperyachtgroup.com with subject: Tcr 63 high standards Previous page: Captain Ron Woods; Mia Elise, credit: Alexis Andrews This page: (Top) Mia Elise cruises in the sunset, credit: Neil Greenwood. (Below) The elegance of Mia Elise also makes her attractive to many charter clients, credit: Alexis Andrews