Category: Pocket Superyacht Blog

Canaries instead of Caribbean, The Covid Contingency plan?

Covid-induced-uncertainty is clouding our clients winter cruising plans. So we are investigating quality options nearer to home. Most years, the Canary islands are merely a stopover on the way to the Caribbean. I have personally visited Tenerife, Gran Canaria, La Gomera and Lanzarote. On each of my visits I have been surprised, intrigued, excited and curious to find out more about this large, and especially varied, archipelago. To say that winters are mild here is an understatement. Apart from the odd cloudy January day, temperatures rarely drop below 16*C. Officially recorded highs are as warm as 23*C in November. Most importantly water temperatures don’t drop below 18*C! The real draw of these Atlantic Islands in the winter are not just it’s diversity in vegetation and topography but it’s great sailing conditions. The North Easterly Tradewinds provide a consistent force 3 to 4 breeze. The areas where the wind funnels between the islands are referred to as acceleration zones. An increase of 10 to 15 knots makes for exhilarating Atlantic sailing. It makes the passages between the different destinations fast and interesting. There are many quality marinas receiving blue water yachts all year round. Places I have personally visited: Las Palmas, […]

Lockdown hasn’t been boring for Invisible Crew

While I was confronted with my two very energetic kids being pulled out of school and into my home office, the workload didn’t exactly diminish. Many people died of boredom during lockdown. I had to deal with the saga of one my client’s yachts that was on route for the Virgin Islands. There, we arranged for a cargo ship to pick the yacht up and take her to Palma. They left, just days before countries started shutting down and arrived in a very different world! But in the mean time, I was contacted by the owners of the CNB76 Malaika. They have a very exciting itinerary. On day one of the lockdown, the yacht was in the Galapagos. The US East Coast, but also arctic destinations, are next on the calendar. They were in search of a couple -Captain and First Mate- with a very specific profile. In fact, it was so specific that, when I presented the first couple which pretty much answered to all the criteria, they were offered the position. Malaika is now the 4th CNB76 that we are crewing. For Aenea, another CNB76, we have been plotting out several IF-THEN Covid19 scenarios while finishing an extensive […]

Coaching and support for Pocket Superyacht crew?

When you promise Pocket Superyacht owners “worry-free ownership” like we do, you can bet you’ll always be looking at how things can be improved. Pocket Superyacht owners are generally new to employing professional yacht crew. Pocket Superyachts are an entry level size for professional crew. Two wrongs don’t make a right. This is where Invisible Crew comes in with mediation and soft-skills, expertise and consultancy. We also help with logistics. We have always advertised ourselves towards owners. However, not every owner understands the value of our offer. Many owners think they “just need crew” and that any further support is unnecessary. Or they like to take the hassle associated with ownership upon themselves. Unfortunately, these are often the owners who need us the most. We are seeing an increasing demand from crew to involve us in the program they are already working on, because they do understand the benefits. So perhaps it is time for us to tailor a service that can be offered directly to crew? Just this last week I had an inspiring conversation with an experienced Pocket Superyacht captain. He told me how he had to walk away from his last job… At the end of a […]

5 important questions for crew

Interview questions you should be able to answer confidently.  It’s March and hiring for the Med season is starting to pick up. Below is a series of important questions for crew. I hope it proves helpful to all job seekers out there whether they are looking for positions on Pocket Superyachts or any other yacht! What is your salary expectation? When either the interviewer or the interviewee brings this topic up too early on in the conversation, it’s not a good sign. The candidates have to understand what is expected of them first. They need to have an idea of the workload as well as the potential perks that come with the particular position. And, the employer has to understand the potential value the candidate can offer. Even if both have a fixed figure in mind. So your salary expectation should be fair, dependent on the work regime and in relation to market rates. Perhaps you’d like to learn more about the job before naming a figure. Green crew shouldn’t care too much about the money. It has to be fair, but gaining the right experience and then proving their value (to renegotiate the money at a later stage) should be […]

Transiting the Panama Canal.

2019 ended with an interesting adventure for me. Before transiting from the old to the new year I had the opportunity to transit the Panama Canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. The Lagoon 620 “Plan B” was moored in Shelter Bay Marina, Colon. It’s a nicely manicured place but the adjacent jungle produced the eery deep growling of a large cat in the evenings and vultures were hovering over us throughout the day. Just before sunset on the 25th of November we left with 3 local line handlers on board. They brought large clean fenders and long mooring lines. In front of the Atlantic Bridge we waited for our pilot, or advisor, to come on board. His role was to communicate with the lock tenders and offer instructions to Martin, Plan B’s captain. Apart from the advisor’s late arrival, the Gatun locks transit went smooth. With 3 different locks the ships are raised 26 meters up from sea level to the Gatun Lake. The speed at which the locks are filled is impressive. The mix of salt- and freshwater in the first lock makes it feel like you’re floating in a big pot of boiling soup. Once into […]