OPINION: Superyacht safety: I’ll drink to that … or perhaps not
With the yacht safely tied up for the holidays, the entire Superyacht Investor team wishes you a festive “Cheers”.
Should alcohol aboard superyachts be restricted to owners and their guests? Superyacht captain Iain Flockhart strongly believes so. Iain has run a dry crew boat for years, as he argues compellingly in his latest View from the bridge column for Superyacht Investor.
He has a point. Of course, the vast majority of crew treat alcohol with the respect it deserves. But banning booze on boats in crew areas is probably a good idea given the accidents, incidents and mishaps linked to alcohol. In fact, only in 1970 did the Royal Navy ditch its tradition of issuing a rum ration (known as a tot) to crew; ending a glorious 120-year tradition.
But it’s not just the booze brought in bottles onto boats that can cause problems. Beware of the times when a good night out can lead to a bad outcome when an ‘overly relaxed’ crew member re-boards the vessel – or tries to.
Crew welfare
Crew welfare will be the subject of one of our panel sessions dedicated to crew safety and development at our London Conference 2020 on February 5th and 6th. Read about this session and others focusing on superyacht finances, tax and insurance plus a host of other topics in the full conference agenda here.
Meanwhile, the whole Superyacht Investor team would like to wish you Happy holidays and a prosperous and safe New Year. And, with the yacht safely tied up for the holidays, let’s say a festive “Cheers”. Have a great holiday break and see you in the New Year.
Cheers to the memory: Allocating the rum ration aboard HMS King George V in 1940. Image courtesy of IWM.
Subscribe to our free newsletter
For more opinions from Superyacht Investor, subscribe to our email newsletter.
