You’re looking at members of Benetti’s after-sales service team undergoing the same rigorous training that the British Royal Navy and some megayacht crews are undertaking these days. Why would a megayacht yard put its staff through such sea-survival, man-overboard, and fire-fighting drills? Simple: to better understand the crewing issues their clients face and help them resolve the matters, ranging from finding and hiring hands to having a properly trained team man the yacht and maintain control in any situation that may arise.
The lessons occurred at the facilities of the UK-based Flagship Superyacht Academy, which has been working with the Navy since 1996 and recently began instructing megayacht crew. The hands aboard Ecstasea are among those who’ve undergone training here within the past few months, but this marks the first time shipyard representatives have done so. I met Flagship’s head, Sir Tim McClement, at last year’s Monaco Yacht Show and was impressed with how intensive the training is. Take fire-fighting, for instance. Instead of handing a crewmember a fire extinguisher or hose to put out flames on the ground, real-size mockups of engine rooms and galleys are set ablaze, and the crewmembers are instructed first to use the wrong equipment and then the right item to put out the fire. The idea is get them to grasp why it’s important not to, for example, throw water on a grease fire or grab any old fire extinguisher around. And as you can see in the photos above, Benetti’s service team had to learn how to escape a flooded yacht compartment as well as climb into a liferaft while in the water. They also learned how to administer first aid and handle a yacht with reduced crew.
Not everything taught at Flagship Superyacht Academy focuses on dire situations, which is why the Benetti staffers also learned about hospitality, social skills, and leadership. You may have read or heard some news reports recently mocking the Academy for teaching napkin folding to current and would-be yacht crews. To this, I say: A fully competent crew must be exactly that, competent. Manners on an everyday basis are just as important as knowing what to do in the rare event of an emergency.
Benetti’s team came away from the week in England better informed and better prepared. “Our ultimate goal is to provide the owner with a fully tailor-made service,” says Vincenzo Poerio, Benetti’s CEO. “We are already experienced in giving them the best yachts the industry can provide, but now we are aware that it must come with a fully competent crew; otherwise their yachting experience could be compromised. We now have a suitable training partner to equip the crew.” As for McClement, he says, “Our intention is to work closely with Benetti to raise the standards of crew training so that owners get the best out of their new yacht.”
Here’s hoping other yards follow suit.
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