Tom Collins, a longtime charter broker who earned as much respect from fellow industry members as he did his clients, died on December 26. He was 66 years old.
Raised in Newburyport, Massachusetts, Collins attended the University of Massachusetts, getting a degree in political science. But politics wasn’t his ultimate calling. He started his yachting career in the 1970s in Miami, at a Morgan Yachts dealership. (Morgan Yachts was a fiberglass sailboat builder. Designer Charley Morgan established it in the 1960s in Largo, Florida. Catalina Yachts acquired it in 1984. It then became the Morgan Division of Catalina, focused on cruising and charter boats.) Collins earned a promotion to manage Morgan Yachts’ charter division, which offered bareboat operations. Eventually, upwards of half a dozen boats were under his management.
The biggest impact on Collins’ career, however, came in late 1983. That’s when he attended his first charter show in Antigua. The event brought together crewed charter yachts, not bareboats, all available for holidays in the Caribbean for the winter season. Collins decided to focus on crewed charter from that point onward.
It was a move that paid off in spades. He took Tom Collins Yacht Charter Services, which he founded in 1979, and turned it into Tom Collins Yachts Worldwide. He went from booking Americans aboard yachts less than 100 feet to matching clients from multiple countries with yachts and megayachts upwards of 200 feet.
In 2006, Collins joined the Miami office of Burgess. His collective contributions to yacht charter earned him the 2015 Charter Professional of the Year award from the Florida Yacht Brokers Association (FYBA, now the International Yacht Brokers Association). Collins was a member of both FYBA and the Mediterranean Yacht Brokers Association. He remained an employee of Burgess until his passing, from “a courageously fought illness,” according to a statement from Burgess. “Professional, passionate, and charismatic to the last, Tom will be enormously missed by all those he touched,” it adds.
Tom is survived by his wife Barbara.
Scott Rose
May Tom’s memory be a blessing.
Suzie
Long time lost friend…always great memories.
Tim Shea
Wow! Just learned of Tom’s passing today 4-29-17. He was the best, we booked 5 charters with Tom back in the 1970’s, he was our Captain on all of them. You couldn’t get better, we had the time of our lives. I was going to reach out to Tom today after 40 years and see if he could hook my wife and our 2 grown boys up with a charter so I could show them what it was like cruising with The Captain “Tom Collins”. What a man, what a name, what a fabulous friend.
Thanks Tom and God Bless you Barbara,
Love, Tim & Laurie Shea, Jacksonville Beach.
frank m papy
YEA MON I JUST HEARD BOUT TOM WE HAD FUN OVER THE YEARS AT DINNER KEY RUNNIN CHARTERS OVER TO THE ISLANDS HE WAS HELPFUL DOING MY FLORIDA KEYS GUIDE GAUD BLESS EM
Jim and. Karen
God bless Tom, Bare Boated 4 times in the early 80s. Miami to Key West.. Time of my life for a Lake Michigan Sailor. Now live in Pensacola FL on the Gulf of Mexico. Tom once said to me “all you need a car for is to get to your boat “
Larry
Barbara, we never met but Tom was a great friend when I captained boats out of Miami back in the late 70’s and early 80’s. I was very surprised to hear of his passing. I’m 70 now but he helped a young captain from the Midwest thrive in the big city of Miami. He trusted me when nobody knew me and helped me save a charter when engine problems risked a potential disaster in Bimini by sending parts via CHALKS that allowed me to complete the week and return to Miami without further incident. I wish I had been able to continue to work with him however I injured my back in Michigan at 25 and had to retire from sailing professionally. I wish you the best and hope this finds you well.
Sincerely, Larry from Toledo.