A superyacht captain shares advice for people chartering luxury vessels

For those keen on the idea of ​​chartering a superyacht, Captain Kelly Gordon, 42, told Business Insider there are a number of important factors to consider before getting on board.

Gordon fell in love with yachting after stepping aboard a yacht for the first time in her mid-20s.

Eager to reach the rank of captain, Gordon quickly worked his way up the chain of command. He has spent most of his time sailing in the Bahamas and the Caribbean and is now based in Florida, where he works as a captain on a 108-foot private yacht.

Gordon, who has over 12,600 followers on Instagram, shares three factors to consider before embarking on a superyacht charter.

Think of the process of chartering a superyacht like buying a house

One of the most important things to do when chartering a superyacht is to work with a charter broker, says Gordon.

“The charter manager’s job is to find a safe boat,” Gordon said, adding that in her experience, “Not all programs put safety as high on the list as they should be.”

He also likes to equate charter brokers with real estate agents because they take it upon themselves to find you the best option for your taste.

“You find one that you get along with and have a good reputation, and then you talk to them about what your budget is, where you want to go, what your activity levels are, what your personalities are like,” Gordon said.

Matching clients with a crew that aligns with their characteristics is an important part of a charter broker’s job, Gordon said.

“If you think about it, you’re living with that crew 24/7, 24/7,” she said. “You’re not going to put someone who just wants to sit and read books all day with a highly active crew.”

Find a competent and safety-first crew

Charter brokers also help match clients with competent crew who prioritize safety.

“I don’t know that a lot of people realize how much their lives are in our hands when we cast those lines and go out to sea,” Gordon said.

Part of that is holding a safety briefing, which Gordon conducts every time he welcomes clients onto a chartered vessel before it leaves a dock.

A thorough safety briefing includes informing clients of the location of safety equipment and life jackets and procedures for events such as a fire, a person falling overboard or a sinking boat.

“You should have a safety briefing, and if you don’t get one, you should ask for one,” Gordon said.

The process, she added, can be different on private yachts, where passengers may be familiar with the vessel.

The Bayesian is a private yacht owned by tech mogul Mike Lynch; it is not yet known what kind of safety protocols staff and guests have been trained on.

Make sure there is a 24/7 security crew member

“A lot of charter guests think that when they go to bed, the crew goes to bed,” Gordon said.

But that shouldn’t be the case, she added. “You want to be on a boat knowing that someone is up, because if the weather turns or the anchor starts to drag, you need someone who’s up and ready to go and get everyone else going.”

Among the biggest weather risks are tornadoes, which can be extremely difficult to predict and prepare for, whether you’re on land or at sea.

“I’m from the Midwest, where tornadoes happen,” Gordon said. “It’s hard to see a tornado coming, and if you see it coming, the tornado goes where it wants to go.”

More often than not, this leaves people near the weather event with only a few minutes to prepare, which is even more complicated “in the middle of the night.”

While rapid changes in weather are hard to deal with, Gordon recommends researching the areas you’re sailing in advance, just as you would when visiting a new country.

“It’s no different than if you’re vacationing on land,” she said. “You want to know where you’re going. Don’t just put it on the crew.”

While the research doesn’t have to be as extensive as the crew’s, it’s important to still be “responsible for yourself as well as your family and guests.”