Drug use, fist fights and insubordination will get a crew member quickly fired from a megayacht. But so can an accumulation of small infractions or an owner's whim, said captains at this month's Triton From the Bridge luncheon.

"If it's major, there is no question," a captain said of the reasons crew are fired. "If it's minor, that's when it's more difficult."

As always, individual comments are not attributed to any one person in particular so as to encourage frank and open discussion. The attending captains are identified in the photograph above.

When asked if they had ever fired a crew member, several of the captains enthusiastically began to recall their most extreme stories.

"I had a fight between several crew, one guy broke another's jaw," a captain said. "I fired all three on the spot."

"I had one that had to go," another captain said. "He was totally drunk."

"Unfortunately, you find yourself getting good at it," a captain said. "It gets to be repetitive."

Illegal and dangerous acts are cause for dismissal in most sectors of employment, but in yachting, a captain said such situations must be addressed immediately.

"Things like sleeping on the job are easy to write up; other things seem small," another captain said. "But, for safety issues, it's easy."

Captains continued with a variety of tales of less severe cases of firings, stories of crew not fulfilling obligations of their post.

"She brought the rental car back a day and a half later," a captain said of a crew who was fired for not reporting for duty.

"And I had an engineer who couldn't get up for work," he added.

Not taking instruction was cited as another reason for dismissal. Safety concerns, disruption to living and working conditions, personality incompatibility and relationship issues ranked as other top reasons.

Often incompetence is enough, or as a captain described it, "doing more harm than good."

"He didn't do anything wrong, he just didn't do anything right," this captain said.

"A ‘you're not impressing me’ scenario," another captain said.

How does the deed actually go down on a yacht?

"When you decide, fire them right away or there will be trouble," a captain said. "Don't try to be too nice. Don't say ‘this isn't working out.’ Tell them why and get them off before they do something else.”

When firing a crew member, most captains said they pull the person aside, and bring along another crew member, just to be safe.

"Always take another person,” one captain said. “You need a witness; it keeps things calmer."

"I have never taken another person, but will consider it now," another captain said after most of the others at the table said they include a witness in the firing conversation.

Emotions can run high, a captain said, but firing someone doesn't have to be confrontational.

"You can say, ‘you're better than the job and you can do something else’," this captain said.

"Sometimes you can get them to quit, if you continue to pick at them," another captain said. "But that also hurts you."

Most of the captains said they do not consult the owner.

"My boss is never involved,” one captain said. “You don't bring the owner in. That's why you’re paid to handle it."

Timing is a factor for firing on a yacht. For serious incidents, captains will fire a crew member right away, but usually they will make sure the crew member can get home and be safe if discharged from the boat. There are too many possibilities for problems if the crew member is fired and still onboard, a captain said.

"You can't fire in the middle of the Atlantic, you just can't do it," another captain said. "In that case, you just hold it and hide it."

In close quarters, the remaining crew need to know right away.

"When you fire someone, you hold a meeting to tell everyone," one captain said.

This captain used to feel bad telling crew a co-worker was being fired, but not anymore.

"Usually, they're relieved, and say, ‘why did it take so long, can I have his room?’" the captain said.

Employee dismissal is sometimes different in the yachting industry. Incidents that might slide for an office worker could ruin the career of a yacht crew.

"I had a Negative Nellie come onboard," a captain said. "She was bringing us, the entire crew, down. Sometimes very small actions add up."

Another captain had a crew member who didn't get along well with others.

"It seems petty, but it eats on the crew," this captain said. "My crew worked 144 days. It gnaws on them."

The group agreed that many aspects of yachting do not follow the same rules as other industries, including scenarios that do not adhere to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's guidelines that make it illegal to discriminate.

"I had an owner who wanted the females fired; he didn't want a female on deck," a captain said.

Occasionally, crew are fired through no fault of their own.

"With owners, it's usually appearance or personality," a captain said. "Or a relationship."

Sometimes, the owner or the owner's spouse do not personally relate well with a crew member, or maybe they relate too well, a captain said.

"If my owner wants someone fired, it's done," another captain said.

The protocol for firing crew has changed through the years, several of the captains said.

"It was easier a long time ago," one captain said. “Now there are contracts.”

Many crew today sign an employment contract, which typically lists fireable offenses. A captain said they are mandatory on commercial vessels and since more yachts are being built for charter, more require contracts.

This clarifies the rules for both captains and crew, often making discharge easier. The firing is then usually after an accumulation of several less serious offenses, as the unsatisfactory behavior is documented and crew are fired only after actions do not improve.

"Always write and document ‘you did this’," a captain said of a crew's behavior before getting fired. "You read the rules, you didn't follow procedures."

The system doesn't always work, one captain laughed. The captain started writing a list of concerns about a new crew member and said, "when I got to the second page on the second day, I crumpled it up and got rid of him."

Contracts can help get rid of problem crew, but they also clarify obligations of the captain or yacht. That's why most of the group said they call the management company before firing someone.

"You can fire them, but you have to pay," a captain said.

"Before you fire them you call payroll and get their balance," he said. "It goes more smoothly when they know they'll be paid what they're owed."

As an example, a captain said, "Say I want my engineer gone. I have to pay him first and last. It will be $30,000, because you have to repatriate, pay for airfare. It's not a lot, but it adds up."

"By law, you have to pay them within 48 hours," another captain said. "The money causes them stress. I'll give them cash. That way it's clean and done."

A captain said sometimes the owner or management may interfere.

"The management company was unhappy,” this captain said. “They said I had to give two weeks notice.”

And sometimes the owner is not told all of the details.

"I had the owner onboard and he wanted to talk to the guy because he felt bad I fired him," a captain said. "The owner said, 'why get rid of him, he's a good guy?’ I told him the crew member had to go.”

Occasionally, getting rid of the problem crew doesn't get rid of the problem.

"In the U.S., you have to watch; they try to get unemployment," one captain said. 

"The kid [I fired] sued us for his shoulder,” another captain said. “He said he needed surgery, and the management company took over negotiations."

Sometimes, the problem comes in the form of another crew.

"Other industries probably don't fire as often, but people aren't living together," a captain said.

"If it's a couple, they both have to go," another captain said. "You have to prevent [the remaining crew from] robbing, damaging or beating up the boat."

And sometimes an angry crew member causes another set of issues.

"I had a guy who wouldn't leave and eventually I said I would call the police," a captain said.

The crew gave in when the captain began to call the authorities. Another captain, half in jest, wondered what to do with someone who needed to be removed immediately.

"Should we design a brig? Should they be shackled?" this captain asked. “Should it be part of the Large Yacht 2 Code, with emergency procedures and training in brig management?"

No matter what type of firing, documented or immediate, with owner/management company approval or not, the captains all agreed that having to fire a crew member is unfortunate event. But it is common and usually foreseen.

"No one who is fired is surprised," a captain said. "They usually feel, 'I expected it'."

If you make your living working as a yacht captain, e-mail us at editorial@the-triton.com for an invitation to our monthly Bridge luncheon.

About the Author

Dorie Cox

Associate Editor