Following the wake of the events in Hong Kong and Italy, the third and final leg of the 17th Azimut-Benetti Yachtmaster 2016-2017 brought captains, crew members, industry professionals, sponsors and guests together at the Mayfair Hotel & Spa in Miami, USA, from 3-5 May, 2017. 

Attended by over 90 guests, including about 30 captains and yachting professionals, the two-day programme consisted of conferences, workshops, meetings with sponsor companies, opportunities for exchanging views and networking, team-building activities and, of course, some well-deserved relaxation and fun. 

Three workshops were organised around the themes of crew management, media management and privacy protection. The conference sessions also tackled practical and topical issues, with Clive MacCarteny, Peter Selivanoff and Izabela Manka from Fraser Yachts on stage to talk about crew documentation. Among the most popula sessions were the live interviews with experienced captains attending the event, such as Anthony Nicholls, captain of M/Y Andiamo, the 120-foot Benetti Classic. 

A whole day was dedicated to workshops for teams of stewards/stewardesses, organised jointly with the PYA (Professional Yachting Association), designed specifically to provide more comprehensive training on service standards, presentation, care and maintenance services, leadership and team building. 

“This is the third Yachtmaster held in the USA and we are extremely satisfied both with the high turnout of professionals and the active participation of captains and sponsors during the various working sessions and entertainment activities,” says Paola Caccavallo, coordinator of the Yachtmaster programme.

“Yachtmaster has a mission to create a solid community of key influencers who interact both with the Benetti shipyard and our partners, and the consolidation of their sense of team spirit was clear to see during this US event," Caccavallo continues. "In just two years since the new programme was launched, we have achieved and exceeded all our goals and the mission we set ourselves. As this year’s event draws to a close, we are already working on the preparations for the 18th edition and in the coming months we will be presenting the new 2017-2018 programme.”

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