Tending to training

When we think of tenders and toys the first words that come to mind are fun and speed, but it is this aspect of superyachting that also causes some very dangerous accidents. The Crew Report speaks to Captain Andrew Johnstone of 60m motoryacht Solemates about the vigorous tender-specific training he ensures his crew undertake.

“What normally happens is one of the more experienced deck crew – the mate or bosun – will take the new deck crew under their wing and teach them how to drive our dinghies. Many deckhands are not familiar with the jet drive tenders used on Solemates,” explained Captain Johnstone. “They put them through their paces, docking and undocking in open and tight situations, and if possible we always try to throw in some current. When the guests aren’t on board the training crewmembers will also drive crew ashore to improve their experience. We make sure they’re completely familiar with the tenders before we let them drive guests.”



Knowing how to drive a tender is one thing, but a whole new situation arises when that tender, with guests on board, stops working. “I also try to get some of the deckhands keyed up on some of the basic engineering principles in the event that the dinghy breaks down,” said Captain Johnstone. “The last thing the guest needs is to hear the driver making a panic call to the yacht saying ‘I don’t know what happened but there’s smoke coming out.’”

Running an ISM compliant vessel, briefings and training falls into place easily, said the captain. “On a properly run ISM vessel, a large number of standing order/protocols are required and must be documented for our management group,” said the captain, who himself even briefs his crew on the local rules of any area they may visit.

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"If a crewmember is given permission to use a wave runner, it’s expected to come back in better shape than it went out. It forces the crew to take responsibility. I think a lot of crew are not encouraged to take responsibility for their actions.” - Captain Andrew Johnstone

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“The crew are given loads of briefings, but until you can get everybody running ISM it’s going to be difficult to enforce these sorts of tender briefings. And having said that, getting people when they’re already running ISM to pay the appropriate attention to some of that stuff is a major challenge.



“So I guess one way to do it is, if the boat is ISM compliant, there should be an orientation involved for deck crew, not just for the tenders but all the other toys. Our crew are allowed to use the equipment – wave runners, dive gear, sea bobs, paddle boards – and we do that to make sure the toys function properly. If you let a wave runner sit for six months and then a guest wants to use it, chances are it won’t work,” explained the captain.

For the crew of Solemates, however, it all comes down to responsibility. “Our crew handbook incorporates standing orders about the use of toys and how the crew should treat them. So if a crewmember is given permission to use a wave runner, it’s expected to come back in better shape than it went out. It forces the crew to take responsibility. I think a lot of crew are not encouraged to take responsibility for their actions.”



Captain Johnstone’s ethos is admirable, but is it one found often in our industry? “I have a few friends in the industry who feel strongly about this, but I don’t think it’s common place,” he told The Crew Report. “If you were to jump into random yacht tenders coming and going from ports, I bet they don’t have local chart onboard. I think a lot of boats tend to get complacent about it, with some new crewmembers not receiving training at all.”

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