The captain-manager debate is, I think, a particularly interesting one, and one I’ve focused on in many opinion pieces and features past. But while a fair few comments we get from captains (‘managers get too involved’) and managers (‘captains need to accept support’) echo similarities, it’s hard to get any information valuable for the industry and its progression without some hard facts or numbers.

That’s why, earlier this year, The Superyacht Intelligence Agency undertook a survey on management companies, part of which included a focus on captains and their dealings with management. The findings of the full survey can be found in The Superyacht Management Report, in Issue 179 of The Superyacht Report, but in our upcoming issue of The Crew Report we focus on the captains’ responses and look at what it’s really like to work with management companies.

While the findings are extensive, one aspect worth noting in particular is the results on the technical support offered by management companies. We asked our survey respondents to rate, on a scale of zero (extremely poor) to 100 (excellent), the technical knowledge of their management company. Yet some 40 per cent of captains rated this knowledge between 26 and 50, with 23 per cent rating it between zero and 25.

33 per cent claimed to pay between €10,000 and €20,000 per month for the full suite of management services.

This in itself is concerning, and that’s before we consider the cost-value of management companies. That is, 33 per cent claimed to pay between €10,000 and €20,000 per month for the full suite of management services – a figure perhaps not altogether satisfactory when we consider the response to the previous question.

Managers need not fear completely, however. The above is just a sample of the survey’s findings, and in the full report, in Issue 82 of The Crew Report, we look at one crucial question. That is, does management actually help you run your yacht? And the answer, overwhelmingly, is yes.

Find the full report in Issue 82 of The Crew Report, available to download now. Pick the issue up at the Monaco Yacht Show, from our stand QE9 or keep a look out for it in the yachting hotspots.

Want to receive The Crew Report direct to your yacht? Just fill out this form.

Management companies and captains will be coming together at The Superyacht Forum, taking place 13-16 November, in Amsterdam. Find out more.

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