Purpose

The release of new groundbreaking guidelines aim to assist superyacht crew in making the best decisions on board.

It’s easy to think that a captain’s job is to drive a superyacht to glamorous locations and drop the anchor in idyllic anchorages, but as Kelly Gordon and other captains will tell you, that’s only a tiny part of the role.

All over the world, communities are waking up to the benefits that superyachts bring, from local employment to business opportunities and crew spend. It’s why local businesses and local government came together to turn one Italian city into a superyacht hub.

How would you characterise the typical yacht owner? Whatever you may have been led to believe, the truth is simple: for most, it’s about using their yachts for precious family time, and for many it’s also about using their yachts for good.

It’s not the yachts that make yachting, it’s the people. Superyacht Life, in collaboration with the Monaco Yacht Show, is set to celebrate the human side of yachting with The Honours, an event that acknowledges exceptional contributions to the industry's advancement.

Ocean conservation is key for many yacht owners, and a new data-gathering programme is helping owners, guests and crews not only get involved but also find new purpose for their time on the water.

Yachts are playing an increasingly important role in ocean-bound scientific research and endeavour and, with a growing awareness of owners, they are tailor-made to help a new programme called Ocean Census.

As yachting starts to illuminate its doors of opportunity to non-traditional talent pools, an increasing number of industry professionals like captain Craig Thurlbourn are standing up to help that new talent through.

Superyachting offers extraordinary career opportunities, but equally new cultures and continents offer an extraordinary depth of diverse talent that knows nothing about yachts. A new programme called Grit is aiming to put the two together.