February 13, 2012
Sometimes, these tidbits center around captains and crew joining new yachts. This month, however, it’s about captains and crew leaving yachts, and about looking for new ones.
After a year with M/Y Highlander, the 116-foot classic Feadship originally owned and made famous by Malcolm Forbes, Capt. Craig Cannon has left. (This is not the green-hulled Feadship of the same name that the Forbes family still owns.)
Keeping busy with deliveries, he’s actively looking for something between 120 feet and 160 feet.
Long-time Capt. Jeff Huffman is off the 153-foot Burger M/Y Ingot.
Huffman has worked on Burgers for more than 16 years, about half that time with the owners of Ingot. He’s taking a few months off and said he hopes to find another great Burger to take care of.
“After 8 1/2 years, I can only hope to find another yacht owner as special as Ingot’s owners have been to me,” he said. “I hope to continue commanding such great vessels.”
Capt. Hope Fiene has found a new passion. After more than 30 years in the yachting industry, she has gone to the dogs. Dog grooming, that is.
“It is part art form and makes me very happy,” she said.
She graduating from dog-grooming school this fall and now does in-home dog grooming of all breeds. She also works with a veterinary clinic in Davie, just west of Ft. Lauderdale. Find her at Red Leash Dog Grooming on Facebook. She’s even done a couple of nail clinics at the dog parks and green markets.
You can reach her at indigo2@bellsouth.net or 954 817 6526.
It’s always interesting to me when yachties leave the fold. There’s almost always fascinating adventures -- estate managers on a private island, bed-and-breakfast owners on a tropical beach, ski instructors on a mountainside.
A lot of times, though, it doesn’t pan out.
Last year’s road trip to Colorado found Capt. Brad and Stew Jennifer Tate falling in love with Telluride. They stayed that winter and all summer. Brad volunteered at the local radio station and even won Rookie of the Year at KOTO-FM. (His radio name was Bradlicious, if you can believe it.)
But volunteer work doesn’t pay the bills, and I’m willing to bet they got a little cold (they did come back to Lauderdale in January), so they are back in South Florida looking for a yacht job. Their last one, aboard M/Y El Jefe, was based in St. Maarten year round.
Too much of a good thing -- be it tropical beaches or snow-ladden mountains -- gets boring, I guess. Here’s to finding a little variety, you two.
The best part about leaving Telluride? Now when they go back, they have plenty of places to stay.
And one last, shameless plug. David and I have opened the Newsworthy Cafe on 17th Street in Ft. Lauderdale. It’s a groovy little place, really colorful (if you have you ever seen my office or living room, you know what I mean) and cozy.
We serve European-style coffee, simple breakfasts and delicious lunches. Soups and sandwiches, everything fresh, different every day. Like it would be in your own home. And that’s our goal, to make our diners feel like they are guests in our home. The tables and dishes are modest, mostly recycled, and the service is casual. It’s not silver service, but it is yacht quality.
And The Triton offices are right upstairs. So if you are on 17th Street, stop by. We’re in the heart of it, behind Waxy’s and beside Crew Unlimited. It’s the two-story Bahama green building with the sunny yellow awning. Everyone is welcome.
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