Jorg Wendt

D & B Services

Born in 1962 and grown up in Germany, in 1993 I was given the opportunity to sail a 53’ yawl from the US to the south of France as a crew member. Even though I worked in Germany as a chemist at this time the arising job offer to “look after” the freshly delivered yacht in the South of France was too attractive to be turned down…

After the decision was made becoming a “yachtie” the career was quite straight forward:

From deckhand on a 53’ yawl in 1993 to captain on a 150’ MY towards the end of the sea based activities in 2007.

Yachtmaster, OOW and Master (Y) <3000GT, MLC Inspector were some mile stones in my professional development.

In 2007 I started working shore based, first for a big broker company in Monaco and Golfe Juan, later for D and B Services where I sat up the training division and still work today.

D and B Services became an RYA training centre first, then an MCA training and examination centre. The latter led to membership of the MCA’s Yacht Qualification Panel and responsibility for the IAMI “Stability for Master’s” module (exam question writing and moderation as well as marking exams).

D and B Services is after Bluewater the oldest MCA training centre in the South of France.

In 2009 I got involved with Nautilus on an honorary basis continuing with my training activities but this time the “human element” (keyword MLC) got more in the focus.

In 2010 I went to the ILO in Turin for Nautilus / D and B Services and became one of first trained MLC inspectors in France.

After STCW became a big issue in yachting in 2000, MLC emerged in 2010 an I organized a training course and a number of seminars for Nautilus with subject “How does the MLC affect you?”.

My Nautilus involvement is still on the same honorary bases as in 2010 but the activity has also expanded: From simple information on MLC in 2010, today Nautilus is playing a major role in yachting: Crew representation at the entities with key roles like the ILO, IMO or MCA, Service Record Book for yacht personnel, advise on working contracts and – very important – the legal support of crew when deprived of elementary rights as workers. The latter is not only a pecuniary question it also includes coaching or psychological support when crew was subject to traumatising events onboard.

I am still running training courses at D and B Services but the main activity has moved to crew declaration under the French Social Security System, a direct consequence from France’s application of the MLC.

Jean-Philippe Maslin

Associe/Partner, Del Viso Advocats

Jean-Philippe advises on all legal and regulatory issues in the yachting and maritime industry, from VAT and customs aspects to commercial contracts or employment law and social security legislation. He is also an experienced litigator and has represented clients in Civil, Commercial, Administrative, Employment and Tax Courts throughout France.

Peter Vogel

Managing Director, Luxury Hospitality Management

Peter’s impressive career spans more than 20 years onboard luxury cruise ships and superyachts.

Learning and developing his skills as he rose through the ranks, Peter’s time onboard evolved from working as a butler and steward to overseeing fleet and event hospitality operations for UHNWI onboard impressive motoryachts including MY Octopus, MY Lady Moura and MY Tatoosh.  He has since provided his services to the elite on the Fortune 500 list, royal families and renowned celebrities worldwide.

Peter has gone on to judge competitions for MYBA and worked with the PYA and Warsash Maritime Academy to create the GUEST program, putting in place maritime industry benchmarks for interior and hospitality standards and training currently governed by the International Association of Maritime Institututions (IAMI).

Laurence Lewis

President, YPI Crew

Starting out in recruitment in London in 1992, Laurence Lewis now has over 25 years of experience in the industry which gave her the knowledge and expertise to set up YPI CREW in Antibes, France in 2002. Now a leading force in the yacht crew recruitment sector, YPI CREW is the go-to partner for superyacht owners and captains, and the agency of choice for crew around the world.

In 2018, the majority stake of YPI CREW was sold to the Schulte Group, a shipowner and management company based in Hamburg, Germany with whom synergies are being developed within their cruise and luxury expedition cruise sectors.  In 2020, YPI CREW acquired the recruitment division of Edmiston to further reinforce it’s leadership position in a market in need of consolidation.

Jacqueline Lyne

Director of Business Development, Edmiston Yacht Management

Karen Passman

Impact Crew

Karen has extensive experience developing managers, leaders and professionals, through facilitation, training, coaching and assessment. She has a passion for developing people which is evident in her positive, enthusiastic and supportive style of delivery. She has consulted across a broad range of industry sectors, both in the UK and abroad. Karen’s aim is:- “to create a relevant, enjoyable and highly participative event, which gives you practical tools that are truly valuable in the work place”.

Karen’s expertise traverses the maritime industry and corporate world, where she provides management and leadership development as well as team building and coaching to a wide range of clients. In 2007 Karen launched Impact Crew with the specific purpose of providing development for Crew, in the unique challenges that working and living aboard create. Karen is determined to provide professional leadership development for the Maritime Industry that also meets corporate expectations. To this end she has also become involved in the design and delivery of the MCA HELM (human element, leadership and management) and IAMI GUEST Leadership courses.

Martin Mainey

Head of Leadership, Luxury Hospitality Management

Martin’s passion for leadership developed through his twenty-year long career in education. Progressing through the ranks rapidly he worked as a senior leader for many colleges and private training providers, where he has a strong track record for improving performance. He is an experienced Ofsted Inspector and was commissioned by The Premier League to assess the quality of teaching and learning within its education provision.

Martin’s inspiration for the hospitality industry came through his family’s event management company and he has significant experience in delivering high quality hospitality experiences at functions, exhibitions and high-profile sporting events. Martin’s love of travel and sailing brought him into the Super Yacht industry where he worked both interior and on deck. Martin has invested heavily in his personal development, holding two post graduate qualifications in leadership and management. He is an NLP practitioner, a licenced trainer in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Managers and is trained in the Enneagram. Martin is a committed family man and enjoys exercise, sport and music.

Unleashing potential is what matters to Martin, supporting people to be the best they can be. With his rich leadership background and his experience in the Super Yacht industry, Martin joins the LH team as a Leadership specialist, facilitating practical workshops for our clients around the world.

Captain Malcolm Jacotine

Joey Meen

Director GUEST, IAMI

Born in London, with the formatives years as an expat aboard, returning to the UK at the age of 13. Keen on all water sports, including sailing, and by 1992, was part of a sail racing team, participating in national events while running a very busy RYA Sailing School, with a number of sailing yachts and a dedicated team, for over ten years. Having moved to Antibes 13 years ago to work as the Training Manager for Freedom Yachting, before starting her own business “Askjoey”, a Yacht Crew Career & Training Consultancy business, assisting yacht crew with careers in the industry, she also worked part time as deck/stew on a 58’ for 5 years.

Aside from her own business, she wears a number of hats, including being an RYA PW Superyacht inspector, Director of Training and Certification for the PYA, the Chairman of the PYA CPD working group, is the driving force behind the PYA Interior Crew Training and Certification GUEST program and the crew representative at the MCA’s annual Yacht Qualifying Panel.

Helen Warren

Director, Sovren House Group

John Wyborn

Training Director, Bluewater

Bluewater is a yacht brokerage, charter and management company and a provider of crew training and placement services to a large proportion of the yacht crew population. He is Bluewater’s representative at MYBA (the worldwide yachting association), is on the council of the Professional Yachting Association (PYA) and is Deputy Chairman of the International Association of Maritime Institutions (IAMI). He joined the Royal Navy as a seaman officer after university and served on various types of vessels including frigates, destroyers, and finally in command of HMS Mentor; a navigation and seamanship training vessel teaching RN trainees and foreign navies.

In 1991, he co-founded bluewater, continuing his training role by building the largest training provider dedicated to our industry.

Wolfram Gunther

Fidal

Mathieu Henry

WYCC

Mathieu provide employee benefits in Yachting, Shipping, Cruising and Expats since 2005.
He has extensive knowledge of the MLC and international social security regulation for seafarers.
His expertise allowed to promote the WYCC insurance products through a worldwide network of insurance brokers.

Amelie de Franssu

Senior Associate / Avocate au Barreau de Paris Stream Advocats & Solicitors

Based in our Paris office, Amélie advises on VAT/ Customs issues relating to yachts, including the customs aspects of the operation of private and commercial yachts in the EU. Amélie also advises on the sale, purchase, construction and financing of yachts for owners and banks. ​

She also handles matters relating to corporate and commercial (advice on corporate structures, re-organisations & restructuring, asset purchase) banking law, employment law, general contract law and French property finance.​

Amélie has been admitted to the Paris bar in 2015

Frédérique Heurtel

Stream Law

Frédérique is a graduate of HEC Paris, ranked 1^st Business School in Europe (Financial Times, 2019) and holds a double degree in management and business law.

Frédérique spent 2 years in a French law firm specialised in employment law, where she worked on both litigation and advisory cases, mainly on the employers’ side.

Frédérique joined the Paris office of Stream law in January 2018. She advises on employment law matters, notably as regards seafarers issues.