‘No day is like the last’ – Captain of a 100m superyacht shares his career journey

It’s always a ‘pinch me’ moment when life runs full circle and worlds align – and superyacht Captain James Stockdale had one of those times when he was fortunate enough to sail his superyacht charge into Dartmouth – his home waters.

Growing up in South Devon, James was always interested in water-based activities: “I took part in sailing from a young age. My elder sister was involved in yachting so she introduced me to the industry early on. I left school, went down to Antibes and realised yachting could be a bit of fun!

“I studied Naval Architecture at university and in my summers I worked as deckhand on boats.”

The fact that James had his ‘pinch me’ moment was even more surprising, considering he was not deliberating a career in the yachting industry initially!

“After graduation, I thought I’d work on yachts for another year before getting a ‘proper job’ and returning to land. However that was over 20 years ago and I have never looked back!”

Starting off as a deckhand, with basic qualifications, is a route to being a captain, confirms James: “Hopefully you can bring a bit of prior experience on board so certainly being on the water from a young age is an invaluable skill.

“Working hard and working your way up whilst achieving more qualifications, taking courses and getting as much sea time as you can is what it takes to climb the ladder.”

James worked on his last boat for eight years and is now Captain on a 100m boat that crosses the world’s oceans.

His favourite spot? “That’s tough. I have seen so many beautiful places. Some of the Baltic, Northern Europe, Alaska, Maine, the Mediterranean – they are all special.”

However, returning to Dartmouth was, in James’ words, “a bucket list moment”.

“It was very very special. To bring your working life into your home life and have those two lives meet is a bit surreal!

“A lot of my friends from home knew what I did but didn’t realise the scale of it, so when I brought the boat in and they could see it for themselves it was incredible! I was very fortunate to be able to do that.”

Traversing the seas to stunning locations is what makes James’ job memorable – that and the variety: “As a Captain you have to wear a lot of hats, from HR, tour guide, accountant, dealing with shipyards and navigator. Yet there is always teamwork and it’s nice to be involved in the camaraderie.

“Every single day presents a new challenge. You have to think on your feet and adjust plans to suit the current day’s activity and deal with whatever the weather throws at you! No day is like the last.”

There is also change afoot in the sector as a whole, with sustainability and economical efficiency becoming more of a priority.

“There’s a push to look at alternative fuels on superyachts, which is great. It’s in the very early stages – there are a couple of experimental yachts out there which are trialling it, but there’s nothing ground-breaking yet. I’m sure it will develop in the next 10 years.

“There has been a focus on efficiency and heat recovery more recently – yachts are being designed to cruise a little bit slower, moving from 20 knots to 12 knots for example, to burn considerably less fuel.”

Even though there are industry changes, James himself has no plans to change course yet: “My plan for the future is to keep on doing what I’m doing, travelling and enjoying it! I’ve recently joined a new boat, so am looking forward to exploring with that. Owners of superyachts want to see the world and, for us as a crew, that is great.”

Of course we hope that involves bringing his new boat to visit us in Dartmouth! Especially as James had such a good experience sailing his previous boat into the harbour.

“When we came into Dartmouth we took a pilot on board and it was one of the most professional pilotage experiences we’ve had. We were provided with a full information pack on port entrance, tidal conditions and way points, which was great. The pilot / master handover was very professional.

“We are obliged to take a pilot in about 50% of the ports we go into and we rarely receive that sort of information beforehand so it was very well received. I knew the port already but it was still nice to have.”

Conditions vary across the world, with James acknowledging that “tidal conditions in the UK are a bit more challenging – you don’t really get any tide in the Med – but it’s a nice challenge!

“We had plenty of room to manoeuvre and swing in Dartmouth and it was easy going between the mainstream buoys.

“It’s great for guests to be on the mainstream buoys with a short tender ride ashore – it gives them the discreet experience they require whilst still having easy access to the local community.

“However if there are no guests on board, it’s very convenient to be on Town Jetty if it can accommodate the boat, as it’s easy for the crew to hop off.”

It turns out that captains do have a say on the itinerary and destinations in collaboration with the owners and charter guests – conversations are shared at the beginning of the year followed by the Captain submitting proposals.

“Obviously these plans are refined over time, and trips are also weather dependent so plans can change. But the UK is definitely becoming more popular as a destination.”

And James can understand why.

“Dartmouth and the local area has so many opportunities for guests – it’s great to experience what the area has to offer. And guests enjoy doing simple things such as crabbing from the quayside or going for an ice cream. It’s such a beautiful place to be!

“When we brought the boat into Dartmouth a couple of years ago, it was a great success!”

 

 

 

 

 

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