To the outsider, the CEO & Founder Captain of JFA Yacht & Ship, James Fachtmann looks like he leads a glamorous life centered around his passion for yachting. He spearheads a successful business based on his love of yachting, and sails often to exotic locations all while meeting people and collecting friends.
Yes, this lifestyle certainly has its perks however to James, his passion for boating and the industry is rooted in something that runs far deeper than profits and voyaging. It’s something that can’t be calculated or seen by the naked eye. Yachting to James has always meant connection to his father. “My relationship with my father really connected when we were racing, and we were on a boat together,” James recounts. “We could talk about things. All the life, it just melted away.” Pure presence would be found, father and son forging a deeper bond. It was the activity where life became simple and free. On a boat, the two of them would have undivided time together, growing closer with ease. It meant sharing laughter, adventures, encountering challenges, and making joint decisions.
“You’re really living in the moment,” James says, “and oftentimes we’d be away from land where cell phones didn’t work. Pagers didn’t work back then. And it was just him.” Being on the water to James meant the richness of his father’s company while peacefully untethered to the worries of our fast-paced world. “Everyone has their own reasons they yacht,” James expresses, “for me, it was and is about being connected to those I loved and being able to share that with other people.”
