Stories From the Sea: July 2023
James Fachtmann’s Interview with Capt. Glenn M. Magyar:
James Fachtmann: Capt Glenn, thank you for meeting with us today to share a “Story from the Sea” with me and how your experience has made you a better Yacht & Ship Consultant.
Capt Glenn: It’s a pleasure James and thank you for the opportunity to discuss how those two professions tie together the service we provide to our life-long JFA Yacht & Ship Clients. Here is one story that demonstrates why we must remain vigilant, not take anything for granted, and remember how professionalism in every role, can save the crew, ship, or yacht transaction from harm.
In New York Harbor last year, onboard the Oyster 625 I ran as a Captain for many miles, we stayed a couple nights at Liberty Landing as we waited on the weather. As we were preparing to leave for the Bahamas, we were delayed because conditions became super foggy. Finally, we had a window and were making good way safely south. Then the fog returned and in the soup, we suddenly had to take evasive action to avoid being struck by a fast-moving motor vessel that did not show up on our radar and nearly ran into us. So that was one not so fun thing we avoided.
The second surprise that day in the fog, is that we went from a perfectly calm sea state to standing waves, that we didn’t see coming in the limited visibility, until they came washing over the bow and across the deck. So, they were five foot+ standing waves in what had just been flat calm water. We were in the deep water of the shipping channel, but they were a result of tide and current from the Hudson River that were stacking things up nicely. We couldn’t have predicted that from the weather charts and it caught everyone onboard by surprise.
I think the take home message from that is to always be prepared and to be vigilant, because you never know what split second, unforeseen event might require action to avoid disaster. And also, I think the smart thing is, to never take calm conditions for granted. Because, if we’d have had hatches open, if we’d have had somebody futzing around upfront on the foredeck, maybe not clipped in, if we hadn’t been prepared, someone could have been hurt badly, or worse. We defeated that crappy outcome by always assuming: when you leave the dock, you are underway and when you’re underway, you’re at sea. PERIOD.
So yeah, I think that diligence kept us from what could have been a really bad situation.
James Fachtmann:
Glenn, you’ve had a successful career working for Merck while living in Hawaii. Why did you make the switch to become a yacht Captain? And why did you decide to come onboard with JFA Yacht & Ship as a consultant?
Capt Glenn:
I always wanted the opportunity to pursue my dream of sailing and living aboard and being out in the blue water. After 12 great years with Merck serving the medical profession, I retired. I’ve always loved sailing and went to Palma where I met the crew placement manager for Oyster Yachts. She introduced me to a family that was in the middle of the Oyster World Rally and I stepped on with them. It was extraordinary. I met the greatest people in the most remarkable places and learned more than I ever expected, because I listened. And then thirty something thousand miles later, I decided it was time for a change. After seven years of being offshore, I decided to come back to land. I wanted to combine my selling experience at Merck with my yachting experience and serve the global yachting community because I understand the yachting community and I speak the language of those who have a passion for it. JFA Yacht & Ship had the same core values and focus that I live by: INTEGRITY— INNOVATIVE EXPERTS—AUTHENTIC RELATIONSHIPS – DEDICATION – ACCOUNTABILITY, AND SUPERIOR SERVICE. Our purposes are aligned: TO PROMOTE THE YACHTING LIFESTYLE & ELEVATE YACHT CONSULTING TO A SUPERIOR LEVEL FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE GLOBAL YACHTING COMMUNITY. And honestly, that is the perfect fit for me.
James Fachtmann:
Excellent. That’s great. Okay, Glenn thank you for providing a story from the sea with a relevant theme that is: Be prepared, be vigilant, and never get into a situation where you’re gonna get caught with your pants down, so to speak.
Capt Glenn:
Absolutely. And the thing is, it’s so easy to become complacent, especially as time goes on and you become too familiar with things: “Oh, I’m gonna go forward but I don’t need to clip in.”, or, “Oh, you know, we’re underway, but it’s super calm, so let’s just leave the hatches open. Right?” No! Don’t let it happen! Never get complacent!
James Fachtmann:
Is there a tie-in there between what you did as a captain in those scenarios to what you do as a yacht broker/consultant?
Capt Glenn:
Yeah, I think one is to never be or become complacent about the role that we as brokers have in the buying, selling or chartering of a yacht. And when you talk to people, just don’t make any assumptions or pre-judgments about them. But, instead, treat them all as though they’re your next lifelong client.
James Fachtmann:
And to be thorough with with the paperwork, right?
Capt Glenn:
Absolutely. Yeah. Well, there’s that. But yeah, and the whole idea of, everything you do every day on the job, you’ve got to treat it with the highest level of professionalism. Otherwise, you could end up with a situation that nobody wants to be in.
James Fachtmann: Right! In the yacht brokerage world, that’d be a lawsuit. And nobody wants that except maybe the lawyers. And by being prepared, vigilant, and professional we can elevate our client’s experience! By raising the bar of excellence JFA is leading the yacht brokerage industry by example one yacht & ship acquisition at a time. We call it The JFA Way!
Meet Capt. Glenn M. Magyar
JFA Yacht & Ship Consultant
https://jfayacht.com/team/capt-glenn-magyar/
Stories From the Sea: July 2023
I am a lifelong sailor and fisherman, who retired in 2017 from a successful career in biomedical sales, management and research. After being on the water full-time since 2018 as a Yacht Captain, I joined JFA Yacht & Ship Sales to pursue an opportunity that will allow me to combine my sailing experience and my selling skills in the next chapter of my career. Prior to sailing full time, I had a successful and award-winning position with Merck & Co., Inc. as an outside sales account executive. Since leaving the corporate world I have been on the water as a full time professional sailing more than 30,000 nm around the world with private families on the Oyster World Rally, the Pacific Circuit Rally and numerous Yacht Deliveries. I look forward to helping my clients buy, sell, finance or charter the yacht of their dreams
