Last month saw hundreds of superyacht captains as well as senior crew throughout the French Riviera and Italy talk to Yachting Pages, the leading directory for the superyacht industry, as a part of its research, which found out that internet access aboard superyachts is better than ever, and that captains and crew are still more often turning to the web to look for businesses, suppliers and services.
Tyrone Jones Yachting Pages Brand & Marketing Manager interviewing superyacht crew
The Yachting Pages Marketing team spoke to captains and senior crew from 200 superyachts. Its findings included that in addition to using the Yachting Pages printed directory, more and more captains and crew are also searching for superyacht suppliers or services online.
Out of the 200 industry professionals surveyed, 70% were captains & first mates, 7% were chief engineers, 4% were chefs and 4% were chief stewardess, with the remaining 15% being made upof owners, stewardesses and deckhands.
The survey’s most significant findings related to internet access aboard superyachts: 85% of the interviewees rated internet access aboard their yachts as either “good or “OK”. Just 15% of those surveyed said their boat had “poor or no” internet access and that they were therefore more dependent on the printed Yachting Pages as a result. Thanks to these improvements in internet access aboard superyachts, more captains and senior crew are now using the web to find superyacht businesses and services.
“The captains and crew we spoke to along the French Riviera and in Italy, said their onboardinternet access is now better than ever,” said Steve Crowe, managing director of Yachting Pages. “This is great news for Yachting Pages and perfect timingwith the recent launch of our new website.”
A significant 94% of those surveyed said they would use the new website of Yachting Pages this season, suggesting that the internet will continue to grow in popularity as a resource for captains and senior crew. Most interviewees found the website “simple to use” and liked that it is constantly updated.
An impressive 52% of those interviewed already search online for suppliers and services.
Internet connectivity at ports and marinas was highlighted as an issue, with many of the interviewed captains and crew expressing problems with internet access whilst in a Marina.
“New marinas created in the past decade know how important the internet has become and have good facilities,”Ignacio ErrozErburu, general manager of Barcelona’s Vilanova Grand Marina, told Yachting Pages.
“Older harbours are notalways set-up to provide good internet access. Harbours founded 30 or 40 years ago did not know about the internet – or even that boats 50m to 60m in length would one day exist.”
However, new technologies are steadily evolving to help improve internet access at ports and marinas.
Possible methods include wireless antennas, wireless hotspots or mobile 3G/4G Internet options. High-gain antennascan boost wi-fi signals aboardmoored yachts.
Meanwhile, some marinas are satisfied that they can already meet demands for internet access. “In Barcelona we offer a good internet service, people are very happy with the access here. We can offer it for free – it is used by many crewmembers,” commented Mr ErrozErburu.
Yachting Pages’ survey also found that 98% of captains and crew had a copy of Yachting Pages aboard their yacht and 57% of them were hand delivered. 85% of captains and crew also told the Yachting Pages that they use the book regularly and 98% said they find it easy to use.
While internet access aboard superyachts is getting better each year, the survey also revealed that captains and senior crew still value their Yachting Pages book. The 2012/13 Yachting Pages directory has recently been published and 60,000 copies have been distributed to 95 countries already.
