Hill Robinson take care of smaller sailing yachts as well as larger motor vessels.

When Nick Hill and Niall Robinson founded Hill Robinson Yacht Management Consultants back in 2001, very few in the yachting world appreciated or understood the concept of yacht management.  But both partners, Cambridge and Oxford graduates respectively and both experienced sailors, were convinced of the future potential, particularly with the imminent implementation of the ISM code in 2002. Just seven years later, the team now numbers around 50 and Hill Robinson offices can be found in Antibes, Fort Lauderdale and London and in shipyards in Germany and Italy.  Clearly their vision for the future was not wrong.

But what is yacht management? What do clients get for their money? The industry has changed dramatically and the days of a captain running a yacht from build to commission and then into operational mode are disappearing. The job is now simply too large and complex. Each yacht is basically a multi-million euro company and deserves being treated as such.

But is yacht management only necessary for the larger yacht? The smallest yacht in the Hill Robinson fleet is 24m, the largest,120m and the services offered and supplied are tailored to suit the individual’s requirements. The smaller yachts may have different needs to those of a larger super yacht and they can still benefit from having yacht management provided by a specialist company. In many ways the captain and owner of the smaller yachts can benefit more as they are “buying into” a professional network with expertise that they might not have had access to as an individual. Also, for many, their “small” yacht is merely the first step on the ladder.

The yacht management business falls roughly into five categories: project management, shore support for yachts in commission, crew management, financial administration and safety and security.

Hill Robinson have access to a pool of project managers, naval architects, and engineers to ensure that the correct resources are applied to the project

Project Management

At the start, each project is individually assessed and involvement defined depending on each owner’s individual requirements. Hill Robinson will always work with the owner bearing in mind his specific needs – How does he plan to use the yacht? What are his expectations from the project? And so on. If Hill Robinson are involved in the design stage they can offer input from the experience gained on other projects. Likewise with general contractual conditions reviewing the build contract can be an onerous task in itself! In addition, the administrative support offered saves the captain a great deal of stress and many an experienced and well-qualified captain has appreciated this enormous benefit! Hill Robinson are great believers in the team approach and with access to their pool of Project Managers, naval Architects, Engineers, etc., the correct resources are applied to the project as and when required.

Shore Support

Once a vessel is operational, the main aim is to provide assistance and support for the captain and to keep the owner up to date with the yacht’s itinerary, location, crew issues, etc and to report progress on projects like refits. Shore support encompasses a wide range of functions including assisting with booking berths, sending spare parts, forwarding mail for crew, arranging flights, help with provisioning, general purchasing, insurance claims, medical appointments and many other tasks for the captain and the Owner as required. Support is offered 24/7 and a yacht manager is available to talk to at any time. This is someone who looks after the day-to-day running of the yacht rather than the technical aspects and at Hill Robinson this is a women-only department. Most captains would rather have a conversation with a female manager than a male when it comes to organising things!

The service includes 24/7 Emergency Support through our special emergency number. This number is used routinely for drills and exercises and is, of course, also for real emergencies. For example, a large yacht “nudged” a sandbank in the Caribbean and bent a stabiliser. The captain called immediately and Hill Robinson organised divers, ascertained the damage and dealt with the insurance claim. The Fort Lauderdale office was able to organised a dry dock. With offices on more than one time zone, when one office went home, the other took over.

Crew Management

Finding and keeping the correct crew is essential to the successful running of any yacht. Hill Robinson has direct contact with hundreds of yacht crew and can take care of crew interviews, reference checking and qualification verification. They generally work with the owner to ensure the correct captain and officers are in place and then assist the captain with the selection of his crew.

Hill Robinson is completely independent and does not receive commissions from shipyards or brokers.

Financial Administration

The start point here is to produce an appropriate budget for the first twelve months. This is fine-tuned together with the captain and owner and forms the basis of all future funding and accounting. Monthly accounting returns are produced and good forward planning of cash flow and standing orders allows the advantages of smooth financial operations. A bank account is opened for each yacht and credit cards arranged in the appropriate currency. Operating funds are requested in advance thus enabling prompt settlement of all invoices and, of course, the payroll as well as providing cash for the captain. With their experience and buying power, savings can be made on items such as insurance, uniforms, fuel, spare parts and provisioning. At Hill Robinson, the savings are passed direct to the yacht – they earn no commissions on anything.

Safety and Security

The ISM (International Safety Management) and ISPS (International Ship and Port Facility Security Codes are mandatory on all commercially operated yachts over 500 gross tons. The MCA large Yacht Code (LY2) requires a much slimmer version of this for yachts over 24m and under 500 gross tons. The system provider for this is commonly known as Mini ISM. The aim of all these codes is to make the yacht a safe place for the crew to work, for the owner and guests to relax  in comfort and for the yacht to be safe and respectful to the environment. At Hill Robinson, they also believe that private owners are entitled to expect these same standards of safety as a matter of course and in the fleet there are several private yachts using our ISM on a voluntary basis.

The Hill Robinson fleet (currently around forty) is made up of both motor and sailing yachts, though it has to be said that the former outnumber the latter. But what they lack in quantity, they make up for in quality, working with Atmosphere, Independence, Squall, Felicita West, Hyperion, Drumbeat (until she was sold) and Maltese Falcon for which they designed all the training manuals for ISM and ISPS. Environmental issues and concern about carbon footprints are likely to put greater emphasis on the supersailing yacht sector with many more joining the fleet.

One of the key strengths of Hill Robinson is its independence. Many yacht management companies are part of larger brokerage houses which by the very nature of their business are commission driven. Not being distracted by commissions or hidden agendas, for a monthly management fee Hill Robinson is free to concentrate on the job in hand – management and protection of this valuable asset. The fee is paid by the owner who, in return, has everything taken care of from the complexities of construction and change management to the eventual running of the vessel. There is no commission via the shipyard involved and, significantly, they do not get involved with buying and selling the vessel on the brokerage market. Neither does it broker charter deals. This policy has lead to the development of their relationships with many independent brokers as these brokers look to find the support for their clients without risking their own relationship.

Hill Robinson is run in a discreet low profile fashion working closely with owners, captains, brokers and other industry professionals who in turn will be the judges of their performance. Managing Directors Nick Hill and Niall Robinson believe that only by being directly and financially accountable to the client can quality of service and value for money be improved. The standards are high but they wouldn’t want it any other way.