A profile of Ryan Green - from shark attack to superyachts

My first job on a superyacht came about because of a shark attack. I was sailing through the South Pacific as a crew member on a 40ft sailing yacht. As a keen spearfisherman finding a bunk on a cruising yacht was easy as ‘spearos’ are always sought after as we can catch dinner.

Our route took us from the Bay of Islands, via the Kermadecs, a remote chain off New Zealand, along to Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia.  Early into the journey while the Captain and I were spearfishing he was attacked by a shark – we were 300 miles from the nearest piece of dry land and ten days into my first blue water adventure – quite the baptism.

To cut a long story short, the New Zealand Navy lifted the Captain off and we were left to make our way to Tonga. Thankfully another yacht was nearby and leant us a crew member. The injured Captain made a full recovery and after four weeks in Tonga and we were back on our way.

Sometime later, on our return to New Zealand, the Captain said, 'What about crewing on a superyacht?' I heard that Tom Perkins’ yacht, ANDROMEDA LA DEA, which was undergoing a refit in Auckland, was looking for a deckhand/Divemaster with knowledge of the Kermadecs – and I got the job. I stepped aboard and never looked back.  

We all have – the depth of the Yacht Management team at Burgess covers all bases. Between us we have many hundreds of years of combined experience from Master Mariners, Chief Engineers, Naval Architects, HR Specialists and Regulatory Professionals to name but a few. We’re all passionate about what we do!

There is always a situation that needs us to put our heads together and work it out – and that is what keeps the job interesting. Across all disciplines of Yacht Management – safety and security, crew, technical, financial and operational – we need 360-degree vision, because every detail has a knock-on effect.

Yacht management is about taking care of everything back-stage, so that the owners are left with the pure enjoyment of the asset. There’s an art to it - it’s about understanding how an owner is using their yacht and their vision. It is incredible seeing our team at work – the collaboration, communication and dynamic approach to aligning with the owner’s objectives is phenomenal.

I tripped up early on when I underestimated how passionate yacht owners are about every detail of their yacht. Let’s just say - the piping on a cushion can be as important as the piping in the engine room - I was a bit naive that time!