Mount Pleasant Magazine March/April 2020

59 www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.ILoveMountPleasant.com | www.BestofMP.com feature C aptain’s Choice Yachting (CCY), based out of the Charleston City Marina, is a full-service yacht management company offering first- class yacht maintenance, including first mate services, professional marine repair services, captain’s services and consulting. “As Charleston’s growing so is our local yachting community,” said owner Captain Heath Hackett, who moved to Charleston after spending a year in Plymouth, England, studying marine navigation, where he earned his RYA Yacht Masters Certificate. Hackett, who started CCY 17 years ago, spearheads the Captain Division, specializing in sea trials, owner operator instruction, passage planning and serving as the captain for owners’ extended travel from Maine to The Bahamas. CCY’s Marine Repair Division, led by Captain Jason Corley, is successful in keeping the yachts they manage ready to travel due to years of combined experiences and appreciation for the team’s continuous education through organizations like ABYC and NMEA. “Additionally, CCY has worked hard to form great relationships with many of the systems manufacturers,” explained Hackett. “This allows CCY to be informative and efficient in both maintenance and repairs of a yacht’s many complicated systems.” One of the company’s largest growth areas during the past four years is marine electronics. CCY offers sales, service and installation of your next marine electronics package. “With marine electronics continuously evolving, we are striving to satisfy the demand for quality electronics installation that brings exciting new life to clients’ boats,” said Corley. Hackett stated, “Corley’s expertise and abilities in the mechanical and electronics arena have been crucial to the business’ growth and success.” Corley, an 11-year CCY employee, enjoys being creative with developing an electronics package that can maximize a vessel’s entertainment and lighting capabilities. CCY’s consulting side is designed to navigate clients through their yachting career’s next phase, whether that means planning their next boat purchase or expanding their yachting lifestyle. Hackett described their services as an “a la carte” menu they provide based on client need. When they meet a client, their goal is to honor what that client’s vision was when they bought the boat. “Through these departments, we help them get the most out of their yachting experiences,” noted Hackett. One thing Hackett’s experience with business ownership has taught him is that “you have to treat challenges as opportunities.” He used to sustain high turnover with first mate staff as they saw no potential for upward mobility and quickly burned out and left. Hackett addressed the challenge by hiring eager, industrious men and women with the right background who could use CCY to launch a yachting career. CCY trains these employees on becoming a first mate and pays for them to get their STCW Certification, so they could serve as crew on larger yachts that travel the world, which several people have since done. Hackett encouraged anyone who is interested in a yachting career to contact them about a first mate position. “We’re always looking for the right next person,” Hackett said. BY COLIN MCCANDLESS Find them on Facebook (Captain’s Choice Yachting) and Instagram (@Captainschoiceyacht) or visit captainschoiceyachting.com. First-class Yacht Care Captain’s ChoiceYachting around town Photo by Juli Kaplan.