by Tammy Taylor
Staff Writer
Few people get to sail the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. Even less get to do it for a living, but John Golden of Atlas Yacht Deliveries is living a dream.
Golden is currently moored in Jacksonville while delivering a boat from Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. He is visiting local attorney Teresa Sopp whom he met while piloting a chartered boat she was on in the Caribbean.
“You meet so many people when you’re sailing,” said Golden. “They’re all like-minded and you keep in touch. You have a network of friends around the world. It also means you have a free place to sleep.”
Originally from Australia, Golden began working with Atlas Yacht Deliveries in 1998 with partner and captain Shane Lavin from Sligo, Ireland and third captain, Peter Wilkins from Bath, England.
Before signing on with Atlas Yacht Deliveries in 1998, Golden delivered yachts for 12 years. He also worked in the marine industry with off-shore oil rigs in Norway for a Texas oil company. Golden has also run day- charter catamarans and a commercial tug.
“It beats working for a living,” joked Golden.
Atlas Yacht Deliveries is licensed out of St. Maartin in the Caribbean, with another office in France. The company also has a program in the Mediterranean which takes new boats from French factories and delivers them to new owners.
“We employ up to 20 skippers for the one program,” said Golden, “but it is quiet this year. The American dollar is low and not as many boats are being chartered this year.”
The company also delivers boats to St. Maartin at the end of the season for care and upkeep.
“We look after them until the owners want them again,” said Golden.
Delivery times vary depending on boat and destination. It takes three to five weeks to sail the Atlantic Ocean, said Golden. A trip to Sydney, Australia, from the Caribbean takes about two months.
Atlas typically employs between six and eight skippers to help deliver vessels throughout the boating season. The company’s main markets are boat owners in the United States and the Mediterranean, but occasionally, there are new destinations.
“We are planning to deliver a couple of boats to Thailand and a couple to Sydney this year,” said Golden.
According to Golden, Atlas Yacht Deliveries is planning to expand its services in the Caribbean by offering crewed charters around the islands.
“It will be for groups of people who normally wouldn’t charter a boat,” he said. “It’s for other people besides sailors who are interested in sailing.”
Atlas Yacht Deliveries can be contacted through their website, www.atlasdeliveries.com.
“Our offices are where ever we have Internet access,” said Golden. “We also have cell phones when we are out on deliveries.”