Ashley and Damien Dempsey
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experience behind him, Damien was able to take on a project manager's job supervising construction of the 54.9m mast, at that time the tallest in the world, for the 46m Zeus. That led to him taking the sailing master's position on the Zeus for the following two years, experiencing sailing with large rigs and understanding their stresses and loadings.
"I have been very fortunate in sailing with some great captains and engineers who were very willing to share their knowledge," says Damien. "They have also been very useful mentors to me during my career. Because of the lack of a formal superyacht apprenticeship scheme, one has to rely on the luck of sailing with people like this."
This experience helped Damien achieve his first command in 2001, the new 25m high-performance sloop Atlanta, for which he was also the build manager. After being with the Atlanta for two years he went back to being first mate on the 38m ketch Cyrano, where he had previously held the same position for two years. After three years of extensive sailing around the Med, Damien, now joined by Ashley, took command of another high performance sloop, the 30m Maria Alba, for a short time before they both joined the Imagine in Palma in August 2009. Getting a job in the superyacht industry is becoming more competitive. "Having a well presented CV with a good head and shoulders photograph is the first step if you don't have any previous yachting experience," says Damien.
"Dock walking and getting a job as a day worker is still a good way of getting started, but have a good attitude and look smart! Network at every opportunity, especially when around yachting people."
When looking for crew, Damien will favour someone with a good attitude and a passion for sailing over someone with tickets who is only there for the financial benefits.
Damien admits to another passion, riding motorbikes. He has an impressive stable of them. Back "home" in Palma he has a Ducati 996 and a BMW GS Adventurer 1150. He rode the BMW on a fascinating six-month solo trip from the top to the bottom of Africa. In Auckland he has his Ducati Multistrada on which he intends to explore as much of New Zealand as he can. Luckily, Ashley also enjoys motorbikes and all Damien needs is a superyacht that will accommodate his two loves!
Palma de Mallorca is their favourite port, mostly, they admit, because they have an apartment there and look upon it as home. Sailing together is certainly working well for them. Says Damien, "Living and working on a boat can be hard at times, but when you have your best friend with you to talk things over and share the un-forgettable experiences of sailing the world together on beautiful yachts, it doesn't get much better!"
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