The industry’s most-followed yacht hit digital dire straits in the aftermath of an accident.
It happened, as these things do, in the shadow of night. Early in the evening on December 21, 2024, Reel Wild, 53-foot chase boat from the motor yacht Loon, was seen leaving the Bay of Saint-Jean in St Barths. A few minutes later, a resident of Anse des Lézards reported hearing a huge noise. “I thought two cars had collided,” they told Le Journal de Saint-Barth. Emergency services were called. When the firefighters, gendarmes and EMTs arrived, they discovered the boat up on the rocks in Anse des Cayes.
While that is certainly a worst-case scenario for any yacht, this is not a story about a tender crash (for night-time tender ops, see an article from Dockwalk October 2024). This is a story about a social media crisis.
As the accident is under investigation with those on board not able to comment, what exactly happened that night is anybody’s guess. The problem is everybody did guess, while poring over crew members’ posts for clues. It was five days before the yacht released a statement on Patreon, which stated “everyone is okay” and essentially blamed the media for blowing it out of proportion. That did not go over well. Everyone online had heard that one crew member had been medevacked to a hospital in Miami to be treated for facial injuries, and that did not sound “okay” to them. One Loon crew member disputed the statement and a handful later publicly quit.
The tone in forums quickly spiraled from confused and concerned to critical and caustic. Ex-crew members came out of the woodwork with a litany of complaints and a subreddit was created solely to discuss the “wrongdoings” of the captain.
If it had been any other yacht’s tender, it’s unlikely the accident would have received so much attention. But Loon is not just any boat. With a full-time content creator among its crew, the charter yacht ran a groundbreaking YouTube channel that at last count had 206,000 subscribers and millions of views. Its reach was mainstream, its crew minor celebrities.
The double-edged sword of fame struck the captain down hard. He has since disappeared off all socials, as did what our sister magazine BOAT International dubbed “the world’s most Instagrammed boat”. The yacht’s Patreon page has been deactivated, Instagram account closed and all content on the YouTube channel has been removed. What’s left of the Loon legacy is found in forum comments from disappointed fans like P1Fanatic, who posted on pistonheads.com: “Kinda sums up the social media generation we live in where everyone is looking to paint a perfect picture of their life but the reality is far removed.”
So, what could have been done? How should a socially savvy yacht program react in a PR crisis?
“Swiftly, but thoughtfully,” says Emily Taffel, founder of Mugsy PR and a 25-year veteran of both the PR business and yachting industry. Speaking in general and not specifically about Loon, she says: “The first step is acknowledging the situation without providing incomplete information. A brief statement expressing a commitment to understanding the situation and taking appropriate action can go a long way in minimizing backlash. Silence often fuels speculation, which can exacerbate the issue.”
There is usually a better way than shutting down all accounts, she says. “This sends the message that the brand or organization or individual is retreating rather than facing the situation. While stepping back to regroup is natural, leaving the space entirely means the public and critics will fill in their own narratives.”
Instead, you want to control the narrative, but this doesn’t mean spinning the truth, Emily says. “What it does mean is for you to be the most reliable source of information about the incident, with consistent updates and clear communication — and transparency, empathy and accountability are critical in the response,” she says.
“For example, if an incident involves the safety of crew or guests, the communication should express concern for those affected, steps being taken to address the situation and plans to prevent similar incidents in the future. The goal is to reinforce trust, and social media can and should be used as a tool to communicate this message authentically rather than react defensively or emotionally, or shutting down the line of communication to the public.”
In Loon’s case Emily says they could, following a carefully crafted statement, have limited interactions on their accounts temporarily while providing factual updates. She also recommends creating a “crisis communication plan,” with sample responses for potential situations that could occur on board or off.
“When used effectively, like we saw with motor yacht Loon, social media humanizes the yacht, showcasing the crew’s personalities and professionalism, the vessel’s unique offerings and the experiences guests can expect. However, that is why it is equally important to have a crisis communication plan in place so that even in the worst of times you can maintain public trust.”