Submitted by Anne H Oman
Reporter-At-Large
October 22, 2015 3:57 p.m.
When Chris Edenfield, a 1982 Fernandina Beach High School graduate, comes home to visit family and friends, he comes in style, on the 150-foot-long yacht “Sycara, IV”, worth an estimated $37 million. Edenfield captains the yacht for owner Ray Catena a New Jersey luxury car dealer.
“I’m lucky I have an owner who doesn’t mind if I stop in my home town,” Captain Edenfield told the Fernandina Observer. “I came home to see my Mom and my dog.”
“Sycara IV” is stopping at the city marina for a few days on a seasonal migration from the Great Lakes to Fort Lauderdale and the Caribbean.
Captain Edenfield’s mother, Colean, lives on Cedar Street. In addition to spending time with his mother, his dog, Tiger, and a bunch of childhood friends, Chris has enjoyed showing his crew of six the local attractions, notably The Dog Star Tavern, Fort Clinch, and Kingsley Plantation.
He and his crew will leave Fernandina this weekend and take the “Sycara, IV”, whose name is an amalgam of the names of the owners’ grandchildren, to Fort Lauderdale, where Mr. Ray Catena will board in time for a major boat show there in November. From Fort Lauderdale, they will take the boat to St. Barts for the winter season.
How did a local boy get to be captain of a luxury yacht?
After graduating from Florida State University with a degree in Criminology (“Hey, maybe I’ll catch a pirate,” he joked.), Chris learned from a friend of a job as a crew member of a yacht docked in Fort Lauderdale, and signed on. Through subsequent jobs on other boats, he earned sea time and eventually qualified as a captain.
“Sycara IV’ was built in 2009, and was inspired by 1920’s fantail cruisers. The interior features Macassar ebony, sycamore and teak, and has four double guest state rooms. The yacht is registered in Bikini, Marshall Island. The yacht has never been to Bikini, a coral atoll in the Pacific where the United States detonated 23 nuclear devices between 1946 and 1958, rendering the area uninhabitable. The islanders have relocated to other Pacific islands and are the beneficiaries of trust funds set up by the United States government. Boat registrations, facilitated at yachting centers including Fort Lauderdale, provide additional revenue.
Visiting vessels pay the city marina $2 per foot per night, plus power charges, to dock there, according to Marina Manager Joe Springer. A 150 foot yacht such as “Sycara IV, ” then, pays about $300 per night. ” According to Mr. Springer, visiting boats generated nearly $442,000 for the city in FY 1014-2015. “I think its good for people to know that visiting yachts aren’t just curiosities,
Editor’s Note: Anne H. Oman relocated to Fernandina Beach from Washington, D.C. Her articles have appeared in The Washington Post, The Washington Star, The Washington Times, Family Circle and other publications. We thank Anne for her contributions to the Fernandina Observer.
Sorry Sherlock,
Wrong family. The Ray Catena I work for was a son of immigrant parents who fought so much he moved in with his grandparents at age 11. So scared to ask his grandparents for money, he started shining shoes and started his own business selling reconditioned bicycles. He quit school and had a junkyard in Carney, NJ by the time he was 18 years old. He started his empire with one used car lot, good business practices and a motto of service after the sale. Sorry this true story isn’t as interesting as the one you “guessed” was correct. Don’t quit your day job!