The Journal arrives in Monaco with a launch theme centred on the true heart of the industry: superyacht captains. Our opening series is a long-form, interview-led project documenting the realities of command told directly by the captains themselves.

This section exists because the industry is at a turning point. More yachts are coming online. Crew expectations are shifting. Environmental scrutiny is intensifying. Regulation is accelerating. Owners are younger, more global, and more demanding. And yet, within all of this movement, one constant remains: when everything is on the line, it is the captain everyone turns to.

Across conversations with captains running 30 m programmes to 100 m world cruisers, a few themes appear again and again:

• The real work is human: morale, clarity, trust, and communication.
• Technology has transformed the bridge, but not the responsibility.
• Sustainability is no longer optional; captains feel that shift first.
• A new generation of crew arrives ambitious, connected, and impatient.
• Owners want experiences, privacy, wellness, and flexibility, often all at once.

These conversations are not profiles. They are testimony, offering first-hand accounts of a role that touches every department, every guest, every journey, and every decision.