Hamilton Clemens on the water, smiling in a cap and sunglasses

Captain

Hamilton Clemens

Yacht Commercial Delivery West Palm Beach

A yacht and commercial captain based in West Palm Beach, Florida. Available for captain, mate, delivery, and relief work in South Florida and the Pacific Northwest.

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Sunset over calm water, photographed during a yacht delivery

About

The work, and how I come to it

I’m Hamilton Clemens, a yacht and commercial captain based in West Palm Beach, Florida. I hold a USCG Master 100 GT Near Coastal license and an IYT Master of Yachts 200 Ton Limited. I have about three years in command, with 1,050+ documented days as captain, plus years aboard in other roles before that.

I’m comfortable as a working captain on an owner boat or as mate under a more senior skipper. The work I like most is the full picture of running a boat: passage planning and delivery command, systems and repairs, vendors and the program budget, and looking after crew and guests. I’m also an SDI scuba instructor and a DAN First Aid/CPR instructor, and I run dive operations from the vessel when that’s part of the program.

Before I went to sea full time, I spent 15 years owning a federal contracting business, leading facilities construction and maintenance operations. A yacht is a small facility that floats. The same habits apply: understand how systems connect, keep up with preventive maintenance, document the work, and find the root cause instead of chasing symptoms.

1,050+

Documented days as captain

869 nm

Florida to the Dominican Republic

15 years

Facilities and project operations

Experience

Vessels and command

July 2025 – Present76 ft motor yacht

M/V Dump Diver

Captain / Systems

With Wim, the owner, underway on Dump Diver’s flybridge during the 2025 delivery.

In August 2025 I delivered Dump Diver from Vero Beach, Florida, through the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, to Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic — 869 nautical miles. The route ran West End, Nassau, George Town in Exuma, and Providenciales, and I planned it around fuel, weather, and ports, then changed it when the weather required.

  • Cleared customs in the Bahamas, at two marinas in Providenciales, and into the Dominican Republic. Used a one-day delay in Providenciales to source parts.
  • Diagnosed and replaced a failed galvanic isolator and shore-power cord underway, including a new 60 amp ProMariner ProSafe FS60 isolator. Traced an intermittent generator fault and found technicians on short notice in the Bahamas so the boat stayed on schedule.
  • Have remained in command since arrival: systems, repairs, vendors, and keeping the boat ready.

2023 – PresentPalm Beach Inlet

Passenger dive boats

Independent / Relief Captain

Independent and relief captain on single- and twin-screw flybridge and express dive boats out of Palm Beach Inlet, including Republic Four, Republic Seven, Freedom, Sunny Sunday, Little Deeper, and Miss Jackie.

  • Ran each trip start to finish: go/no-go, crew, paying guests, dive operations, engines, hotel systems, and dock. Zero incidents.
  • Owner-family days and passenger trips, including briefings, provisioning, and in-water supervision as an SDI instructor.

2001 – 2004Seattle and Puget Sound

60 ft Sea Ray Express

Captain

Puget Sound trips from Seattle through the Ballard Locks and the San Juan Islands, with U.S. to Canada border crossings into Vancouver, British Columbia. Lock transits, commercial traffic, and confined-water handling in Lake Union and harbor approaches.

Additional time in command

South Florida inlets and inland rivers

Additional captain service in South Florida inlet and near-coastal waters, from Jupiter Inlet to Port Everglades, and on inland waters of the Pacific Northwest and Idaho, including the Snake and Salmon Rivers.

Credentials

Licenses and training

License

USCG Master 100 GT Near Coastal

United States Coast Guard merchant mariner credential.

License

IYT Master of Yachts 200 Ton Limited

International Yacht Training worldwide certificate. This is not a U.S. Coast Guard credential.

STCW

STCW Basic Safety Training

Basic training under the STCW convention.

STCW

STCW Advanced Firefighting

Advanced firefighting for shipboard emergencies.

Navigation

Radar Observer Unlimited

Unlimited radar observer endorsement.

Radio

FCC Marine Radio Operator Permit

FCC MROP for marine VHF and related communications.

Security

TWIC

Transportation Worker Identification Credential.

Medical

USCG Medical Certificate

STCW-compliant, valid through April 2028.

Instruction

SDI Scuba Instructor

Open Water Scuba Instructor, with Deep, Wreck, Drysuit, Drift, and Boat specialties.

Instruction

DAN First Aid / CPR Instructor

First aid and CPR instruction, including AED and oxygen.

Training

Photographs from Advanced Firefighting training at Palm Beach State College Fire Academy, and from STCW safety training.

Palm Beach State College Fire Academy, Engine 6.
In firefighting gear at the academy.
SCBA mask, Advanced Firefighting training.
SCBA gear at the fire academy.
STCW safety training.

Diving

In the water

I’m an SDI Open Water Scuba Instructor and a DAN First Aid/CPR instructor. I teach and supervise in the water, and I run dive operations from the vessel when that’s part of the program. Some of the best decisions, in a class or on a boat, are the “not today” calls.

At the surface in clear water.
A cave dive.
With dive students at Boca Inlet.
On a dive boat.
Underwater with a dive buddy.
On a dive boat with a buddy.
Cave diving in a cenote.
A Florida spring, with limestone and trees around the water

Photos

From the water

Evening light on the water, August 2025 delivery.
A Bahamas lighthouse from the water, on the run down the chain.
Crooked Island, Bahamas. The marina was closed for the season.
Ocean World Marina, Puerto Plata, after the last leg.
Approaching Nassau aboard M/V Dump Diver.
With Wim, the owner of M/V Dump Diver, at sunset during the delivery.
The panel on Dump Diver, before the isolator was replaced.
The new 60 amp ProMariner ProSafe FS60 isolator, installed underway.

Blog

Latest posts

November 11, 2026

Florida to the Dominican Republic

In August 2025 I took the 76 ft motor yacht M/V Dump Diver from Vero Beach to Puerto Plata — 869 nautical miles through the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos.

November 11, 2026

Keeping the Boat Running

Things break on boats, usually far from a shop. My approach is simple: stay calm, trace the problem, and fix it properly when you can.

November 11, 2026

Seattle and the San Juans

Running a 60 ft Sea Ray in the Pacific Northwest taught me patience in the locks, respect for current and fog, and how to handle a boat that size in commercial traffic.

November 11, 2026

Diving and the Go/No-Go Call

The most important thing I teach as an SDI instructor isn’t a skill underwater. It’s how to read the conditions before you get in — and when to say not today.

November 11, 2026

A Yacht Is a Small Facility That Floats

Before I went to sea full time, I spent 15 years leading facilities construction and maintenance. It turns out a yacht is a small facility that floats.

All posts

Resume

Hamilton Clemens, Captain

A one-page resume covering licenses, sea service, and systems work. I’m happy to send a version tailored to a yacht, commercial, or mate role.

Download PDF

Contact

Let’s talk

If you’re an owner, captain, or crew agency looking for a dependable, low-drama person who takes care of the boat and the people aboard, I’d be glad to hear from you. I’m based in West Palm Beach and available immediately.