Navigating Success

Yacht captain builds a career on the water

BY ELLEN GILLETTE

Still a captain, Oscar Breeding now runs a yacht management business. RUSTY DURHAM

Oscar Breeding does bear some resemblance to Captain Merrill Stubing of television’s The Love Boat — just less formal. Though the two share a profession, “I don’t wear a uniform,” Breeding points out. The yacht captain has been a resident of Port St. Lucie, with wife Debbie, for just a year —but he has had his captain’s license for 45.

Breeding is the youngest of four brothers from Slidell, Louisiana, on the banks of Lake Pontchartrain. His father was in real estate, a former Merchant Marine. His mother, a homemaker, was active in garden and country clubs. 

“I was fortunate enough to have a small boat,” Breeding said. Exploring the bayous for many happy hours, it was easy to imagine the days of French settlers.

Breeding enjoyed history and geography in school, but he was drawn to the water. In high school, he worked at a boat dealership, cleaning and preparing boats for delivery. Planning on a business degree, he attended college for a year before he needed a break. 

It wasn’t an easy break. As a deckhand on a tugboat, he helped push coal barges between New Orleans and Pensacola. “With inland tugs, there’s a lot of physical work,” Breeding said. 

Nights could be treacherous. “You have to really be careful walking or you can trip,” Breeding said. “I almost went overboard one time, but I was able to catch myself. I probably wouldn’t have made it.”

AYE, CAPTAIN

Yachtsmen have used the stars for navigation for thousands of years, but a business degree was not in the stars for Breeding. After returning to school, he saw an ad in the back of a boating magazine for Chapman School of Seamanship in Florida and sent for information. His father offered to pay for the training; in 1980, Breeding drove to Stuart.

“It was the best I ever did at school,” Breeding said. At the top of his class, he left school a week early because he’d already landed a job on a 120-foot boat in Fort Lauderdale. As second mate, he was responsible for the yacht’s exterior. A year later, he was first mate at another job. Eventually, he became a yacht captain.

Regardless of a boat’s size, its captain is entrusted with the command, safety, and management of the vessel, crew and guests. The captain navigates, plans, budgets and coordinates everything. A good captain means a happy yacht owner. 

Breeding has always loved the job, whether it’s taking people out on a day trip or working for owners who live aboard for months. He has traveled up and down the East Coast from Nova Scotia to Grenada, almost entirely without incident.

Almost. “One trip to the Caribbean, we had bad fuel and lost all power,” he said. “We lost the engines, the generator, everything. Fortunately we were able to get things back up and running, but it was pretty nerve-wracking for a while because we were in too deep a water to anchor.”

Breeding has also been boarded by the Coast Guard. “Just routine, you know. In the ’80s, there was so much drug smuggling going on. It always went smoothly, once they got a feel for the people on the boat.”

Of course, a captain isn’t always at the helm. In port, there are interesting places to visit and time to rest. Yachts, being power boats, have plenty of space for relaxation and amenities. “These days, you’ve got TV, internet,” Breeding said. “You’ve pretty much got everything you have at your house. And you get to eat really good food.”

Bad weather is, of course, “just the nature of the beast,” he said. “If you’ve been doing this for any length of time, you have challenges. Things break down, there are mechanical issues.”

Although Breeding still does freelance captain work, his primary role is now management. In South Florida, it’s a job that can get especially intense during hurricane season. Boats have to be moved to secure locations, with everything taken off, from the canvas to cushions. “One season he had seven boats,” Debbie said. “It was nuts.” 

“I haven’t had any damage to a boat,” Breeding said. “But I grew up going through hurricanes in Louisiana, so I’ve dealt with them my whole life.” 

Breeding was mentioned in this magazine when he delivered a yacht to its new owner. power & motoryacht magazine

SAFE HARBOR

After about three years at sea, Breeding took a break from yachts, returning to Louisiana, marrying, working as a real estate appraiser in New Orleans, taking his daughter out in a boat whenever he had the chance. The yacht business, however, eventually called him back to Florida. 

Breeding met Debbie at church in Boca Raton. He was divorced; she was a widow. Both in their 50s, they became good friends. “We’d be on the phone for hours,” Debbie said.

“It was different dating when you’re older,” Breeding said. Their honeymoon was spent — not surprisingly — on a cruise.

About a year ago, the Breedings wanted out of Boca’s congestion. They saw an ad for PGA Village Verano, visited, and signed a contract. On land most of the time now, Breeding still captains and manages yachts around hobbies and church. You might say that his life is on a very even keel.