Constant, 24/7 surveillance worldwide. Debilitating noise-makers. Instantly dis-orienting fog machines. High-tech gadgets designed not just to trigger alerts when intruders are on board – but also to protect the yacht, its guests and crew until help arrives.

Meet Tony Sparks, the new breed of yacht security ‘consultant’. A former U.S. Army Special Operations officer, Tony has spent most of his adult life protecting us from the bad guys around the world.

You REALLY DON’T want to know what Tony knows.

But if you’re the owner or captain of a multi-million dollar yacht – like one of the dozens that will be on display at Bahia Mar during the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (October 25-29) – you definitely want a guy like Tony on your side.

Tony and his company, Phantom Services, provide Star Wars-like technology, counter-intelligence, onboard security and escort services to protect the world’s fleet of super and mega yachts. He can also deploy, ahem, a ‘private security force’ to retrieve a pirated yacht from its captors. (Yes, he’s done it).

At FLIBS, Tony Sparks will talk about yacht security and demonstrate some of the cool new technology provided by leading supplier Global Ocean Security Technologies (GOST) of Fort Lauderdale.

You’re invited to meet Tony and see the security systems demo – Bahia Mar, F/G Dock 16. Demos are scheduled for 11 am, 2 pm and 5 pm daily, October 25-29, also by appointment if any of these times don’t work.