|
All of our crewed yacht charters come with a top class professional
crew, whose purpose is to make your charter yacht vacation
as relaxing and enjoyable as possible.
Whether you charter a husband and wife operated catamaran
or a crewed mega-yacht with a full complement of staff on-board,
your crew will ultimately be the defining factor in making
your yacht
charter vacation a memorable experience. At Travel by
Morley we invest considerable time into getting to know the
crew on all the charter yachts that we work with.
Advantages of a
Crewed Yacht Charter:
- Local knowledge: Your captain will have intimate knowledge
of the yacht charter area and many local contacts
- Stress-Free Sailing: If you wish to try your hand at sailing, you can do so under the helpful guidance of the crew, without worrying about securing permits, maintenance or running aground!
- No work, all play: a crewed yacht charter means that you can sit back and relax and let some-one else take care of the cooking and cleaning, making the beds and preparing the drinks.
- First class hospitality: from the chef's haute cuisine to the steward's friendly smiles and the deck-hands scuba advice, you will receive a level of service and care that makes crewed yacht charters the ultimate vacation.
Your Crewed Yacht Charter
Most charter yacht crews are very people oriented types and have a
sixth sense about when to make themselves scarce and when
to interact with your group. We always make certain that your
charter crew is the best match available for your group.
The captain is responsible for the yacht's operation and the
safety of everyone on board. He or she is in charge of the
yacht charter and everybody answers to him. On larger yachts,
the captain will manage the charter client's advanced provisioning
allowance.
The Cook or Chef is responsible for ordering, purchasing and
storage of all food items, liaising with the guests to plan
the menu for the trip, and preparing all the food for the
guests and the rest of the yacht crew. (On smaller crewed
yacht charters there will often be two or three crew members
and the cook will also act as steward/ess).
The Steward/ess is responsible for all interior cleaning of the vessel,
including setting the table and service of the meals, making
the beds for the guests, doing the laundry for guests and
crew, providing attentive service and anticipating guest's
needs.
The Deckhand is responsible for assisting the guests with
their baggage, driving the tender for them, transporting them
to and from shore, cleaning the exterior of the charter boat,
assisting in the navigation while underway, and generally
helping to ensure a safe environment for the guests' crewed
yacht charter vacation.
The Engineer is responsible for keeping the yacht in good
mechanical order so that the vessel is safe to go to sea with
guests and crew on board, and able to provide a first class
hotel environment for the owners and their guests.
(Please note that your yacht crew members are not baby-sitters.
If you'd like a baby-sitter, it would be best to bring one
with you.)
Captain Profile: Aaron Clark, M/Y Four Wishes
 Captain Aaron Clark of motor yacht Four Wishes was awarded the title of "Best Charter Captain" for 2005
Aaron has been a captain since he was 18 years old. His passion for
boating stems from his boyhood. Raised in a small coastal
town in New Zealand , he spent much time on the water with
his father, a commercial fisherman. He started racing small
yachts when he was just 8 years old, became champion of his
yacht club for two years running, and went on to sail a variety
of larger yachts. Although he learned a great deal about seamanship
during his childhood, he says, "My main drive to become a
captain was the challenge and feeling of accomplishment in
such a diverse job; the personal rewards are very fulfilling."
Clark 's dedication to excellence, which won him the award,
is the same trait that brought him to Four Wishes to begin
with. "My current employer," says Clark, "was a charter guest
on a boat I was on in the Mediterranean in 2001. He was so
happy with his experience onboard that he hired me away two
months after his charter."
Perfectly understandable you might think-until you learn that
Clark 's new employer didn't even own a boat at the time!
The Captain takes great pride in creating tailor-made yacht
charter experiences for each charterer and his or her guests.
"No trip is like any other," he says, "even for a returning
guest chartering in the same area twice." Once the booking
is made, he works closely with the chartering party to ensure
that all of his or her needs are met. "Then," he says, "I
go to work on options for the cruise, creating unique activities
and experiences according to that particular charter guest's
personality and specific requirements. Once I have the ideas
and activities that we can achieve in the area where we are
cruising, I go back to them again, and build on the itinerary
to make it a suitable and achievable program for both the
area and the time allotted for the charter."
Four Wishes is based in the Caribbean in the winter, and in the Med in the summer. In the Caribbean, Clark recommends a 7-10-day itinerary, visiting the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, and St. Barth's. "This," he says, "makes for an excellent mix of culture, water activities, sheltered bays, beautiful scenery, wildlife, shopping, and easy access for guests flying in and out." One of the Captain's favorite excursions in the Caribbean , one that he notes is especially fun for families, is a four-hour treasure hunt on St. Barth's. Guests and crew dress up as pirates, divide into two teams, and head off in Jeeps to follow a treasure map of clues.
In the summer, Clark favors Sardinia and Croatia , "as these
areas have the best the Med has to offer: beautiful beaches,
wonderful cruising, great shopping, and other excellent land
opportunities. When near a remote island, the captain may
choose a special set-up on the beach for lunch, dinner, or
cocktails, which includes a Four Wishes tiki bar, draped table
and chairs, BBQ, music and tiki torches. "We then have several
ways to enhance and customize the guests' experience," says
the Captain.
He stresses that anything is possible on this crewed yacht
charter, as both he and the crew have the ability to adapt
to the clients' personal needs while providing a very high
level of service for discerning guests, and then adjusting
the level to any family's cruise requirements. The 10 crew
members on board-a good amount for this size boat- possess
a broad diversity of skills, and most important, "a great
attitude and genuine enthusiasm." The crew exemplify teamwork,
Clark says, which is what enables them to offer guests such
a wide range of activities, and honor any request, no matter
how difficult it may seem at first.
Special Charter Requests
"Every trip," says Captain Clark, "has what might be referred to as 'unusual' requests, but as I deal with these challenges every day, I consider them to be fairly normal." He says he takes them in stride-even when called upon to do the seemingly impossible. For instance, one evening they were anchored at a very remote island in the Caribbean . At 10 p.m., the charterer approached the Captain, and said that five of his guests wanted to windsurf the next morning at 9 a.m. from a very nice beach close by. "No problem," responded Captain Clark. He got on the phone, chartered a plane full of rental windsurfers and, sure enough, the guests were all windsurfing at 8:45 the following morning.
There are times, however, when the Captain is not so accommodating.
That's when the safety and comfort of his passengers are at
risk. On a recent 5-day trip aboard Four Wishes, a guest wanted
to change itineraries suddenly and visit a destination that
would require three days, cruising 24 hours a day, in the
open ocean. The guest did not care about the discomfort of
the other guests or the time used up from the yacht charter
period. But the Captain did. "It took me an hour," he said,
"but I got the guest to see the light and understand that
this was not the correct course to take. Eventually I managed
to convince him to enjoy the areas that we were currently
cruising in."
Interview courtesy - Yacht Charters Magazine
Chef Profile - Jayne Taylor, S/Y Andiamo
Jayne Taylor owned and operated a highly successful catering business in Washington , D.C. , where she lived for 20 years, serving prominent political figures and diplomats. She has been featured in several Washington Post articles and the Washingtonian Magazine, as one of the capital's premier caterers. Jayne specializes in international cuisine, an interest she acquired while living in Singapore , Libya , Italy , and France .
While in Paris , she co-authored a bilingual cookbook with a Michelin-starred French chef, Chef Hubert, and she taught cooking classes at L'Ecole de Cuisine d'Hubert in Paris and on the French-Caribbean island of St. Barths .
Jayne's passion for food and entertaining does not prevent her active participation in travel, sailing, fishing, and scuba diving. Jayne is fluent in French, conversant in Italian, and she also speaks some German.
" The pictures can't possibly show the absolutely wonderful variety and flavor of every meal. Each was a gourmet delight. Tasty appetizers, excellent drinks, subtle sauces with magnificent main courses, all followed by delightful deserts. Jayne's experience in the business is manifest in every subtle detail, from color-coded swim towels to daily-changing of napkin rings ." - Chris & Lesleigh
www.sailandiamo.com
|
