No matter which yacht you charter, the crew can make or break your vacation. I have seen this firsthand time and time again during my own charter experiences. Sometimes, I’m on the biggest, newest, fanciest yacht in the harbor, and the chef keeps serving onions to a guest who says she’s allergic. Other times, I’m on an older charter yacht without all the bells and whistles, but the service is first-rate. I will always choose the latter over the former.
Hardly the usual yachting attire, but appropriate for a gala put on by Fraser Yachts to honor their top charter crews.
All of which is why I think it’s great that management company Fraser Yachts Worldwide holds an annual black-tie gala to celebrate the best captains and crew in its charter fleet. The yacht managers and retail charter brokers who work for Fraser often know these crew members better than anyone–they know how the crew treat their in-house VIP clients, they know how professionally the crew handle the business end of charter, and in general they know all the little details that separate a good crew from a great one.
When the votes were counted recently at the Yacht Club de Monaco, three charter yachts in the Fraser fleet took home top honors. Charter Captain of the Year went to Ronald Woods of the 139-foot motoryacht Paramour, Best Crew on a Yacht over 40 Meters went to Capt. Don Anderson and his team aboard the 164-foot motoryacht NewVida, and Best Crew on a Yacht under 40 Meters went to Capt. Ashley Benns and his team aboard the 124-foot motoryacht Coco Loco.
Capt. Ashley Benns and the crew of Coco Loco won Best Crew on a Yacht under 40 Meters.
I’m especially happy to see Benns and his crew on the list because I spent a horribly rainy week with them aboard Coco Loco in the Bahamas not too long ago. The sky went black a few hours after my plane landed in paradise, and the sun didn’t shine again until the morning I flew home. It’s under those conditions that you really can see whether a crew has what it takes to keep charter guests happy–and I was as comfortable as a favorite pair of slippers.
You might remember Benns as a recent CharterWave Captain of the Month. As he explains, he’s been boating all his life and has worked at virtually every job a person can have on a boat, including cook, steward, and engineer.
How nice to see all that hard work pay off with an honor like the one from Fraser Yachts Worldwide. Kudos to Benns, and to all his fellow winners.
