I put up a blog post this morning, a vidcast of an interview I did just three weeks ago in Tortola with Lauren Mackin, the new chef onboard the 65-foot sailing catamaran True North. Great gal. Terrific cook. Very enthusiastic about chartering.

Some 84 people downloaded and watched this morning’s vidcast post in the first two hours after it went online. So I e-mailed the good news over to management company Nicholson Yachts–which promptly informed me that both Lauren and her boyfriend, True North’s captain, had decided to leave the yacht. There will be new crew onboard for me to interview next week at the industry-only charter show on Antigua.

Boy, crew can change fast–which is why you always, always, always want to check with a reputable charter broker before booking any yacht. One of the broker’s main jobs is making sure the crew onboard will be able to handle your needs, and brokers work hard to keep track of which crew come and go from which yachts every single day.

From the October Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show and now to the charter trade shows in the Caribbean… show time continues!  

I found the F. Lauderdale Show to be very effective. There was anticipation that the docks would be flooded with European clients ready to spend Euros but this did not seem to be the case. What I did find was introductions to very qualified perspective clients from our sales brokers. I also met with out-of town clients who came to the show to meet with me and to inspect yachts for future vacations.  It rained on Friday, which did clear the docks but the rest of the weekend was ideal. 

 It seems this strong attendance continues to validate Ft. Lauderdale as the preferred US city for all things yachting- From yachts purchases to crewing and provisioning!

Here’s something fun for you to do this weekend: Whip up a batch of shrimp and sweet potato cakes with mango salsa and citrus aioli.

Chef Lauren Mackin from onboard the 65-foot sailing catamaran True North let me into the galley to learn how she cooks the dish for charter guests. Just click “play” below, and you’ll have your own personal lesson from the chef:

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