The 120-foot Benetti motoryacht Kai provides a good charter experience on Antigua, even when faced with mechanical difficulties.

By Kim Kavin

My charter experience aboard the 120-foot Benetti motoryacht Kai was drastically altered because of an engine malfunction. Just as we were supposed to leave Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua for a few days of cruising in and around Sint Maarten, a part that connects the yacht's helm controls to the engine room went on the fritz. Because it was a digital part, it required a technician from the engine manufacturer to fix it—and when something like that breaks down on a Saturday morning on a Caribbean island, there’s just no way to get help from a mainland manufacturer until at least Monday afternoon.

Thus, I ended up spending a few days aboard Kai while she remained tied to the dock on Antigua. On a “normal” charter that was not arranged specifically for press and brokers, the client’s charter broker would have done everything possible to move the client onto another, comparable yacht and continue with the original itinerary. In my case, the breakdown presented a chance to get to know Kai’s crew and see how well they performed when things did not go as planned.

I must say, they did well.

Capt. Ian Seward kept us continuously informed about the progress he and Engineer Ian Barrowclough made in determining the problem and getting assistance, which, if clients had been onboard, would have been crucial information in terms of deciding whether to stay or transfer to another yacht.

First mate/chief stewardess Kim Cox took control of rearranging every guest’s travel plans—at the yacht owner’s expense—and even went so far as to hire a steel-drum band to perform a private concert for us onboard. She said she would have done the same for any charter guests, as her job is to make the experience as good as possible no matter the situation. I'll tell you: If you have the opportunity, ask her to arrange this type of evening for you, even if the engines are working just fine. When I saw the yacht decked out in black-and-white balloons, and the crew in tuxedo shirts and black ties, I was absolutely floored.

Deckhand Tim Gwynne, who lived for a year on Antigua, spent several days playing tour guide for our group. He drove us in a van that the yacht hired, shuttling us to and from his favorite beaches all around the island. As Antigua has more than 300 beaches, we enjoyed plenty of swimming, snorkeling, and sunbathing opportunities during our handful of days there.

Last but certainly not least, chef Joost Dierickx made every meal an event worth anticipating—which is important when eating becomes the primary activity aboard the yacht at the dock. Dierickx is a native of Belgium who was cooking in restaurants as a boy. He graduated from culinary school and worked for a Sheraton hotel in Brussels, for Procter & Gamble as a corporate chef who catered high-end client meetings in the company’s private dining rooms, for Disney Cruise Line, and for Spice Island Beach Resort on Grenada, which is where he learned about the yachting industry.

That was in 2001, and he’s still on yachts a decade later.

“I joined Kai in September 2010, and I love it,” Dierickx told me. “This boat is going to be busy. She is a beautiful boat, the owner is serious about charter, and the crew is great.”

I believe all of those things to be true, based on my unusual experience. If they could do so well under such trying circumstances, I have to believe this yacht and crew would perform well when the sun is shining and things go according to plan.