First Impression: Andromeda la Dea

Date toured: December 2008

You may recognize the name of the 154-foot Perini Navi sailing yacht Andromeda la Dea because I featured crew member Nicole Poirer as CharterWave’s Chef of the Month back in May 2008. She’s still doing quite well in the galley, so well, in fact, that she took home a third-place prize from the chefs’ competition at the December 2008 Antigua charter show. She competed in the category for yachts 150 feet and larger, and was beaten by chefs from two brand-new motoryachts—one  a 164-footer and the other a 197-footer. Stiff competition, indeed, especially considering that she works in a galley built back in 1990.

    That’s the year when Andromeda la Dea launched as the private vessel of American venture capitalist Tom Perkins, who has since enhanced his fame in yachting circles by building the 289-foot sailing yacht Maltese Falcon. Andromeda la Dea’s current owner is her fourth, and he’s had her since the winter of 2007.

    “We first were offered for charter under the previous owner,” Capt. Mac Auwers told me, “but at that same time, we did a nine-month refit and then an extended cruise with the owner practically living aboard through the Pacific and Asia. All of that took place between 2003 and 2007, so we only had time for a few charters even though we were available. Now, we’re an actual charter boat, and we’re eager for bookings.”

    Auwers, a British native who is a certified PADI rescue diver, is one of two captains who rotate duties aboard Andromeda la Dea. The other is Capt. Aeneas Hollins, also a British native. He’s a certified PADI master scuba diver drainer and enjoys kite boarding in his spare time. Auwers and Hollins currently rotate two months on, two months off, so you can check with a reputable charter broker about who will be in command during any dates you are considering for a charter.

    The rest of the crew are a mix of nationalities and, combined, can speak English, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Maltese, Czech, and a little French. Two of the stewardesses are also trained in massage, which they offer in-cabin or on deck at no extra charge during each afternoon on charter.

    Auwers says the crew generally welcome all types of charter clients, including families, but that children aren’t typically the yacht’s target market.

    “Generally, our guests have been more mature,” he told me. “We have an Xbox, and we’ll be happy to have children onboard, but we tend to appeal to a more mature clientele.”

    The yacht itself offers what felt like a massive amount of space to me for just eight guests at a time. The main saloon could easily have fit a charter party of 12 without even using the additional seating at the bar and indoor dining area on the same deck. The master cabin has a king-size bed, two of the guest cabins have queen-size beds, and the fourth guest cabin has two oversized twin beds plus a Pullman berth that could easily sleep an adult as well. Each of the cabins has a shower with a rainshower fixture, plus iPod docks and flat-screen televisions hooked into a Crestron entertainment system.

    Overall, I found the yacht’s decor quite comfortable with a great deal of class—and a little humor, too. The owners are fond of accent pillows that feature witty sayings. My favorite: “Genius is outlasting the other side by five minutes.”

    Andromeda la Dea takes eight or nine guests with nine crew at a lowest weekly base rate of $135,000--though that rate was reduced on January 5, 2009, to $115,000 per week for the remainder of the  Caribbean charter season. Churchill Yacht Partners is the management company, and any reputable charter broker can help you book a week onboard.--Kim Kavin