Captain, 140-foot motoryacht Lady Goodgirl

Date interviewed: May 2010

I feel like we’re introducing you to the readers at the same time we should be throwing you a farewell party.

Yes, well, I’m scheduled to retire in a year. But I’m thinking about a rotation schedule with another captain—a few months on, a few months off. I really do love living on boats.

That makes sense, given how long you’ve been in the yachting business.

It all started in 1972. I’m from Devon, in the U.K., and I was in the Royal Air Force, but I wanted to go off to build boats in Australia. I never made it. Instead, I ended up on a 98-foot motorsailer called Fandango. I started as a deckhand, and eventually I became the mate. There was no escaping boats. Boats were just the thing for me.

Was Fandango a charter yacht?

No, she was for private owner’s use only, in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. After Fandango, I got my first captain’s job aboard a 62-foot sailing yacht, but she was also private-only, in the Mediterranean. So were my next few boats, actually. The were an 85-foot motoryacht and a 98-foot sailing yacht.

My first charter yacht was a memorable one: Erna. She was a William Fife design, a classic from 1914. She drew a lot of attention, and I really liked having all the different types of people onboard as charter clients. I especially loved the Americans. They were absolutely in love with Erna.

How did you get from there to your current command, the 140-foot Lady Goodgirl?

I spent 11 years running a 130-foot motoryacht called Moon Maiden. We had a client who chartered her every year for six years. Eventually, he asked if he could buy her, but the owner wouldn’t sell her. So he bought Lady Goodgirl instead, in 2003, and spent the next year investing in a lot of refit work. The next year, 2004, he hired me to come onboard as captain.

Lady Goodgirl is not from 1914 like Erna, but she is a 1964 build, which definitely makes her a classic—and, I’d say, special on the charter market.

We’re cozy. You feel at home in a gentleman’s atmosphere on this boat. And we’ve got a good crew. We get good marks from the charter clients.

There are so many charter boats out there, and so many different styles, but we are absolutely a niche. Fifty percent of our clients are repeat customers. One of them comes twice a year.

The thing is this: If you like us, you just might love us.

Lady Goodgirl is part of the Ocean Independence charter fleet. She takes 10 or 11 guests at a lowest weekly base rate of €75,000. Any reputable charter broker can tell you more or help you book a week onboard.