Capt. Ian Fagg s/y Extraordinary
How did you get into boating?
I’m from Cornwall in the southwest of England, and my parents always sailed. When I was 18, I took a gap year and I was bumming around, and my father, before he went to work one morning, he said, “Ian, you should sell that car, get a plane ticket to Antigua, and sail across the Atlantic.”
So I put a “for sale” sign on the car, and a half-hour later, a farmer from down the road knocked on my door. So I had my £350. I packed all my gear, and I was walking out the door when my dad came home from work. He gave me a ride to the train station to get to London and get a flight. This was in 1996.
I got to the airport on Antigua and I asked around for where to go. The next day, at English Harbour, I met Sarah Sebastian of Nicholson Yachts. I was in line to sign up for crew jobs, and the captain of an 80-foot sailboat was in line behind me. He said, “I need someone for a week’s day work.” And I said, “I’m your man.”
What training did you undergo to become a captain?
I spent that February through April in Antigua and ended up as part of a delivery crew on a 77-footer going to Falmouth in England. I thought that Pete, the captain, had such a good job. I thought, “I have to do this.”
So I went to college for four years, studying architectural technology, but then I went right back to boats. This time it was in Antibes. It took me three days to get a job. I was first mate on a Swan 65 sailboat, and I did that for a year. Then I went to the Caribbean on a J-160 sailboat and spent a year there, eventually cruising to Long Island Sound in New York. By then I was a captain, and I took over a Swan 59 sailboat in 2004. I picked it up in Newport, Rhode Island, and took it to the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, all the way to Croatia.
I left that boat in Barcelona, Spain, in October 2005 to run my current yacht, the 63-foot sailboat Extraordinary. It’s a 2000 build and has been in charter since then. It got a new owner two years ago, and I’m his second charter captain.
What do you think makes your yacht’s crew unique or special?
This boat is very clean. The boss has a reasonably unlimited budget for us to make sure that all the boat is upgraded. He expects a five-star experience, so we do provide a very high level of service. It’s not uncommon that we’ll serve a few meals on the boat, and the guests will go ashore and eat, and they’ll come back and say, “We’re not eating ashore anymore.”
And we sail very well, too. We like to sail. Our cockpit is comfortable and protected, and the crew are in the back, out of the guests’ way. We also have a swim platform that drops down for easy access to the water.
Plus, for New England and Caribbean charters, we’ve been there quite a lot now, so we have developed some pretty good knowledge of the areas.
How do you determine what itinerary you will set for a given charter?
Usually, the clients have an idea of the area, at least a pickup and drop-off location. I very rarely get involved in sorting out the itinerary until they get onboard.
Once they’re here, I pull out all the charts and show them the possibilities, and we talk about tides and weather, which I know at that point. I really get to talk to them and figure out what they want. It’s a nice bonding thing.
How flexible are you about changing the itinerary on a day-to-day basis?
We can of course change the itinerary along the way if that’s what the guests want. On Day One of a charter, you can’t know what the weather is going to be doing on Day Seven.
What are some of your favorite cruising destinations, and why?
The British Virgin Islands is just an awesome charter location. They’re busy and popular for a reason. There’s just so much to do and see, and beautiful beaches and harbors.
The Grenadines, too. They are like a more purist version of the BVI, with no glitzy resorts or chain restaurants.
And I’m dying to get up to Maine. I think I’m going to love it, too.
What features onboard your yacht do you particularly enjoy sharing with guests?
We love the way the boat sits with the awning, and we rig up a hammock. It’s just a comfortable cockpit. The hammock, you can fit two people in it, and it’s right here by the cockpit so they don’t have to be up on the bow all alone.
We also have two very large guest cabins, one with a queen and one with a double bed. Some boats have more cabins, but they’re smaller. We have fewer cabins, but they’re big.
Describe a typical guest’s day onboard your yacht.
Typically, guests want to sail. That’s why they choose us. So we’ll do breakfast, leave around 10 o’clock in the morning, sail until lunchtime and then either sail more or stay to shop or snorkel in the afternoon, depending on where we are and what the guests want to do.
No matter what happens in the afternoon, we do a three-course dinner at night. People might sit up on deck and drink a few glasses of wine after that, and then everyone’s usually tired and ready for bed.
What kind of charter guests are your favorites?
Our boat works well for couples or for families with kids, as long as they want to sail. If you just want to sit around, we’re maybe not right for you.
Then again, some people charter us just to go sit on the dock in St. Barth’s because we look good. She is a beautiful boat.
What, if any, awards have you won?
Our chef (and my girlfriend) Nikki Collins took second place in the 2007 Newport charter yacht show’s chowder contest. She made a Thai chowder with scallops and sweet potatoes.
What else should CharterWave readers know about you, your crew and Extraordinary?
We mix great cocktails. Everybody likes the margaritas. And my guitar comes out from time to time. We just have a great time onboard.
The 63-foot Extraordinary is part of the fleet at Nicholson Yachts. She takes four guests with two crew at a weekly base rate of $15,500 per week, or about $4,800 per person with typical 25-percent expenses factored in. Contact any reputable charter broker to book.
Also check out our CharterWave First Impression review of the yacht.
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