Date toured: December 2006

There are a couple of crewed motoryachts that go by the name Kaleen, but this particular one is     a beautiful 130-foot motoryacht launched by the Westport shipyard in June 2006. She was brand-spanking-new when I got onboard during an industry-only charter show in St. Maarten, preparing for her first Caribbean season following her maiden season of cruising in Alaska.
     She’d had some crew changes since that summer voyage, so I caught the boat at a time when the crew were still finding their footing as a team. Still, I liked most of what I saw, and I got a friendly vibe from everyone I met.
     Chief Stewardess Lori Martin-Quentel led my tour. She’s married to Capt. Steve Quentel, who has been an engineer and captain for about a decade. His experience is extensive, but hers is not. She’d just joined the yacht following her previous life of working in sales in Maine, and she was still trying to figure out whether she liked being a stewardess at all.
     That kind of comment gives me pause, as the chief stewardess in many ways sets the tone for much about your charter vacation. But I also know that during Kaleen’s initial summer season in Alaska, the owner hired Libby Cole to help get things organized on the stewardess front—and if you’ve read my full review of Libby’s regular boat, called Irony, then you know I think quite highly of her. Lori learned from the best, and if she decides to stay aboard, she should understand exactly how to be one of the best stewardesses in the business.
     I also liked chef Chris Daley, who had been onboard about two months when I poked my head into his galley. Originally from Boston, he’d worked on a few other boats and had been ashore in Seattle when he got the job onboard Kaleen.
     “I tend to do a lot of stuffed  meat,” he told me. “Veal roll-ups, stuffed chicken breast, crawfish-stuffed  filet mignon. I like to stuff stuff.” He also likes to do a lot of French and Italian comfort foods, which in his own words means “dolled-up” macaroni and cheese  or meatloaf.
     Your best bet with this lovely   new yacht is to check with a reputable charter broker before booking to see which crew have stayed onboard, and how they’ve done with previous charter clients. I wish them all the best as Kaleen offers charters in Florida and the Bahamas  this summer for ten guests with five crew.
     At the time of this review, rates were unpublished by management company International Yacht Collection.—Kim Kavin