Captain
Chris
Nationality: British
Captain Chris, originally from the south of England, has been in yachting for 20+ years. His favorite things about yachting include navigation, challenges, water sports, and meeting all the great people. He got into yachting by virtue of helping people with boats in his local marina. After a while, people started paying him to help and he soon discovered all the benefits that come with a career in yachting. So, he sold everything he had (except his windsurfing gear), got licensed, and went and got his first job as an engineer on the classic, Moonmaiden II.
A fun fact about Captain Chris, when he finished college, he moved to the Canary Islands and lived in a tent on the beach for 2 years. Also, at 17 years old, he came 2nd in the under 19’s national windsurf championships in the UK. Finally, he loves telling Dad jokes, as he often finds they make him laugh!
Mate
Carla
Nationality: South African
Carla has been in yachting for 9 years and hails from South Africa. Her favorite yachting activity is Scuba diving and, is how she found her way into yachting! Carla is a PADI certified open water instructor and holds a 200 Ton Yacht Master License. A fun fact about Carla is she used to teach kids how to ride horses and really likes cake, yum!
Bosun
Dane
Nationality: South African
Dane has been in yachting for almost four years now. He grew up between South Africa, the U.K. and Zimbabwe. Dane was introduced to yachting by a few of his close friends who were working in the industry. It sounded like something he would enjoy doing so he jumped in. Danes favorite yachting activities are Snorkeling and water sports. He holds an AEC1, Yachtmaster, EDH, Yacht Rating and Padi open water certification. A fun fact about Dane is he used to be a pretty good juggler!
Chef
Jess
Nationality: British
Jess grew up on the border of North Wales and Shropshire but spent a lot of time on the coast near Abersoch where she now has a vacation cottage. She has been working in the yachting industry for 10 years, traveling between the Mediterranean, Caribbean, and USA. Her favorite yachting activity is scuba diving and experiencing all the beauty of the underwater world. Along with completing culinary school in 2018, chef also holds a power boat level 2 cert, has completed multiple sailing courses, is a PADI advanced open water diver, and holds a wine and spirit certification.
Jess made her way into yachting at the age of 18 while working in a high-end restaurant and looking into courses in hospitality. One day, her mum heard from someone about a yachting opportunity. They eagerly investigated the opportunity and booked a 5-week course in the Isle of Wight; the rest is history! A fun fact about chef is she has visited half of the states in the U.S.
Chief Stew
Dani
Nationality: American
Dani has been yachting for five and a half years now. She grew up between Indiana and California. Dani made her way into yachting when a friend of hers, who spent a substantial amount of time in the British Virgin Isles for work, told Dani about the exciting stories she heard from her friends there in yachting. Dani thought their job sounded amazing and was already working in hospitality at the time. That, coupled with her love of traveling, made a career in yachting seem like a natural fit. So, after doing some research, she made the move to South Florida to embark on an exciting new career!
Dani just loves being in the water. Whether it’s just swimming, snorkeling, or paddle boarding, the water is where she finds her bliss. A fun fact about Dani is she comes from a big family with 6 brothers and sisters, so she was already used to living with several people and the chaos that ensues in a big family! This helped prepare her for life in a small crew mess with her big boat fam!
Chief Engineer
James
Nationality: British
James was raised in Newport, South Wales, and has been yachting 6 years while working on cruise ships prior. James holds a SV 9000/3000KW Second Engineer Unlimited. James’ favorite yachting activity is most definitely the Jetski, he loves to go fast! James made his way into yachting after spending 5 years working on cruise ships and looking to make a change. He always heard about the exciting opportunities yachting held and decided to make the jump in 2016. A fun fact about James is as a child, he was a very talented bass trombonist. He e achieved 8th grade standard and played in several reginal and national ensembles.
Second Stew
Sarah
Nationality: South African
Sarah has been in yachting for two and a half years and hails from a small town in South Africa called Knysna. For Sarah, it had always been a dream of hers to work on superyachts as she grew up in a boating town. Once she had finished studying in collage, yachting was next on her bucket list and she hasn’t looked back since. Sarah loves being outside and in the beautiful blue ocean. She also loves meeting new guests and giving them the best experience possible and helping to create memories onboard that will hopefully last a lifetime. Sarah holds a STCW certification, has passed multiple interiors and cocktail courses, and holds a Marketing/Management degree. A fun fact about Sarah is she can kite surf.
Third Stew
Mikaela Swanepoel
Nationality: South African
Mikaela is originally from South Africa, 3 years ago her family moved to the States and so began her yachting career.
She is a pastry Chef by trade who studied culinary arts and advanced pastry at 1000 Hills chef school for 2 years. Her sweet nature and hard work ethic make her an extremely valuable member of the team.
Mikaela has been on Starship since Feb 2019 and is excited to continue her yachting career with hopes of more travel and one day becoming a chief stewardess.
Deckhand
Brian Hopton
Nationality: American
Brian hails from the city of Angels, Los Angeles California, AKA ‘Hollywood.’ He grew up as an Athlete participating in a multitude of Sports, especially Golf, which is where ‘Hollywood’ can be found when not onboard Starship.
From an extended experience traveling overseas he was introduced into the Yachting Industry, this is his 2nd boat, #dronepilot.