Ventum Maris

14.06.2019 - 02.09.2019

Captain
m/y Ventum Maris

Ventum Maris anchored at Maddalena archipelago

Eventually in the beginning of June I was invited to visit a yacht in Valencia, m/y Ventum Maris. They had Burgess management but due to change to Campers & Nicholson as per Owners request and needed a rotational skipper for the summer.

For a 10 year old lady she is quite well preserved with a peculiar interior design, very close layout as in Lady S (both are Amels builds) and simple functionality. The only thing I dislike is the low freeboard tenderbays making it hard to recover the boats in rough seas, the boats will just get smashed against the crane booms and the bays will get flooded by seawater creating a lot of corrosion. Just another thing to learn to live with and to check weather forecasts frequently. 

Sardinian marina

Fireworks

In Maddalena

Maddalena archipelago

Bonifacio

Bonifacio

Bonifacio

Bonifacio

Bonifacio

Bonifacio

Bonifacio

Sardinia

S/y A

Sardinia

Sardinia

Chef Mike

Yacht with gold laminate

Sunset

Off Cannes

Classic yacht Delphine

Porquerolles

Sunset

Porquerolles

Fireworks

Palma

Happy stewardesses

Marina

Bonifacio

Another megayacht

Classic yacht alongside

Chef Mike

Cannes

Cannes

Neighbour yacht receiving guests

Cannes

Spain

Spain

Spain

Explorer yacht Arctic

Propulsion was same, twin fixed props astern and a good sized bowthruster, the rudder was not independent so there is no "toe in" maneuver mode as I had in Lady S. Anyway propulsion is a minor thing in the grander scheme of things so I accepted and was due to sign on in Palma by mid June. Great - new adventures waited ahead.

After a few days after the initial visit I had my flight tickets sorted and some days later I was on my way and signed on in Palma, Port Adriano. The next day was handover of management as well as Captains and the day after I was on my way to Ibiza. 

The 1st maneuver was equally exciting as there was not much space to maneuver but I quickly picked up the characteristics and got her out of port without any hassles. Then it was only time to wait for the guests to board and get on with the show.

It was quite a show in the end, several owning parties booked for the whole summer back to back. All comm's went peculiarly by messenger and so my phone was going most of the time regarding everything from itinerary, berths, restaurant bookings etc. On the plus side I got to see all the fancy Mediterranean ports, I particularly enjoyed berthing in Bonifacio, the southernmost tip of Corsica. 

All trips went off pretty well and there was no big issues except one day there was a huge thunderstorm off Cannes and our guests was on the Marguerite Island and got completely soaked. The other drama was our Chief stewardess that developed mental issues, it went as far as that the management came onboard to set things straight.

It also came out in the wash that she had been dismissed from other yachts previously. It was a pity the problem had been left unsolved to me by my relief and a pity about the CS, she was otherwise knowledgeable in her task but unfortunately her own agenda came in the way of ours that then caused a meltdown when things came to a head, she also had a habit of bullying that was later related to me from Stewardesses that left. 

Eventually she used her last recourse to resign and I employed a Brazilian CS to replace her but she didn't work out in the end either, it came about that she didn't possess the leadership skills to manage the Interior team and the performance was not satisfactory. I also had hired another 2 senior stewardesses I knew from before as backup and I think in the end they took over the show.

Eventually as I went on leave I was offered by Allan Wilson a more exciting project in UK to refit the ex RMS St Helena. I thought about it for a short while and eventually I accepted despite taking a  considerable hit in salary. I thought a decent refit would beat the drama I had last summer.

Specifications of Ventum Maris

BUILT 2011 | 2021 (Refitted)
Builder Amels

Model Amels 212
Ext designer Tim Heywood Design
Interior design Winch Design, Maria Luisa Poggi

Guests/ Crew 12 / 15
Staterooms 7
Configuration

1 Master, 1 VIP, 3 Double, 2 Twin

Length 214'11 / 65.51m
Beam 40'4 / 12.3m
Draught 12'8 / 3.85m
GT 1,503 GT
Cruising speed 14 Knots