CAPTAIN – MAURICE KOUPRIE

CHARISMA is delighted to welcome Maurice onboard as her new captain! Maurice joins CHARISMA from the busy 42m Heesen SEVEN SINS where he completed two years aboard this highly successful charter yacht. Apart from two non-stop Caribbean charter seasons, Maurice also completed two very busy summer seasons in 2008 and 2009 in the East Med, with rave reviews all round.

Maurice's professional yachting career spans 18 years and he has worked on several other large vessels including APOGEE. Prior to this he held the position of junior captain on ALLEGRO and was first officer on HUNTRESS for two years. Maurice describes himself as easy going with a good sense of humour and a "people's person". He is also committed to yacht charter, making sure clients receive unparalleled service. A qualified rescue diver Maurice holds his Master 3000 GT. He enjoys water sports, reading and cooking in his spare time. Maurice speaks fluent English in addition to his native Dutch. 

FIRST OFFICER – JACQUES STANDER

Jacques has worked in the yachting industry for five years and cut his teeth on reputable charter yachts such as QUEEN M and ZAZA. His position as first mate on 43m GRIFF preceded his latest successful experience on the busy charter yacht SEVEN SINS. Working up from deckhand, Jacques has amassed a large amount of all-round experience and was also involved as new build shipyard project manager in Thailand for the 43m MY CHINA. Jacques is described as friendly and courteous and extremely professional.

CHIEF ENGINEER – HAMISH CAMPBELL

32 year old Hamish has grown up around water and small craft sailing and was first introduced to yachting in 1996 whilst sailing around Tahiti with friends. He embarked on a delivery for S/Y MORNING GLORY in August 1996 and was asked to stay for 4 months to help the engineer during a refit. He subsequently took a couple of short-term contracts before taking up an apprenticeship to become a marine engineer in 1997. Since then, Hamish has remained in yachting and worked on both motor and sail yachts, such as YANNEKE TOO, OXYGEN, BENALEX, and CALLISTO. In addition, he has secured several placements on new build projects so has a very broad experience. Hamish is a qualified Y3 engineer and has all his STCW 95 certificates.

SECOND ENGINEER - NIC DE WILDE

Nic De Wilde is a 54 year old from Belgium, and comes from an engineering background with various experience including off-shore operations on rigs and tugs as well as Super Yachts. He has been certified as EOOW and also holds a Mechanical A3 and Electric qualifications and has worked as an engineer since 1986. His more recent yachts are: PASCHA II, ALTITUDE and PERSEUS as relief engineer, and also APRIL FOOL and MIDNIGHT SUN as chief engineer onboard. Nic speaks fluent English and French, as well as his native Flemish.

CHEF - STEVEN CHITTY

Steven joins Charisma fresh from M/Y SEVEN SINS where he spent the last three seasons on this busy charter yacht. Steve is a fully qualified City and Guilds Chef and also trained at the Thai Cookery School at the Bangkok Oriental Hotel. In his 13 year career has worked upwards from Commis Chef, gaining his experience in many notable restaurants in Sydney, as well as catering for private functions at the Sydney Opera House. He re-located to the UK for three years working in Edinburgh and London, and recently found his way to Antibes where he worked mostly freelance on 51m LAMU and 35m OPUS 2 and 34m charter yacht PRINTEMPS. Steven prides himself on creating imaginative dishes from fresh ingredients, and presentation for him is paramount. His experience in the UK and Australia has broadened his repertoire and he is extremely flexible in his approach to food.

CHIEF STEWARDESS – KARINE LATRU

Karine was born in 1977 in Quebec, Canada.
With her friendly, approachable personality and her 10 years experience in the yachting industry, Karine prides herself in offering the highest standard of service and making all guests feel at home from the moment they step onboard. Having worked on many yachts, both private and charter, Karine has experienced and enjoyed every aspect of yachting and she is well prepared to handle any challenges a charter might offer. Karine worked for three and half year on M/Y AFFINITY, followed by several years on busy charter boats such as M/Y JANIE, M/Y 1O1 and, M/Y SEDATION and M/Y CAKEWALK. Karine recently joined M/Y CHARISMA in May 2010. She is very dedicated to her work and to the guests and crew. She is also "medical in charge" certified and she is fluent in French and English.
Karine will always go the extra mile to make your stay unforgettable.


 

SENOIR STEWARDESS – LAURA DURSTON

Laura was born in England and grew up in the beautiful Devonshire countryside where she enjoyed the great outdoors, especially exploring the moorlands of Dartmoor. Laura first experienced life on the ocean wave five years ago, and has not looked back since! What started as a break from nearly five years studying and working as a Building Surveyor turned into a real passion, and now a very enjoyable career in the yachting industry. Laura has worked on some fantastic yachts including long periods aboard MY REVERIE and MY ANNA; and is now very excited to be a new addition to the CHARISMA team.

Laura's other great passion is that of mountain life; having worked two season's in the French Alps in prestigious chalets, she tries to return to the snow as often as is possible. In the past two years Laura has discovered a love of scuba diving and finds nothing more relaxing than being under the water. She has also recently qualified as a Rescue Diver.

Laura is very excited to be working onboard and looks forward to making your trip aboard M/Y CHARISMA a wonderfully memorable experience.

THIRD STEWARDESS - SOPHIE BARAGWANATH

Sophie is English and has a Bachelors degree in Childhood Studies. After a several years of working as a teaching assistant Sophie turned her attention to the sea and caught the bug after a weeks sailing course last year. She joined CHARISMA for the last Caribbean season and hasn't looked back.
Affectionately known by her crew mates as ‘Chuckles', you will rarely see Sophie without a smile. She enjoys exploring new places, going to the beach and a variety of water sports, including snorkelling and diving.

BOSUN - TIMOTHY HAYWARD

Tim comes to CHARISMA having worked most recently onboard SEVEN SINS, plus HEARTBEAT OF LIFE, DREAM SEEKER and MUCHOS MAS, in addition to temporary work on HER HONOR and TATOOSH. Tim originally qualified as a carpenter, which he practised for 7 years in the construction industry in both his native Australia and Scotland. He joined the yachting industry three years ago and has worked hard to gain the appropriate experience in this sector. His carpentry skills certainly do come in handy! Tim has his STCW 95 certificate, RYA Power Boat Level 3 License, and IYT Master of Yachts 200 ton Offshore Certificate. He is also a qualified PADI Dive Master and Nitrox enriched Air Diver. 

DECKHAND - BRIAN HANDFORD

Brian was born in Tanzania on the east coast of Africa and moved to England at a young age. He is the most recent member of M/Y CHARISMA's crew and has spent the last four years freelancing in the yachting industry, rotating between the roles of deckhand and engineer.
His first vocation was plumbing, assisting in the family business of renovating dilapidated houses and turning them into modern homes. It is this trade that first brought him into yachting, assisting engineers in Barcelona's MB92 and Palma Mallorca's STP boatyards. Due to his time spent in Spain he speaks conversational Spanish.
In 2002 Brian completed a BA (Hons) in Film and Photography and remains an avid photographer. He also writes and performs comedies and hopes to return to the film industry one day to make films.

STEWARDESS/COOK  – NARDIA BEGOVICH

 Nardia was born in Australia, and grew up in New Zealand on the beautiful North-West Coast of Auckland, where she enjoyed horse riding and living near the ocean.

 Nardia has been working in hospitality for the past ten years, she is a qualified chef with extensive experience in all aspects of the industry in waitressing, bar tending, cooking and management roles. She has a passion for exploring the world and has spent the past four years working overseas. She also has a love for the Alps and snowboarding and has worked in several ski resorts around the world including Australia and Whistler Canada, her most recent position involved hosting a chalet in Chamonix, France which she thoroughly enjoyed.

 Nardia is very excited to have just recently joined the crew aboard Charisma and pursuing her new career in the Yachting Industry. Working on Motor Yachts has always been an interest of hers and she is delighted to working on such a beautiful boat with a great crew!