Our Yacht Charter Experts On Board Lazzara 106 SECRET SPOT: Vibrant and Fun for Everyone

SECRET SPOT is a sophisticated yet lighthearted yacht with a talented crew and an amazing chef.  This luxury charter yacht has a layout that is especially ideal for families with children, or the businessman who requires on board office space.

Entering the main deck salon and dining area there is a lovely bar to starboard with excellent views, making this spot an immediate lure to guests onboard.

The master suite on SECRET SPOT has notable features, especially generous closets inside the bathroom as well as a walk in closet for excellent storage capacity. Adjacent, a cozy office or lounge area with two means of egress can be converted for children or nanny quarters.

While we are visiting SECRET SPOT, the talented sous-chef, Tom Williams, is extremely busy creating delicacies for the guests onboard in the spacious country kitchen.  Today we are served jumbo shrimp stuffed with crabmeat and lobster; jerk chicken, baked stuffed jalapeños, conch fritters and tortilla shells with guacamole and sour cream.  Besides his tempting culinary abilities, charming Captain John Costenbader explains that he is also the skilled First Officer onboard.

The sundeck on luxury yacht SECRET SPOT has a very happy vibe about it, from the vibrant upholstery to the central Jacuzzi, the area is exceedingly inviting. Spacious sun pads beckon sun worship while protected seating offers a cool alternative.

SECRET SPOT is based out of Rybovich Marina in Palm Beach and offers cruising destinations in South Florida and the Bahamas.

Please follow this useful link for detailed information on chartering SECRET SPOT. Here is a helpful link to explore Luxury Crewed Yacht Charter Worldwide.

 

 

Luxury Land and Sea Vacation: Vicem Yachts Partners with Kempinski Hotel Barbaros Bay, Bodrum, Turkey

Turkish builder Vicem Yachts and Kempinski Hotel Barbaros Bay in Bodrum, which is distinguished as one of the “World’s 25 Best Hotels and  recipient of the Condé Nast Traveller Reader’s Spa Awards 2010”, have partnered in an unique international marketing initiative that presents the yachting public with a five star travel opportunity: a number of Vicem yachts will be available for the upscale clientele of Kempinski Hotel Barbaros Bay in the cosmopolitan Turkish city of Bodrum.

the Kempinski Hotel Barbaros Bay can expect to enjoy secluded bays, brilliant sunny days and gorgeous nights ornamented with millions of stars, and the option for a private cruise with Vicem selecting from the Vicem 92, Vintage Line range yacht featuring four cabins and three decks; or the Vicem 78 Cruiser, one of the latest launched from the yard with a flybridge enhanced by a four person Jacuzzi.  The Vicem 75 Fly, a new build for 2011, will also be an option. If someone prefers a day cruise Vicem invites guests to cruise on board the 40′ or the 36′, the smallest hulls of this series.

Please follow this link for important information about Turkish Yacht Charter, Bodrum, and the Bodrum Cup Reggatta.

Gettting to Your Yacht Charter Destination with Ease: Free Travel Apps for the Savvy Traveler

Currency: lets users know the dollar equivalents of yen, pounds, pesos, etc., and up-to-date information and exchange rates for over 100 countries. Information is currently available in 18 languages.

FlightAware Flight Tracker: lets users track flights in real time; know where their plane is and if there is a delay. Search by airline, airport code, flight number, route, or aircraft registration number to track both commercial and private planes. The app’s tracking map also registers the speed, altitude, and provides other flight data.

Hipmunk Flight Search: aims to take the agony out of flight search. The site displays multiple airfares and timeline graphs of arrival and departure times, total flight times, and layover times at connection points.

Whatever destination you choose to fly, this link lets you explore the possibilities of Superyacht and Luxury Yacht Charter worldwide.

Lunch Aboard Charter Sunreef 70 Catamaran MUSE: Chef Caro Reveals Her Champagne Jello Recipe, Perfect for Holiday Entertaining

During the 2011 Antigua Charter Yacht Show we were invited on board MUSE for a delightful lunch prepared by Chef Caro Uy. Prior to being seated on the spacious aft deck, we toured the yacht and were impressed by the cheerful interiors and surprised by a cabin configuration that accommodates nine adults and three children.

MUSE is a spacious Sunreef 70 that features three doubles, two twins, one single and a Pullman, making it an ideal option for families with children. The yacht is very informal, not showy or ostentatious, guests can relax without worry that their young ones will endanger artwork and décor. The Owner successfully designed interiors with the charming ambience of a house in the south of France.

While the heart of MUSE is home, the soul is food. Chef Caro and her husband, Captain Jez Fletcher, are world travelers and both love to cook cuisine incorporating menus and ingredients from distant lands. Captain Jez invites guests of all ages to assist with the handmade pasta that they can hang on a rail above the galley counter.

Our lunch on the aft deck of MUSE that day started with a course of delicate prawns dusted in coconut and served on a locally grown pineapple wedge. This was followed by pork belly confit marinated overnight in a dry rub of coriander, cumin, rosemary and sea salt and slow cooked, also baked pork ribs inspired by Vietnamese cookery, finished in a Vietnamese caramel sauté with balsamic and tamarind glaze. These innovative and delicious dishes were a testimony to the creative talent that seems to come quite effortlessly to Chef Caro.

The dessert was a delightfully effervescent champagne jello, which we all decided was perfect for any final course, but particularly for the forthcoming holiday celebrations. We asked Chef Caro for the recipe, which, transcribed below, presents a very clear picture of how easy it is to do at home, as well as the endearing charm of Chef Caro.

Champagne JelloMUSE-dessert
Ingredients:
12 sheets or 2 packets of Knox unflavored gelatin
1 coffee mug water
1 coffee mug sugar
1 bottle champagne

“You start off with ½ a coffee mug of water at room temperature. I’m very low tech. Dump in either 12 sheets or two packets of unflavored gelatin and stir it through the water, this is called blooming the gelatin. You let it soak up a bit of the water so that its easier to dissolve later.

Take a small pot and pour another ½ coffee mug of water and a full mug of sugar. Warm up gently until the sugar is dissolved, kind of like bartender syrup, and pour this into the bloomed gelatin. At this stage it will look like a grainy mess. Stir it through to dissolve it nicely and just let it sit to cool. You can do this in the morning, then have a cup of coffee, or do your face, that’s what I do.

Here’s the trick; the sugar and gelatin syrup, which has been well mixed through, should be just nice and cool, not setting. It should be in a big mixing bowl because the next thing to do is get a bottle of champagne, cava or prosecco. This is really important; you resist the temptation to just down the champagne yourself. Instead you must dump the entire bottle into the bowl, a very liberating experience.

Give it a quick whisk through, pour it into a non-reactive container, plastic or good stainless, give it a quick taste, but not for the reason you think. You taste it to see if you want a little squisher of lime or lemon juice. I used a quarter spoon for brut champagne, if you’re using a demi-sec that somebody mistakenly gave you and you think, well I’ll make a bit of champagne jello, you may want to use a bigger squisher.

Pop it in the fridge for four or five hours. If you prefer you can pour it into nice little shot glasses or martini glasses and layer it with berries soaked in Cointreau. Do not use pineapple or kiwi because they have an enzyme that dissolves the protein in the gelatin, use any other fruit you please.

The trick to preserving the bubbles in the champagne is to be sure the syrup mixture is cool but not yet set. Do not put it in the refrigerator to cool because the sides of the container will start to gel to quickly. As you can see, it’s dead easy and tends to be very popular!”

Thanks so much Caro! Happy Holidays!

Click here for details and information about chartering MUSE in the Caribbean or Mediterranean.

Chef Caro Uy won third place in the Concours de Chef at the 2011 Antigua Charter Yacht Show.

Follow this link to explore Yacht Charter in the Caribbean.

Winners of the 2011 Antigua Charter Yacht Show: Chef’s Culinary Challenge and Table Setting Competition

The culinary challenge is a much anticipated annual event that gives charter yacht chefs the opportunity to participate in an extravaganza of epicurean artistry and splendor, and be recognized and rewarded for their extraordinary talents. This year marked the 50th anniversary of the Antigua Charter Yacht Show, which served as the underlying theme for both the Concours de Chef and the Table Setting Competition.

Chefs were instructed to prepare a Caribbean Celebration Banquet pared with an alcoholic or non alcoholic drink offering. Stewards and stewardess participating in the Table Setting Contest were instructed to incorporate the number 50 and a bottle of Piper Heidsieck, a sponsor of the event, in the centerpiece arrangement of a table setting suitable for a 50th anniversary.

Prizes included magnums of Piper Heidsieck, accommodations at five star resorts, Liat airline tickets, William and Sonoma gift certificates and spa treatments.

And the winners are……

YACHTS 160ft AND OVER

1st place: Tim Macdonald, Huntress

2nd place: Heather Kaniuk, yacht Numptia

3rd place: Thomas Francque, yacht Passion

YACHTS FROM 101 TO 159 FT
1st place: Emma Beckett, Lady J

2nd place: Gabrielle Scott, Va Bene

3rd place: Jerry Bond,  Arioso

YACHTS UNDER 100 FT

1st place: Rene Kappetein, Worlds End

2nd place: Adrian Martin, Lady Alliaura

3rd place: Caro Uy, Muse

STEWARD/STEWARDESS TABLE SETTINGChef-Caro-Uy

160FT AND OVER

Theone Penn, Troyanda

100 TO 159  FT

Hilary Gibbson, Andromeda La Dea

UP TO 99FT

Julia Fluhrer, Matau

SEAQUELL-Tabletop
SEAQUELL

After viewing all of the impressive table settings the judges were inspired to spontaneously create an additional award category for the Creative Use of the Number 50 and Champagne Bottle. The winning yachts were Passion, for an artistic rendering of 50 made with glass pieces and labels from Piper Heidsieck bottles, and Sea Quell, for an elaborately Caribbean construction of palm fronds and banana leaves.

The winners of the 2011 Antigua Charter Yacht Show Concours de Chef and Table Setting Competitions add a special ingredient for clients chartering aboard their magnificent yachts!

Follow the links above to charter the award-winning yachts and click here for comprehensive destination descriptions and detailed information on Caribbean Yacht Charter.