March 2nd, 2012
We are ready to March into a terrific 2012 summer season. Right now the docks are populated by seagulls, moorings are empty, boats are wrapped and the only traffic in the harbor are the lobstermen. Newport is starting to awake from a mild winter hiberation: restaurants reopening, seeing more friends out & about, talk of summer plans. While a few of us will head South for the remaining Caribbean events, most are making plans for the summer season. What a summer it’s going to be:
- America’s Cup World Series
- Charter Show at Yachting Center
- Tall Ships Festival
- Folk Festival (announced line up today)
- Increased local food options
- New Restaurants
- More Yachts cruising New England
- 48th Newport to Bermuda Race
You can look forward to future posts with more details about these and all the fun happenings coming up in Newport.
It’s time to think about heading north. Let’s get the season started early. The weather is cooperating – It already feels like April. The winter has been mild, the water is warmer, surf’s up. We are ready for you. Let us know when you arriving so we can send out the welcoming committee. Looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones.
Tags: America's, arrivals, charter, Cup, festival, folk, Newport, Season, series, ships, show, start, Summer, tall, World, yachts
Posted in Newport, Update | No Comments »
May 13th, 2011
Newport is going to have a beautiful spring weekend. Here are some great activities to make the most of it. The annual beach carnival is set-up at Easton’s (First) Beach off of Memorial Avenue. It’s got it all: ferris wheel, cotton candy, tilt-a-whirl.
On Friday night fireworks will be visible from Easton’s Beach. The Salve Regina University commencement will celebrating with them from 9:15 to 9:30. Congrats to the graduates!
On the racing scene, The Atlantic Cup will be having inshore racing in the harbor from about 12-4.
Soundtrack to Post: Trinidad Carnival
Tags: atlantic, carnival, Cup, fireworks, friday, Newport, racing
Posted in Fun, Newport | 1 Comment »
May 12th, 2011
Passionata - dark chocolate couverture enhanced with actual gold leaf and filled with a tropical burst of passionfruit infused ganache. How good does that sound? This and 17 other delicious & beautiful handcrafted chocolates are now available for yachts through The Captain’s Concierge.
Made in Newport by a French pastry chef, these award winning European Chocolates are a perfect fit for a guest’s sweet tooth. There are seventeen pieces. Some of our favorites:
Sunset: the glow of the setting sun interpreted on a milk chocolate couverture filled with a candied orange confit and caramel ganache
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Desire: to stimulate the senses, luscious strawberry and orange blossom Laurent Vals Jam covered in creamy white chocolate
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Odile: soft caramel infused with rosewater and lemon oil in rich dark chocolate, a heartfelt remembrance
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Check them all out here. There are some combinations available for same day delivery. Custom collections require 48 hours notice. These are true artisanal delights that will dazzle your guests.
Soundtrack to Post: Kings of Pastry (trailer)
Tags: chocolate, Concierge, farm to yacht, local, Newport, Provisioning, sweets, truffle, turndown, Yacht
Posted in farm to yacht, product, Yacht | No Comments »
May 11th, 2011
Last evening we attend a great meeting for the Newport Maritime Alliance. It was great to hear the updates about the RI’s tall Sip, keeping RI tax free for boaters and waterfront development. One point that was repeatedly stressed was how important mega-yachts are to Newport. In the future look for developments that will make things even better in Newport for owners, guests & crew.
Check out these photos of the current harbor activity. Slowly Newport is awakening. Every marina has at least one yacht right now.
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S/v Encore at 41 North
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Classics at IYRS
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12 Meters ready for racing
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Newport Yacht Club
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The view from our office door
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s/v Looking for Elvis & s/v Whisper
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Harbor View West
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Harbor View East
Atlantic Cup Race Boats
Welcome back Ranger! Good luck in the J Class Regatta
Tags: 41 north, atlantic cup, encore, harbor, Newport, photo, ranger, Season, shipyard, Summer, whisper
Posted in Newport, photo | No Comments »
May 10th, 2011
The Captain’s Concierge has joined the millions on Facebook. Set-up as a business page, we have fans instead of friends. There will updates about our summer season in Newport and a place for fans & yachties to connect with each other.
Next time you are logged into Facebook, please take the time to become our fan by visiting our page under The Captain’s Concierge. Let your like-minded Facebook friends know about our fan page so they can join the fun.
Thanks for being a fan of The Captain’s Concierge.
P.S. Reverse welcome to followers of our blog who were fans on Facebook first!
Soundtrack to Post: I Made a New Friend by Topher
Tags: facebook
Posted in Trend, Update | No Comments »
May 9th, 2011
How do you get all the crew off the boat for a fun meal and evening when you are required for insurance & safety regulations to always have someone on watch? Call The Captain’s Concierge and we’ll arrange for a qualified person to be onboard standing watch. Yachts have used our watchkeeping services for:
- Post delivery/arrival crew dinner
- When the boss and guests want to take all the crew out as a thank-you
- Crew bonding & team building activities
We can also provide longer term boatsitting services. Ranging from a full-time liveaboard, daily checks and running system checks. This is great peace of mind for yacht crew going on vacation, visiting family or dealing with new build visits.
Let us look after your boat so you get a break. Our staff is trained, qualified, insured and trust worthy. Leaving you to only worry about where you going to have some fun.
Tags: boatsitting, Captain's, Concierge, Newport, services, standing, watch, Yacht
Posted in Newport, product, Yacht | No Comments »
May 6th, 2011
This Saturday is Sail Newport’s Annual Shipwrecked Party. A premier event on every Newport yachtie’s social calendar. This year the theme is the 80′s. Anticipating a ton of great costumes – local thrift & resale shops are filled with great 80′s fashion.
The 80′s had so many great Pop & fashion moments – neon, Miami Vice, Madonna, Michael Jackson, big hair, slicked back hair, Billy Idol, punk rock, big hair bands, pink lipstick & blue eyeshadow. There will be prizes awarded a variety of costume categories.
There is also a silent auction that is being held right now online. It will conclude on Saturday night at the party. You don’t need to be present to participate. Cool prizes include artwork, jewelry & a sail on PUMA’s “mar mostro”.
At the party there will be great 80′s music, drinks and tons of fun. Hope to see you there!
For the more athletically inclined, there is a Mother’s Day 5K. The beautiful Ocean Drive course starts & finishes at Roger’s High School. It benefits the Newport Public Education Foundation. For more details checkout their website. This a good run to remember if you are looking for a certified 5K course with easy parking and beautiful low traffic route.
Call your Mom on Sunday for Mother’s Day!
Soundtrack to Post: Kim Cooper from Sail Newport for Sailing Anarchy’s Sailor Chick of the Week
Tags: 5k, party, run, sail newport, shipwrecked, weekend
Posted in Fun, Newport | No Comments »
May 5th, 2011
You don’t need special tools to safely & easily crack eggs. A few tips:
- Tap the eggs on a flat, clean surface i.e. cutting board or counter – don’t use the edge of the bowl because you have less control over the break and junk on the outside of the egg can be forced inside contaminating the white & yolk.
- Open and ease out the white & yolk into a separate container such as a ramekin or bowl – you can remove any shells and prevent rotten eggs from entering the mix.
- To separate yolk from white, juggle yolk back and forth betweenthe shells as the white drips into the container bowl/ramekin below.
Tags: cracking, egg, Tip
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May 4th, 2011
The 2011 season officially began this week with arrival of the first yachts from down South and the departure of yachts who spent the winter with us. While Spring is frequently chilly, foggy, windy & rainy (which is the weather forecast for today), it is also filled lightness and anticipation.
Photos from around the Newport Shipyard – where all the action is happening & the location of our office:
s/v Rambler 100 (former s/v Speedboat)
Jimmy (Marine Hoisting Engineer) & his team
Fog hiding an empty mooring field
s/v Isabel
Brand New juxtaposed to Classic – New Puma and Classic Black Knight
s/v Scheherazade
s/v Keewaydin
s/v Axia
Please let us know when you are arriving in Newport!!!
Soundtrack to Post: The Boys are Back in Town – Thin Lizzy
Tags: arrival, Newport, ocean, puma, racing, Sailboat, shipyard, spring, Yacht
Posted in Newport, photo, Trend, Update, Yacht | No Comments »
March 8th, 2011
Yacht crew agents are the professionals that liaison between crew looking for work and yachts needing crew. They are referred to as human resource experts, headhunters, matchmakers and leeches. With every service category some are great – others not so much. Crew Agents play an important role in the industry and will continue as the industry grows. While word-of-mouth and networks are helpful in a job search, there too many boats and people too busy to rely solely on a do-it-yourself approach.
Crew agents can get you your first break into the industry and help you along as your career progresses. Here are some tips to get the most out of this relationship:
- Legitimate crew agents are paid by the yacht/program which is great because it means no cost to you. Beware of scams that cost you money.
- Crew agents have limited resources to hold your hand – you need to work your job search.
- Fine-tune your CV to a yachting format: including picture, physical attributes, nationality, etc. If the agent has suggestions, make them.
- Register with agencies both online and in-person if possible
- Follow the agencies guidelines for office hours/drop-ins
- Agents have limited time to meet with crew so use your face time wisely and don’t waste their time. Time spent with you could be time spent talking with yachts and finding your next gig.
- Always dress and act professionally when visiting a crew agent.
- Check in frequently with online registry and update your status.
- While agents occasionally enjoy small gifts, be careful not to over do it. Muffins once a season when you check in=fine, visiting everyday with baked good=not cool
- Stay in communication with the agent after interviews – let them know how it went.
- If you accept a position and it turns out to be unacceptably different from what the agent thought the position would be and what you were told in the interview, contact the agent for assistance in getting out gracefully.
- As you advance in your career to position where you have the responsibility for hiring remember to use the agents who helped you.
- We are approaching the time of year when crew start moving around. The hotbed for European based yachts in Antibe, France. Most crew agents have offices there so if you looking for a job in the Med this summer that’s the place to be.
Here in the states most of our crew agents are based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. There are also a few in Newport, Rhode Island. Here are some links to services we can recommend:
Good luck with your job search!
Tags: agent, antibe, Career, Crew, cv, Fort Lauderdale, france, interview, job, Newport, Yacht
Posted in Career, Tip | No Comments »
