SPRING-SUMMER 2011I sea&iI23SHEPHARD ON. HIS BACKGROUNDMy career at sea was inspired by an advert on a youth-hostel notice board inRome back in the 1980s. I was backpacking around Europe at the time and Iread that they needed crew on a classic 15.8m (52') Bristol Channel Pilotmotorsailer. I was on board from Easter to Christmas and it was the bestsummer of my life - I was hooked on life at sea.My first live-aboard position was ona 40m (131') motoryacht,but afterone crossing and a Mediterranean season I quickly returned to sailboats.I worked on the motoryacht Emerald Isle and the sailing yachts Atmosphere,Mirabella V, and Mirabella III prior to my current position on Parsifal III.SHEPHARD ON. TRAVELAside from my love of sailing, the opportunity to travel makes this job, in myopinion, one of the best in the world. There are countless destinations that Ihave come to love over the years. As far as cruising is concerned, my favouritegrounds include the Bahamas, the BVIs, The Chesapeake, New England,Greece, Corsica and Sardinia. When I head ashore for holidays, two of my favourite places are Switzerland,and Oahu in Hawaii. Two regions I haven't yet visited and that top my wishlist are the South Pacific and New Zealand. If I had to pick one region in whichto live for the rest of my life, it would be the Greek islands - I'd spend my dayshappily cruising around them in a small sailboat.SHEPHARD ON. BEING A CAPTAINThe yachting industry is changing all the time, but some things always stay thesame - to succeed you need persistence, a thick skin and a positive attitude.It's also vital to listen to your crew, don't be afraid of a good idea just becauseyou didn't think of it first. And be prepared for two of your greatest challenges:never having enough time to do everything that needs doing - and theunexpected. I faced one occasion where, 30 minutes before the end of aCaribbean charter in St Maarten, the guests decided to extend their cruise by tendays and head to Miami, more than 1,600km (1,000 miles) away. We pulled outall the stops and had a wonderful time, including a detour to the Silver Bank towatch humpback whales just off the swim platform, it was incredible.SHEPHARD ON. PARSIFAL III I am loving my time aboard Parsifal III. The crew are really amazing, and shehas a fantastic open-plan interior with a lot of deck space. She also has somegreat water toys - current favourites are the 255hp Sea-Doo and the Seabobs.Parsifal III is probably pretty much my ultimate yacht on which to work;although ideally I'd create a larger captain's cabin. For my own cruising use,I'd opt for a Sun Odyssey 42 Deck Saloon.nSPECIFICATIONSLENGTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54m (177'1)BEAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10.7m (35')DRAFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.5m (14'7)BUILDER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Perini Navi YEAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2005GUESTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12CREW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9CRUISING AREA . . . . . .West Mediterranean (summer); Caribbean (winter)PRICES FROM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .?200,000 per weekPhotography: Jérôme Kélagopian/Giuliano Sargentinicaptain'sview

24Isea&iISPRING-SUMMER 2011Taste notes with.Gino RazzanoDrawing on his Italian heritage, the chef aboard the 51.8m (169'9)Sai Ram serves up Mediterraneantreats to compliment the yacht'scruising itineraries charter cuisine[]