Sunday, November 12, 2006

Shopping for a 160 ft super yacht




Raised so far $19.23

All good things must come to an end and my 4 weeks in Miami living it up are over and it’s time to do some work, we’re heading off to the Caribbean. First stop are the Bahamas but before we go anywhere I have the unenviable task of filing the boat up with enough food for 10 crew and 8 guests for the next six months. We’ll be picking fresh fish, meat and vegetables up along the way but enough dry goods, drinks, condiments etc to last for 6 months have to be bought here and crammed into the boat!

Over the 2 days I spend well over $30,000 on all sorts of things from toothpicks to birthday candles to bin bags. Basically I can’t afford to forget anything. Get to a remote island and the guests ask for horseradish sauce and we don’t have it, I’m gone!! Captain doesn’t have his special coffee for night cruising, I can forget that bonus next year! Owners want a green olive in that martini…..you get the picture!

The 10 crew members are busy running around the boat making last minute preparations. The deckhands are scrubbing the boat making it look like new for the arriving guests, engineers are checking the engines making sure nothing could possibly go wrong and the stewardesses are cleaning the toilets with cotton buds and ironing the sheets!



I cram the stuff into the tightest of spaces all over the boat and pray that I have remembered everything! The deckhands let the ropes go, it’s 12.01 in the morning(unlucky to leave port on a Friday so we wait to the first minute of Saturday) and we are off down the river heading for the Bahamas.
I’m on the front of the boat looking at the sky wondering what the weather will be like, will we get smashed?

I am just about to drift asleep in my cabin by the waves when I snap awake! I’ve forgotten to pick up the croissants for the guests breakfast! Instead of getting up at 6 an hour before the guests I reset my alarm for 4.45, I’ll have to get up and make the bloody things!! See its not all sitting on beaches drinking cocktails I do occasionally work!

Having said that after this weeks charter we have 10 days with no guests in the British Virgin islands, that’ll be tough!

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