Captain Selection

Luxury yacht travel on a large yacht on the high seas requires a knowledge and skill that only a licensed Coast Guard approved Captain has. Thus, for obvious reasons and to keep the guests and the yacht itself safe from injury or damage a licensed captain is required to take Your Private Luxury Yacht on a vacation and cruise. You can choose your own licensed captain that we will need to approve or you can choose from a list of pre-approved captains listed below. Captains take there job seriously and they should since they are in charge and fully responsible for the safety of the guests and crew. The Captain must insure the yacht is properly and safely maintained during your cruise. The Captain ensures safety, but also tries to make sure everyone is enjoying the journey. Captains are human and work to please the customer and boat rental guests, as they want to earn your confidence ( and earn a tip at the end as well). Thus, you must choose your Captain, but we can help advise you in this process. We offer a sample list of captains below and their resume.

You can choose your own deckhand as well, but we recommend you allow the Captain to choose this person as the Captain will work closely with the deckhand during your entire journey and we all want the Captain & Deckhand (crew) working together well in harmony. Remember that part of this charter rental and vacation is a journey with your Captain and crew who have their own quarters during overnight travel.

Captain Craig Mathews

Captain Craig Mathews is a highly experienced 1600T Captain with experience in many very large and smaller sized motor yachts. He enjoys chartering guest throughout Tampa Bay and the Florida Keys. Captain Craig has served as Captain and Marine Manager for large yachts up to 228 feet and was responsible for hiring and training all crew members. He has over 25 years of experience and with zero accidents.

Captain Jerry Pearson

Captain Jerry Pearson was born in Miami, FL and raised in the suburbs of Fort Lauderdale. Being

fortunate to have grown up in a family that was

highly involved in boating, he was exposed to

the water from a very young age. At the age of

9, he was fishing in Bimini on a 54′ Rybovich,

which led to involvement in competitive fishing

tournaments.

Captain Alan Eason

Captain Alan Eason is a 200T Master Captain with extensive experience with Ocean Alexander and other large motor yachts. He is based out of the Ft Lauderdale/Hollywood area and enjoys navigating throughout the Bahamas and Florida Keys.

Captain Mike Howard

Captain Mike Howard is an experienced 200T Captain based in the Tampa Bay area. He has over a decade of sea time in a variety of medium to large motor yachts and has navigated throughout Florida, the Bahamas and Florida Keys. In addition, he has experienced much of the Pacific Northwest, Seattle, British Columbia and the San Juan Islands and has been a professional Captain for Galati yacht sales and is very experienced in all of Rose Great Escapes vessles to include the Prestige, Princess and Ocean Alexander line of motor yachts.

Captain Mike Kutner

Captain Mike Kutner is an experienced 200T Coast Guard approved Captain from Tampa Bay with experience in many medium sized motor yachts such are our 55 foot Prestige.

Captain Patrick Hirt

Captain Patrick Hirt is a 200T Master Captain with extensive Charter and Captain experience on many yachts both large and small. He is especially experienced in the Tampa Bay waters and up and down the west coast of Florida and the Florida Keys to include the Dry Tortugas.

Captain Scott Sheffel

Captain Scott Sheffel‘s yachting career started when he bought his first boat, a 16 Prindle cat at the age of

18. Scott sailed off the beaches of South Florida before owning and renting, even teaching sailing

on Lake Tahoe for many summers.

He has run sailboats, both mono haul, and cats, sportfish, and motor yachts, both private and for

charter up to 125′. He has cruised and fished much of the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean. As a captain, Scott prioritizes the safety and proper care of the vessel while ensuring that the guests have the best possible experience.

Captain Jason DeShay

Captain Jason DeShay has been working for 20 years in the yachting industry as a Captain, broker,

engineer, new build skipper, and refit project manager. Hailing from the US East coast and the son

of a Navy veteran Jason was on the water from a very young age. Captain Jason has worked around the globe acquiring experience in almost every aspect of the yachting industry with over 100,000 sea miles to

his credit.

Captain Filipe Marinho Quirino

Born in the warm waters of Paraiba, Brazil and raised in sunny South Florida the ocean is part of Captain Filipe Marinho Quirino‘s daily life. Captain Filipe’s career at sea began scuba diving South Florida and the Bahamas back in 2005 when he became a master diver, guiding clients underwater and quickly working his way up to captain. Bahamas has been his backyard now for 15+years, where he has cruised on yachts ranging from 50ft to 110ft. His local knowledge and dedication to learning from the locals and experiencing it on his own vessel in both South Florida and many islands of the Bahamas sets him apart from most Captains.

Your Private Luxury Yacht