Crew for 2021

After being closed in 2020 I am looking forward to offer Cénou for sailing charters in 2021. Demand was incredible in 2020, the best I have seen, and it was hard not just to miss out on the business but also to have people almost begging to go out and having to say “no” to them. I felt I could not keep myself and guests Covid safe. As the season went on I begin to think of how I could re-open in 2021 and the word “crew” kept coming back.

The biggest reason to stay closed was that I could not see how to live in the boat when groups of people would have access to the whole boat. I imagined people going to the bathroom, entering the main cabin to get things and perhaps touching surfaces I had not anticipated they would touch. The idea of sailing the whole day, going through the entire boat with disinfectant and then being in the boat, as opposed to just going to the “safety” of my home felt daunting. There was also the issue of walking through guests with every maneuver. Mask or no mask, that did not seem very safe either.

Crew, I decided, will mitigate a lot of these problems. During times of back to back tacking or jibing, crew will take position on the port side. Otherwise crew will make it possible to share tasks from disinfecting to getting things from the main cabin that guests might need, reducing the amount of time and area guests have access to.

The reasons for seeking crew are not just Covid based, they are also financial and safety based. I feel that having a traffic spotter as well as someone who can handle lines while sailing will improve maneuverability in Newport’s crowded and often windy waters. Having crew will also increase the energy level on deck and make it possible for the boat to go out for an all day sail and add a sunset cruise at the end of the day.

I started the search for crew in October of last year and finally found someone who I think is the right fit! Skye has been working in the industry since several years. She has the right mix of knowledge and enthusiasm to be a great addition to the boat, my experience and guest experience. I look forward to share the sailing with someone who is enthusiastic and ready to make it for herself as fun an experience as it is for me! See you this summer, hopefully vaccinated and likely/maybe still masked up. I’ll be posting soon what the procedures for being onboard will be during our Covid transition. . .