Ventana 52 ft Catamaran

Thank you so much to Captain Tim and Chef Jason for making our bucket list vacation sailing through the Virgin Islands a trip we will remember and cherish forever. The week was the perfect combination of relaxation and action as we cruised our way from Maho Bay snorkeling with the sea turtles, to Jos Van Dyke enjoying sunset and painkillers at Soggy Dollar Bar, to the rum distillery and sunset at Cane Garden Bay in Tortola, the Baths and dinner at Saba Rock on Virgin Grande, snorkeling and rum tasting at Cooper Island, a private bonfire on Thanksgiving night at Salt Island, snorkeling The Indians and Caves at Norman Island, Willy T’s at Norman Island jumping from the top deck, ending with a final night at Caneel Bay and dinner in town at Cruz Bay, St. John. It was an amazing week, and Captain Tim knew just the places to go to make it so memorable for our family of 10, ranging in age from 7 to 70. Chef Jason crushed the meals for our family, dealing with food allergies and picky kids! Every single meal was amazing, and he even prepared a full Thanksgiving feast on the Ventana! We enjoyed hearing their stories and learning the history of the islands as we sailed past, saw many sea turtles and dolphins from the boat, and enjoyed evenings of charades, guitar playing by Captain Tim, and Tim & Jason taught us a new card game (31) that kept even the kids up past midnight in intense competition! We loved our time on the beautiful catamaran, Ventana, and have gained two new friends that we look forward to sailing with again!

My family sailed with another family on the Ventana for one week in the USVI.  Michelle with Epic was fantastic throughout the selection and planning process and her insight was invaluable and much appreciated.  We will work with her again and have already recommended her to other friends.  The Ventana is a Lagoon 52 foot catamaran and the boat was perfect for our group.  I can’t say enough good things about Captain Kennon and Chef Stephanie.  From the food and beverages to the service and itinerary, it was all phenomenal and we felt completely pampered for the entire trip.  They worked tirelessly so that we could relax, adventure and truly enjoy our time on vacation.  We commented that it seemed not just a job for them but a true joy for them to ensure that we were happy and having fun.  We would love to sail with them again!

Yacht & Crew
Please answer the following questions pertaining to the yacht you chartered and the crew.
Rating of Yacht & Crew:
(5 Being the Highest) 5
Was the yacht comfortable and clean?
Yes!
Was the yacht well ventilated?
Yes
Was the crew friendly and accommodating?
Yes. The crew was great! Kennon and Stephanie are awesome. We couldn’t have a better crew. We had both kids an adults. And everyone would say they are the best!
Was the food good and well presented?
Yes. It was delicious. You will not go hungry. Everything was made from scratch. We ate like kings and queens. We had a couple picky eater and one with a food allergy. The chief accommodated for everyone.
8. Additional comments about the yacht and crew?
Cannot say enough good things. They were great.
Cruising Area
Did you like the area you chartered in?
Loved it. Each stop had something different but still beautiful

They far exceeded expectations! These guys are truly professionals. We wanted far nothing for the entire trip, are made return, and what a great group…who knew it would turn out so well! Love, love, loved every minute. Look forward to our next excursion with Kennon and Steph friends for life! Mi casa es su casa!!

Y’all’s hospitality has given me the most cherish-able memories to last throughout my life. The food and drinks succeeded my expectations. I will be returning without the drink cloud next time. No algae bloom on rainy days.

1. Crew Friendliness: TOP-NOTCH
2. Crew Knowledge: TOP-NOTCH
3. Quality of Service: TOP-NOTCH
4. The Professionalism of Crew:  TOP-NOTCH
5. Value of the Cost + Expenses Charter: JUST RIGHT
6. On-Board Cuisine: AMAZING
7. Destination / Location: BEST THAT COULD BE DONE
8. Water-Sports: PERHAPS ADD A KAYAK
9. Overall Satisfaction: EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONSWhat was the most memorable highlight of your yacht charter vacation? WHO COULD NARROW DOWN TO ONE? LAUGHING ON A RAINY DAY EXCURSION, UNEXPECTED AMUSEMENT PARK RIDE, SURPRISES FOR CHINESE NEW YEAR DINNER, WATCHING THE SEA ANIMALS FROM BOAT AT NIGHT

I love their time on the Ventana! We have made so many great memories that will always carry with us! Our favorite memories were seeing a starfish while on the subwing, feeding scraps to the remora, snorkeling with Stephanie, all the food! Floating on the ring of love, and all the laughs!

Thank you Stephanie and Kennon! Beside the highlight up the trip would be the boat – but two of you in your hospitality, kindness, took experience to another level. Thanks for making us feel so welcome – teaching us, and laughing with us! Thank you for a great week of fun and incredible food. Hopefully our paths will cross again! You are always welcome in Colorado!

100% exceeded our expectations! Kennon and Stephanie were well above call of duty to accommodate our every need! Our favorite memories were snorkeling, paddleboards, sailing, whale watching, sunsets from the flybridge… everything!

I imagine it’s tripping fabulous but I never dreamt of how amazing it would actually be. Stephanie and Kennon seemed to anticipate every need and fill it! I felt like a rockstar on my very own yard. Thanks for the super great food and drinks and warm friendly hospitality. And for saving my hat!

We completely enjoyed every aspect of this amazing trip. Or expectations were more than expected in every way. Stephanie treat us to gourmet meals every day. I don’t think that any of us have ever eaten so well. Kennon was a fabulous continent host. Our drinks were never empty and his positive attitude started and ended every day with a smile. We thank you so much for your incredible hospitality!

We can’t thank you enough for your hostility and amazing food. The ladies loved all of the water sports and every spot you chose was perfect. Best New Year’s Eve and day ever! We look forward to returning!

Thank you for an amazing family vacation! Your hospitality was unbelievable over-the-top every single day! Stephanie, the snacks and meals were absolutely wow! It was fun to sit down and wait to see what you have prepared for us, you truly have an art and passion for cooking! Thank you both for everything. So hope to travel with you again in the future!

We hope you enjoyed your charter! We would really appreciate it if you would take a moment to complete this form. Naturally we hope that everything was perfect, but we also would like to know if there were any (small) problems. All comments are helpful!
When you arrived, your first impression of the yacht was:
Simultaneous impressions:
1. Wait, we didn’t rent David Geffen’s boat? Shoot, that was a miss.
2. Wow, the photos really do look like the boat; these rooms are great!
3. Holy moly, there’s an inflatable flamingo on board with us.
4. Who cares about unpacking and getting settled; this shrimp salad thing is everything we want
right now for lunch!
What did you think about your accommodation? Cabins, beds, bathrooms:
The accommodations were really comfortable. If there were questions about how things worked in the cabins/bathrooms, the crew showed us. There were lots of nooks and crannies to stash things, which was awesome.
Salon, cockpit, deck space:
These spaces were great, but we spent nearly all waking hours outside and didn’t use the salon or cockpit areas. As expected, we really had to cram in at meals since the deck table isn’t made to sit 10 — but no one minded at all.
Was the boat kept clean during your charter (your cabins, the bathrooms/heads, your towels, bedding, the cockpit, the galley)?
Yep, it was kept very clean. We could have done without the mid week linens change — none of us change that stuff out at home in under one week, and we didn’t see the need to do it while on vacation either. It felt like it made unnecessary work for Kennon and Stehpanie!
Did you miss anything on board?
Not sure what this question is actually asking, but we wish we made time for and/or stayed up to karaoke at least once. We also didn’t get a chance for Kennon to play his mandolin.
What did you enjoy the most on board?
The many places to hangout on the boat. Any beverage available at any time, for any mood.
Please describe your Captain (professional/outgoing/friendly etc.)
Kennon is wise beyond his years, and we felt like we were capable, experienced hands. He made sure all things water were as easy, quick, comfortable, and safe as we could want — whether we were sailing, on the tender, going for a swim/snorkel, or hanging out in the water around the boat. Kennon was also incredibly service oriented and never let more than a 20 min go by without asking if anyone needed anything. Additionally, he had a deep bench of dad jokes, and was workshopping more, which kept people laughing.
What do you think about your itinerary, the places and bays you visited and the activities you have done?
Outside of two dive days we had pre-planned, we mostly made it up as we went along. We were consulted about options for every available choice (though we tried to get Kennon to make the choice a lot of the times), and as a result our group was super happy with everything we did.
Please describe your chef (professional/outgoing/friendly etc.)
Stephanie is a complete professional with command over all essential things for the boat life. In addition to her aptitude with cooking, sailing/driving the boat/tender, and all things underwater, she was warm, kind, and constantly paying attention to and remembering people’s needs/preferences. She made people feel truly taken care of because of her strong orientation to high touch hospitality and a highly attuned EQ. She was also friendly and open, sharing some of her own story about how she made her way to this work and what keeps her doing it.
Please describe your meals (presentation, quality, quantity)
The meals were tasty and variable — we didn’t get tired of anything. Everything was also presented in a visually thoughtful way. Lunch dessert was a group favorite (and a total surprise on the first day), and our happy hour apps were always very appreciated. We still don’t understand how Stephanie prepares these meals from the NYC apartment-sized galley.
Do you feel the meals and drinks reflected the requests you made in your preference sheet?
Yes, everything we said was reflected (but we were a pretty easy group to cook for with very few true problem areas to work around). We could have been more specific had we really known to be, eg: our group prefers savory breakfasts over sweet ones; or, we don’t all eat the same amount (ie big dudes vs smaller women) so having identically-sized plated meals doesn’t necessarily match people’s needs. We mentioned all of these things to Stehpanie when we realized we never said anything about this earlier — but the preference sheet could be updated for these kinds of nuances.
If you had children in your party, what did the crew do to make their vacation special (food, games, toys, etc)?No actual kids in our group, just the adult variety.
Did you receive enough information from us before your trip, was the description of the yacht and crew accurate?
Yes, I think we had all of the info we needed. The one thing that was on the boat that wasn’t called out ahead of time on the materials was that there are beach (Turkish) towels on board. Kennon let me know ahead of time because I asked, but otherwise everyone would have brought their own quick dry towel (though most of us did anyway) for post-swimming.
Would you sail with us again?
Yep, we want to come back to actually go to the BVI — but we want the same crew. Possible??
Any other notes or special remarks you have:
They took such good care of us, almost to a fault. We wouldn’t have minded pitching in a bit ourselves (we got the side eye when we tried to clear our own plates) if it meant we would have materially lightened the load for the crew and/or gotten more hangout time with Kennon and Stephanie, whose company everyone enjoyed. However, as a result of how well our every need was met, no one was able to properly feed themselves for at least 24 hours after returning home — as if we all forgot how to.
May we use your comments as a reference for future guests? Sure.
Thank you!