AURA

Accommodations

Price Details

Locations

Winter Operations	W. Med -Naples/Sicily, W. Med -Riviera/Cors/Sard.
Summer Operations	W. Med -Naples/Sicily, W. Med -Riviera/Cors/Sard.

Specifications - aa

Additional Specs

More Pictures

Crew Size: 7
Captain Name: Ben Leeder
Captain Nation: British

Crew Profile

Captain Name: CAPTAIN: Benjamin Leeder – British
Joined Spring 2019
Ben a South Pacific born English-man, has had a yachting career spanning more than 18 years, with the last 10 years as Captain on both private and charter yachts. it could be said that Benjamin was always destined for a life on the high seas. After graduating with a BSc (Honours) degree in Biomedical Science, Benjamin decided to take a well-deserved summer break in the South of France and the rest they say is history.
Ben spent 9 years as Captain onboard the very successful charter yacht M/Y Little Jems only leaving as the vessel was sold. The past two season he has been Captain onboard the 41m M/Y Namaste 8.
Ben tries to instill an effective, efficient and harmonious atmosphere onboard. He is a very proactive person who endeavors to lead by example.
Aside from his various marine qualifications, Benjamin is also a qualified Personal Trainer, Sports Therapist and Masseur. Benjamin is a keen sportsman and enjoys participating in a wide variety of sports be it on land or water.
Previous yachts: M/Y Namaste 8 (41m), M/Y M/Y My Way, (41m), M/Y Little Jems (26m)
Languages: English and basic French

FIRST MATE: Pieter Storbeck – South African
Joined Spring 2019
Originally from South Africa – Pieter is driven, fit and enthusiastic and has already accrued 10 years’ experience in the yachting industry! Not such a surprising fact considering that he started sailing at the age of 14 to compete in the Clipper Round the World Race – famous for the rigorous pre-training prior to the race of a lifetime where people from different professions come together to navigate the globe in 8 legs.
Since then he has worked his way up the ladder, starting as deckhand on M/Y 4H (40m) and has experienced cruising in the Med, Bahamas, Florida, Caribbean, Spain, the Canaries, Montenegro and Croatia.
Pieter is a non-stop action type of guy – and his hobbies include sailing, skiing, cooking, photography, mountain biking and hiking as well as watersports.
He now joins the formidable crew of 7 on Aura, leading by example and eager to take on the challenges of a busy charter season.
Languages English
Previous Yachts: M/Y Giorgia (37M), M/Y Chiqui (40M) MY Tuppence

CHEF: Nicolas Taylor - British
Joined Spring 2019
This award-winning Chef started his career in the culinary world at Cordon Bleu cookery school in Johannesburg and since has worked in some amazing establishments to include luxury Chalets in Switzerland and Rick Stein’s famous Seafood Restaurant in Cornwall, UK.
Over the last 19 years Nick has had his full focus in the yachting industry working on both private and charter yachts cruising the Mediterranean, Caribbean and USA. He has accomplished many goals during this time and satisfied the pallets of hundreds of discerning guests!
Nick is forever experimenting with new flavours using the local produce that surrounds him in each port. He loves to express his flare in his dishes and is competent with all kinds of dietary requirements.
Spending 5 successful years on the very busy charter yacht Wild Thyme including many corporate charters where he catered for up to 150 guests. Later moving to the private yacht Tanusha cooking for 20 crew and 12 guests.
Calm, tidy, efficient and organised are some of the words this vibrant chef uses to describe himself and when he isn’t on-board, he gets busy with yoga, Chingong and Tai-chi!
Languages: English, Afrikaans and basic French
Previous Yachts: MY Tanusha (65m), MY Wild Thyme (37m)

CHIEF STEWARDESS: Kathleen Van Eeden – South African
Joined Spring 2018
Kathleen hails from Jeffrey’s Bay in South Africa and is a trained dancer and yoga teacher. It was her love for travel and desire to explore that attracted her to the yachting industry and in 2012 she landed her first job as sole stewardess on the busy charter yacht M/Y Happy Hour (32m) before moving quickly onto M/Y Siram (54m).
Kathleen’s prior experience in high end hospitality installed in her an efficient manner, creative thinking and professionalism – all skills that she mirrors today.
In her spare time, Kathleen is unable to resist her love for sport and she is at her happiest when she is involved in any kind of sporting activity.
Languages: English, Africaans

2ND STEWARDESS: Lindy-Lee Abry - South Afrcian
Joined Spring 2019
Lindy made the transition to the yachting industry after accruing 7 years’ experience in high-end hospitality and customer service roles in her native country of South Africa.
Lindy’s ambitious nature lead her to her new challenge and she quickly found her place on-board MY Pipe Dreams (45M) when she joined them in the Bahamas as deck/stew. Lindy has loved every minute of her journey so far and continues to progress with the turn of each season. Confident, motivated and brimming with energy, she now joins the vibrant crew of MY Aura, ready to tackle the challenges of the season ahead.
When timings and schedules permit, Lindy loves water sports, reading, yoga and animals and she is equally passionate about travel, international cuisine and experiencing different cultures.
Languages: English/ Africaans
Previous yachts: MY Giorgia (38M) MY Pipe Dreams (45M)

CHIEF ENGINEER: Russell Nunns - British
Joined Spring 2018
British born former HGV driver, Russell has been working in the yachting industry as anengineer since 2013. His career so far, has seen him working on a variety of vessels and he has worked hard to obtain the Y3 CoC certification. Joining Aura in May 2018 Russell looks forward to being an integral part of the crew and when not in the engine room he is a keen motorcyclist who loves paragliding and a multitude of sports
Previous Vessels: 2nd engineer MY Seanna (64m), sole engineer MY Nauta (33m), 2nd engineer MY Lady Kathryn (61m)
Languages: English

DECKHAND: Damon Smith – South African
Joined Spring 2016
Damon is a qualified aircraft and helicopter mechanic and has worked in the aviation industry for the past 5 years, he has now decided to make yachting his career choice.
Although AURA was Damon’s first permanent job in yachting he has grown up with a sailing background as his family have always owned boats in South Africa.
Hobbies include: Motor cross, wakeboarding, fishing and skate boarding.
Languages:English

Amenities

Water Sports