17 captains, crew honored with Acrew’s Crew Awards

Seventeen yacht crew members were honored during Acrew’s inaugural Crew Awards in mid-October. The winners are:

Engineer & ETO: David Honeybun, AV-IT Engineer, M/Y Gene Machine
Stew: Carli Steenkamp, M/Y Hana
Deck: Glenford Atienza, SS Delphine
Purser: Felicia de Kock, M/Y I Dynasty
Courageous Crew Award: Head Chef Bradley Van Royen, M/Y The Wellesley
Chief Stew: Gemma Christian, M/Y Z
Captain (Master 500GT): Tristan Mortlock, M/Y Awol
Team Player Crew Award: Chief Stew Charlotte Durand, M/Y Spectre
Chef: Marco Lima, M/Y Hana
Best Private Yacht Crew: M/Y Gene Machine, received by Capt. Fraser Gow
Sustainability Crew Award: Chief Officer Barbara Clerc, M/Y Awol
First Officer: Marlies Sanders, S/Y Shogun
Captain (Master Unlimited): Rafael Cervantes Mataix, M/Y Azteca
Leadership: Capt. Patrick Netten, M/Y Exuma
Chief Engineer & ETO: Harris Kokkotas, M/Y Da Vinci
Captain (Master 3000GT): David Pott, M/Y The Wellesley
Best Charter Yacht Crew: M/Y La Tania, received by Capt. Todd Herman

Best Charter Yacht Crew: M/Y La Tania

“I felt a great sense of pride and honor to see my team recognized as the best charter yacht crew,” Capt. Todd Herman from the 49m M/Y La Tania said afterward. “They worked extremely hard and are well deserving. Acrew did an amazing job organizing the event. It’s great for our industry and I have no doubt it will be a premier event on the yachting calendar for years to come.”

More than 10,000 crew voted over three weeks in August for the 200 nominees among their peers to arrive at three finalists per category. Winners were determined by a team of 20 judges, mostly captains and senior crew, who reviewd CVs, references and a video interview with each candidate.

The awards were conceived and organized by Acrew, a yachting-specific event company based in France. The company organizes free workshops, discussion groups, networking and social activities for yacht captains and crew.

The inaugural Crew Awards ceremony attracted 275 guests at an event in Nice on Oct. 13.

“I am very happy and proud to win the Sustainability Crew Award,” First Officer Barbara Clerc of M/Y Awol said. “You could say that this is perhaps a most precious award because it is not just about our job but a global way of life, too. Our first boss is actually the sea, so we need to respect her and take good care.”