Christopher M. Lewis
Personal (USA) +1 (954) 612 2411
(UK) +44 (0)7900 693674
Date of Birth: 18th June 1968 (45)
Nationality: British
Height: 6' 1" / 1.85m
Weight: 195lb / 88kg
Marital Status: Married
Driver’s licenses UK and Florida
Health I am fit & active, & do not smoke
I have a current B1/B2 visa and am located in Ft Lauderdale
Introduction I have 15 years of experience building, running and chartering large yachts and I am looking to make another long term commitment. You will find me honest and loyal; I have a great work ethic, am very diplomatic and excel at putting great crews together. I provide the leadership, direction and environment so that the crew works as a cohesive team to ensure that Owners and guests are safe and thoroughly enjoy their time on board.
Certification 2005 UK MCA CoC Master Mariner STCW 95 Reg II/2 (Class 1)
with Cayman Islands Endorsement
Good for Yachts, Passenger Yachts (13-36 pax) and Commercial
1993 UK MCA CoC Engineer Officer STCW 78 Class 4
1991 GMDSS General Operators Certificate
2010 Medical Care Provider & Medical First Aid
2004 Ship Security Officer (SSO)
2009 Crisis Management & Human Behaviour
1993 Merchant Navy Advanced Fire Fighting Course
1993 Navigation Control & Bridge Team Management
1993 Cert of Proficiency in Survival Craft (CPSC) & Sea Survival
Yachting Experience
Captain m/y Ellix Too 156’/ 47m ISA Oct 10 – Nov 13
Returned to work for the third time with these Owners.
Oversight of a major refit; cruising & chartering in the Med, crossing the Atlantic to Florida & cruising the Caribbean including Cuba.
Contract negotiations and establishing acceptance standards.
Complete re-paint, new generators, shafts, cutlass bearings & seals, MTU W5 etc.
Improving the engineering standards from unseaworthy to fully operational.
Revision of Mini ISM and introduction of MLC 2006, SEEMP & Towing Booklet.
Temporary/ Relief Captain (highlights) Apr 09 – Oct 10
m/y Addiction 54m Amels 177 - 3 months finishing the build at the yard and delivery
m/y Rabdan 74m Hanseatic - 3 months. Full Initial LRS Passenger Ship surveys changing to the UAE flag. Full ISM & ISPS. Commercial style management.
m/y Y708 86m Oceanco - 3 months. Standing by at request of Owner, reviewing plans etc.
m/y Ellix Too 47m ISA Oct 09. Witness in fact as part of the tremendously successful arbitration at request of Owner for several weeks in London.
m/y Radiant 52m Amels June 09 - temp position preparing yacht for the season.
m/y Elisabeth F 53m Feadship May 09 - last minute trip to Cannes and Monaco.
Captain m/y “Shandor” 164’/ 50m Schweers Feb 07 – Nov 08
Finished off repair period and main engine rebuild in Panama.
Project Manager of 15 month, multi million Euro refit in Mallorca.
Running a team of up to 35 crew in addition to the yard and sub-contractors.
Replacement of several sections of steel and aluminium (tanks, hull and decks).
Major upgrades including main switchboard and all engineering systems.
New exterior paint, replaced large parts of the teak decking.
Introduced mini ISM & planned maintenance system.
Relief Captain m/y “My Iris” 150’/ 46m Trinity May 06 – Sept 06
Seasonal position, taken up at the last minute to meet charter commitments.
Busy charter yacht with charters in the South of France, Naples and Sardinia.
Captain m/y Ellix Too 156’/ 47m ISA Oct 04 – Aug 05
Oversaw set up of Planned Maintenance System, Engineering Procedures Manual, interior inventories and photographic records.
Complete crew change to change the atmosphere and working practices on board.
Subsequent improvement of all maintenance and the appearance of the yacht.
Co- ordination of 500+ point warranty process with very reluctant shipyard.
Yacht was run with full ISM.
Caribbean, Bahamas, Atlantic crossing, Med (from Seville to Turkey).
Captain m/y “Bella Dawn” 115’/ 35m Benetti March 02-Feb 04
Busy yacht with extensive cruising of the Bahamas and Caribbean.
Successful charter operation with regular repeat clients.
Set up of maintenance routines and spares inventories.
Temp Captain m/y “Osprey” 120’/ 36m Charter yacht June 01-Dec 01
Busy season in Turkey and Greece with charters and the Owner using the yacht very frequently (both for family and corporate work), before going to Genoa, Italy.
Took the yacht out of a repair facility 2 days before the Owner arrived and kept the show going in an unprepared condition for the charter season.
Captain m/y “Akim”, 103’/ 31m Baglietto design Trident Oct 98-Mar 01
Responsible for overseeing the completion of the yacht with construction consultant Doug Hoogs and interior designer Lauren Currell.
While finishing the yacht ourselves, I co-ordinated the various sub-contractors, a full-time buyer and several free- lancers, as well as a crew of 6.
After finishing the yacht, we cruised the Caribbean from Florida to Venezuela with all in between including Barbados over the course of 2 years.
Commercial Experience
2nd Officer P & O European Ferries 1997
Navigation and pilotage of multi-engine ferries across the English Channel.
Experience in dealing with passengers & maintenance of safety equipment.
3rd then 2nd Officer BP Maritime Services 1989 – 1997
Assisted with major refit in Singapore.
Standing by and commissioning a Suezmax new build in Korea.
Safety Officer & secretary to the Safety Committee.
Part of the initiation of ISM and ISO 9000
Safe Helicopter Operations.
1 year in 1996/7 was spent at Warsash Maritime College achieving Class 2/1 Deck.
4½ years full time College & sea time spent reaching Class 3 Deck and Class 4 Engineer.
Education
HND Nautical Science and HND Marine Engineering (NVQ level 5 – post graduate degree level) from Warsash Maritime Centre and South Shields Marine College.
This education, combined with over 500,000 miles logged at sea and an aptitude for continuous professional development (CPD), has made me highly proficient in all facets of running a yacht. Specifically navigation, integrated bridge systems, seamanship, safety, ISM and engineering and related subjects such as meteorology, shipping & employment law, stability and structure; I have also undertaken training in personnel management, ship security & human behavior and crisis management. I have self- taught myself to a high level of computer literacy including MS Office, MS Project, Quicken, interpreting engineering drawings and a working knowledge of managing networks.
Previously educated at private boarding schools in the south of England; A levels in Mathematics, Physics, Engineering Drawing and Design with 1st year studies in Chemistry and Art with History of Art.
Additional Skills, Interests and Information
Conversational Spanish and French, & basic level German and a little Dutch.
PADI Open Water Diving Certificate.
My interests include windsurfing, reading, wine tasting, whale and dolphin watching, wakeboarding, travel, snowboarding, model ship building, Formula 1.
I grew up around the sea on family sailing yachts and ran windsurfing and sailing schools for 4 years in Spain and the English Channel.
I am in excellent health, have a current ENG1 and do not smoke.
Excellent references from Owners, managers, charterers and crew & copies of my certificates are available on request.