Power Yacht Lady J

Nikolina Stojicic (Nina)

Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina and raised in Montenegro Nikolina (Nina) always had a passion for the open seas and she traveled all around the world (Asia, Indonesia, Africa…). In 2011 entered yachting in Europe and since then most of her experience has ranged from 130ft to 200ft yachts. Nina led her team to win the Fort Lauderdale “Tablescaping” Contest in 2017 competing with vessels ranging from 100ft to 160ft. Nina has always had a passion for service and being with guests so has found her dream job within the yachting industry. She enjoys using her creative flair wherever she can, and loves flower arranging. She has completed a flower master class and table decorating course. With a keen eye for detail and great enthusiasm, you can truly feel Nina’s great love for what she does. Nina will go the extra mile to ensure that guests have a fantastic time onboard and will be standing by to make sure time onboard is absolutely perfect.

FIRST OFFICER

Jarryd Vermaak

Jarryd grew up on Durban Beach in South Africa. He spent 6 years in hospitality where he played an intricate role in the progression of taking a Cocktail Bar to a successful franchise, ultimately opening several stores across South Africa. During this time, he competed in flaring competitions (think Tom Cruise in Cocktail) and studied a Masters in Bartending. He also has a degree in Marketing and a Diploma in Advertising/Brand Management. Jarryd started yachting in 2009 and since then he has completed five Atlantic crossings and sailed around the Caribbean, Bahamas, U.S.A, Mediterranean, and the Gulf of Mexico totaling around 60,000+nm. Jarryd currently holds the chief mate and is working towards his Master license. He enjoys exploring the outdoors, traveling, adventures, diving, surfing and long boarding.

CHIEF ENGINEER (Rotation)

Robert Buchar

Robert Buchar hails from New Jersey, USA and currently holds a Y4 Engineering license from the MCA and a 100GT Captain’s license from the US Coast Guard. At the age of 24, Bobby moved to the beach and started working for his brother as a Marine Diesel Mechanic. This exposure resulted in a love for the ocean and a desire to become a full time Marine Engineer. Bobby quickly moved from being land based to working full time on yachts. He initially started working in design and construction for a boat building company out of New Jersey, and then joined a 75' Viking Sport fish as Captain/Engineer, cruising from New York to South Florida between 2007 to 2010. Bobby has never looked back and has concentrated on his career as an Engineer with over 13 years in the business and having completed multiple trans-Atlantic crossings. Bobby's other interests include fishing and off-road mountain biking

CHIEF ENGINEER (Rotation)

Ben Mayo

Ben grew up on the scenic shores of Lake Champlain in Colchester, Vermont. After serving in the US Marine Corps and working in the auto service industry, he decided to pack up and head to Alaska to crew on salmon commercial fishing vessels. Ben then worked in the Gulf of Mexico aboard offshore supply vessels as a Ship's Engineer which resulted in him cruising all over the world including Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, Iceland, Greenland and the Caribbean. Currently holding a US Coast Guard Chief Engineer 3,000 KW License, Ben ensures that LADY J is in good mechanical hands. Since his start in the yachting industry Ben has worked onboard 130' Motor Yacht APHRODITE, 164' Motor Yacht MICHAELA ROSE and 160' Sailing Yacht GEORGIA. In his free time, he likes to travel the world and keep active by running and participating in varied water sports.

CHEF

Carlos Manriquez

Carlos Manriquez, aka “The Sorcerer of Sauces”, is one of the most inventive and spontaneous chefs today. Renowned for his culinary skills and his ability to establish critically acclaimed restaurants and catering companies, coupled with his global adventures in extreme cuisines, and his passion for the next dish, is what keeps the crowd’s attention! Born in Tijuana, Mexico into a family of dairy farmers, Carlos began his culinary career at a very young age. He always loved helping his mother in the kitchen, which was not very common in traditional Mexican culture. Carlos attended private boarding school in North Dakota where his culinary journey began upon taking a job in the kitchen as preparation cook. Working alongside international students fueled his interest in travel, which resulted in a global journey spanning over 53 countries, where he began researching unique food preparation techniques and extraordinary world spices. Carlos obtained a technical degree in Dairy Science from the California Polytechnic State University. He worked for several restaurants, which cultivated into a broad scope of culinary growth. From his apprenticeship with Wolf Gang Puck in San Diego, Carlos decided that the art of creating food was his true passion and he went back to school to obtain a culinary degree from the Le Cordon Bleu.

BOSUN

Brian William Karatz

He was born and raised in Point Pleasant, NJ. Brian’s life on the water began at the age of 5 and has not stopped since. After high school he went to college for Criminal Justice and soon realized it wasn’t for him. He started his yachting career in 2011 but took a break in 2015 and sailed his own sailboat through the Caribbean and Panama where he had his fishing business and became a dive master. Brian’s new adventure brought him on Lady J and he is exited to improve or share his knowledge and show our guests the time of their life.

DECKHAND

Sam O’ Shell

Sam grew up in the desert of Southern Arizona, but he has always been drawn to the water, both as a competitive swimmer and on holiday in Mexico. It was only a matter of time before he followed his dreams and started a career in the maritime industry. For the last year he was working in Boston Harbor as a Deckhand onboard fuel barges. It didn’t take long time for him however to seek out sunshine and move down to Florida for his new chapter.

SECOND STEWARDESS

Cristina Nice

Cristina was born on the coast of Black Sea in Romania and she moved to Sicily at the age of 18 where she fell in love with the Italian culture, language and food. She has 13 years of hospitality and she even owned her own restaurant in Catania, Sicily. She traveled the world learning about different countries and habits from China to India, from Thailand to Dubai, from Africa to Europe. Cristina realized that yachting would be the right combination to have an amazing life doing what she loves and what she knows best. While in London Cristina completed an Event Management diploma and Swedish massage Diploma. In time she discovered that she likes to write books for kids and paint abstracts in oil. Cristina has a 14-year-old brother that he means the world to her and she gets to be silly playing games or teasing him any time she gets the chance. She is always happy to please and will do everything to make sure you are enjoying your time with us.

THIRD STEWARDESS

Tessa Dorr

Tess grew up in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. Although landlocked in a small farm town, Tess always had an underlying love for the sea. While pursuing a degree in finance and entrepreneurship, she worked as a banquet/a la carte server in a private, historic social club located in downtown Pittsburgh (and loved it). Between serving private suites and fancy dinner parties, she developed valuable experience in the hospitality industry. Once she graduated from college she took a job working for the PA state government in the Independent Fiscal Office. It did not take long for her to realize she desired a more adventurous career, at least in her 20’s. When a friend recommended the yachting industry it seemed like the perfect combination of what she was looking for and she bought a one way ticket to Fort Lauderdale. Tess is new to the yachting industry and so excited to learn and grow in her role as a stewardess.