This week’s blog will be a bit lengthy as there is a lot of material to cover. So, here we are, another season nearing the end. Only three charters to go, what could possibly go wrong? Remember when I said there was something simmering just beneath the surface and my biggest fear was that it would boil over? Well it has, and what a mess! So let’s get down to it.

First of all, let me compliment the guests on this charter. They were simply charming and some of the best people I have ever had on board. I really love this group. They were, simply put, over-the-top.

I might as well start with the elephant in the room, Leon. You spent most of the season telling us what a “world class” chef you are. I do believe that you are talented, but your overinflated sense of self worth seems to be unfounded in my opinion. You do put out some great food (when you’re in the mood). Unfortunately the mood doesn’t seem to strike you often enough to suit me. You and Rocky spend more time stroking each other’s egos than doing your jobs. Had you spent a little of that time trying to be civil, just civil (wasn’t asking you to fall in love), things would have been much easier on you and the rest of us as well. I didn’t need you to love Kate, just work with her. But you insisted on going out of your way to be disruptive, and now it’s come to a head.

The fire in the galley was your fault. Period. The clean, dry sheet pans in the oven were neither clean nor dry. Kate put the popcorn in the microwave and a frozen pizza in the oven, doing a job that was clearly yours. Frozen pizza, why? Because the chef is getting his beauty sleep. Now enter Rocky, who after five weeks still can’t turn on the DVD player so the guests can watch movies. So she goes to Kate for help. Kate tells her the popcorn is in, and so is the pizza, and goes to attend to the guests that Rocky can’t. So Rocky, our self proclaimed sous chef, can’t watch pizza and microwave popcorn at the same time. Now here’s the rub, the popcorn burns, OK, that can happen to anyone. But now the grease in your allegedly clean sheet pans is heating up and smoking. Rocky opens the oven door and with the addition of oxygen to the volatile mix, a fire starts in your clean sheet pans. Clean, dry sheet pans do not catch on fire and neither do clean, dry oven bottoms. Plain and simple. Clean sheet pans, clean oven, there’s no fire. Your responsibility. Not Rocky’s, not Kate’s, but yours.

Now when I asked you about it, I already knew how and why the fire started, and you just couldn’t bring yourself to admit that your dirty oven and sheet pans caused the fire. Even though by now, you had just finished cleaning up the oven in question. No, instead you tell an outright lie about Kate and her drinking on the job. When asked, you admitted that you had not seen Kate drink, but she had done it before so you knew she was this time as well. So when I give you the opportunity to leave with some grace, class, and dignity, you just bail and leave everyone in a lurch. Well done, Leon. You are right, you are world class, but chef is not the term I had in mind.

Now let’s get to Leon’s biggest fan, whose loyalties and judgment I seriously question. Rocky… In what world do you think that you have the right to just strip down, bail on your crew, swim to another boat that, by the way, has to bring you back? And you think you are the victim? You were so fortunate just to keep your job and you don’t seem to realize that. You picked up exactly where Leon left off as the most disruptive force on the boat. While the rest of the crew is concerned with how we are going to make this charter a great one for our guests, you are concerned with how it affects you. You should have wanted to step into the galley and help out when the crew was in need, not just to show up Kate and everyone else and save the day. Your attitude and actions contributed to the situation we were in, and the needs of our guests always come first. When I question you about the fire, you, like Leon, displace the blame, and use the opportunity to disparage your superior. To say I am disappointed in you is an understatement. Like Leon, you have so much talent, and I hate to see it wasted.

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Eddie, glad to see that you are finally thinking with the proper head. Took you a bit, but I see a bit of redemption in your future, sir. Good job of teaching Connie the proper way to drop and retrieve the anchor. Well done. Great job of taking charge during the fire incident as well. Calm, collected, and decisive action was called for and you delivered. Well done. Good job in stepping in to bail Rocky out in the galley as well, and nice job on the steaks. Everyone knows that you sear the steaks first and then finish them to temp in the oven. Great catch, just wish you would have gotten there for the grenadine garnished oysters as well. Really glad to see you coming to your senses sir, thank you.

Emile, why are you still trying to get Rocky to pay attention to you? She seems to be using you to prop up her ego, and you are falling for it. As I said last week, your deck skills are coming along nicely, but your common sense sometimes isn’t all that common. Leon is gone, and the only one who she can stroke her needy personality now is you. Good luck to you on that front, sir. You are more than holding your own in the deck department, and I thank you for stepping up and really being a solid player when it counted. I just hope you keep your priorities straight. You need to finish strong.

Kate, what can I say? Extremely well done. You kept everything together when we needed it most. I know you had your doubts about Rocky in the galley, but you set aside the personality aspect of it and did what had to be done. You had your priorities in order, never took you eye off the ball, and handled a very bad situation with class and dignity and helped get us through a very potentially bad situation. Can’t thank you enough. One of your best moments I believe.

Connie, you did very well, and I am proud of the way you stepped up. Great job on the anchor drop and retrieve. You nailed it perfectly. I also love your sense of humor, loved your comment about waking up the whole island for his birthday. If that doesn’t make you feel special, nothing will. Well done with the girls as well on their outing. Just an all around good job by you.

Amy, what a great charter you had. Really stepped up your game. Kept our issues below deck, where they should be. You and Kate were on the same page and put the guests first. Great job with the lunch off the boat, you handled that very well. Your service was fabulous and as always your attitude was something that certain crewmembers could take a lesson from. Nicely done, Amy.

So we wrap up another charter, and I must say this one was anything but boring. It’s really good to have Ben back, and we have another deck hand coming, so we will be at full staff again. And with that being said, we will have a better overall attitude and things will go much smoother below deck. So for now I am looking forward to calm winds and following seas, and wishing the same for you. Until next week.