Reach
Crew profile

Captain: James Minkley
Born in Cape Town, South Africa, James grew up at the beach, surrounded by nature and the ocean. With these surroundings how could he not fall in love with everything to do with the ocean – sailing, surfing and so many other water activities. Following his studies and degree in multimedia and marketing, he decided to further his sailing skills and has been working on the ocean ever since.

In 2022, after concluding a crew position on a 40m sailing yacht James decided to switch to a more “hands on” sailing position and accepted a captain’s role on smaller charter yachts which took him to Croatia and French Polynesia.

James is a fun-loving, warm hearted and adventurous person who is not afraid to try something new and create wonderful once in a lifetime memories for all who charter on REACH.

Chef/First Mate: Sarah Henderson
Sarah grew up in Cape Town and quickly fell in love with baking and cooking with her mom – driven as an escape from her wild brothers :). She too grew up surrounded by nature, the beach and forests and has always felt most calm when in nature.

Sarah studied a business marketing degree and during her time at college she really ignited a passion for cooking. She found herself spending most of her free time curating exciting recipes for lunches and dinners and knew she wanted to persue the culinary arts and enrolled at a culinary school in Cape Town. Combining her love for nature and cooking, being a chef on a yacht seemed like the perfect next adventure for her. She joined a yacht in Italy for 6 months and progressed to working for a charter company in the Mediterranean for 3 years where she excelled. In her free time, she loves scuba diving, snorkeling, yoga and pilates and looking after young children.

Sarah loves creating menus and meals with seasonal, sustainable and fresh produce taking pride in plating beautifully curated dishes and spreads and will easily adapt to any preferences or specific needs of her guests to ensure they have a unique and special experience and vacation.

James and Sarah can’t wait to meet you and guide you on the Vacation of Lifetime!