Esperanza II
Crew profile

Captain: Jage (John) Martin
Coming from mixed ancestry and growing up in Scotland in the 80s, Jage couldn’t wait to travel. With an insatiable passion for the unknown and adventure he began traveling at the age of 14 and left forever at the age of 18.

Drawn by the great mountains, oceans, and peoples of the world he took to the road in an old VW van and drove from Europe through Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and onwards, finally ending up in Australia. Jage has visited and worked in all 7 continents. From a lowly kitchen hand in the Greek islands, ski guide in the French alps, qualified construction worker in Australia, he has certainly had a varied journey, eventually putting down roots in the French alps and starting a construction business and a family there.

Jage pursued his dreams of becoming a sailor, qualifying as a captain and buying his first yacht in 2009 called “Nomad”. He took his young family onboard to experience the wonders of this world by sail, voyaging to many places including the Seychelles, Thailand, Greece, and Turkey. He then bought a catamaran in 2016 and they sailed from Turkey, through the Mediterranean and across the Atlantic to Dominica and Saint Vincent, in the Caribbean, where he then worked in the yachting industry for many years.

Now that his children are grown, he is returning to his passion as a sailor and captain having clocked up over 25,000 logged miles including two ocean crossings. Jage is also a qualified scuba rescue diver, marine engineer, electrician, and stone mason (not much use on a yacht :).

Jage is a commercially endorsed RYA yachtmaster with a huge respect for our oceans and all life in them. He loves the feeling and freedom of life on the water and can’t wait to share that passion with others. He is a fun-loving person and has always loved meeting new people from all walks of life and having a good laugh.

Chef/Mate: Erika Marhuenda
Erika Marhuenda Bru, is from the city of Elche, on the Mediterranean Sea, Spain and has been exposed to the amazing influences of Spanish cuisine. From as early as she can remember, she has loved cooking and being around the sights and smells of her grandmother’s kitchen, learning new recipes and trying different foods, from paellas, tortilla española, gazpacho and many other Spanish delights.

She continued to pursue her passion for cooking as a hobby while studying civil engineering at Alicante University in Spain and in her third year she studied abroad in Palermo, Italy, where pizza, pasta, and other incredibly mouth watering combinations of fresh local ingredients were in abundance, not to mention the gelatos and exquisite cornettos. This made her fall in love with the fascinating Italian gastronomy and awoke her curiosity for new cultures and customs.

She spent many years in the construction industry after college, both in Spain and in London, working on many fascinating projects (one in particular, the New Tottenham Hotspur stadium). Following that she travelled through Australia, then on to the USA, Cuba, Colombia, Morocco, Peru, Southeast Asia, including India and Nepal, Thailand and Laos. All the while observing and learning new cooking techniques from all these cultures.

Although she always felt connected to the ocean it was when she tried scuba diving for the first time in Thailand, that she was blown away and fell in love with the underwater world, leading her to become a certified divemaster. She will be delighted to share this underwater world with her guests.

She is absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to continue her global adventures in the Caribbean as the chef on Esperanza, bringing her culinary skills onboard, to create new dishes and share the ones she loves most with those onboard.

Jage and Erika are looking forward to making sure you have a truly unforgettable vacation with them on Esperanza II.