Zingara

CAPTAIN CAMILLE

Originally from France and Italy, Camille has been an ocean lover and nature enthusiast from a very young age. She grew up in Italy where her weekends were mostly spent horseback riding, swimming in the Mediterranean Sea, sailing on lakes with her dad and skiing in the mountains.
After studying Business and Management in England and France, she moved to the Caribbean to work in marine conservation. There, she discovered scuba diving and started sailing more regularly. She fell in love with the ocean, which led her to pursue a life at sea in the yachting industry. Camille is a PADI dive instructor.
Over the past four years on Zingara, Camille has learned a great deal about boat handling, sailing, the good running of the vessel, and the industry as a whole. Her background as a lodge manager and horseback safari guide in Kenya, as well as a dive instructor in Costa Rica forms a solid foundation for the high-level service she provides today. Camille knows the BVIs and the Southern Caribbean inside out, which allows her to choose the best possible itinerary and easily adapt to the guests’ preferences.
She is a very energetic Captain and is always exited to share her love for the ocean with guests. She’ll happily take them on adventures – whether it be underwater, above water or on land. She always looks forward to giving the guests the best possible experience.

CHEF KATIE

Katie’s love for yachting started in her early teens where she spent family holidays sailing the Ionian in Greece
Her sailing career began where she worked as a hostess for Sunsail in Lefkas, then moving across to seek new challenges in the windy Saronic Gulf and Cyclades. From there she moved to the company’s flagship location in the BVI, during her downtime between seasons she studied at Culinary school in Devon and on the Isle of Wight, developing and refining her love for cookery
Katie began cheffing professionally in 2016 for The Moorings in the Caribbean where she found a love for the culture and flavours of the Caribbean
She has been working in the Caribbean ever since, spending her downtime diving, hiking and exploring all the BVI has to offer
After a fantastic summer working onboard Superyachts Katie is now on Zingara and so excited to share her culinary creations with her guests
Whatever your requests or requirements she is more than happy to tailor her menu exclusively for her guests every need, using only the freshest and most vibrant local ingredients Katie’s dishes will guarantee to wow

MATE FRANCOIS BOTHA

Hailing from Limpopo in South Africa, Francois comes from a small farming town in the Afrikaans area of the country. He grew up close to the nature and breathtaking wildlife of the area, and has carried his love of the outdoors throughout his life.
Francois began his maritime career working as a commercial diver, flown out to the BVI to assist in the mass clean up and yacht salvage in the wake of Hurricane Irma. As a qualified class 2 Commercial Bell Diver he is more than comfortable below sea level, and has recently transferred his skills to qualify as a Scuba Diving Instructor, ensuring all guests are in more than safe and experienced hands.
One of his proudest achievements is his involvement with a non-profit charity in the BVI creating artificial reefs and interactive dive sites including the sunken wreck of the ‘Willy T’ and ’Sharkplano’, he has unwaivered local knowledge of the sites and will ensure to show you the very best spots.
Being an incredibly calm and collected member onboard Zingara, Francois will always be at your service with a smile and will make sure his guests feel well attended to and give them their own tailored trip of a lifetime.

STEWARDESS BRITNEY PIETERSE

Britney is a very enthusiastic young lady, who loves meeting new people, mixing with different cultures and going on new adventures. She grew up in a small town along the East coast of South Africa. There, her grandfather taught her how to swim before she could even walk, and she went on to become a professional swimmer competing all around the country at a very high level for many years. With her love for swimming came her love for the ocean and the underwater world, which led her to become a certified diver when she was only 10, diving with sharks on her local reefs almost every weekend. Soon after finishing school she became a PADI dive instructor in Sodwana Bay, South Africa, and went on to travel to some amazing destinations all around the world such as Mozambique, Thailand, and the British Virgin Islands. She met many amazing people and gained a great level of experience along the way. She found herself falling in love with the BVIs, as many do, and now her love for the BVIs and the ocean has led her to pursue a life in the industry aboard Zingara.
Besides her love for the ocean, traveling, hiking, camping and drawing, one of Britney’s favourite pleasures is interacting with people. So, whether it’s exploring the BVIs or making a delicious cocktail Britney is at your service to make sure you have the most wonderful time with us.