CAPTAIN: Jon Jeffreys, Wales
Captain Jon’s passion for sailing started with his father teaching him the ropes as a young boy in Wales. He began his sailing career as a flotilla skipper for SunSail and then spent five years as a skipper for The Challenge Business organization racing and training crew volunteers for round the world ocean races. He has been skippering private yachts since then. Jon has worked exclusively on sailing yachts including Elysian, Naos, Rebecca, Whisper, Sleighride and most recently, the classic Endeavour.

Jon has many years of experience and has made a career out of sailing yachts that has taken him around the world. Thus far Capt Jon has logged sea time hours in the Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, South Pacific and North Pacific Oceans, the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas the East Coast of the United States, Europe, Cuba, Newfoundland, Japan and New Zealand. In his repertoire of education, Jon holds an RYA Commercial license, a MCA Master Yachts 3,000 tons and an engineering degree from Imperial College in London. Before taking up a captains position fulltime Jon worked in engineering.

Captain Jon has logged over 115,000 miles at sea and has dealt with some extreme environments. High latitudes, ice, strong tides and stormy seas have all been part of Captain Jons tenure, as well as the relaxing cruise style of calmer warmer waters. Jon is a very capable yachtsman and loves to sail, but more importantly he is a regular guy who enjoys meeting new people, exploring new places and enjoying all that life has to offer. When enjoying time off he is likely to be found scuba diving, exploring, reading a good book or hanging out with his wife Bridget. With Captain Jon at the helm you are guaranteed to experience sailing and your chosen cruising grounds in unique and exciting way.

FIRST MATE: Chris Robson, Australia
Chris was born and raised in Sydney, Australia where he obtained a Diploma in Education. Before starting his career in teaching, Chris decided to take a year off to travel Australia. This short-term sabbatical turned into a 10 year career working in a hotel on the Great Barrier Reef. As the company expanded its chain of hotels so did Chris’s career culminating in his promotion to General Manager at the Crocodile Club Airlie Beach Australia.

Having access to some of the best diving in the world Chris has become a keen PADI open water diver, having completed over 200 dives in locations all over the world.

Robo began his career in yachting at 31 completing his first Atlantic crossing on the 92' Bella Adventure. He later moved on to become the First Mate on Catalyst where he spent two years cruising the Eastern Mediterranean and Alaska.

Chris continued his career and landed a position as First Mate on the famous J Class yacht Endeavour. On Endeavour he travelled the world visiting some of the yachting industries most sought after locations and he has now done over 15 Atlantic crossings.

During brief breaks from working on the ocean Chris remained involved with the yachting industry improving his skills on the refit side of the industry – he has worked on Rebecca, Windcrest, Keewaydin and most recently on AXIA.

Chris recently accepted a permanent position aboard Axia as First Mate. With Robo aboard guests are sure to feel in safe hands and to enjoy his lively, friendly Australian demeanor.

ENGINEER: Nick MacNae, UK
Nick has been sailing since he was a young boy. After following a traditional path through the British education system and graduating from University, he decided what he really wanted was to make a full-time career and home in the maritime field. He dipped his toes in the water doing yacht delivery work and finally found himself in the Super Yacht industry as an Engineer.

Outside of Yachting, Nick has travelled extensively including Poland, Turkey and India. He enjoys spending his spare time outdoors – he’s currently learning to play golf.

Qualified as both an engineer and a Yachtsman Nick will help to ensure that your time aboard AXIA is enjoyable!

CHEF: Brigid Rafferty, USA
Brigid developed a passion for cooking early on. As number eight out of nine siblings Brigid found herself helping her mom in the kitchen preparing meals for many from scratch.

While an undergraduate student at the University of Colorado her love of food and quality culinary experiences was heightened during a year abroad in Bordeaux. This is where Brigid says here pallet was born and the delicate way food is flavored gained her admiration. After ten years in corporate America as a financial consultant, she took the educational steps toward her career of choice; a Cordon Bleu chef.

Brigid has now been tearing it up in the galley for eight years and enjoys preparing a wide variety of cuisines including; fusion, Asian, Mediterranean, Italian and Greek just to name a few. But, what really makes her happy is cheffing for those who love to eat and appreciate fresh and flavorful cuisine. Her career in yachting has taken her throughout the Caribbean, Cayman Islands, Cuba, the Atlantic, Pacific, and the Mediterranean. Married to Captain Jon, Brigid is a competent sailor. When shes not in the galley she can be found on in or near the ocean. Brigid loves to scuba dive and snorkel. She also enjoys hiking and loves experiencing different cultures and languages. While onboard S/Y Axia Brigid is a sure bet on decadence, flavor and variety in your dining experience.
Download Brigid’s sample menus – Flavors from the Galley.

SENIOR STEWARDESS: Kristin Brock, USA
Kristi has spent most of her life in Rhode Island where there are more than 400 miles of coastline and over 100 beaches. Needless to say, she was a bit of a water baby. She was raised in Narragansett, not far from Newport – the “Sailing Capital of the World”, and attended the University of Rhode Island. During her senior year of college she caught the travel bug and enrolled in the Semester at Sea program. During her semester afloat, she sailed virtually around the world visiting 15 ports in 13 countries. The experiences she had during this time of her life are what drives her to seek new experiences today.

Most of Kristi’s jobs on the mainland have involved service on some level. She loves people, new experiences, the ocean and staying active – the sailing industry seemed the perfect fit to combine these attractions! Kristi has been at sea for a little over a year and still loves it. She is sure to bring a smile, a laugh and a great experience to you aboard AXIA.

STEWARDESS: Afric McKenna, Ireland
Aifric is AXIA’s friendly Irish gem. She was born and raised on the coast outside of Dublin. Aifric decided early on that the ocean was where she belonged, learning to sail at the early age of 10. Under the instruction of her father her life of ocean activities began. In 2003, she qualified as a dinghy instructor and subsequently spent a lot of her spare time teaching sailing. Following her love of adventure she embarked on a Diploma in Outdoor Adventure Management.

After completing her diploma she was keener than ever to turn this love for sailing into a permanent lifestyle. She travelled to Sydney, Australia and obtained a Yachtmaster Offshore ticket and then embarked on a six month adventure working in the Whitsundays as a Stewardess/Deckhand on an 80 Maxi yacht.

Aifric joined AXIA at the beginning of the Caribbean season and quickly proved her worth as a valued member of the team. She is happiest on the water, embarking on new adventures, and meeting new people. With her sailing experience and enthusiastic happy personality Aifric will make sure your time spent on AXIA is extremely comfortable, enjoyable and good fun.