Newport is going to have a beautiful spring weekend. Here are some great activities to make the most of it. The annual beach carnival is set-up at Easton’s (First) Beach off of Memorial Avenue. It’s got it all: ferris wheel, cotton candy, tilt-a-whirl.

On Friday night fireworks will be visible from Easton’s Beach. The Salve Regina University commencement will celebrating with them from 9:15 to 9:30. Congrats to the graduates!

On the racing scene, The Atlantic Cup will be having inshore racing in the harbor from about 12-4.

Soundtrack to Post: Trinidad Carnival

Passionata - dark chocolate couverture enhanced with actual gold leaf and filled with a tropical burst of passionfruit infused ganache. How good does that sound? This and 17 other delicious & beautiful handcrafted chocolates are now available for yachts through The Captain’s Concierge.

Made in Newport by a French pastry chef, these award winning European Chocolates are a perfect fit for a guest’s sweet tooth.  There are seventeen pieces. Some of our favorites:

Sunset: the glow of the setting sun interpreted on a milk chocolate couverture filled with a candied orange confit and caramel ganache
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Desire: to stimulate the senses, luscious strawberry and orange blossom Laurent Vals Jam covered in creamy white chocolate

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Odile: soft caramel infused with rosewater and lemon oil in rich dark chocolate, a heartfelt remembrance

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Check them all out here.  There are some combinations available for same day delivery. Custom collections require 48 hours notice. These are true artisanal delights that will dazzle your guests.

Soundtrack to Post: Kings of Pastry (trailer)

Check out these photos of the current harbor activity. Slowly Newport is awakening. Every marina has at least one yacht right now.

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S/v Encore at 41 North

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Classics at IYRS

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12 Meters ready for racing

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Newport Yacht Club

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s/v Looking for Elvis & s/v Whisper

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Harbor View West

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Harbor View East

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Atlantic Cup Race Boats

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Welcome back Ranger! Good luck in the J Class Regatta

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Soundtrack to Post: Antigua CLassics 2011

The Captain’s Concierge has joined the millions on Facebook.  Set-up as a business page, we have fans instead of friends.  There will updates about our summer season in Newport and a place for fans & yachties to connect with each other.

Next time you are logged into Facebook, please take the time to become our fan by visiting our page under The Captain’s Concierge.  Let your like-minded Facebook friends know about our fan page so they can join the fun.

Thanks for being a fan of The Captain’s Concierge.

P.S. Reverse welcome to followers of our blog who were fans on Facebook first!

Soundtrack to Post: I Made a New Friend by Topher

How do you get all the crew off the boat for a fun meal and evening when you are required for insurance & safety regulations to always have someone on watch? Call The Captain’s Concierge and we’ll arrange for a qualified person to be onboard standing watch. Yachts have used our watchkeeping services for:

• Post delivery/arrival crew dinner
• When the boss and guests want to take all the crew out as a thank-you
• Crew bonding & team building activities

This Saturday is Sail Newport’s Annual Shipwrecked Party. A premier event on every Newport yachtie’s social calendar. This year the theme is the 80′s. Anticipating a ton of great costumes – local thrift & resale shops are filled with great 80′s fashion.

The 80′s had so many great Pop & fashion moments – neon, Miami Vice, Madonna, Michael Jackson, big hair, slicked back hair, Billy Idol, punk rock, big hair bands, pink lipstick & blue eyeshadow. There will be prizes awarded a variety of costume categories.

There is also a silent auction that is being held right now online. It will conclude on Saturday night at the party. You don’t need to be present to participate. Cool prizes include artwork, jewelry & a sail on PUMA’s “mar mostro”.

At the party there will be great 80′s music, drinks and tons of fun. Hope to see you there!

For the more athletically inclined, there is a Mother’s Day 5K. The beautiful Ocean Drive course starts & finishes at Roger’s High School. It benefits the Newport Public Education Foundation. For more details checkout their website. This a good run to remember if you are looking for a certified 5K course with easy parking and beautiful low traffic route.

Call your Mom on Sunday for Mother’s Day!

Soundtrack to Post: Kim Cooper from Sail Newport for Sailing Anarchy’s Sailor Chick of the Week

You don’t need special tools to safely & easily crack eggs. A few tips:

1. Tap the eggs on a flat, clean surface i.e. cutting board or counter – don’t use the edge of the bowl because you have less control over the break and junk on the outside of the egg can be forced inside contaminating the white & yolk.
2. Open and ease out the white & yolk into a separate container such as a ramekin or bowl – you can remove any shells and prevent rotten eggs from entering the mix.
3. To separate yolk from white, juggle yolk back and forth betweenthe shells as the white drips into the container bowl/ramekin below.

Photos from around the Newport Shipyard – where all the action is happening & the location of our office:

s/v Rambler 100 (former s/v Speedboat)

Jimmy (Marine Hoisting Engineer) & his team

Fog hiding an empty mooring field

s/v Isabel

Brand New juxtaposed to Classic – New Puma and Classic Black Knight

s/v Scheherazade

s/v Keewaydin

s/v Axia

Please let us know when you are arriving in Newport!!!

Soundtrack to Post: The Boys are Back in Town – Thin Lizzy

Yacht crew agents are the professionals that liaison between crew looking for work and yachts needing crew. They are referred to as human resource experts, headhunters, matchmakers and leeches. With every service category some are great – others not so much. Crew Agents play an important role in the industry and will continue as the industry grows. While word-of-mouth and networks are helpful in a job search, there too many boats and people too busy to rely solely on a do-it-yourself approach.

Crew agents can get you your first break into the industry and help you along as your career progresses. Here are some tips to get the most out of this relationship:

• Legitimate crew agents are paid by the yacht/program which is great because it means no cost to you. Beware of scams that cost you money.
• Crew agents have limited resources to hold your hand – you need to work your job search.
• Fine-tune your CV to a yachting format: including picture, physical attributes, nationality, etc. If the agent has suggestions, make them.
• Register with agencies both online and in-person if possible
• Follow the agencies guidelines for office hours/drop-ins
• Agents have limited time to meet with crew so use your face time wisely and don’t waste their time. Time spent with you could be time spent talking with yachts and finding your next gig.
• Always dress and act professionally when visiting a crew agent.
• Check in frequently with online registry and update your status.
• While agents occasionally enjoy small gifts, be careful not to over do it. Muffins once a season when you check in=fine, visiting everyday with baked good=not cool
• Stay in communication with the agent after interviews – let them know how it went.
• If you accept a position and it turns out to be unacceptably different from what the agent thought the position would be and what you were told in the interview, contact the agent for assistance in getting out gracefully.
• As you advance in your career to position where you have the responsibility for hiring remember to use the agents who helped you.
• We are approaching the time of year when crew start moving around. The hotbed for European based yachts in Antibe, France. Most crew agents have offices there so if you looking for a job in the Med this summer that’s the place to be.

This Thursday is Bottled Water Free Day. The goal is to stop using single use pre-filled water bottles. There are many good reasons for you to make this change in your life and onboard. They are well explained in these videos:

• The Story of Bottled Water
• A Skwirl’s Eye View – Bottle VS Tap
• Galley Posting about the Fiji Water Controversy

Now that you are ready to go disposable bottle free, here are some tips to help you implement the change onboard:

• Excellent article from Dockwalk by Rubi McGrory that covers the basics
• Realize how much time and space you’ll be saving by switching
• Give your guests a taste test so they can decide for themselves – include information about how much better it is to use water from the tanks
• Use filters: they can be installed at the tap/shower head and tank
• Keep refillable water bottles in assorted sizes filled and chilled
• Use koozies, insulated sleeves and insulated bottles to keep the bottles at drinking temp
• Treat the water in the tanks so nothing nasty affects your water supply
• If you are using a water maker for your supply – you will be using less fuel to make water than you would in the making and transportation of single use bottled water
• There are many attractive styles of water bottles in assorted sizes and options for tops. These are some of our favorites:
• Sigg USA – many artistic designs
• Water.org – your purchase supports clean water projects around the world
• CamelBak – also makes water bladders
• Make sure your water bottles are BPA-free
• Clean and wash bottles – most are dishwasher shape

Another option is to get custom bottles that match your yacht’s color and decorating motif. This can include  printing of logos and custom artist painting and silk-screening. The Captain’s Concierge would love to help you switch over. We would much rather cart gorgeous reusable water bottles down to your boat than then endless cases of Poland Springs & Fiji.

Soundtrack to Post: Bruno Mars – The Lazy Song