Our sailing boat, the Phoenix, is a 45.2 ft Jeanneau Sun Odyssey from 2003. She is a spacious and stable ship with wide gangways and she has a large cockpit that suits up to 8 people. Other seats are at the side of the ship and on the nice cushions up front. Sailing is the most eco friendly way of cruising, reduce your footprint and come sailing with us!
Norman's passion for sailing relighted when he moved to Bonaire. As a kid he owned an 18ft sailboat but now it was time for something more serious. Norman started as crew at Compass Sailing in 2016 but was quickly promoted to captain. For the cruise season 2017-2018 he rented the Phoenix but he had more plans than the landlord liked. So Norman bought the Phoenix at the beginning of 2018 and started SoloBon Sailing. Skipper Norman is an entrepreneur who had several companies in different branches. Norman is a certified RYA Day Skipper, First responder & rescue diver, in possession of VHF certificate and never to old to learn much more!
Marco grew up sailing as a child and for many years was a sailing instructor on open sailboats in Friesland, the Netherlands.
Just before Marco left the Netherlands, he was certified for the "Small vessel certificate I and II" and VHF Certificate.
When Marco moved to Bonaire in 2017, he decided to hire himself as a crew or captain with various sailing companies. That's also when he met Norman on the Phoenix. Marco is a certified tour guide on Bonaire and started diving to explore the fantastic reefs of Bonaire. Currently he's PADI Emergency First Responder & Rescue diver certified. It's always fun to be in or on the water and learn something new.
In addition to being captain, Marco has also been the operational manager of SoloBon Sailing since 2022.
Bach, is our third captain and the man who can do almost anything. Always handy to have a guy like Bach on the team. He doesn't like to talk about himself unless you bring up motorcycles. Furthermore, Bach is a fan of diving and is therefore a Divemaster. Bach sails as captain on various vessels, but prefers to be behind the helm of the Phoenix.
Our crew is a worldly salsa with a lot of Dutch influence. Our enthusiastic crew members all have a passion for Bonaire, sailing and the right feeling for hospitality. The permanent team consists of Tsjitske, Esther, Daphne and Jochem, supplemented by a few great freelancers.
For our catering and private chef sailing cruises we work with chef Corjan Hoogerheide (Red Palm Village), chef Robert Reindsen (Chefs on Tour Bonaire) & chefs Han ten Winkel & Mark Tromop (Chefs Bonaire). We have Bonaire's best chefs preparing your Tasty Bites in a mix with some home made and typical Dutch products. Our goal is to give you a culinary surprise on board. Dishes you don't expect, all made and prepared with passion. Most of the catering comes from the hand of Corjan (daily chef at Red Palm village) who is also our main chef on board. Do you want a chef on board? Let us know and pamper you culinary!
We operate with several professional dive partners on Bonaire. Beyond the Corals takes care of the dive operation on all the sail & dive charters. They have a pro-staff of enthusiastic dive masters and instructors that will provide you a safe and pleasant dive. On our Magic Night Snorkel tour Emma joins the team most of the time and for the weekly Sunset & night snorkel, skipper Norman (Padi rescue diver) will jump in the water to guide you.
If you like to do a Padi dive course or specialty (like boat dive). We love to organize this for you with Beyond The Corals!
