Captain: Michael Conway
British - 46
Michael has been involved in yachting since July of 1987, moving swiftly through the ranks from deckhand to Chief Officer and eventually to Captain in 1995. Prior to his engagement on board ILLUSION he has been Master on two very busy 43 metre charter yachts Legend of Tintagel & Lady Christine and was Master on board the 58 meter Midnight Saga for four and a half years.
During his career he has cruised worldwide and so far during his eight year tenure on board ILLUSION has cruised extensively in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean completing charters and Owner's cruises successfully in both areas. Michael holds a 3000 grt Commercial Master Yacht certificate. His hobbies and interests include scuba diving, playing & watching football, & playing music.
Second Captain: Julian Legg
British - 51
With over half a million sea miles under his belt, Captain Julian has a wealth of experience which started back in 1974, when he first went to sea on a shark fishing boat out of Falmouth, a small fishing town in the South West of England. His first command was a fishing boat at the ripe old age of 15, and he has never looked back since.
Twenty years in the British Merchant Navy took him all over the world, followed more recently, by some ten years in command of various spectacular yachts and commercial passenger "tall" ships around the Caribbean and Mediterranean. Captain Julian qualified as a deep sea Master Mariner many years ago, he is very professional and has a friendly personality coupled with a great sense of humour and love of the sea.
Chief Officer: Thomas (Tom) Glanville
British - 42
Tom has been working in the yachting industry for over 7 years having been a sailor all his life. He soon became a skipper on smaller sailing yachts before moving to the chief officer position on motor yachts. He has extensive experience of Mediterranean and Caribbean waters as well as the Atlantic coast of Europe. Before joining Illusion, Tom was Chief Officer on the 43m classic motor yacht Lady Goodgirl for over two years and holds the MCA Chief Mate 3000 tonnes qualification.
2nd Officer: Craig Phillips
New Zealand - 32
Craig has been involved in luxury yacht construction since March 2000, after completing his apprenticeships at Alloy Yachts and McMullen & Wing. This has stemmed from joining the sea scouts in New Zealand at the age of 8. He holds a RYA Yacht master offshore certificate with several years of experience at sea to date. His interests include team sports, water sports, wind surfing, sailing fishing, diving, music, traveling and cooking.
Deckhand: Daniel Abbot
New Zealand - 24
Dan has worked as a deckhand on yachts of various sizeds from about 35 to 90 meters for about 3 years prior to joining Illusion and is now enjoying his first season on board Illusion. Dan is a very outgoing person with a passion for travelling. Dan plays and composes his own music.
Deckhand: Alexander Jones
New Zealand - 24
Alex has always loved the sea whilst growing up in Scotland with a passion for water sports and fishing. Before joining Illusion Alex spent a season working as a deckhand on a 22 meter motor yacht cruising in the Mediterranean... Alex also has an interest in engineering as well as deck, so hasn't decided which route to take, but wants to pursue a career in the yachting industry.
Chief Engineer: Eddie Manners
British - 51
Eddie joined the British Royal Navy at seventeen and completed 22 years service... He studied mechanical and electrical engineering. He served his entire Royal Navy career on fast patrol craft and mine sweepers specializing as as an engineer. After leaving the Royal Navy, Eddie became a long distance truck driver, but after a little while, the lure of the sea became too great to ignore, and Eddie returned to engineering in the yachting industry in 2005.
Second Engineer: Diego Varron
Philipines - 47
Diego studied Marine Engineering at Cebu Central College in the Philippines where he successfully obtained his engineering degree. He served as an apprentice on passenger ships for two years before moving onto cargo vessels for a further 6 years.
At 29, he moved into the yachting industry where during the last 13 years he has worked on such vessels as the 65 meter Esmeralda, MY Lousiana and has so far spent 9 years working on board Illusion
Chief Stewardess: Deborah Brand
Australian - 37
Deborah spent many years in Australia in the hotel industry, working her way up to Manager of some of the best known restaurants in the Tropical Whitsunday Islands. Seeking a new challenge, Deborah decided to further her career and experience on the high seas.
Now, 10 years on and with several years experience in the yachting industry Deborah looks forward to welcoming guests to Illusion, and will do everything possible to make our guests have an unforgettable holiday onboard. Her interests include yoga, photography and travel journalism.
Second Stewardess: Shelley Butler
British - 22
Shelley joined the yachting at the young age of 18 & has now been in the industry for 4 years. During her time in the industry, she has been on 5 boats ranging from 40m to 60m both busy charter and private, and has travelled all around the Mediterranean. Her favourite place to cruise so far has been Corsica and the Amalfi coast. However this will be her first time in the Caribbean and she is very excited to experience new places and different cultures. It was her passion for hospitality and travel that led her to join the industry in the first place, all stemming from her first weekend job in a 5 star hotel as a silver service waitress.
Coming from the Midlands she couldn't have grown up further away from the sea, but as soon as she stepped onto a boat she fell in love with the ocean. Shelley loves yachting so much she plans to be sailing the seas for years to come and hopes one day to become a Chief Stewardess. Her interests include music, reading and the theatre.
Stewardess: Jessica Fox
New Zealand - 27
Having grown up spending summers living on her family Catamaran, Jessica finally made the jump from over 10 years in hospitality, into the yachting industry this year. Jessica is passionate about travel and loves meeting new people. She also enjoys dabbling in photography and design, running, films and live music.
Head Chef: Michael Martin
Australian - 41
Michael has been a chef for over 20 years, starting his training at "Stephanies" restaurant in Australia. He then moved to Europe to combine his two passions of travel and cooking... When Mike arrived in France, he discovered the luxury yachting industry and has been a chef on yachts of various sizes for the past ten years. Before joining the Illusion team, Mike worked on various yachts in the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Mexico...
Second Chef: Mark Reid
British - 41
Mark, our second chef hails from London, England, and has been working as chef for over 20 years and has been working mostly in London, in hotels, restaurants and private members clubs. He has travelled around the world back-packing for a few years, going to the far east, Australasia and South Africa.
Mark is an avid reader, loves scuba diving and follows Arsenal football club! He is also known as a bit of a pool shark. He has been in yachting for over 5 years and sees it as the perfect job for continuing to see the world and his passion for cooking.
Professional & International Yacht Crew