Crew Profiles:
Jason Collier (Captain)

Jason was born just outside of Richmond, Virginia in Hanover County. Growing up, he loved being
outdoors, spending time with family and friends, but always felt particularly drawn to the sea. The
experience that solidified his love of sailing and for sharing memories together on the water began in
Punta Gorda, Florida where at 19, he spent a week on a 32’ Hunter Sailboat learning to sail and
completing his ASA 101-104 certifications. It was at this point he knew that he had a true passion for
the sea and went on to join the U.S. Navy, enrolling in the “Quartermaster A-School”, an intense
navigation curriculum. During his time in the Navy, he worked aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower as
an assistant to the navigator, sailing overseas and exploring both the Persian Gulf and Europe.
Throughout this time, his love for the sea, sense for adventure and desire to travel only grew.
After Jason’s time in the Navy, he returned to his home-state of Virginia and started Captain
Collier’s Seafood with his family where he was able to bring a little of the ocean he loved so much to
his customers. Additionally, he started working as a Realtor. Throughout this time, he raised a son, now
26, worked the day to day, seeking adventure wherever he could, but always found his way back to the
ocean.
In 2020, itching to get back on the water since Covid, weekend fishing trips on the river proving
never enough, Jason joined SailTime in Norfolk, VA, a fractional boat ownership program which allowed
him unlimited access to a 2018 Beneteau 35.1 called the Blue Angel. And by the Fall of 2021, Jason had
signed up as crew to sail the NARC on a 65’ Nautor Swan and made the 2000nm journey from Newport,
RI to St Maarten. After spending some time in the Caribbean and falling in love with its crystal blue
waters, Jason decided he was ready for a life change and flew back to VA to wrap up that chapter of his
life.
By March of 2022, finally ready to fully pursue his passion, Jason made the move to the U.S.
Virgin Islands to take the helm as captain of his own destiny and share his love of the sea and sailing
with others. He worked the first several months as a day captain, before an opportunity to explore the
role of term charter captain arose. By October 2022, he had landed a seasonal contract aboard Ithaka, a
2022 Bali 5.4 where he could utilize both his existing skill set and outgoing personality he found he
could really shine.
The USVI offers him the opportunity to enjoy the Caribbean's tropical blue waters and sunshine
everyday while snorkeling with sea turtles and exploring the best coral reefs and dive sites. His goal as
your Captain is to keep you safe, keep the boat safe, well-maintained and sea worthy, and to share with
guests the wonders of the ocean and all the secret gems that make this place that has captured his
heart and soul, so special.
Jason holds a USCG 100-ton Masters Captain’s license with sailing endorsement, his STCW with
security awareness, is CPR certified, ASA 101-104 certified and has clocked over 5000 hours of sea
time. He is also a certified diver and is always hunting for lobster! He promises the safety of all guests
on board is his top priority as is showing everyone an amazing time on the water!



Jennifer Sutton (Chef and Mate)

Jennifer is a fun-loving, competent sailor with a thirst for adventure who enjoys sharing her love
of the ocean and sailing with others while also keeping their bellies full of fresh, healthy, and delicious
food! Prior to entering the charter industry, she obtained 5 sailing certifications- just for fun,
participated in several bareboat charters experiences from Vancouver to St Lucia, a handful of coastal
boat deliveries in the northeast (usually as token navigator,) and spent many years of recreational
racing in the chaotic NY Harbor and Long Island Sound. Originally from Michigan, one of 7 children, the
eldest daughter, she learned to swim before she could walk and as a result was always comfortable in
and drawn to, the water. Growing up in the Great Lake State, boating was a natural part of life. Cruising
around the many local lakes, waterskiing with her siblings, fishing with her father, were commonplace
but sailing was just something she’d seen in movies, witnessed from afar, a childhood dream she
wouldn’t fulfill until moving to NYC in her 20s where until moving to the Caribbean, she had spent most
of her life.
While in NY, after a stint as a live-in nanny at which point she had decided to stay, she dabbled
in corporate America (long enough to know she didn’t belong in an office), first as an Executive
Assistant and later as an HR/Recruitment Specialist, until her love for film and photography led her to
working on independent films and ultimately to pursuing a career as a Professional Photographer,
which became her main focus.
It wasn’t until the one year anniversary of 911, upon meeting the chairman of the NYC
Community Sailing Organization who had invited her to come out sailing in the NY Harbor to take
photographs for the club, that her journey into sailing truly began. As the daughter of an electrical
engineer, it did not take long to make the transition in mindset from casual recreational sailing to
needing to understand how things work. By the following year, she had set out to acquire every
certification offered by the American Sailing Association, she could, and by 2006 through multiple
learning charter experiences throughout the Gulf Islands of Vancouver as well as the leeward islands
of the Caribbean, she had obtained ASA 101-ASA 106. She is still looking for someone to teach her
Celestial Navigation, a course rarely offered these days with the inception of digital technology and
GPS.
Throughout her 20s and 30s, with NYC as a base, Jennifer traveled extensively, worked at one of
Manhattan’s top wedding/event photography studios, added a small jewelry business to her repertoire,
and managed several home renovation projects and Airbnbs while also discovering an appreciation for
good food and wine. Growing up in a large family, helping her mother in the kitchen and her father in
the garden, developing a taste for cooking and a love for fresh food was second nature. But it was
through international travel and living in NYC, a cultural melting pot of people and cuisine, that
expanded her palette for interesting, creative dishes and sparked her desire to build upon her own
culinary skills and experiment with flavors, which heightened her joy of cooking.
In 2018, Jennifer was ready for her next adventure. Her undeniable love of the water led her
first, to accepting a position as yacht broker in southern Massachusetts and ultimately, to the USVI to
pursue a crew opportunity which arose in December 2018. An opportunity to not only ‘Crew” on a
sailboat charter, but to also play “Chef” and she hasn’t looked back. This is her 5th season as a Charter
Chef. Based primarily in St Thomas, she has chartered throughout the BVI, the Bahamas, St Maarten, St
Barths, and Anguilla. Sailing embodies all the things Jennifer loves most about life; being on the water,
close to nature, going with the flow, and the exploration of off-the-beaten-path places. Working as a
Charter Chef has proven to be the perfect blend of her acquired life skillset and enables her to
combine the things she loves most; hosting, itinerary planning, and making others happy through
shared experiences and coming together to enjoy a meal. She enjoys sharing this passion with others
and says that nothing makes her happier than hearing from a charter guest that she has helped them
fulfill a bucket list adventure they will never forget.
Jennifer holds ASA certifications 101-106, STCW, CPR, NASLBA: Navigational Skills and Safety,
and has logged over 10,000 miles at sea. Her focus is on safety and the guest experience and she is
currently pursuing her USCG Captains license. She divides her time between family in Michigan and in
NY, St Thomas where she has been based for work, and her home in Vieques, PR where she continues to
hone her self-taught culinary skills as well as cultivate personal photography projects.