SERENA
- Amenities Details
- 7-Night Rates
- Availability
- Specifications
Hull number 1 of Beneteau's new line of 62 ft sloops, Serena is style, grace and comfort under sail.
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Offered via rendezvous only
- 2 Guests: $21,500
- 3 Guests: $22,500
- 4 Guests: $23,500
- 5 Guests: $0
- 6 Guests: $0
- 2 Guests: $21,500
- 3 Guests: $22,500
- 4 Guests: $23,500
- 5 Guests: $0
- 6 Guests: $0
- 2 Guests: $23,500
- 3 Guests: $24,500
- 4 Guests: $25,500
- 5 Guests: $0
- 6 Guests: $0
- 2 Guests: $23,500
- 3 Guests: $24,500
- 4 Guests: $25,500
- 5 Guests: $0
- 6 Guests: $0
Christmas week: Up to 4 guests: US$25,700 New Years week: Up to 4 guests: US$27,900 Please enquire w/ crew for 5 & 6 pax charters. 5 & 6 pax charters are at half-board only & use forepeak cabin, or for $600/night, the third guest suite is available. Forepeak available at no additional fee. __________________ <b>STAY & SAIL OPTIONS WITH VILLA SERENA</b> Villa Serena is located on Water Island, St. Thomas, and at 4700 sq ft, features 3 guest bedrooms and 2 baths, with pool. <u>Please enquire for Villa website.</u> 4 + 3 or 3 + 4 nights combination, with stays beginning at Villa Serena and then embarking aboard Serena. Minimum charters on the yacht are 3 nights. It would be 7-nights all-inclusive. Both the villa and the yacht are "fully crewed", using a pre-vacation preference sheet. The rates would include all meals, beverages, etc as Serena does on the yacht, plus daily cleaning and concierge services (booking massages at the house, organizing activities, reservations, etc). The Stay & Sail combo is offered for up to 6 guests, with no additional charge on the yacht for the 3rd cabin. The all inclusive base rates are: <b>Two guests:</b> 4 nights Villa Serena & 3 nights Yacht Serena: US$21,300 <b>Four guests:</b> 4 nights Villa Serena & 3 nights Yacht Serena: US$24,350 <b>Six guests:</b> 4 nights Villa Serena & 3 nights Yacht Serena: US$27,400 Stay & Sail Chrismas week: +10% and New Years week: +18%
Summer Base Port:US Virgins
Summer Operating Area:Caribbean Virgin Islands (US/BVI), Caribbean Virgin Islands (US), Caribbean Virgin Islands (BVI)
Winter Base Port:US Virgins
Winter Operating Area: Caribbean Virgin Islands (US/BVI), Caribbean Leewards, Caribbean Virgin Islands (US), Caribbean Virgin Islands (BVI)
Location Details:Based Red Hook, St. Thomas Also available for Leeward Islands charters enquiries.
Check Charter Availability by Month
April 2026
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Yacht layout
Specifications
Locations
Red Hook
Amenities
Water Sports
Other Toys
- Year Built 2017
- Length 63 ft.
- Designer Beneteau
- Cabins 3
- Maximum Guests 6
- Starting From $18,000
*2 Guests, 5 Nights with Half-Board Meal Package
Got a Question? We’ve Got Answers.
Meet our Crew
Capt. Hugh O'Brien -
Born in England and then lived in more than a dozen countries across Europe, Asia and the Americas. Now a permanent US Resident living in the Caribbean & Florida, predominantly in the US and British Virgin Islands.
Hugh started competitive sailing and ocean racing in the UK & France in 1987 (36 years of ocean sailing experience). He com¬pleted his intensive Royal Yachting Association (RYA) YachtMaster 500 Ton Sail & Power Commercial License in 2002 at the presti¬gious UK Sailing Academy and worked as a Captain & Chef in commercial yachting in the Cayman Islands, Virgin Islands, USA & Japan. Hugh also ran 5 Star Sailing with a 50 ft Beneteau Sloop as a Captain Chef in the Virgin Islands from 2007-2011.
A 20-year career in Marketing & Sales for American IT & Database companies saw Hugh working in some 20 countries and heading up operations in Europe, US, Asia & Latin America.
From 2018-2022, Captain Hugh owned and operated Ocean Star 60, a 60 ft Beneteau sloop. Having worked with Chef Vivi on Ocean Star 60, they have since become partners in Serena Yacht Charters, LLC, and operate the 63-ft sloop Yacht Serena, their new Beneteau Oceanis Yacht 62. Yacht Serena is the Hull #1 of Beneteau’s ultimate Oceanis Yacht cruiser series and has many extras, including a carbon fibre Code 0 racing sail.
Hugh attended culinary classes and schools in France, Japan and America, and specializes in Mediterranean, Latin American and Asian fresh food dishes with premium ingredients.
Hugh is a light social drinker but nonsmoker, no drugs, no criminal record, clean licenses and a broad sense of humor especially when trying to catch fish!
Vivianne Swietelsky
Chef/First Mate Ocean Star
Vivianne, or “Chef Vivi” is based in Water Island, USVI and Coconut Grove, Miami. She is known for her authentic interpretations of the world’s great cuisines – American, Mediterranean, Southeast Asian, and Latin American, and her signature fusion MediterrAsian cuisine. She is also makes amazing desserts and is an inspired cocktail mixologist.
For as far back as she can remember, Chef Vivi has been passionate about food and the artistry of its preparation. Born in the U.S. to an Italian father and a Venezuelan mother, she has travelled all over the world and lived in the United States, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Mexico, and the Caribbean and is fluent in five languages. Her family life revolved around the enjoyment of great food and her mother taught her to cook instinctually, from the heart. Chef Vivi built upon this foundation and has expanded her culinary knowledge and skills over the years.
Chef Vivi attended different culinary schools around the world and studied Hospitality Management at the Florida International Universi¬ty’s School of Hospitality & Tourism. She has been a restaurant Pastry Chef, owned her own upscale Miami catering company, “Truffles Catering”, and worked as Private Chef for HNWI in both private homes and on charter yachts.
Another one of Chef Vivi’s passions is sailing, and she has enjoyed working on sailboats around the world. She also has an ASA Certificate for Offshore Sailing gained in the U.S. Virgin Islands and has owned and operated several Beneteau yachts.
After working as Yacht Chef with Captain Hugh on Ocean Star 60, Vivianne and Hugh became partners in 2023 and now operate Serena Yacht Charters, LLC on their beautiful 63-ft Beneteau sloop, Yacht Serena. Yacht Serena is a very special yacht: she is the Hull #1 of Beneteau’s ultimate luxury Oceanis Yacht 62 cruiser series. Vivianne has enjoyed refitting Yacht Serena with many upscale amenities, including FRETTE sheets and towels, Lanvin products, and Bose sound systems in every cabin.
What Vivianne enjoys the most about being a Private Yacht Chef is the daily interaction with her guests and the pleasure of creating wonderful memories for them. She really loves the feeling of serving wonderful food, drinks, and delivering excellent service on gorgeous Yacht Serena. Her and Captain Hugh’s motto about their guests is, “it’s all about you, all the time”. Nothing matters more to them than delivering a five-star experience and exceeding even the highest expectations.
Guest Testimonials
Late March guests aboard SERENA wrote:
The food on the Serena exceeded our expectations by three times. Consistently better than any 5 star restaurant by far. Each and every breakfast lunch dinner and desert.
Over the top. And nice people as well.
First guests of the 2025-2026 season, they wrote of their charter aboard SERENA:
Capt Hugh & Chef Vivianne,
What an experience!! Loved the trip, the stops, the food, the stories and above all, the sailing.
The hospitality was superb and the food out of this world.
This has been an exceptional experience and a true bucketlist trip. Thanks for letting me drive Serena from BEYC to White Bay, reminding me how much my soul needs sailing and the sea. Truly reinvigorated!
Hud & “Rolly”
Jacksonville
And...
Capt Hugh & Chef Vivi,
Thanks for an amazing trip, especially the two full days of sailing & the menu created by Vivi!
The long sails, dining, snorkeling, and food were tremendous.
As a group, we all agreed Hugh was a one-man comedy show. And to watch him jump into action — jack of all trades — fix any and everything was a feat to watch.
Additionally, his grasp of all things about the voyage, wealth of information (delivered in a humorous banter) was amazing. At no time were we bored — nothing but great dialogue, restful sails, and great sleep.
5 stars from this windward traveler!
Jack & Wendy
Wilmington
Guests aboard the 63 ft sloop SERENA for the last week of January, 2025, said:
Captan Hugh and Vivi,
Yacht Serena and the both of you werejust what the Dr. ordered! Even though things got a little crazy back home, you helped us unplug and relax. The accommodations were perfect. Your meals and cocktails were fantastic - even going out of the way to find special treats! Hugh has the best stories. We can't wait to come back and hear some more! Thank you for taking us to the most charming spots in the US & British Virgin Islands.
Sarah & Reza
St. Louis
Mid January, 2025, guests aboard the Beneteau 63 sloop SERENA said:
Dear Captain Hugh and Vivianne,
After many decades without sailing, this was the exact experience we were looking for. The scenery and the food… amazing! We’ll not soon forget the awesome dinners on deck under a full moon, just soaking in the beauty and flavor of the islands. But it was the sailing we came for, and that did not disappoint! We loved the informal racing with opponents that may not have even known they were in a race. We felt like accomplished winners with every win.
November 2024 guests aboard SERENA said:
Capt. Hugh and Chef Vivi -
Thank you for an unforgettable six days! the laid-back rhythm of the trip - waking up to a new island every day and embracing the beauty of "go-with-the-flow" adventure - was exactly the kind of relaxation we needed.
The food was absolutely outstanding. A special highlight was the incredible ceviché made from fish we caught together... After many days of trying.
This is the first of many charters together... See you in Italy!!!
The Leland party
Mid-June, 2024, guests aboard SERENA wrote:
This charter has been truly phenomenal. We sailed this gorgeous ship. We snorkeled glorious reefs. We saw squid, shark, puffers - things we've never experienced before. The Virgin Islands are amazing, but what truly makes Serena remarkable are its owners. Between Vivi's amazing meals and Hugh’s enchanting stories this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We feel like we've added family, we have enjoyed our time with Hugh and Vivi so much. The Pittman/ Baldwin/ Tolliver group are so grateful for the memories we've made this week. We will miss this beautiful area when we head back to Detroit, but we will miss these remarkable people even more.
Heather Pittman
P.S. Our nighttime sing-a-longs were epic! Best parties ever!
Captain Hugh and Vivi are Masters of Improvisation and Adaptation. The previous page covers what a fantastic week this has been. Adding to that is that we have 5/6 guests with various allergies, and the food was high end restaurant quality even when 3-4 different platings/ingredients were juggled. Vivi and Hugh adapted to our schedule of being late sleepers, and we still maximized our two main focci, Snorkeling and Sailing.
We saws how much effort this took, and we appreciate it!
Thank you.
Neil Pittman
Mid April, 2024, guests aboard SERENA wrote:
Thank you Hugh!! Words cannot express how much we loved our time aboard Yacht Serena with you & Vivi…. truly the trip of a lifetime!!
Early February, 2024, charter guests aboard SERENA said:
Including 85-years young Dad, see the hand-written comments below.
Fan Mail from recent charter guests
Fan Mail from recent charter guests for yacht SERENA, the new Beneteau 63 sloop.
