Back to Serengeti Captain CHRIS FAGAN Chris was born in Boston and grew up on the shores of Charleston, SC on Folly Beach. He spent his youth on the ocean and rivers boating, surfing, swimming, fishing, sailing and otherwise exploring the great outdoors. Chris has a black belt in Shaolin Kung Fu, and a B.A. in biology from Winthrop University. After college and a professional citybased position at a popular Charlotte radio station, Chris spent nearly 2 years as a performing acoustic musician, doing weekly shows around the southeast US. The ocean life officially “called” in ’07 when Chris landed a deckhand position on the expedition yacht Whale Song, circumnavigating the globe. Onboard he explored Japan, the Philippines, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and landed in Australia. He has since served on yachts and expedition vessels all over the Mediterranean, Caribbean, East and West coast US, and Alaska. Over the last 8 years Chris moved up the ranks by serving on motor yachts Martha Ann, Katya, and Harbour Island all over the Mediterranean and Caribbean. He served as 2nd officer on M/Y Alucia in Alaska and on Big Zip in New England and the Bahamas as First Officer. Chris served as First Officer and Relief Captain on M/Y Serengeti for 2 years before being promoted to Captain in 2015. He’s helped complete 4 busy seasons of adventure-based charter in Alaska as well as transiting up and down the west coast of the US and Mexico. Now in Chris’s 5th summer in “the last frontier” he’s ecstatic to share Alaska’s many wonders and adventures with Serengeti’s summer guests! First Officer: JOHN DWYER III John hails from Little Compton, RI a small fishing village in Southern New England. Growing up in the Ocean State he naturally had a love for the water. During his summers in high school and College he worked as a Life Guard at a local beach. After graduating college in 2008 he planned to become a teacher but couldn’t turn down an opportunity to work on a yacht. Since 2009 John has cruised the Eastern and Western Mediterranean, Bahamas, Caribbean, New England, East Coast of the US and has completed eight Transatlantic Crossings. John is an avid outdoorsmen. He enjoys spear fishing and has hiked many of the National Parks across the USA, most recently the ”Big 5” of Utah. He plans to explore all of the US National Parks one day. Serengeti’s first officer couldn’t be more excited to join Serengeti as wilderness and fishing guide on the many Alaskan adventures to come. Chief Stewardess: ANNA KOSTENKO Anna, Serengeti’s Ukranian-born chief stewardess, was raised in America’s beautiful pacific northwest with her family. Her passion for travel grew at a very young age as she ventured back and forth regularly to visit family in Europe. Upon completing school in Washington State, her call to international travel and expert service called, and she was recruited to join M/Y Norwegian Queen as a junior stewardess. Within a year Anna had worked her way up to chief stewardess and subsequently traveled all over the Mediterranean, Caribbean and the US northeast over the next 6 years. Anna took time off in 2014 to marry her long-time sweetheart in Seattle, during which time she took her passion for fitness and service to become a highly successful Pure Barre instructor all over the Seattle area. Anna has a real knack for providing her guests with a warm and welcoming environment, positive energy and a passion to bring the most memorable experience possible while onboard Serengeti. During Anna’s time off she can be found backpacking and exploring the great outdoors, camping, running, and teaching Barre. Anna truly looks forward to being a part of your unforgettable experience onboard Yacht Serengeti! Chef: NICOLE LaFORGE Chef Nicole joins us from Santa Barbara, California. Nicole feels extremely fortunate to have been born into an international family. Her ingrained desire to travel led Nicole to study Romance Languages at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, during which time she spent several years abroad studying the languages in France and Spain. She coincidentally fell in love with food and decided to pursue her dream of cooking as a professional. Nicole completed culinary school at Tante Marie in San Francisco in 2011 and has since been traveling the globe as a chef on superyachts. Her culinary passion has led her to work in every possible yachting destination from Norway to Nova Scotia, from Greece to the Caribbean. Nicole now joins Serengeti after a year-long voyage on a 69m sailing yacht through the south Pacific islands to New Zealand. Nicole brings a healthy, fresh and nourshing cooking style to Serengeti, incorporating all the wonderful local seafoods Alaska has to offer. She takes great pride in tailoring her menus to the dietary needs of her guests onboard! Stewardess: KYLE MacDONALD Kyle joins Serengeti from Mattapoisett, a quaint seaside town in Massachusetts. After high school Kyle decided to venture out for a taste of big city life when she left to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York city. She earned a bachelors in marketing and advertising and continued to work in several large US cities before a life on yachts drew her back to the sea. Kyle has traveled all over the Caribbean and eastern US over the last 2 years and couldn’t be more excited to join Serengeti onboard this summer in Alaska. Kyle’s enthusiasm and tireless commitment to excellent service are sure to help make everyone’s stay onboard an unforgettable one! In her free time Kyle loves exploring, swimming, running kickboxing and reading. Deckmate: GEORGE FINAMORE George hails the Pocono Mountains, in northern Pennsylvania. He spent his childhood canoeing and water-skiing on the hundreds of miles of lakes nearby. George studied engineering at university in PA when, shortly after, he was offered an opportunity he couldn’t pass up to join a motor yacht out on the high seas. George brings a great love of fishing to the crew and looks forward to helping provide all of Serengeti’s guests with the trip of a lifetime! George’s maritime experience has taken him all over- up and down the east and west coast of the USA and down to Mexico. In his spare time he’s mountain biking the nearest trail or planning his next cross-country motorcycle trip. Chief Engineer: JONATHAN KNOLL Jon hails from Florida’s “Waterfront Wonderland,” Cape Coral. He spent his childhood on the shores of The Netherlands in Zuid, Holland where he was exposed to sailing the North Atlantic seas making frequent trips to England with his family. At the age of eight, Jon’s parents and brother took up home aboard the sailing vessel “Jomary”, a 36’ Vancouver. The Knoll family spent a year at sea in Europe, the Caribbean and the Bahamas before settling in Florida. Having completed his first transatlantic crossing at such a young age, it was only natural that he would find himself involved with the Edison Sailing Center in Fort Myers, learning to sail and racing small craft and later coaching younger children. While in high school, Jon juggled coaching a Junior Olympic sailing team, winning two state championships with the Mariner High School Silver Magic Drum Line and working a part time job as an apprentice at the Hinckley warranty company. Jon received his Captain’s license at the age of 18. Since then he has worked on a variety of yachts in the capacity of project manager, deck officer and engineering officer. He has also worked land based as a team leader to diesel mechanics, world-class machinists and engineers to repurpose truck engines on eco-friendly directional drilling platforms. During his career in the professional maritime industry Jon has travelled extensively through the Caribbean islands, the Bahamas, Central America, and the eastern US coastline. Jon has strong passions for traveling, mountain biking, hiking, exploring, playing guitar, and most of all, learning. Jon is ecstatic to be part of the Serengeti team- to provide his skills to make your stay on board an absolute pleasure.