November 25th, 2018
Some remarkable people have now joined the Berthon family. Berthon Spain’s MD Andrew Fairbrass has established a team of enthusiastic professionals with a passion for yacht refit and repair, and all things yachting. This close-knit team work together to provide a range of high quality services to Palma’s yachting community, from guardiennage, refits and projects, engineering, woodwork and painting – to much, much more.
Andrew is very proud of what he has achieved with his team. He says;
‘Many of Berthon Spain’s team members have been with me since I started Sentinel Yachting, now Berthon Spain, and they have grown with the business. As with any business it hasn’t always been plain sailing. I’m lucky enough to be backed up by a great group of people who are always flexible and hard-working and who understand that it’s not just a job, but that we have created something of which we can all be very proud. When I started the business we were working out of the lazarette of a yacht in Palma, with a small Fiat Panda which we used to cart tools and equipment around. Then we moved to our first workshop which was barely big enough to swing a cat around but yet we still managed to store countless tenders in and have a fully functioning workshop… My desk was almost buried at one stage, hidden under the tenders. We have since moved into our current, and much larger workshop, complete with rats! After successfully evicting the rats and spending countless hours painting, re-wiring and organising, it is now an incredible facility and with our newly refurbished office, it allows us to continue to expand, from 3 staff members in the early days to now approaching 10. The future is looking more and more exciting and we are delighted to be flying the Berthon flag in Spain!’
Andrew has spent his lifetime on and around yachts, and fell in love with the sport thanks to his parents at a very tender age. He was lucky enough to turn his passion into a lifelong career. There is not much he has not done on yachts, from crewing and captaining superyachts to engineering and electrical, and he is now leading Berthon Spain. Andrew’s wife Rowan, unsurprisingly also a keen, skilled sailor and navigator, plays a crucial part in the accounting and administration of the business.
Their eldest son, Arthur (aged 4) is already nuts about yachting. He is keen to hear all about Berthon Spain at the end of the day and accompanies his father on any yacht business whenever his free time allows. Reuben (aged 3) is also learning the ropes, as the family enjoys sailing the waters around Mallorca in their free time. Emmeline is the most recent addition to the Fairbrass crew now only 4 months. If you don’t find the Fairbrass family in the port or sailing, they will no doubt be paddle boarding one of the Island’s many secluded and beautiful coves.
Nick McMullen has worked with Andrew since the beginning and now runs the engineering department. Nick is an incredible engineer and inventor. He is well known and much respected in Palma, where he has worked on many superyachts. When unwinding from his work, Nick is a great inventor and has designed and made from scratch most of the furniture in his house and is currently working on a moulding oven and press for plastics and rubber. He and his wife Kristine have 2 small boys Ethan and Ryan.
Mason Jones has recently joined us from Oyster Palma. We are delighted that he has come to work with us as his mechanical knowledge and general engineer is exceptional. He has been there, done that and got the dirty t-shirt. Mason is an expert on engines, hydraulics, drive systems, shaft, rudder and keel removal and much more!
Richard Potts is another long standing member of the Berthon Spain team. He has been in the marine industry for 15 years and used to run his own boat maintenance company. Richard is a strong shipwright and engineer and his cheerful help is always very much appreciated by clients. Outside of work Richard is exercise mad and enjoys running, cycling and mountain climbing. He is off trekking to Everest base camp in December.
Mark Williams has now worked for us for over a year and has quickly moved up through the ranks and is now an integral part of our engineer department working close with Nick. He has a superb work ethic and always stays until the job is done. Also, with his background as a captain/engineer his boat knowledge is superb.
Richard Green is Berthon Spain’s electrical expert and an extremely capable engineer. Richard used to run Sunsail flotilla base camps and then went on to work on large superyachts as an ETO and engineer. He’s kept very busy during his time off by his new born son William and turning this new house into a home to share with his partner Nathalie.
Alice Dubini is Berthon Spain’s most amazing tri-lingual office manager, speaking Spanish, English and Italian (native). She works alongside Rowan to look after the accounts and all things administrative. A keen sailor herself, Alice gets out on the water whenever she can.
Addy Daly came to us from Palmawatch where she was their guardiennage manager and she has taken over this role with us in her stride. She is incredibly organised and is on top of every aspect of all the boats making sure we deliver the boats to our clients in tip top condition.
Melanie Román joined us in January this year and has been quickly learning the ropes as part of our valet team. She has been a breath of fresh air and her positivity and eagerness to learn is contagious, lifting all of our spirits when needed. Melanie is also an absolute perfectionist; our clients love her and so do we!
Ryan Smith has also recently joined the team after years of working on superyachts. He is proving to be an expert in anti-foul, polishing and is a key member of the guardiennage crew. Ryan is very conscientious and is learning new skills fast.
Maria Pavlova is our excellent interior cleaner, she has been with us since the very beginning and her attention to detail is astonishing.
Of course it’s not all just work… The Berthon Spain team DO find time to relax with clients in the sunshine…
Follow the link for more information about the strategic partnership between Berthon International and Berthon Spain (previously Sentinel Yachting) in Palma de Mallorca.
https://www.berthon.co.uk/berthon-blog/press-releases/the-berthon-group-expands-into-spain/
Contact andrew.fairbrass@berthonspain.com and/or sue.grant@berthon.co.uk.
