LEXINGTON Yacht Charter

Captain: Bill Wassmer

Bill Wassmer:
Captain Bill learned to sail in Long Island Sound and raced in regattas up and down the sound (Manhasset Bay, Larchmont, Stamford, Cold Spring Harbor etc) from 9 years old until the end of high school. During college he raced on larger sailboats and even has skippered three 12-meter America's Cup yachts - Columbia, Heritage and American Eagle. At one point he was crewing for Ted Turner on American Eagle. Also during college Captain Bill was the head sailing instructor of Sagamore Yacht Club Junior Sailing Program in Oyster Bay New York with a summer sailing program of up to 85 kids and 20 plus one design sailboats. During this time, he also competed in Block Island Race, the New York Yacht Club races and the Newport/Bermuda race. In 1996 Captain Bill re-entered yachting on a 50-foot Gulfstar Viking motor yacht which he took from Portland, Oregon to Seattle, WA and then cruised Puget Sound and the lower British Columbia Pacific Coast. In 2006 the owner ordered a new 66-foot Grand Alaskan motor yacht which Captain Bill captained for 38,000 miles from Canada down the entire USA, Mexico and Central America pacific west coast then through the Panama Canal and north to the Cayman Islands around Cuba and returning to the USA at Key West and them north all the way to Maine. Captain Bill has taken M/Y LEXINGTON from Key West to Maine and back up and down the USA east coast 6 times as well as numerous side trips to the Bahamas, he is also a licensed pilot and can fly seaplanes. Captain Bill is also PADI Certified Open Water Diver.

Devon Pickard:
Devon’s passion for the ocean stemmed from an early love of wildlife conservation. He began a marine conservation internship in the Yucutan peninsula of Mexico. During his time here, exploring the beautiful reefs, Devon began his courses and graduated as a PADI Dive instructor, 9 months later. Following his adventures in Mexico, he took a job with Lahaina Divers in Maui. He spent the next few years as their lead dive instructor and repair technician. He taught and certified over 300 students in open water courses while maintaining the fleet of rental gear. During his time in Hawaii, he spent time working on sunset dinner cruises, whale watches, and snorkel tours. In 2018, he returned home to Texas, visited Fort Lauderdale and found himself drawn into the yachting world. His first position in the industry happened to be on LEXINGTON and he remained the first mate on board for 3 years. Here he obtained his USCG 100 ton license, and went on to captain another vessel for a Florida based family of fishing enthusiasts. Cruising 1000s of miles around the Bahamas, fishing and diving along the way, Devon reconnected with the LEXINGTON and is proud to be back as the rotational Captain. Devon is very familiar with the Bahamas and looks forward to taking your guests on the adventure of a lifetime!

Ranada Riley:
Chef Ranada started cooking with her family in their farmhouse kitchen in Hillsboro, Ohio. She learned from a long line of home cooks who put their heart and soul into their Southern based cooking. Her fondest memories included rolling egg rolls and tending a garden to canning corn and green beans with her mother when she was a small child, and most moms were making Hamburger Helper. Ranada learned to make a great roux and gumbo from her Irish father and the best breakfast and biscuits and gravy from her Eastern Kentucky grandmother. Ranada has traveled the nation and most recently internationally to cook beside some of the greatest chefs in the business. She has catered and cooked for multiple Grammy Music award winners, executives, sports teams and even a US President. As an independent restauranteur settled in Lexington KY, all three of Ranada's restaurants won multiple local and state awards from Taste of the Bluegrass Best Fine Dining to a three-time award winner for best new restaurant in Lexington, Kentucky. When Ranada stepped away from being a restaurant owner post-Covid, she boarded M/Y LEXINGTON and immediately out of the gate as a freshman yacht chef - brought a in a First-Place win with Best Cocktail at the Newport Charter Show in 2022. She loves listening to and playing music on her guitar, art, history, writing, and producing some creative meals sure to wow our guests on board. With the most stunning galley view, she loves early morning coffee with the crew and captain, but Ranada really enjoys connecting with our guests in the galley area to provide the best possible meals with every attention to stunning detail. She’ll even offer to teach our guests a thing or two so don’t hesitate to spend some time with her in the galley aboard M/Y LEXINGTON.

Louw Van Rooyen:
Louw is originally from Cape Town, South Africa and grew up on the coast. As a child, he quickly discovered that he was drawn to the sea. He would spend his spare time free diving, surfing and fishing. After high school, he followed his passion and joined the yachting industry, travelling on yachts through the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. Having been to over 15 countries, Louw is well travelled and speaks both English and his native tongue, Afrikaans. He holds a 200-ton captains license, a PADI dive certificate and is a certified jet ski instructor. He loves wildlife and spends significant time diving with both Tiger and Hammerhead Sharks and grew up with a pet monkey and a snake while his mom raised their two giraffes and five zebras. Louw looks forward to enhancing your time on LEXINGTON and would love to take you out fishing, set up a bonfire and introduce you to the world renowned South African barbeque experience.