Kapalua Crew Profile

October 2009:

Captain

Australian Captain Ken Maff, age 34, holds a 3000 ton MCA Master Class License and is fully STCW-95 compliant.  He is also a SAMS associate surveyor and ABYC certified.  A veteran with over 100,000+ miles at sea, his 15 year yachting career has taken him along the coasts of the United States, the Caribbean, the Eastern and Western Mediterranean, the South Pacific by way of the Panama Canal, Australia and Indonesia.

 Ken’s last command was aboard a 115 Christensen Motor Yacht EXUMA C which he delivered from Monaco, Europe to Ft. Lauderdale, USA via Gibraltar, Las Palmas, Antigua, St. Martin, and St Thomas.  Prior to that, Ken ran a 108’ Mangusta Water Jet, Motor Yacht LADY SHEILA which chartered throughout the Caribbean and Mediterranean.  Prior to LADY SHEILA, he was Captain aboard the Azimut built Motor Yacht CAROBELLE, for which he completed an extensive rebuild before cruising the East coast of the United States through Mexico, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, and the Panama Canal. 

His passion for the ocean began at a very young age diving and fishing with his father.  After graduating from University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aquaculture, he entered the marine profession working on salmon, trout, mussel, oyster and tuna farms in Australia while attaining his professional Diving and Captain Licenses. After traveling through Europe, he pursued an interest in the yachting industry and obtained various assignments in France aboard LADY IN BLUE, MILLA III, and later, LADY CHRISTINE. Ken is a consummate mariner.  His desire for fishing, diving and cruising adventures knows no boundaries as he hopes to one day complete an extensive world cruise.

Chef

Patrick Roney’s passion for cooking came from an early age from his mother’s garden, outside Baltimore, Maryland, with a salt shaker and a sun ripened tomato.  Today his philosophy has come full circle, his roots shine true in the fact that he is ingredient driven and prefers little confusion on the plate.  During Patrick’s culinary training at the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, New York, he became skilled in several cuisines.  Although, today he truly is focused on Contemporary American Cuisine with California influences, due to his upbringing in the San Francisco food scene.  During Patrick’s time in Northern California his experiences brought him through many of the best chefs in the United States such as George Morrone, Gary Danko, Todd Humphreys, Bradley Odgen and Joseph Humphrey.  When he had the opportunity to spread his wings he truly flourished at a petite neighborhood restaurant in Palo Alto, California, where he served an all organic menu with all ingredients coming from with in a 30 mile radius.  His passion at the restaurant was the bi-weekly wine maker dinners where he truly defined his palate and his style.  Focusing on the Santa Cruz Mountain Appellation and also the big brothers to the north, Napa and Sonoma he had the time of his life executing menus that did justice to the beautiful contributions of the wine maker (and honed his palate in the process).  Patrick’s love of travel and adventure has brought him to his career in yachting, and that paired with my passion for cooking and the desire to work with his new wife, Stewardess Heather Roney, has made him a very happy chef.   Patrick has chartered extensively in the Northeast and Caribbean as well as ranches and estates throughout America over the past five years.  He is happy to accommodate any requests that are thrown at him and is enthusiastic about performing cooking classes as well as cooking demonstrations.

Recently, Chef Patrick attended the 2nd Annual Pebble Beach Food and Wine Show, where he worked extensively with Chef David Kinch (awarded 2 Michelin stars), Chef/Owner of Manresa in Los Gatos, CA, and rubbed elbows with some of the most elite chefs of the world.  Charter guests can expect to enjoy the fruits of Chef Patrick’s experience as he has brought back from the show new techniques, ideas, and philosophies.

Stewardess

Heather Roney is from Southern Indiana where she grew up playing golf while always enjoying the outdoors. Since she was a young child, she always has had a passion to travel.  After she graduated from Indiana University at Bloomington, Indiana, her desire for the outdoors drove her to accept an internship at Crested Butte Mountain Resort in "mso-spacerun: yes;">  During her time in s Ski School and worked in hospitality at the Warming House on the Mountain.  After two years in "mso-spacerun: yes;">  After five years with the USGA, she moved to South Florida and worked at a private Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida, as Membership Coordinator for the past 4 years.  During Heather’s time in South Florida she met her husband, Chef Patrick Roney.  They were married in April 2007. After the wedding, Heather decided to team up with her husband in the yachting industry to start their life together with an exciting adventure together

Mate

Zane Ryan Colebrook has recently joined KAPALUA.  He hails from New Zealand where he worked for 5 years in the commercial marine industry.  He has a Bachelor of Science in Marine and Environmental Sciences, as well as a post graduate diploma.  In his free time, he enjoys fishing, scuba diving, surfing, water skiing, rugby, swimming, hunting, and free diving.

Deck/Stew

Anna-Louise Upton is another recent addition to the KAPALUA crew.  She also hails from New Zealand where she worked for a charter company which operated four motor yachts.  Anna has a Bachelor of Arts in English and Media Studies, and in her spare time enjoys fishing, scuba diving, surfing, water skiing, netball, swimming, yoga, snowboarding and cooking.