#humansofyachting – Radek Tomaszewski

“I started my sailing career on commercial boats, but a few years back I joined Lauren L for two months as a relief second officer and that was that. I hadn’t known what to expect from superyachting but I loved the industry and ended up staying. That was almost nine years ago.

As second captain on Lauren L I get to travel around the world seeing amazing destinations; on commercial boats you cover a lot of the globe but you don’t have time to see anywhere, so it’s a completely different experience. On superyachts, there’s also the opportunity to meet a lot of people – from the guests to the owners and the rest of the crew. I really enjoy it.

My first job on Lauren L started in Athens, which has become like a second home to me. Greece is one of my favourite countries in the Mediterranean and, lucky for me, we tend to spend a lot of the summer season there. In Athens, there’s that blend of eastern and western culture – that unique combination makes for a lot of variety, which I really enjoy.

Greece might be my adopted home, but I’m from Poland originally and I still have an apartment there. In Poland, we have the Baltic Sea and I have actually noticed some nice marinas springing up there recently – the weather might not be ideal but you don’t always need sunshine to enjoy a place. A couple of years ago we spent some time in Scotland on Lauren L and it ended up being one of my favourite trips of all time. We started in Glasgow and ended up in Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides. There were some really memorable moments on that trip; like going through all the old lochs and seeing the fairytale castles from the water. Glasgow itself has some amazing architecture, too.

If I was looking for sunshine, I’d say Myanmar is top of my list when it comes to superyacht destinations. It is still quite undiscovered, so there aren’t many tourists there yet. As a destination – it has so much to offer; the most spectacular views; huge, pristine beaches on almost every island; and a lot of fishermen – you can get fresh fish direct from them to eat on the yacht. The nature there is incredible.

Of course, if we’re talking about nature, then the Galapagos Islands are pretty special. We went a few years back and it was unforgettable; time seems to have stopped over there hundreds of years ago. I’ll remember it for the rest of my life. The San Blas islands off Panama are also incredible and I’m a keen diver so the Maldives were great for that. I could go on naming amazing destinations all day!

When you see such incredible scenery all the time you can sometimes take it for granted. That’s why the interaction between guests and crew is so special. Quite often, they’ll come up to me and comment on the wonderful view. It makes you take a second look and appreciate it that little bit more.

Lauren L sleeps up to 40 people, which is quite unusual, even by superyachting standards. Normally it’ll be a few families spending time together on board; there’ll be some wakeboarding, others diving, others sunbathing, others shopping. It’s busy! To relax, I have started flying planes. I am trying to get my pilot’s licence.

As far as bucket list destinations go, Antarctica is top of my list. I spent some time in Alaska ten years ago when I was doing commercial shipping, so I guess I have developed a taste for glaciers and icebergs! New Zealand and Australia are definitely on the list, too.”