Meet the “Women Of the Fleet”
Did you know the Aggressor Fleet and Dancer Fleet have three female captains? Amanda Smith, 1st captain on the Turks & Caicos Aggressor II, is
known to many and has been with the Turks & Caicos Aggressor II for many
years. This past year Lauren Hill on the Cayman Aggressor IV and Megan
O’Mera on the Sun Dancer II each both earned their “4th Stripe” and were
promoted to 2nd Captains on their respective yachts. On any given week one
of these three ladies will be in command of a charter in the Caribbean.
One thing that they each have in common is that they joined our fleet as a
Capt. Amanda Smith
Dive Instructor. For each – there was that special moment when they realized
that there was nothing stopping them from reaching out for a Captain’s position.
To become a licensed captain, candidates need to accumulate time at sea. Fortunately for these
ladies – working on a LiveAboard allows you to do that quickly. They each then made a commitment and chose to head back to school to complete the required academic courses. Over a period of
years (not weeks or months) they achieved all of the required academic milestones and presented
themselves for their final exams. They were assessed in both written and practical exams where
their seamanship knowledge and skills were demonstrated and assessed by the accreditation and
licensing authorities.
Behind each new “2nd Captain” is a good mentor. Captain Amanda was trained by our late
Operations Manager Captain Piers Van Der Walt over seven years ago. Captain Lauren was
guided by our senior 1st Captain and 30 year veteran of Aggressor Fleet, Captain Alan Roberts.
Captain Megan was mentored by Captain Eddy Anderson, a 17 year veteran of the Aggressor and
Dancer Fleets.
Potato Encrusted Salmon with a Shrimp Nage´
Serves Four
Capt. Lauren Hill
Capt. Megan O’Mera
by Chef Rajmani Dahal,
Tropic Dancer
Shrimp Nage´
• 8 oz. 13/15 shrimp (peeled and deveined)
• 1 shallot (peeled and sliced)
• 2 oz. celery (peeled and diced)
• 1 garlic clove (minced)
• ½ pint heavy cream
• Lemon juice to taste
• Fine mesh strainer
• Shells from the shrimp
• 2 oz. carrot (peeled and diced)
• 2 garlic cloves (peeled)
• 1 cup dry white wine
• ½ # unsalted butter
• Kosher salt and white pepper
Method: On medium heat in a small stainless steel pot, sauté the shrimp shells in 1
tbsp. olive oil until they turn pink. Add the shallot, celery, carrot and garlic. Continue to
sweat until translucent and then add the wine. Reduce the heat to low and reduce the
wine until almost done. Add the heavy cream and continue to reduce by half. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter,
add the lemon juice and season. Pass through the fine mesh strainer. Set aside in a warm place for later. Sauté the shrimp in a
medium sauté pan, with one clove of minced garlic (optional) and set aside for serving.
Salmon
• 4 6oz. portions of salmon
• 3 Russet potatoes (peeled)
• Olive oil• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 Box grater
Method: Slowly heat a large nonstick sauté pan, Grate the potatoes using the large holes on the box
grater. Squeeze the excess water from the grated potatoes and place a small portion forming a small
“pancake” in the heated sauté pan with 4-5 tbsp. of oil. Helpful Hint: The “pancake” of potatoes should
be slightly larger than the portion of salmon. Cook the potatoes until one side is crisp. Place the salmon
on top of the potatoes and gently flip the potatoes are covering the salmon, crispy side up. Sear for 1-2
minutes and then place on a lightly greased sheet pan (cookie sheet). Finish in a preheated oven at
350° for 3-4 minutes.
Serving: You can serve with wilted spinach. Place the salmon on top of the spinach and place 2-3 shrimp
on top of the salmon, 2 oz. of Nage (shrimp butter sauce) over the shrimp and salmon.
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Chef Rajmani Dahal
Reserve online at www.aggressor.com & www.dancerfleet.com