1. November 2013
To whom it may concern
We have have known Jonathan Taylor for five years. We interviewed him
in the Caribbean and he joined Meri Balletti, our Swan 53, initially as crew
for the trip across the Atlantic to Turkey where he took over as skipper.
Meri Balletti has only been used by family and some close friends. She
has been thoroughly sailed each year for nine months wintering in the
Caribbean and summering in the med or on the east coast of America and
we have therefore employed Jon full time.
It goes without saying that you do not employ crew for five years unless
they are doing a good job! In Jon’s case that included not only sailing and
cooking well but also maintaining and looking after Meri Balletti. He is a
very good sailor, we have done some racing and he gets that as
well! Technically Jon is very capable of getting his hands dirty and
keeping the many gadgets on the boat working through organisation of
service periods and his own technical abilities.
We have only had the most positive feedback from friends and family
who have been on the boat when we have not. As far as we are concerned
Jon is part of our extended family so when we are on the boat - which
has been about thirteen weeks a year - he nearly always chose to eat with
us when we go ashore, and always when we are on the boat.
No one is perfect - with the obvious exception - but Jon has been great
for us, he is, in our view brilliant company and a caring person.
We would have no hesitation about recommending Jon. He is a thoroughly
capable person who has always represented us exceedingly well with our
best interests at heart.

2. 2
Because we have done so much sailing over the last seven years we have
decided to hang up our sailing boots and go for some land based trips,
hence Jon is looking for new employers.
Hope all the above helps, if you need any further information please come
back to me. If you would rather have a conversation, our home number is
01303 812411.
Kind regards
Gerry and Carol Pack