ELLA CLARE

CAPTAIN ROBERT STUGARD has always had an affinity for the water, he was born on the Caribbean Isle of Puerto Rico. His childhood entailed traveling in Germany and South America; his family finally settled in South Texas as their home base.

Young Robert always enjoyed boating on the water, he started boating at the age of 14, with a 17ft. mahogany Chris Craft and a Hobie Cat sailboat. When not boating or surfing, he would be tinkering with mechanics or playing football. Later he spent 23 years in the Navy as Submariner and boated at every port where he was stationed. He became a Navy Diver, and after his time in the Navy, Robert worked as a Human Machine Developer at a government contract facility!

Robert is an excellent navigator, very knowledgeable and always conscious of safety. With safety as a priority, we can also say he is a lot of fun! He loves interacting with the guests and can be found working smoothly as a team with Toni. His present favorite water sports are kayaking and diving. Of all of the yachting destination and ports he has visited, Robert still has a soft spot in his heart for the BVI’s, he loves that the islands are so close together, giving more time to enjoy those beautiful waters both above and below the surface!


CHEF TONIA (TONI) STUGARD grew up in suburban Woodbridge, VA with her Mom and two brothers. Always athletic, she was a cheerleader and gymnast in high school, and later in life became a cheerleading coach, coaching for 10 years and even running her own competitive cheerleading gym. Toni is also a Certified Aerobics Instructor.

With a degree in Business Admin, Toni also began a career in Event Management, Hospitality and Catering. Her love of being on the water, hospitality, cooking, and events, is what got her into yachting, now with five years under her belt as an excellent yacht chef.

With an eye to fun and events, she particularly enjoys doing theme dinners and game nights aboard; there will never be a dull moment. Although very fond of seafood and Asian style cooking, even more she likes learning new cooking styles and techniques and acquiring new recipes. Guests applaud that her meals are healthy and flavorful and love the interactivity of her creative themes and venues. Her goal is for guests to leave with the thought of “I can’t wait to come back!”.

Although she can create that great party atmosphere, Toni takes her job seriously. She thrives on providing good service, fabulous meals and keeping guests happy with her kind, caring and fun nature. Her motto is “Treat others as you would like to be treated yourself.”


STEWARDESS/DECKHAND MICKAELA MURPHY (AKA Murph) grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina. She had the best of both worlds, being close to both the mountains and the beach for family holidays.

Her background has mostly entailed ensuring that people have a great holiday, whether as an events coordinator, an assistant property manager, or a kid’s camp counsellor. Both an organizer and “people person”, she takes great care of the guests on board Ella Clare. Her love of team sports keeps her in sync with the rest of the crew; and her favorite activity with the guests is swimming and water sports.

Murph is fun and full of energy. You will always see that beaming smile; she loves the yachting industry and being of service to others! She is happiest when busy; new places, faces, and experiences are a treat for her. She enjoys interacting with guests on board as she feels it makes her able to do her very best job by being able to anticipate their needs. Friends describe Murph as fun, happy, reliable and hardworking.