Christiana Virgilio laughs when she starts to list the responsibilities of her occupation.
To start with, she's a skipper and a navigator. She also is a supervisor, contractor, accountant, administrator and host.
All those tasks are rolled into the San Diego native's position as captain of the 172-foot, 399-ton private yacht Big Eagle that is currently in San Diego for maintenance and upgrades.
Few women in the world command a larger private yacht. “There might be two,” Virgilio said this past week.
Virgilio said it is a job she was “made for,” but not necessarily one she originally was trained to fill.
Although she grew up around the water as the daughter of one of San Diego's leading offshore racers, Richard Virgilio, Christiana Virgilio graduated from UCLA in 1991 with a degree in economics.
“Rather than plunge into a business career after graduation, I decided to take a year or two to see what else was out there,” she said. “One day, and it kind of snuck up on me, I realized this was going to be my career.”
That decision led to a job on a private yacht and changed the course of Virgilio's life. “I love being on the water,” she said. “I don't think I could ever work in an office.”
Because she didn't come into her chosen profession with a degree from a maritime academy, Virgilio said she worked her way up from the bottom.
“All the time I had a job, I took classes, got licenses and learned,” she said. “I never found it hard. And I never saw any reason why I couldn't do it. And I've been really lucky.”
Two years ago she was serving as the First Officer on the Big Eagle when the captain decided to move on. Virgilio became the captain.
Since then, she has been on the move almost constantly.
“We're not really based anywhere,” Virgilio said of the yacht owned by a Texas family. “In two years, we've probably traveled 30,000 miles.
“We've been to the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal. We're headed to the Pacific Northwest, then it will be back through the Canal and to Europe.”
Virgilio still calls San Diego home. “But the boat is really my home,” she said. “I'm on the water eight months a year and it had been 11 months a year.
“It's a challenging job and a big responsibility. But the owners are very nice people.”
In addition to piloting the Big Eagle, Virgilio commands a staff of 10 and is responsible for up to 12 guests.
“It's not just driving the boat from here to there,” Virgilio said. “I'm responsible for everything from the Big Eagle itself to the guests to the wine and music on board. There's a lot of logistics. “But any captain is no better than the crew. And the most demanding part of the job, for sure, is managing the crew.”
Virgilio said she learned the basics of sailing and boat management from her father.
“He was a very good teacher,” she said. “And that's where I also gained my love for the ocean. We sailed any time we could.
“It really worked out well. I've got the greatest job in the world.”
Miscellany
Boston College won the National Intercollegiate Team Racing Sailing Championship last week thanks in part to two graduates from Point Loma High's former national championship sailing team. Junior
Adam Roberts was one of the skippers and freshman
Brianna Provancha served as one of the crew.
France's Loick Peyron last week became the first skipper to win the Artemis Transat single-handed transatlantic race a third time.
Two-time and defending Melges Worlds champion Bill Hardesty of San Diego was a member of the fourth-place crew in the Melges 24 Pre-Worlds in Porto Cervo, Italy.
Bill Center: (619) 293-1851; bill.center@uniontrib.com
