Charged with fun

June Casagrande

For a lucky few, going to work every morning is the next best thing

to going to a party.

Sarah Wild, the newest charter consultant at Adventures at Sea, is

thrilled to count herself among the lucky ones.

“It’s fun to come to work in the morning,” the Costa Mesa resident

and recent Vanguard University graduate said.

Wild is part of a team charged with assuring total satisfaction

for the people who charter the company’s yachts for parties, weddings

and other events. If they want a live band, casino games, specialty

cuisine -- you name it -- it’s Wild’s job to make sure they get it.

For example, on Tuesday, she was busy planning a 30th birthday

party for a local resident and about 100 guests aboard the 105-foot

“Dream On.” The multilevel party will include music, food and a

“casino” at which partygoers can play table games for fun.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun for them,” she said.

And it will be fun for her, too. Part of the job for the company’s

five charter consultants is to go along on the party cruises to make

sure everyone’s having a good time and that they have everything they

need.

Wild arrived at her new job, which she began in early September,

through an unusual route. She was working at a bank as a financial

consultant associate when one day, she “just walked in” to Adventures

at Sea’s Coast Highway offices.

Looking for a chance to trade in her button-down lifestyle and the

heavy burden of bad financial times for something more fun, Wild

convinced the charter boat company operators to give her a job even

though she had no experience working with boats or even working in

event planning.

“This job takes a person who can be personable and work with many

different parties to bring together one solid event,” Wild said. “I

guess they saw that in me.”