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Captain Chimere Murrill’s Luxury Charter Business is Breaking Barriers
As a queer woman joining the roughly five million other Black entrepreneurs in the United States, Murrill understands her visibility as a Black female captain is almost as important as the entertainment she provides her guests.
Growing up in Virginia, boating wasn’t part of Chimere Murrill’s world. She went on to Morgan State University, earning a degree in information technology, and later landed a job at the National Security Agency. But it was there that she met two colleagues who owned a boat at a dock in Middle River.
“They’d always encourage me to come out and spend time on the boat,” says the now-42-year-old, who lives in Glen Burnie. “Finally, I decided to take the time with them on the water and I was hooked.”
In 2012, Murrill purchased a vessel of her own, a two-seater Baja speedboat. After learning the local waterways, Murrill earned Maryland’s boater safety certificate and upgraded to a 26-foot Larson Cuddy Cabin.
“I really enjoyed having my family and friends aboard,” she says. “I was able to introduce them to a life none of us had really been exposed to. Seeing their enjoyment planted the seed for dreams of owning something larger and potentially making that a business.”
Years later, that feeling is exactly what Murrill promises her guests as part of her Reveur Sauvage Private Yacht Club and Charter. Before stepping aboard her 12-person Daydreamer yacht, parked at Baltimore Peninsula’s Port Covington Marina, passengers are greeted by a concierge with a complimentary glass of champagne and a red-carpet entrance.
“I wanted to show the DMV what it means to really offer an experience,” says Murrill, now a master captain certified by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Operating April through November in the Mid-Atlantic, as well as year-round in Miami, Reveur Sauvage—French for “wild dreamer”—offers personalized outings across area waterways. In Baltimore, passengers enjoy a two-hour ride from the local harbor out past the former Key Bridge toward the Chesapeake Bay and back, sometimes all the way to Annapolis.
Prices begin at $1,400, with Murrill embarking on as many as 300 trips a year, from romantic gatherings to curated celebrations. (When she’s not preparing for the warm-weather boating season, she continues to work in cybersecurity.)
As a queer woman joining the roughly five million other Black entrepreneurs in the United States, accounting for 14.5 percent of all business owners, Murrill understands her visibility as a Black female captain is almost as important as the entertainment she provides her guests. Per the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, African Americans account for only seven percent of all recreational boaters. For Black captains, the population is likely even smaller.
“There have been so many charters where folks come aboard and say, ‘Now wait a minute…this is your boat, your business?’” says Murrill. “One woman told me that aside from seeing President Obama elected, seeing a Black woman own a yacht was just as powerful. I want to be a reminder that the sky is the limit.”