JOINING THE YACHTING INDUSTRY - Quay Crewquaycrew.com/.../07/Joining-the-Yachting-Industry.pdf · JOINING THE YACHTING INDUSTRY So you are currently thinking about joining the super

JOINING THE YACHTING INDUSTRY

JOINING THE YACHTING INDUSTRYSo you are currently thinking about joining the super yacht industry. Hopefully we can provide some information about the industry which will help you decide if it is a realistic option.

THE YACHT INDUSTRYThis is a fantastic industry to get into which offers some amazing opportunities and the chance to experience things many people never get to.

It can offer a great salary, tax free, work with some great people, travel and see the world and expand your horizons and offer a great career!

Yachts can be either sail or motor yachts and can range in size from 25 metres up to 180 metres and are owned by high net worth individuals. E.g. Roman Abramovich, Steven Spielberg and Paul Allen, but predominantly they are owned by people you won’t have heard of.

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WHAT DO THE ROLES INVOLVE GENERALLY?The below bullet points cover the main things which come up on a regular basis on a super yacht for a deckhand or a stewardess who is new to the industry.

The list below is not exhaustive and on some yachts you will have greater responsibility and on others less responsibility.

DECKHAND• Wash downs of the yacht.

• Basic maintenance.

• Varnishing and painting.

• Driving the tenders for an assortment of reasons.

• Launching of tenders etc.

• Assisting with bridge watches , navigation etc.

• Assisting guests with water sports.

• Assisting with safety checks & drills.

• Sometimes assisting the engineers.

STEWARDESS• Maintaining the cleanliness of the interior.

• Serving the guests drinks & meals.

• Making of beds and general housekeeping.

• Laundry for guests and crew.

• Assisting with drills.

• Assisting with cooking on occasion.

• If you have the experience /qualifications then massages or beauty treatments may be required.

Both roles involve a lot of cleaning, polishing, drying, hard work, long hours, often doing fairly monotonous tasks, sometimes outside in bad weather, or inside when you are feeling sea sick! The point I am making is that the industry isn’t all glamour and you are on the yacht to work and provide an incredible level of service and experience to the guests. It isn’t about you having an interesting and fun gap year!

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WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO JOIN THE YACHTING INDUSTRY?You need to attend some courses to be able to legally work on a yacht. Below we go into some detail about these courses and recommend a couple of training schools who we think do a great job of preparing people for the super yacht industry.

STCW 95It is essential you have your STCW 95 to enter yachting regardless of the job you are doing. This is non negotiable.

STCW requires all seafarers to receive familiarisation and basic safety training or instruction in accordance with section A-VI/1 of the STCW Code. The four courses below make up the minimum STCW familiarisation and basic safety training requirements.

• STCW Personal Safety & Social Responsibilities.

• STCW Fire Prevention & Fire Fighting.

• STCW Personal Survival Techniques.

• STCW Elementary First Aid.

The cost of this is £700 - £1000

POWER BOAT LEVEL 2Power Boat Level 2 is essential for deckhands. If you are looking for an interior role then it isn’t necessary to take this course.

This two-day course provides the skills and background knowledge needed to drive a powerboat and is the basis of the International Certificate of Competence.

It includes close quarters handling, high speed manoeuvres, man overboard recovery, basic navigation and collision regulations.

The cost of this is £200 - £300

ENG 1All members of crew must have a seafarer medical fitness certificate to work at sea. An ENG1 certificate can only be issued by a Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) approved doctor. We would recommend getting this before spending money on other courses as if you fail the medical you won’t be able to get a job.

The cost of this is a maximum of £80 in the UK

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WHAT THEN?Doing these courses is the easy part. Anyone can attend, get these qualifications

and start applying for roles. As you can probably imagine this is a very competitive industry to get into so to stand the best possible chance you need to move down

to the South of France, specifically Antibes and move into a crew house and spend anything from a couple of days to several months looking for a job in the

yachting industry. So it is vitally important that you save as much cash as you can possibly can to fund living in the South of France for a few months!

You really need at least £2k in my opinion.

We would recommend the following Crew House as the best. Its owners are ex yachties, know the industry intimately and help many people

get jobs each year.

Click on the image to go to their website.

Once in Antibes you need to register with agencies like……..

And walk the docks introducing yourself to yachts and the crew on board.

Below are some websites which will help you research the industry and find out more…….

We would recommend the following Crew House as the best. Its owners are ex yachties, know the industry intimately and help many people

get jobs each year.

Click on the image to go to their website.

THE CREWREPORT

On our website there is a crew information section where there is a selection of Frequently Asked Questions

Additional Information for Crew

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SEASONAL OR PERMANENT Yachting can be either a seasonal role which would be from March / April through to September / October time or it could be a permanent role all year round.

Yachts are generally Med based during the summer and spend the winter in the Med too or travel to the Caribbean during the winter. A minority of yachts cruise the world.

PRIVATE OR CHARTERYachts are either private or charter. A private yacht will be used only by the owner and his family and friends. Generally these yachts are a little quieter and are less intense during the season.

A charter yacht will be used by the owner and his family and friends but it will also be available to be rented out for long weekends to a couple of weeks. This can cost anything from 30,000 pounds a week to over a million. The guest would also pay for food, drinks, fuel, berthing costs and a discretionary tip for the crew on top of this. The A list celebrities you see in the media would typically be charter guests or friends with the owner.

SOME MYTHS ABOUT YACHTING• It is glamorous.

◦ It can be but a far more frequent occurrence will involve you scrubbing something after working 18 hours that day!

• It is an extended holiday which involves traveling the world!

◦ It is far from a holiday and will involve long periods of time doing hard physical work with little time off.

• You will be sailing, wake boarding, scuba diving etc on a regular basis.

◦ Whilst some boats do offer the opportunity to use the toys onboard, the majority of yachts are too busy for you to have the time to go from a novice to a pro!

• You travel the world visiting some beautiful locations.

◦ This does happen on yachts but far more often you will be on a yacht which is based solely in the Mediterranean and spends most of the summer travelling between Monaco and St Tropez.

• You will get amazing tips.

◦ Around 10-20% of yachts will be busy charter yachts, the rest will be private yachts so most people don’t get amazing tips.

• It will be easy to get a job.

◦ Just as many people don’t get a job as do so be prepared for rejection and a lot of competition.

CAREER PROSPECTSYour starting position would be as a deckhand. From here you can build up your knowledge and experience and rise up the ranks. Deckhands earn 2500 Euros to 3800 Euros a month as a Lead Deckhand.

Time frame wise I would expect you to be looking at a Bosun position 2-4 years into your career depending on your background, experience and existing skill levels when you join the industry. This would be paying 4k to 5k Euros a month.

To become an Officer should take an absolute minimum of 3 years but 4 to 6 years is far more likely and means you have the depth of knowledge required to do a great job. As an Officer you will be paid around 4500 to 7500 Euros a month.

It is possible to become a Captain in as little as 4 years on something around the 20m to 24m mark where you would earn 4k to 5k a month. To become a Captain on a proper super yacht would realistically take more like 10 to 12 years and a lot of hard work and money spent on courses. However you would be earning 7k to 15k Euros a month, so great money.

THE CAREER PROGRESSION IS AS BELOW.Deckhand > Lead Deckhand > Bosun > 2nd Officer > Chief Officer > Captain

As an entry level steward / ess you will be starting on 2500 Euros a month. This can go up to around 3500 Euros a month with experience. If you are a qualified masseuse, beautician or hairdresser there are roles which will pay 3000 as a starting salary.

After a couple of good years you can look at becoming a 2nd Stewardess which will pay anything from 3500 Euros to 5000 euros a month.

The highest realistic position is a Purser or a Chief Stewardess. Both of these are fantastic jobs and pay excellent money up to 8k a month.

You are realistically looking at a minimum of 4 years to be a competent Chief Stew on a decent sized (e.g. 50m) yacht. Chief Stews and Pursers would earn from 4.5k to 7k in Euros a month.

THE CAREER PROGRESSION IS AS BELOW.Stewardess > 2nd Stewardess > Chief Stewardess > Purser

So for the right people this industry can provide a superb career, earning far more than you could in the UK doing a similar job.

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PROS AND CONS OF YACHTING

PROS• Good money, tax free, the opportunity to earn great tips.

• Travel the world experiencing some wonderful things.

• Get some qualifications and develop a fantastic career.

• Work in a prestigious industry.

• Work hard but play hard too with lots of water sports, socialising etc.

• Make some amazing friends for life.

• Work outside, in the sun with a group of like minded people.

• It’s a lot more interesting than most jobs in the UK.

• Have some great stories to tell.

CONS• Away from home a lot so you don’t see family and friends.

• You often miss weddings, birthdays and other events.

• The job can be hard work and a little monotonous sometimes.

• On the wrong yacht you could be at anchor a lot, not stepping foot on shore or sit in port a lot.

• Becoming a yachtie takes commitment both financial and personal.

• Cost of courses to be eligible.

• You could travel to France having spend thousands and not get a job.

• You could enter the industry and not enjoy it, again having spent a fortune.

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AM I SUITED TO YACHTING?Not everyone is. If any of the following things apply to you then think carefully before you commit your money and time to joining the industry. None of these things will exclude you from joining the industry but as a substantial financial investment is required to become eligible for yachting jobs then I suggest.

• If you have a long term partner and or children then this industry may not be for you. Yachting puts a lot of strain on relationships, far more than a stereotypical long distance relationship.

• If you are someone who gets homesick after a week on holiday and misses your home comforts don’t apply.

• You have to be fit enough to pull yourself into a life raft from a swimming pool whilst wearing clothing or you will fail your STCW 95 and won’t be able to work on yachts. If in doubt get fit beforehand!

• If you are very shy or lacking in confidence this isn’t a great industry for you either. Yachting is full of confident personalities and that is generally what yachts are looking for.

• If you prefer your own company, due to the nature of yachts this definitely isn’t the industry for you as you spend huge amounts of time in each others pockets.

• If you want a double bed and privacy then yachting isn’t for you as you share a cabin and will have a single bunk.

• If you are grumpy when tired, can be miserable, like to whinge about working too hard then don’t try to get into yachting. Yachting only suits positive people.

• If you have had ‘issues’ with work colleagues in the past then yachting isn’t for you.

• If you have a short temper, get easily wound up or frustrated then yachting isn’t for you either.

• If you are an aggressive or a bad drunk then yachting isn’t for you.

• If you are naturally lazy then don’t waste your time or money.

• If you live your life in a disorganised mess, are naturally untidy and your life is chaotic then yachting isn’t for you either.

• If you have a slap dash, ‘that will do’ attitude then don’t apply.

• If you are looking for a role on deck and don’t like heights or are colour blind then this probably isn’t the ideal industry.

• If you have visible piercings or tattoos then you will really struggle to find a job so maybe consider if this industry is for you.

• Ideally you need to be confident, outgoing, personable, hard working, laid back, positive, flexible and a team player who likes sport, activities and doing interesting things.

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IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO TO IMPROVE MY CHANCES OF GETTING A JOB?Yes definitely. If you are currently at college I would strongly suggest getting some life experience before you look to join yachting. I would also strongly suggest getting some skills and experience in a relevant industry.

THE OPTIONS I WOULD SUGGEST FOR DECK ROLES ARE:

• A marina or boat yard where you are doing maintenance and driving boats on a daily basis.

• Water sports facility. Whether you are instructing or setting up the equipment, maintaining it and driving boats. All of this is valuable experience.

• A boat building company, painting, carpentry e.g. Sunseeker, Pendennis.

FOR INTERIOR ROLE:

• High end restaurant where you are doing service and building your wine and food knowledge. Needs to be high end. A pub or chain restaurant doesn’t really enhance your CV.

• High end hotel. Ideally you would be doing housekeeping here.

• Any yoga, spa, beauty or hairdressing background is always good.

• With all of these suggestions the more time you can spend doing it the better. 1 month of work experience unfortunately isn’t worth an awful lot. Ideally I would like to see 6 months of doing something on your CV so you have built up some solid skills and experience. 1 to 2 years in one job is perfect. You then definitely have a great grounding in an area and you are bringing something else to the table.

• If after reading all of this information and you still think you have what it takes then start booking courses and saving your money to move to the South of France!

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