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New here, and looking for any advice you can offer!

Discussion in 'Yacht Crews' started by haleyd, Jan 18, 2010.

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  1. haleyd

    haleyd New Member

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    Hi everyone, my name is Haley, I'm 27 and I'm currently living in Indiana but planning on heading to Fort Lauderdale in March. I will be going down in February to take the STCW '95 course, and when I move in March I plan to take the Yacht Crew course at AYI.

    I've read that March is a very good time to be in Fort Lauderdale, as April and May are the best months to look for full-time work before the yachts start heading north. Is this true?

    I am already planning on looking in to a crew house and fully prepared to hit the docks and pavement looking for day work every day so as to get as much as experience as possible seeing as how I'm very green in the industry right now.

    My question (or questions) is, how difficult is it to find work in this industry right now? Should I expect to be looking for a long time... Especially since at the moment I have no hands on experience? Like I said, I intend to devote as much time as I can to day work and also taking as many courses (as many as my current financial resources and income will allow) to educate myself in any way possible on all of the ins and outs of this industry.

    Any and all advice is welcome from everyone. I'm so excited to learn everything I can about this incredible industry and at this point I feel like no amount information can be too much!

    Thank you so much for anything you can offer me!!

    Haley
  2. Henning

    Henning Senior Member

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    Look at your local community college system for STCW certification. The classes here in Ft Lauderdale are ridiculously expensive and typically low value. I have no idea what the "Yacht Crew" class consists of, nor in 7 years down here have I ever heard of AYI (not that means anything in and of itself). Regardless of the school, I have never seen one that teaches ab initio crew even the smallest fraction of what they need to know. In my opinion, these classes and schools are a low value profit center. You would do well to go to a local body shop and learn how to operate a buffer and patch repair paint. That is a skill you can sell well not only in getting a permanent crew position, but also getting day work while you're looking. Get a book on knots and learn a few iterations of the Bowline and Sheepshank and a few others. If you get a book on and learn marlinspike work (making neat and useful things from rope), it's also a plus looking for a position and gives you the ability to make a marketable product. I also value basic mechanical skills and ability. Most of your time is going to be spent cleaning and polishing, 90% of it in fact.

    As for when to show up, I usually recommend early October, but this year has been pretty bad.
  3. haleyd

    haleyd New Member

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    Thanks for your input. Not that you asked, but my intention is to be a stewardess. The course that I plan to take is a 5 day interior yacht crew course and the American Yacht Institute (AYI). It covers everything from seamanship to silver service to flower arrangement and bartending. I've read a lot of very good things about this class.

    As for the STCW, from what I've seen in my research, there is no class even close to me. Which is kind of a bummer, but if nothing else, it will get me out of Indiana in this dreary winter and put me in Fort Lauderdale for a week :) I will do some more research though and see if there is by chance a class somewhere near by that I have overlooked!

    Thanks!
  4. Henning

    Henning Senior Member

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    Ahhhh, you're a girl, duh, I should have figured from the Haley. You need to come down right now if you're not doing anything else important. Right now about the only people getting hired are stews, and there seems to be a lot of it. Come down now and get your STCW done and then take your Silver Service course while you're networking for a job. You want to be here before March when the boats are making their plans to head to the Med.
  5. PropBet

    PropBet Senior Member

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    Is Everything!
    Personal presentation is everything.

    Credentials are equally important.

    Experience is vital, so you have to be willing to start somewhere.

    Word of mouth is highly regarded and used in the yachting world.
    Leverage what network you're able to build.

    Right now is (to be 100% honest with you) probably one of the worst times to be looking for a position on a yacht as a crew member.

    Keep your head straight.

    Be willing to hear 500 "no's" before you get that delightful "when can you start?"

    Point your browser to Dockwalk. Lot of crew continuity there.

    Good luck!
  6. haleyd

    haleyd New Member

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    That's very good to hear. I was a little worried that stew jobs were pretty hard to come by right now. Like I said, I don't have any previous yacht work experience, so I'll be doing any courses and day work I can get my hands on. I am working right now and have been with this company for 5 years so I will definitely be giving them their 2 weeks notice or more if that is what is required for me to get a new person properly trained. I owe the company I'm with now a lot, and they've been very good to me, so I definitely want to give that back to them.

    It sounds like I really need to get down there though next month. I'm worried that I won't have enough money saved by then to get me through until I find a full time job (heck that could be MONTHS). Is day work easy to come by? I hear a lot about "hitting the docks" but I'm also hearing from others that the docks are closed off for the most part now to people that are trying to find day work. Is this true?
  7. Henning

    Henning Senior Member

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    Aka, "Dockwalking". Have you started contacting crew agents yet? Most all of them have websites. If you like, send me a PM or email and I'll give you a list to start with so you can start making contacts and setting up interviews.
  8. haleyd

    haleyd New Member

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    PM is on it's way to you! :)
  9. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    If you have a job, this may not be the best time to ditch that. Lots of crew incl stew with experience looking for work and it s a gamble to hire inexperienced crew. Does it happen? Yes but do you want to that chance since you have a job...
  10. haleyd

    haleyd New Member

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    I'm actually moving no matter what! My original intention was that I was going to move to West Palm Beach. This was before I knew anything about yacht stewardessing... I had never heard of it! But once I found out about it, I decided that this is what I wanted to pursue. So now I'll be going to Fort Lauderdale instead. So see, either way I would be leaving my current job. If I don't go down there and try to get work, how can I EVER say that I have experience? I would just always be unexperienced and always hear "sorry we are looking for someone with more experience". Know what I mean?
  11. Henning

    Henning Senior Member

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    Realities of the industry:

    If you are less than 25, cute, fit and trim (big people don't make it well in many crew quarters), you will get a job within three months. May be freelance for a charter or a season, but it will be something, a start. It's still a "backpacker" industry, but the last year and a half has weeded that down some from its worst.

    The further from 25, cute fit and trim you get, the more difficult it becomes, but as long as you have a good attitude and are ready to put in good work and a lot of hours, it does not become impossible. It's more important on charter boats than private, but most of th opportunities present themselves on charter boats.

    As an American citizen, you have a protected market in US flag boats, unfortunately, not many of these make it to the Med. You are also legal for day work and other shore based jobs ancillary to the industry allowing you to make a living and network for that opportunity on a boat.
  12. haleyd

    haleyd New Member

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    I'm definitely willing to put in the hours. Since learning about this industry, I've thought about little else. I'll be 28 in March, so I hope that doesn't work against me.
  13. Henning

    Henning Senior Member

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    At 28 you're still in good shape. Gals over 40 just starting have trouble. As long as you're established and experienced by 33-35 you're ok.
  14. haleyd

    haleyd New Member

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    FANTASTIC! That made me feel much better! I have to say I am soooo glad I found this message board. You are so helpful :)
  15. Henning

    Henning Senior Member

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    BTW, to define long hours, think 18hrs a day everyday you are on charter and turn around days. Busy charter boats may go 2+ months straight through.
  16. haleyd

    haleyd New Member

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    okay that took away from me feeling "much better" but it didn't discourage me!
  17. PropBet

    PropBet Senior Member

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    Is Everything!
    Your statement is misleading.
    No charter boat a) runs for 2 months straight without a break, even if it's a day or two, it's a break, and b) no crew member works 18 hours a day for said 2 months straight without appropriate time off.

    Will one work long and hard hours? Yes, of course. Will they work 8 weeks, 18 hours a day, no time off? Of course not. Boats have tried this and the result was crew turnover. And if you're a captain, you know the impact of crew turnover to one and all crew aboard.
  18. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    These days no boat get multiple back to back bookings... Dream on!

    18 hrs a day is probably an exageration in most cases... 12hrs is probably more realistic.
  19. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    I just did a charter as Captain, I worked from 7 or 8am until midnight every single day for 7 days straight. If your guests are awake from 7am-midnight, you have to be awake and ready to serve them for whatever they need, someone has to make the coffee, someone has to serve them drinks.......someone has to make sure they have a good time........It's a lot of hours........

    And when the guests were off of the boat the mate and I were busy changing fuel filters, a water tank element that went bad, and other fun stuff that always happens to break when your on a charter.

    As for the stewardesses, a friend of mine runs a yacht with 4 crew and is a GREAT Captain, with a good program. He has been through a dozen stewardesses in the past year. I've met 3 of them, they all are in it for the money and a quick in and out, none are dedicated to the industry. One stewardess could cook an english muffin, or anything for that matter. Another one, you'd ask to do something and it would sit there for hours.....put so much soap in the washer that the alarm went off on it and it had to sit there for 3 hours before the suds went down and you could open the door. Another one had spent the night with about 10 different guys from every boat in the marina.......... what a mess......

    All it really takes is for someone to have great work ethics, be in the business with a long term outlook, and have some common sense and an eye to detail.