Officer seeks information

Hi,
Life on board yachts is a bit different than aboard ship. Most of the time while owners or guests are aboard you will be working 16 to 18 hour days with no days off. Usually you share a cabin and have a crew lounge for dining and relaxing. There is a usually a mix of nationalities onboard and this can make for interesting conversation and lots of contacts on other yachts and places to visit on your vacation.
Yachts generally go to the nice places, follow the sun. Caribbean in the winter, New England or the Med for the summer. Some of the yachts will do "adventure" charters or trips and visit the south Pacific, Africa etc but these are the exceptions rather than the rule.
When there are no owners or guests aboard the work days generally go to 8 hours per day 5 1/2 to 6 days per week. Most yachts offer anywhere from two weeks to a month off per year, taken between season. Some offer airfare for vacation, others do not.

Hope this helps
Dave

What agency are you using? I can suggest a couple if you need.

Crew ages vary all over the place. Deck hands and entry level stews tend to be in their early twenties as the skill level of the position increases the age also increases.
On my boat the engineer is in his late 30's, the mate is in his late 40's, our last chef was 51 but one before her was in his early 30's. Stewardesses have ranged from 23 to 38 years old over the years.

Good luck, if you don't mind work I think you'll find this is a great industry.

Dave

Hi Daniel,
I think that you will find it very difficult to get a position without being in personal contact with the crew agency. As you are in Europe I would attempt to contact some agencies in France and Monaco. Take the time to go meet the agents. If you are planning on coming to the US, visit Fort Lauderdale and interview with several agencies.
When I hire through an agent I want to know what the agent thinks of the person, have they met them, how does the candidate present him/her self, what kind of attitude etc. Many times if you just send a CV or have a phone interview with the agency they will just put your CV in the stack, once they have face and personality to go with the CV they will be much more active in promoting you.

Good luck
Dave

Hello again Dave, I have read the advice you gave to Daniel and it was very helpful, I am in miami in November and will try to go to some agencies, your info is much appreciated
Dave

Yachting Experience

Daniel,
I think you should look at the 5 year period as a guideline rather than the rule. There are certain nuances which are unique to the yachting industry (example- communicating/interacting with the owners and guests, or dealing with yards and subcontractors) which can take time to learn. The captain needs to be well versed in every aspect of the vessel. This includes such things as being able to fix a problem with a head AND THEN properly serving a rare bottle of champagne, all within a one-hour period. This is an industry which requires cross training and being able to back up your crew when necessary.
Now... the 11 month work period. Forgive me for assuming, but I am guessing that you are coming from the commercial field. Our work periods are considerably different from those on a commercial ship. We generally work hard for periods of 7-14 days with guests aboard followed by time for rest and maintenance. Even during the period with guests, we are not cruising the entire time. There will be times that you will sit in one particular place for many days. I guess my point is that it is not like you will be expected to keep 2 navigational watches every day for the entire 11 months.
I hope this helps and good luck.
Ken

Daniel,
The qualifications you hold will also make a difference to the time it takes to achive a captains position. If you have been in the navy for the past 5 years then you have lots of sea time, check with the RYA and MCA web site about the different routes and requirments to various yacht tickets, USCG as well.

As Ken said your attitude and personality will count for a lot, for example if a guest comes onto the bridge drunk and demands you fix the tv whilst you are navigating into a harbour at night in the fog, your reaction may be to lock him in the brig and arrange a court martial or slap some sense into him dont have that option in this industry, smile and lead him diplomaticly away from the captain.
Besides he may have his own private yacht and be looking for a captain and decide to offer the position to you after he sobers up .