With the end of the Med season in sight a lot of crew look to move yachts for a variety of reasons however have you considered that the grass isn’t always greener and maybe sticking with a yacht for another season or two would pay off, show longevity and potentially open doors for a pay increase or a promotion in the future. However for the crew looking to move on and find their next dream yacht here are a few pointers when looking for your next position.
Ask contacts and friends for inside information
If you are interviewing with a yacht potentially the best way to get a good feel for the boat is to ask existing crew or people who have worked on the yacht before what their thoughts are. Don’t always take everything for gospel as sometimes disgruntled crew say bad things which aren’t always true. The majority of your decision will come from gut feeling and whether it ticks your boxes.
Ask the right questions
Far too many crew don’t take the time to come up with some great questions to ask the yacht before interviews. Nine times out of ten chief officers and captains appreciate a little forward thinking and some interesting questions at the end may help to show your interest. Don’t immediately ask what the holiday and pay package is as this gives off the wrong impression. Ask about crew longevity, training structures, nationalities, crew culture and what the crew most enjoy about the yacht.
Money isn’t everything
I hear daily from crew that they are only looking for charter. This drives me crazy as ultimately how many back to back charter boats are in the industry? Not half as many as good private yachts. Have you considered maybe your happiness is worth more than the cash? Not only this, charters can be unreliable. They get cancelled last minute; clients don’t always tip so potentially you could be shooting yourself in the foot for a good paying private yacht where you would be much happier and at the end of the year earnt more. Obviously, charter boats have their perks but be open to good private yachts too. Concentrating on charter can sometimes cloud other good opportunities in front of you!
Crew Culture
The biggest factor for your happiness onboard will be the crew culture. If a lot of the crew enjoy the same activities and hobbies as you this will make your time off enjoyable ultimately leading to you doing a better job with the sight of a day off motivating you to work hard! If you enjoy hiking, watersports and being active potentially a yacht with a party culture or heavy drinking culture won’t be a great fit for you. Find out what the crew like to do by asking questions, stalking social media etc.
Itinerary
Probably the most attractive aspect of a yacht is the itinerary. Lots of yachts are Med/Caribbean so that world travelling yacht becomes very appealing to crew. Do bear in mind however you could be on the other side of the world with different time zones. Calls to family and friends become trickier. I was lucky enough to spend time in the South Pacific which was fantastic! If you want to travel further afield sometimes you may have to be flexible on the other aspects I.E salary or whether the boat is private or charter.
If your interested in discussing your next Yacht role, please don’t hesitate to contact me at tom@quaycrew.com, and register at www.quaycrew.com Good luck in the upcoming season, and hope this helps you find your next yacht job.
