So you want to get a job on a superyacht seeing the world on a luxury superyacht while earning tax free pound, euros or dollars?

The industry isn’t all sun, fun and lots of cash there are the long working hours, strange requests and behaviour from owners, guests and fellow crew members. Crews are isolated from world events, family and friends for months for months or years at a time. You’ll sometimes have unsatisfying feeling of cleaning the same windows and cutlery everyday which no one seems to notice. Living in a shoe box of a cabin with some you don’t know. Or waking up to find the boat has been sold and you’ve been fired for no reason, either by text or email from the owner or the management company. However the feeling of waking up at anchor, off a remote island, in a strange but beautiful country, overlooking the ocean is a feeling is the real reason most of us stay.

Your first job in the yachting industry can be difficult to find as well as be a shock if not prepared, even after completing the required training courses. The first thing that we recommend is that new crew members create a plan, so that you can understand

• Where you are
• What you are doing (now)
• What you like to achieve or where you want to be in the future

Create a must do list before leaving for your new life in the superyacht industry

• Work out when and where is the best time to look for work
• Plan courses relating to the position you wish to find on board a motor/sailing yachts, either complete them in your local area or organise to complete as soon as you arrive in your port of choice.
• Update your CV in a format commonly used in the marine and superyacht industry
• Register with the crew agencies online before you leave click here for a full list of crew agencies.

Superyacht Seasons

The best time to be looking for work in Europe is between the months of March through to June just before the start of the summer. The two major yachting centres in the Mediterranean are Antibes in France and Palma de Mallorca Spain.

Antibes

Antibes - situated near Nice in the south of France close to the boarder of Italy. Antibes is surrounded with a number of large ports and shipyards along both the Italian and French Rivera. These include the Monaco, Nice, Cannes, San Remo and Imperia to name a few. The area also hosts a number of large shipyards in St. Tropez, La Ciotat, Genova and Marseille only a few hours by train. Flights fly everyday all year round into Nice, including cheap airlines such as Easy Jet from hundreds of locations. There a bus that runs directly into Antibes from the airport or to the train station in Nice. A Taxi is a little more expensive setting you back 80-100 euros and should take you 25 – 30mins or so depending on traffic.

Most stay in crew houses while looking for work usually costing around 20euros a day per person to share a room with between 2-6 people, click here for a list of crew houses in Antibes. The other options include sharing an apartment with other yacht crew hopefuls. Messages are usually posted on billboards in the Crew House, Blue Lady Pub and the local crew agencies I’ve also noticed a few post in online forum’s such as Dockwalk. There are also a number of cheap hotels as well as bed and breakfasts in the area that can be about the same price as a crew house if you are sharing with a partner. The cheapest accommodation option is the caravan park near the Biot train station just outside of Antibes, costing 10euros a day. This option doesn’t however give you the same networking opportunities as places in Antibes.

Palma Mallorca

Palma Mallorca – is an island off the coast of Spain situated at the entrance to the Mediterranean. The island is full of culture, history and yachts. Palma has a larger concentration of sailing yachts then Antibes however being isolated from the mainland limits the areas for dock walking and day working. Spain in recent years have made it difficult for yacht crew to day work especially in shipyards where all on board must be signed on to a crew list to work on the yacht or be a registered business. Flights during the summer run every day into Palma from a number of destinations including Barcelona, London, and Nice. However during the winter flights are dropped and usually are only to larger airports where flights are redirected if need be check Easy Jet and Expedia for the best deals. The ferry again runs often during the summer between Palma and Barcelona again with limited runs during the winter periods.

Arrived in your port of choice

Once you arrive in your port of choice with you bag, CVs and business cards what do you do next? Once you’ve settled in to accommodation and explored a little the local area.

• Go and see the crew agents
• Dock walk
• Day work
• Network with others in the industry

Good luck with the job hunt and safe sailing!

For answer to Fequently asked questions regarding getting a superyacht job click here.