Doing the Dockwalk

When it comes to looking for work on board there are three main ways to do this:

• Through crew recruitment agents
• through networking and contacts
  
• and the dockwalk.

For the majority of people starting out in the industry they use a mixture of all three. They leave their resumes with all the crew agents they can find locally. Spend many happy hours networking in the local pubs and finally they do the dockwalk.

How you cope with the dockwalk is a matter of personality. For some people walking the plank is more fun than walking the dock, for others the dockwalk is boring but some find it downright fun!

Before you start your dockwalk you have to have a number of things in place first.

First, scrub up and dress nicely!!!! Looking as if you just ambled out of an all nighter at the local or fell out of your tent and forgot to shower isn't going to score you any points. If you were going for a job in a mansion you would dress accordingly, well a boat is not that much different and can cost considerably more.
Second, bolster up your ego and remind yourself that rejection can be good for the soul.
Third, pack a large bottle of drinking water, your mobile, your business cards and your sense of humour.
And, finally slip on a comfortable yet decent pair of shoes and head off to do the dockwalk.

The dockwalk entails walking down docks, wharfs, slips, jetty's, quays or whatever you want to call them and looking for yachts with easily accessible crew. By that I mean a crew member that you can call out to without rupturing your vocal chords or falling into the marina in an attempt to get closer.

On the whole, the crew member you speak to will be able to relate to your plight, having in all likelihood been in a similar place and will respond with sympathy. And possibly in the negative. 'Sorry, no job'.
In which case you have one of two options. You can smile and say thanks and head off to the next boat or you can hand over your business card and say, 'If you hear of anyone looking for someone, would you mind giving them my card?'

Your business card should be similar, in principal, to the one below. Having a resume or personal website online can be a huge assett in the job hunt. Particularly for chefs and stews where you can include photos, menus and more. (A business card is infinitely simpler than carrying a bulky resume and you can also give people your card when you network too.)

< - Sample business card You can also include on your card that you are looking for daywork if that's the case, (click here for more info on day working).

The next step is to go the next yacht and repeat the proceedure. You are not limited to asking a simplistic, 'Excuse me, do you have a job for me?'

You can ask, 'Do you know of any vessels with a vacancy for a deckhand?' or 'Do you have any daywork available?' or 'Hey, you're really cute, want to go out with me?' (Hehehe - just making sure you're paying attention.)

A dockwalk is obviously more likely to be successful in marinas where there are lots of superyachts. The book Working on yachts and Superyachts lists marinas and ports worldwide that are big enough to berth superyachts.
Cally Logsdon of UKSA used the book to spend four years travelling around the world on yachts, using the book to tell her which marina's to visit where she was likely to find yachts large enough to need crew.

What not to do!

Don't approach a guest and ask for a job. While the amused guest might find you mildly intriguing and amble off to find a crew member who could tell you if there are any vacancies, the crew member will be more likely to be appalled at the fact that you don't know the difference between guest and crew and tell you, sorry, nothing going.

Spotting the difference is pretty easy, the languid pose of a guest gives some of it away but most commonly the crew are in uniform, blue shorts, white T Shirt or polo shirt. If the boat is without guests most crew are stood down from charter wear (the poshest and newest crew clothes) and wear the shabbier older gear to do maintenance tasks. (If the crew look as if they are on best behaviour, use your judgement when it comes to approaching them as they are likely to have guests or owners on board.)

The boat with relatively scruffy crew is the best sort to approach. See one or two crew busy painting or washing or scraping or cleaning there will most likely be no guests around and the crew will be able to give you some attention.

Don't hunt in packs.
As an officer or deckhand, minding his own business as he peacefully sands down the capping rail, a pack of five people descending on him asking for work isn't going to impress him.

It's best to hunt alone or failing that, approach a boat alone with your friends staying out of sight. You can all take it in turn to approach boats, making it fairer.

Other tips

There are seasonal highs and lows for a dockwalk and these vary worldwide. Choosing the right time of year and the right place to be is an important consideration. Again the best time and place are listed in the book, Working on Yachts and Superyachts.

Another key point is the time of day in which to dockwalk; morning or late afternoon are better. Apart from anything else it's cooler then. Dripping with sweat doesn't always make you feel your best.

Does the dockwalk work?

I always joined crew agencies but it's against my nature to wait so while the agents were looking on my behalf I dockwalked too. On the first dockwalk, the first yacht I approached said yes, the second time, the fifth boat that I asked said yes. It sort of set the pattern for me and I enjoy the proactive approach. I like walking around looking at boats, meeting people. It's fun.

Warnings: It is recommended, particularly for women, that you have and use a separate SIM card and separate email adress on your dockwalk business card. Setting up a temp email address is very quick and simple, equally a basic sim card only costs a couple of pounds and it may save you a lot of hassle when the annoying crew member never stops calling.

Always tell some one in which marinas you plan to conduct your job hunt!