Crew on Yachts and Superyachts

If you are considering entering the field of yachting as a career or hobby or as a way of earning some money to travel and/or pay back debt, you have come to the best site.

A seasonal job or a career on a superyacht can open the door to a whole new world. A world of excellent wages, great adventures, global travel and a whole lot more. Crew on yachts live aboard, pay little if any taxes, earn very good salaries and explore parts of the world that usually only the jetset are privileged enough to enjoy.

What training do I need to work on a superyacht?

All crew, from entry level positions like deckhand, steward and stewardess and chef and crew chef should have STCW'95 BST and they should also have the ENG1 Medical certificate.

Superyachts are found all over the world but there a higher concentration in some areas, namely the Meditteranean and the Caribbean. However as more and more of the vessels are built, owners are becoming more adventurous, travelling globally with superyachts found in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the South Pacific and the West coast of America. You still get relatively few in Africa and South America.

Superyachts are vessels, motor or sail, that are over 24 meters in load line length or 3000gt or over.

To view the top ten richest owners of yachts in the world click here
The list includes, Abramovich, Paul Allen, Tom Perkins, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Phillip Green, Valentino
To see the largest Yachts in the world, click here

Is there a demand for crew?

Crew right across the board are demand and currently there is a significant shortage of good crew. Chefs and Engineers are always very much in demand.

Click here for the Telegraph article entitled Rich face crew shortages for super-yachts By Jasper Copping

What do you mean by good crew?

There can be the supposition in some circles that joining a yacht as crew is simply a paid holiday and an easy way to travel. There is a lot more to it than that.
Good crew have the right training but more importantly the right attititude with a good work ethic.
For more about crew read our article - A captains view point

Is it easy to find work?

Providing you have the right qualifications, the right attitude and know where and when to start looking, you should not find it hard to find a job on board.

How do I look for work?

There are three main ways you can find work on board. The dockwalk, crew placement agents and networking.
For more information on crew placement agents please click here.

What sort of jobs are there on board?

At entry level, as said above you can find deckhands, stewardesses and stewards and chefs and assistant engineers, then as you move up the ladder you can find bo'suns, third, second and first officers and Captains, you can also find chief stewards and stewardesses and pursers.

When it comes to choosing what job you could consider going after you should play to your strengths, just because you are female it doesn't mean that you can't be deckhand or assistant engineer. Equally many chefs and stewards (interior crew) are male.

Apart from full time work there are also the possibilities for short term day working and a need for relief crew.

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