Careers in Yacht Charter
A report by yachting journalist Rupert Holmes
The yacht charter industry has continued to grow in previous recessions and a strong demand remains for skippers for boats from around 40ft upwards. It’s a demanding, but rewarding job, that suits people with good people and organisational skills. Large companies such as Sunsail and The Moorings often run smaller boats, while boats above 60ft are usually privately owned, with guests booking through a specialist charter broker.
Couples run many charter yachts, although once the 60-80ft bracket is reached some boats have three crew: a skipper, chef/cook and interior/deckhand. Even so a lot of multitasking is needed, helping colleagues out wherever necessary until all the work is completed.
Charters become considerably more expensive as yachts get larger, and the level of service and care guests expect rises in line with this. On smaller boats clients expect to be looked after really well, but it’s usually a casual situation and for example crew will often have dinner with guests. On medium size yachts, however, the relationship between crew and guests starts to become more formal.
Chartering takes place in many areas world wide, with the Mediterranean and Caribbean, east and west coasts of the USA, and a large range of Pacific rim locations being key destinations. Many companies operate year-round and larger yachts move around the globe to suit the seasons, so there’s plenty of scope to gain year-round employment. Opportunities for work in the UK are mainly based on the south coast, often on adventure charters, classic yachts, or for corporate clients.
For this feature we spoke to two experts in the charter industry. UKSA’s Emma Baggett has worked aboard large yachts and superyachts for more than a decade, while Christine Lewis is manager of a large Mediterranean Sunsail base and provides an insight into working for a one of the big operators.
The charter skipper’s role
The skipper’s role graduates through the various sizes of boat, with more experience and higher levels of technical sailing skills, organisational ability and people skills required to skipper larger vessels. “A charter skipper needs to have good sailing and boat handling skills, but must also be a good people person,” says Baggett, “You’re a hotel manager, making sure people enjoy their time on the boat, and pitch things so that clients get exactly what they want. That means you must very quickly be perceptive about your guests’ needs and be able to meet their expectations.”
With images of glamour abounding at boat shows it’s not surprising that some people come to the industry in search of a life of luxury. However, talking to Christine Lewis of Sunsail’s Sporades charter base in Greece gives a perspective on the reality of the industry on a day-to-day basis.
“The most important thing is for people to be aware that this is very hard work – it’s not a glamorous job,” she says. “There’s lots of hard work and cleaning – cleaning being the key point. Most people we get are not prepared for that part of the job, but a huge part of it is keeping the boats looking good. At times there’s very little sailing involved – people have got to like just being around boats, not necessarily sailing them.
“Skippers must be able to work independently and use initiative to solve problems,” she adds. “A willingness to try, and not just give up the minute something doesn’t go right is vital – skippers are there to take responsibility for everything that needs doing on the boat. They also need to be very tolerant of others, including those with less sailing ability than themselves. In addition, bareboat skippers have to be able to live on a boat with guests; fortunately those who’ve done courses like UKSA’s training already tend to be good at that.”
Although boat handling is a big part of the job, Lewis says she rarely experiences a problem in this respect: “Most people have learnt boat handling to an adequate standard when training, and we can easily cover Mediterranean mooring when they arrive.”
Delivering a high level of service requires a professional attitude to all aspects of the job and skippers must be equipped for all eventualities. “Even in the Med that means foul-weather gear,” says Lewis. “There can be bad weather mid season, and if you’re here out of season you’ll certainly need it. Also unbelievably this year no one arrived with leather deck shoes – they all had to get them posted from the UK. People must understand that all our jobs, including engineers, have customer-facing aspects – so it’s important to look smart in uniform.”
Working in charter as a couple
Most owners of medium size (up to around 70-80ft) charter yachts specifically look for couples to operate them. This has the potential to offer a fantastic lifestyle, but it’s vital to approach doing so in a realistic manner and you’ve got to be able to get on well when working together 24/7 in a pressurized environment. “Many people plan to share the tasks onboard,” says Baggett, “but one person has to be skipper and another do the cooking, so it rarely works out like that. You’ve both got to be committed to your respective roles and be passionate about them – working as a couple in charter won’t work if it’s just one person’s dream.”
Rewards of the job
The demands of a charter skipper’s job are balanced by some fantastic rewards. One of the most obvious of these is that you can work in some of the world’s most outstanding locations. In addition, Baggett says: “…it’s a very hands-on job – if people have chartered a yacht it’s because they want to go sailing, so you’ll do lots of it. There’s also a huge amount of variety, which can be very refreshing.”
“Skippers join in with other people’s holidays – what could be better than that?” says Lewis. “Here our bareboat skippers are kept fairly busy during July, August and September. At other times there’s always plenty of other work to do – if they’re willing to learn that’s a really good time for them.”
Pay and conditions vary with the size of boat or the company you work for, but in all cases you’ll be provided with a uniform, food and accommodation, so earnings are free for discretionary spending. The further you go up in boat size, or if you work for one of the big operators, you’re more likely to have better terms and conditions, including holiday pay and medical insurance, and skippers of large yachts can earn several thousand dollars a month, with commensurate benefits. In most cases earnings are also supplemented by tips, which can be substantial – on large yachts guests are contracted to give crew a tip of at least 10 per cent of the charter fee, which is shared equally among the crew.
Opportunities for progression
Working in charter is a great way to build experience and hone both technical and people skills, making it an excellent springboard for other jobs in the industry, including working on superyachts. “If you’re looking for a career working on larger boats, it’s good to start as mate of a medium size yacht, or as skipper of a smaller vessel,” says Baggett. “Skippers of larger yachts and superyachts, need to have worked their time, maybe both as a skipper on smaller boats and as a deckhand or mate on larger yachts.
“Age isn’t really an issue,” she adds, “…fitness and relevant life skills are more important. We’ve had candidates from UKSA in their early 50s that we’ve placed both with The Moorings and on 60-80ft yachts.”
“Bareboat skippers can progress to become flotilla skippers, or move to private boats and up the size ranges,” says Lewis. “The two bareboat skippers we had here this season were very young – just 19 and straight from training courses. They were also the best we’ve ever had, because they were willing to learn, and were happy to try engineering jobs. They arrived not being able to do very much in that respect, but went home being able to take masts up and down [without a crane], strip toilets, and confidently undertake basic engine work.”
“In recent years there have been more people coming off training courses and looking for their first job,” Lewis adds. “Sunsail is good for the first step, which makes it easier for us to recruit skippers than in the past, but it’s still not easy to get the right people and engineers in particular are hard to find.”
