The One Where I Get a Job

I just noticed that this is my 100th post!! Crazy. Thanks for following along for 100 little stories of how I got from where I started - to fittingly, my first yachting job. Cheers to all of us!

I came into this adventure knowing that we may have to work separately. Living apart was the downside we were expecting on our way to our goals. That time finally came. 

It happened quickly. I got a call, an interview, another call and then started packing my tiny bag all over again. Juliano drove me to a train stop. I was nervous about working on my first boat, anxious about leaving Juliano and excited to see what it was all about. 

This is what I had been working for wasn’t it?

I sold my house so I could live here.
I quit my job so I could work here. 
I moved to Florida so I could get onboard here. 
I bought two computers so we could live apart. 
I took courses so I could know what to do here. 

The pressure to be happy with the dreams I had achieved was immense.

I stepped onboard and met the rest of the crew. Six crew keep this 130’ boat floating, moving and clean. It was based in West Palm Beach, a 1 hour train ride north of Fort Lauderdale where Juliano was staying. I liked it here. I work hard right away.

I got hired as Stew/Deck which essentially puts me at the whims of both my chief stew and our first mate. I clean the rooms, I clean the bilges. The pay seems low at first, compared to what I was making at my Official Office Job - but then I realize slowly that I don’t pay mortgage. Or utilities. Or food. Suddenly the amount I’m making stretches much further. Also, I don’t have space to put anything I would buy.

I live on boat now.

Yacht Life II: Daywork and Crew Agents

So, you've got your STCW and you can fold toilet paper like an expert. Now, you’ve probably spent all of your money on courses and crewhouses - here’s the real question: how do you get it all back???

Let’s get to work.

Step One: Get a Yacht Resume
Weird thing about yachting: Resumes are SO PERSONAL. They include things like

• photos
• marital status
• health/smoking status
• citizenship
• age

Pretty much every item that goes against every HR requirement in every job I’ve ever applied for. But, in this industry - you’re hiring a roommate and a worker all in one. 

      

Step Two: Get Daywork
This is a great way to get your feet onto a boat and start working. If you go around the boat show times, there will be lots of daywork. Fort Lauderdale Boat Show is usually around the end of October which is at the start of the Carribean season for many boats. Interior and exterior extra crew are usually needed to get the boats looking good! 

Dockwalking, talking to friends and daywork123.com are how we got this type of work.

Step Three: Crew Agents

Besides ‘networking’ (ugh, I hate that term. It’s so sleazy - but true) with your fellow yachties, crew agents are the way you’re probably going to get a job. Don’t worry - it’s free. The boats pay their fees to get matched with crew. Each agency works a little differently but in general: apply on their websites, get ‘interviewed’ by the agent, monitor the website/emails for jobs you’re interested and apply accordingly.

This is how we (spoiler alert!) got jobs.

Here are a couple of the ones we worked with in Ft Lauderdale,...

Northrop & Johnson ~ Elite Crew ~ Lux Yachts ~ Nautic Crew ~ Crew Unlimited

Every yachtie you meet will have a different story as to why and how they got into yachting, this is just us.

Yacht School II: Stew School + AEC

I can fold toilet paper into a little fan. 

I can set a table with 12 pieces of silverware - per person. I can create a lively flower arrangement with some grocery store flowers and crowns out of crisp linen napkins that would shame Martha Stewart into eating McDonalds take out for life.

I am the champion of fancy shit. 

Where did I learn these game changing skillz you ask? Stew School. Known officially as ‘MegaYacht Interior Operations Course’, Stew school is a yacht stewardess intro course. It teaches everything from cleaning and laundry to table settings and silver service. It’s a fun, but expensive (around $1000!) 5 day course that I took at the same school as my STCW. 

While it’s not necessary to get a job, and redundant if you have one - I would recommend it for green stews who are looking to get their first job. Not necessarily for the specific skills (you’ll have chief stew who will tell you how she likes it, trust me) but for the confidence and connections. The instructors of this course have been stews, and they know the game. Here’s your chance to ask aaaaalllll the questions and meet other girls just starting out in the industry. It’s fun, and it was the first time that I actually got my head around the level of service required in this industry. 

StewFact: Did you know we clean the bathrooms EVERY SINGLE TIME their used? 
Yep. We do that. 

THE GUYS: Deckies and AEC

While I was off learning how to fold fitted sheets, Juliano was learning how engines work. This industry is still quite gender segregated. While there are notable exceptions of female deckhands and male stewards - it’s not the norm. 

Stews : girls. Deckies : guys. 

The career path for the exterior crew is also clearer - there is a long series of courses and qualifications available for Juliano to take as he moves forward in yachting. For the interior crew there are course you can take (ex wine tasting, bar tending, service, etc) but no specific certifications that pre-qualify you for advancement.

Back to the engines... Juliano took the AEC ‘Approved Engine Course’ which is an intro engineering course. It’s a 5 day course as well, also quite expensive ($1000). 

Not my picture of a yacht engine room:

While hands on learning is the best for this, it’s a good general overview of the mechanics of boats - including jet skis and tender, the items typically required to be cared for by the deck crew. Additional, taking extra courses like this can show a bit of commitment to the industry - and differentiate yourself from the backpackers that fall into it looking for a quick season of cash.

Yacht School I: STCW + RIB

Numero Uno question I get asked when strangers find out what I do: 

How did you get a job like that? Did you have to go to school?

Well my friends, I did. I fought fires, I practiced CPR, I swam into a life raft. 

Despite my usual glib-ness about yacht life, safety is a huge factor. Boats burn to the water line in minutes, storms happen, and people fall overboard. Yacht crew are a relatively small group people charged with the responsibility of the guests, other crew members and the boat itself - everyone on a crew list needs to be informed and able to perform in emergency situations.

THE BASICS: STCW ’95

This is a must have to work in the yachting industry. It’s a 5 day course and costs around $900 US. It’s a really fun and informative week, you learn lots about the industry, safety and firefighting.

International Crew Training - STCW 95 from ICT Fort Lauderdale on Vimeo.

THE BONUS: RIB Powerboat II

RIB is a Rigid Inflatable Boat... aka dinghy. Every yacht has (at least) one, and this course will give you the license to drive one. Note I said license, not necessarily skill. This is a quick, 2 day course that will teach you the basics of driving a simple tender. We didn’t really get enough time to be confident drivers, but.... it’s a rubber boat.

ICT Powerboat II from ICT Fort Lauderdale on Vimeo.

Where to go?

We took all of our courses at ICT in Ft Lauderdale. They were great there - friendly and helpful, especially going in a newbies. MPT is the other big school in town, and while we don’t have any personal experience there - we’ve heard good things as well. What ever school you choose, just make sure that its recognized by MCA, USCG and/or PYA.

One Year In.

One year ago today, I picked up a tiny bag. I flew away from my home, my family, my things (not much left) to go and try something new. 

Let’s live on a boat, we thought. Let’s travel for living.

Holy Shit, friends. We did it. 

We live on a boat. We travel for a living.

Where are we today you wonder? Today, we’re in Brazil - on holiday. Yep, on holiday from living on a boat and traveling for work. Craziness! Here are the places that we’ve been since stepping onboard this adventure...

Pretty good for a season and a half, and we’re just getting started. How about this then... I’ve had a couple of very flattering commenters ask if what we’re up to. So let’s catch up. Grab a cup of coffee, and take a seat in the galley - it’s a bit of a long story, but it’s a fun one...

Side Note: I’ll be throwing down my version of "how to be a yachtie" advice. It’s only based on our experiences getting into the industry from Florida. Feel free to disregard if you disagree!

Information Gathering...

I'm a nerd, a keener, a bookie. {Ha ha.. not that kind of bookie!}. So, when we decided to do something like... Go work on a Yacht, I needed to do my research. Juliano wins 'King of the Internet' title for research, but I've done lots too! Here's some of the places that we look for information about yachting, the lifestyle and how to get into the industry:

I bought this book! It was pretty fun to read actually, and offered lots of great tips and information.

I don't want to make any recommendations about this life/industry until I actually experience it, but here are some of the resources that we've found online:

Dockwalk is the most active website, with great forums that answer loads of questions. It also has job postings for information, blogs and articles about the yachting industry.

The Triton is an online magazine with great information, articles and seems to keep the pulse of the industry.

Floatplan is great if you want to try sailing/yachting as a holiday. You PAY to be on the boat as a part of the crew. Usually the itineraries are really interesting {Amazon River?! Cape Town?!} and the boats and crews are smaller and more adventurous.

There's two types of jobs that we're going to be looking for Day Work and Permanent Positions. Obviously, we've not done this yet - so we'll keep you posted on how it goes. These are just some websites that let us know what's out there!

Lastly, we've been investigating training schools to take our certification courses

We'll keep you posted on how we use all of the these resources and more to as we embark ~ but, we just wanted to let you know that we're looking around and educating ourselves about this industry before we even leave Calgary....

Cheers!

Ps. If you know any yachties keeping up personal/travel blogs- let me know! I'd love to find more online friends :)