16/04/2025

You've survived the dockwalking (at some point you'll look back on this nostalgically), stumbled through interviews, and somehow convinced your new boss to hire someone whose qualifications could fit on a cocktail napkin. Congratulations! Now comes the real challenge: keeping this golden ticket and launching your yachting career. Here's how to navigate these early days with grace, grit, and a little humility.

1. Become the human equivalent of your own chamois

Every morsel of information tossed your way needs to be absorbed into your knowledge-starved brain. Take notes, ask questions (at appropriate times), and actively listen. Ideally, each catastrophic mistake should be a one-time special event, never to be replicated. The crew who advance quickly are those who learn efficiently from both their own mistakes and others.

2. You're now starting from the bottom

Despite your alleged 700 years of hospitality/watersports/Michelin star experience, you're just starting out. Hierarchy in yachting is a real thing, and it's important. Even if you think you know something, they probably do it differently, more expensively, and better. Know your position and accept that you're the bottom of the barrel for now.

3. This industry is smaller than your crew cabin

Everyone knows everyone's business before they know it themselves. Keep your head down and work hard. Build a reputation as a reliable team player, not as "that green deckie who projectile vomited on the captain." First impressions last, especially in yachting where your reputation can follow you from vessel to vessel for years.

4. Stay neutral

While longer-standing crew members might offer unsolicited opinions about other crew on board, form your own judgments. It's easy to get swept up in others' opinions, but give people the benefit of the doubt. Create your own perspective on everyone and everything onboard. Staying neutral in crew politics will serve you well in the long run.

5. Always be one step ahead

When completing a task, think about the next step before finishing the current one. Getting into the routine of forward thinking will both impress your superiors and set the foundations for your future yachting career. The crew member who anticipates needs before they're voiced is invaluable on any vessel.

6. Appreciate this moment. 

You only get your first boat once. It's something you'll remember forever, and you've worked so hard to get to this point. Take mental snapshots of the incredible places you visit and the unique experiences you're having, you'll want to remember these moments forever.

7. Prepare for tough a sleep schedule 

One that would make a medical resident weep. Between late-night guest requests for impossibly specific cocktails and 5 AM deck scrubbing sessions, you'll develop a relationship with caffeine that borders on codependency.

8. Get with the lingo. 

Suddenly there's port and starboard instead of left and right. It's not a bathroom, it's a dayhead. That's not a kitchen, it's a galley. And that's not a mop, it's your new best friend.

9. The lifestyle’s glamorous but works comes first

While you're having the time of your life posting envy-inducing Instagram stories, remember this is actually a serious job with serious responsibilities. The safety of the vessel, crew, and guests can depend on your attention to detail and professionalism. Enjoy the incredible lifestyle, but never forget that you're there to work first.

Remember, everyone on board was once in your shoes. The difference between those who make it in yachting and those who don't often comes down to attitude, adaptability, and a genuine willingness to learn. Keep these survival tips close at hand, and before you know it, you'll be the seasoned crew member giving advice to the newest green recruit.

And one last thing

While you're busy proving yourself on board, make sure your professional profile is just as shipshape. Signing up with CrewPass shows captains and agencies that you're serious, background-checked, and ready to take this career to the next level. It’s your passport to better opportunities, safer vessels, and standing out for all the right reasons.