Deckhand Employment Tips

There are several categories of jobs available on the big luxury yachts. They range from the actual deckhand crew members to stewards, mates and even chefs.

Each job type has its own requirements as far as training and other qualifications. The most in-demand jobs are listed here, with specific employment tips for each.

Stewards and stewardesses have a starring role aboard a superyacht. These are the bright guys and gals who give first-class service with five-star attitude. Many of them come from the hospitality and customer service industry, or have a particular interest or aptitude in that area.

Stewards and stewardesses are fully productive crew members who contribute to maintaining a positive shipboard atmosphere while providing all manner of guest services.

Employment tips

Stewards and stewardesses desiring to work aboard a superyacht need special training as offered by a number of schools around the world that specialize in boat careers. The training includes coarses in basic boatsmanship as well as specialty instruction in superyacht hospitality.

The position of steward or stewardess requires maturity and self-discipline, the desire to provide great service, and a sense of humor. You will need to know how to present yourself well, both in terms of how you dress and in terms of an engaging, friendly personality.

Among the things you will be expected to master are etiquette, international protocol, food and wine service, entertainment planning, boat provisioning, fabric and furnishing care, laundry procedures, floral arrangement and valet service, just to name some. These will be covered in your professional training, but if you already have experience in any of them - for instance, from a job in a hotel or restaurant - you will be ahead of the game.

Deckhands, or deck crew members, perform a wide fariety of tasks, under the authority of a boat's captain (often via the first mate or the bosun).

A deckhand may be expected to keep the yacht's exterior and deck equipment clean and maintained, while also helping out with watchkeeping, navigation, guest services and docking. The willingness and ability to work hard, while paying attention to detail, makes a deckhand an invaluable part of the superyacht "family."

Starting out as a deckhand will give you with an entrée into the Superyacht industry and, as your experience grows, it will be the foundation to move up into higher-level crew positions. Many captains and first mates started their careers in this position.

Employment Tips

A deckhand should be able to confidently accept any assignment related to boat handling and maintenance.

Credentials-wise, he (or she) should have earned an international crew certificate, a VHF radio operator's certificate and certification as a small power boat master. (There are downloadable superyacht employment guides available that can show you how to obtain these certifications at the least cost and in the fastest time.)

Boat-handling skills are crucial to getting a deckhand's job. Try to obtain these skills any way you can, even if it's just from messing about on a friend's boat or on one of your own.

Other skills you should learn or brush up on include washing down a boat, painting a boat (on ongoing chore on a superyacht!), varnishing trim, scrubbing decks, general seamanship and navigation, driving a tender, engine maintenance, keeping watch, rope splicing and knotsmanship, and boat fueling.

Almost as important as having (or developing) specific skills, you should cultivate a cheerful, confident attitude toward your work. Then you will come across in interviews as someone who will be a good fit with a crew that will be spending a lot of time together.

A chef on a superyacht is one of the most important crew members on the boat. A good chef is treated almost like royalty - and his or her pay reflects this status.

Qualified chefs come from diverse backgrounds. While you will need some formal training and professional qualification to make it as a chef on a yacht, it is more important that you have a natural feel and appreciation for good cooking, as well as a creative streak. Whether you picked this up as a youngster in your parents' kitchen, or as a cook in a restaurant, this intuitive "feel for food" will be your ticket to the good life aboard a superyacht.

Employment Tips

A yacht chef should be organized and an excellent planner. You will not only be expected to have meals ready on time, but you will be the source of the entire crew's culinary contentment.

You should understand and be able to practice good hygiene and sanitation. You will also need to demonstrate to potential yacht employers that you know how to provision a galley. This is critically mportant in some areas, such as the Caribbean islands, where supplies are often difficult to procure; therefore, resourcefulness and persistence are traits you need to have.

Although you might think of a chef as someone who is hidden from sight most of the time, working away in the galley, in fact you need to be a "people person." You will need to interact with guests and other crew members to determine their food likes and dislikes, and any special dietary needs they have.

Show that you have all of these traits and abilities - in addition to the necessary formal training - and you will be well on your way to securing an onboard chef's position.

The first mate on a superyacht is the captain's right-hand man (or woman). The mate works closely not only with the captain, but also the boat's engineer and the deck crew and interior crew. If a regular deckhand is expected to be a jack of all trades, then the first mate is all of that and more.

Achieving a first mate's position aboard a yacht will often put you at the head of the line for a captain's job, if you want to go that far. The mate's job is very satisfying in its own right, though, and can itself be a lifelong career.

Employment Tips

To qualify to be a first mate, you should obtain a Master of Yachts certificate. There are several international yachting schools that can help you achieve this certification. One of the /www.deckhands.info">superyacht employment guides found on the Web will have advice on choosing a school. This certificate will enable you to crew to a rank of first mate on the world's finest mega- and super yachts.

You should also have a number of specific skills related to boat maintenance and operation. You should be knowledgeable in the art of polishing and varnishign. You should be skilledat outboard engine maintenance and repair. You need to have excellent navigational and boat handling skills. A VHF/HF radio operator's license is required, and
Scuba diving certification is a big plus.

A prospective first mate will also be judged by his or her people skills. After all, you will have a great deal of responsibility for your yacht's guests and their happiness. This includes the responsibility of moving guests to and from the main vessel on a small tender. You may also be in charge of the guests' watersport entertainment.

A first mate will also have a supervisory role over deckhands, stewards and stewardesses. If you don't have them already, you need to develop good management skills.

If you want to be a first mate, the best employment tip is this: Work as a regular deckhand or other crew member first. Gain as much hands-on experience as you can in every asepct of running a luxury yacht. Certification is important, but without a solid history of boat work behind you, you are not likely to obtain a first mate's job.

The work and effort is worth it. Having a first mate's job will earn you respect - and a great salary! - in every port around the world.

A superyacht captain is both the heard and head of the vessel. The captain's responsibilities are wide-ranging and almost too many to list them all. He or she must respond to diverse challenges every day. As you can imagine, though, the captain of a superyacht enjoys a wonderful and well-paid lifestyle that would be the envy of almost anyone.

Captains administer to the yacht's owner, the crew and the vessel itelf. They ensure that all aspects of boat operations have been taken care of, whether it be by delegation or hands-on supervision. Captains become personal assistants to the owner when the owner is aboard, yard managers while the boat is in dock being refitted or repaired, financial managers who must deal with crew salaries and vessel expenditures, and hiring agents responsible for finding and retaining good crew members. Oh yes ... they also drive the boat!

Employment Tips

Captaining a superyacht is not a profession one just falls into. You must set captaincy as a goal and work toward it, one step at a time. Review the skills and qualifications listed above for deckhands and first mates ... those are the place to start.

You must of course have boating experience that is both deep and broad. An owner will require that you have a solid marine engineering background in addition to superior boat handling skills. Your resume as well as your reputation should demonstrate your understanding and respect for the highest standards of marine safety; after all, you will be
responsible for the well-being and even the lives of everyone aboard, not to mention the integrity of a multi-million-dollar vessel.

It should go without saying that your people skills must be the best in the business. It is important to get along well with everyone from the greenest crew member to the most famous celebrity guest who may happen to be vacationing on your yacht. On the other hand, you can't simply be "one of the gang," for circumstances will often require you to
take firm command and issue decisive orders to others. You must be able to command respect and cooperation from your crew as well as from captains of other vessels, port authorities, and many other people you will deal with on a daily basis.

Certification requirements are the same as those for first mate, in most countries. The primary certification is Master of Yachts. Many yachting schools have courses that will prepare you to earn this certification. However, you will probably need to meet several requirements just to gain admittance to the certification courses.

Typically, before you can study to obtain Master of Yachts certification, you should already have demonstrable skill in navigation and bouyage. You should be able to document at least 50 days on board a yacht at sea as an active crew member ("at sea" means outside a harbor). You should also have 3,000 miles logged aboard a yacht while cruising at sea, and this mileage must be on passages, not day trips. Depending on the school teaching the course, there may be other prerequisites, including acting as a skipper or watchkeeper for a certain number of hours.

Beyond the certification requirements, the major trait that employers will look for ... you must love the sea!

It's impossible to list all of the possible superyacht job positions there are. The list varies from boat to boat.

One other common one is a boatswain, often written and pronounced as bo'sun or bosun. Boatswains are often the "foremen" of a deck crew. Their role is primarily supervisory, but they must be highly skilled in all aspects of basic seamanship, including hull cleaning and maintenance, cargo rigging, and deck maintenance. They also may be required to work aloft much of the time - hence the "bosun's chair."

Yet other positions about a superyacht may not even have formal titles. These might include people who are general assistants, helping the chef prepare food for a meal, perhaps, and then lending a hand with deck operations.

Truly, deckhand employment is a world full of exciting opportunities.