Temporary work as Professional Crew - whats the best way?

[john_morris_uk]

Daughter has a few months spare now that she is about to be back on her feet properly and would like to get a job in the yachting industry. She's not seeking to make her fortune, but needs paying for work done. I have some contacts in S of France etc, but I wonder if anyone else has any thoughts as to the best way to secure a position as a deck hand or below decks hand, junior steward etc.

Assets - 19 years old, slim and pretty, lots of sailing experience, bright and intelligent and lots of educational qualifications but not too many yachting quals. She has experience and can supply references for bar and restaurant work. She watch keeps and has a few thousand miles sailing behind her.

Concerns - the yachting industry can be dog eat dog and some charter boats don't treat their crews very well. Lack of formal sailing qualifications probably doesn't help.

Crewseekers is the big website company I know, but is it worth the £60 registration for crew?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

 

[nimbusgb]

I was talking to a professional captain and crew on a large yacht last week about exactly the same thing. My daughter wants to do a year as pro crew. The common theme was STCW95 basic crew qualification at the very minimum ( Fire, personal survival, Social responsibility and personal safety and elementary first aid. ( £650 to £850 ) without it not many of the serious charter vessels will look at employing you.

 

[smee]

She needs to do her STCW 95, as her chances of getting on a boat without that are slim.... and then register with the agencies, Crewseekers is rather limited for that (and charges!), suggest Dovaston, JF Recruiting, Yachtloop, Dockwalk, Letitia Van Allen, Crew & Concierge, Bluewater, YCO Crew, Cosmo Crew to name but a few.

However as June is almost upon us she has left it a bit late to be starting out now. The jobs are noticably declining on the agencies at the moment and many experienced people still looking, the rush has passed, and less staff are being taken on what from what I can tell. Captains are making do with reduced crew in many cases.

STCW takes about a week and will cost around 950 and covers first aid, sea survival, fire fighting and personal safety & social responsibility, it is required by charter boats but is also often used as a benchmark even for private boats. You have to be lucky to get aboard with no STCW.

 

[john_morris_uk]

STCW it is then - and I think that I can sort that out fairly easily. Thanks for reminding me - I have the qual' myself and I forgot that she will need it in the midst of family angst.

 

[Woodlouse]

As said the STCW is a must as boats equipped for charter cannot legally employ crew without it.

Next step is sending her either to Antibes or Palma. These days dockwalking is pretty much the only chance someone new to the industry has at getting a job. Employment opportunities are still not as numerous as they were before the recession and so the agencies will favour those looking for work with experience in the industry over those without. That said, make sure you sign up to Bluewater, Dovaston, YPI and YCO at least. They are all free, and all big crew agencies that specialise in the industry. Crewseekers is just not worth the money.

If she goes down to the med to search she will at least find day work, and even if she doesn't land a full time job she should still be able to support herself and have a fantastic time of it.

Finally, if you have contacts seriously consider using them. Who you know is far more important than what you know.

 

[smee]

I am in Palma and most of the jobs that sound interesting on the agencies are predomantly Antibes... seems to be much more going on there at the moment.

 

[Woodlouse]

Fair enough. I was in Palma until a week ago, but will admit I wasn't really looking out at the jobs being offered. Most of my friends who are there looking for work though seem to have found something easily enough though.

Just one other point though, in Palma, you only have one, albeit massive, port to look for work. If you go to Antibes then you also have Cannes, Monaco, La Ciotat and even St Tropez within easy striking distance so it might be the better option.

Palma is wicked fun though. I had to leave it was so good.