How to become a yachtie 101

As the UK has stopped issuing South African passport holders with holiday/working visas, more and more Saffas are heading to work on yachts in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. As a lucky Green Mamba passport owner, I did just that. After successfully completing my first Mediterranean yachting season I thought I’d share some of my knowledge to future wannabe yachties. Here is a list of how to get started:

1. When and where?

The Mediterranean season runs roughly from April until September and the Caribbean season kicks off in November and runs through until about March. There are crossings/deliveries in between and during seasons.

2. What qualifications do you need? 

You will not be employed without an STCW 95 Basic Safety course certificate. You can do this Mon-Sun course at the Academy of Maritime Medicine in Cape Town. The course includes Elementary First Aid at Sea, Marine Fire Fighting and Fire Prevention and Personal Safety and Social Responsibility with Personal Survival Techniques. You will also need an ENG 1 medical certificate to indicate that you are fit and healthy to work on any vessel.

For stewardesses, there are courses that you can do but these are pricey. If you have waitressing and service experience you can learn on the job. For deckhands, you will need a PowerBoat 2 certificate so that you can drive tender boat and play with jet skis. Also for any crew position, any experience on yachts from sailing to deckhand courses will be advantageous.

3. What visas do you need? 

For the Mediterranean you need a Schengen Visa and for the Caribbean you need a B1 B2 Visa. These are a huge mission to get but once you have a full-time job you can apply for long-term visa with boat papers.

4. How to find your first job? 

Sign up with all yachting agencies such as Luxury Yachts, Blue Water, Peter Insull, Crew Unlimited and many more.  Also sign up with yachting groups on Facebook where job adverts are posted daily. I even created a group for fellow Saffa yachties which has proved to be a great platform for finding jobs and sharing info on visas etc. Join SAFFAs unite in the Med and Caribbean and learn from the Saffa yachting community.

Market yourself! Spam every port in the area with your CV and have a batch of business cards on hand with a cheerful photo of yourself, your qualifications and contact details.

Walk the docks (aka dockwalking) early every morning to try get ‘day work’ (often a yacht will employ you on a day-to-day basis). If you get your foot in the door, work hard and impress the captain you could secure some more day work or even a full-time position.

The yachting social vibe is tons of fun, so don’t be shy. Get out there, enjoy the French rose wine or Caribbean rum, meet other crew, network and hopefully you will land your dream job. It is about who you know!

4. Stay positive and keep on smiling! 

It took me a month of dockwalking everyday, regularly checking in with agencies, and applying for every junior stew position advert to find my first job. There are hundreds of South Africans pursuing the yachting industry in addition to the hundreds of Aussies, Kiwis, Poms and the like. The competition is tough but as I used to say when dockwalking for the 20th or 30th time, ‘Be optimistic, don’t be a grumpy, just smile and smile!’ Keep your chin up, keep on going as something will turn up. You just have to wait for that moment to shine. Good Luck!

Click here to find out how to get a visa on your South African passport.

Click here for a list of places you can visit on your South African passport visa-free.