When I was ten, my family moved from a large home in Las Vegas, NV to a small sailboat on which I lived until I was 18 years old. From there, thinking I was ready to try my hand on shore, I moved into the restaurant business on the water in Ft Lauderdale. After watching yachts sail by hourly and feeling the need to be at sea once again, I quit my land job of only six months and decided to be a professional yachtsmen. This would not be my first time to work as a deckhand but for sure my first to work on yachts of this magnitude. It took me less than a week from a c/v I posted at a clothing store on 17th street to find a boat I resided on for two and a half years.
Was it all fairly familiar when you started, or were you surprised about any aspects of the job, or conditions? As far as the working conditions I was very much at home. Nothing was really different to what I had been dealing with for the past eight years, already spent living on yachts except everything was much bigger! I was very much accustomed to the life style of living aboard but not quite so accustomed to living with so many cultures and different traditions. I suppose one could call me culture shocked because of the people that I had to bunk with. It took me a bit of time to fit in being a "Yank" but soon I was able to suppress my American habits to fit in with the crew. I quickly learned that yachting is not all about how you make the boat look or park the tender, but that it has a lot to do with how you present yourself and treat others.
What makes a good deck hand? To me, a good deck hand is one that is willing to learn and be very open minded. You can have guys or girls that are the hardest working souls in the business but are not willing to take a bit of guidance from others. This makes for poor time management, mistakes, and even worst safety issues.
What is the best/ worst part of the role? The best part of the job for me is the traveling. I love to see new places. My whole life I have been traveling from one place to another exploring destinations all over the world. I need this in my life and yachting fulfills this.
The worst part for me is the inability to be with the ones you love. I have a girlfriend that is the dreaded "land-based" type which makes life very hard at times especially when I am over six time zones away. Although it is not hard to convince her to visit for a week in Paris, knowing that it could be months away till your next time together is very hard.
Is there a 'stereotype' for your role? You know the one that first comes to mind is a "piss head". This is really what I do not like about this industry. There has to be more hung over people working in this industry than any other in the world. I do not walk softly on people who report for duties smelling of the bar and alcohol he consumed two hours prior. I have found a few sober souls out there though which continues to leave me with hope.
What is your level of interaction with guests? I am a very personable person. I find it hard to draw the line between guest and crew when it comes to interaction. To me, my goal, coming from a person that has dealt mostly with private yachts, is to make sure the guests feel comfortable and at home while on board. My past two yachts I have been on board, each two or more years, when I left both times the owners where like family. It is very important for me to have owners/guests that treat you the same way and not like a "maid in khakis".
Where are your favorite destinations? I love back home in the Virgins Islands. This will always be my most favorite of destinations. Other than that I am the biggest fan of the Galapagos. The natural life here is something you will find no where else in the world both above and below the surface.
Is there any advice you would give someone thinking of coming into the industry? My biggest bit of advice it to not forget that you do not have the same amount of money in your bank account as the guy who pays your checks. I find as do many others in the industry it is easy to spend like it was your "daddy's yacht." This industry is one of the best in the world to save money, though many look back after 10 years in the industry with nothing left but a few depreciating toys. You work hard for this money to be spending it all on V.I.P and bottles of 600 euro vodka every night you go for a drink.
You seem to have done a lot of training - is this on your own initiative, or do you find you're encouraged a lot by your captain etc.? When I fist started in yachting I decided that I did not join this industry to be a deckhand polishing screw heads all day and that I knew I wanted to be a captain of a substantially sized yacht. In order for this I realized I needed to learn as much as I could, take as many courses as I could in the available time, and take every job seriously.
The hard part for me was finding the time to take these courses. Due the very busy schedule with yachts I really had to work hard to find time to take course while also leaving a bit of time for a holiday here and there!
What next? What is the next level? I am not exactly sure where my future will take me. I am currently working to finish my master courses for the 500 tn, and am very much dedicated to furthering my education as much as possible before I take on the position as a large yacht skipper. I am really open to a lot of different ways to get me there and am sure that what ever path I choose will not fail me.
Any funny/bizarre/embarrassing experiences? For me one of the funniest things was looking over my original resume/cv that I submitted to my first yacht. Looking back at where I was and the knowledge that I had of the industry was pretty entertaining. I was willing to do anything just to get my foot in the door. I can only think where I would be if I actually was hired as a stew!!!!
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