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This has been quite a ride. I decided to take a slight detour in my travels and within the past few weeks began taking the steps needed to get a job on a luxury yacht. I have been considering working in the industry for the past couple of years and finally made up my mind to give it a go. Southern France is a haven for these toys of the super rich and being around so many strikingly impressive vessels has certainly aided in my decision. The yachting industry offers many opportunities through both land and sea-based jobs. There are more mega yachts on order to be built this year than in the history of the industry and though very competitive, the job market is growing now more than ever before. With these newly built multi-million dollar pleasure havens comes jobs for crew, yacht management companies, brokers, crew agencies, training instructors, and purveyors.

In the recent past working on a luxury yacht was considered more of a lifestyle than an actual job. It is tempting for many crew to forget that they don’t actually own the boat they work on and slip into the mindset of the money tree that does. Working on a luxury yacht brings with it an intimate relationship of the extreme high-end lifestyle lived by the guests and owners onboard. Owning a mega-yacht can cost you millions a year and chartering a mega-yacht for a week can cost upwards of $250,000 (much more if you want a really big one) and this only includes the crew and use of the facilities found onboard. If you actually want to move from the dock, eat, drink and be pampered then be prepared to break out your checkbook again.

With fewer regulations in place and little or no training required it was fairly easy for a good looking and fit person who may have never even stepped on a boat to show up on the dock, give a wink in the right direction and land themselves a good paying position, free rent and board, and the opportunity to travel around the world. In certain circumstances this is still possible but with yachting and chartering becoming such big business the MCA (Maritime Coast Guard Agency) and other organizations have stepped in and tightened up on the training required to work on a luxury yacht. Safekeeping of the vessel and accident prevention onboard should be the number one priority of the captain and crew. Running drills on a monthly basis and creating scenarios of incidences that are possible on a yacht are good ways to be prepared. But as I have learned through my training, it is surprising the number of vessels that lag behind in this area; though the efforts of the MCA and the SOLAS Convention (Safety Of Life At Sea; formed in direct correlation to the sinking of the Titanic) are really starting to take effect.

The STCW 95 Code (Standards of Training, Certification, and Watch keeping for Seafarers) mandates the minimum training all seafarers are now required to complete. This requirement was implemented in 1998 and contains four components (personal safety and social responsibilities, personal survival techniques, first aid, and basic fire prevention and fire fighting). I completed this course here in Antibes and must say that I truly enjoyed the course and learned much more than I thought I would. I completed my captains license training with the USCG in 2007 and though that was informative, the training offered through an STCW course will really prepare you for dealing with many of the practical aspects that come with working and living aboard a seafaring vessel.

I am glad I had the opportunity to complete my training in Antibes. We had three instructors for the course and they were all great in their own way. There were 11 of us in the class and I was the only American. The rest were some good people coming from the UK, Italy, New Zealand, and France. We all got along great, laughed a lot, learned from each other, enjoy our daily happy hour after class (did I mention yachties like going to bars?) and I learned some new slang words for Americans.

Each of our instructors were from the UK and all had extensive seafaring backgrounds. A fellow named John was with us for the first day and went over our personal and social responsibilities when working and living on a yacht. He started his career with the British Navy, eventually moved to the luxury yachting world and made his way up to captain of several different vessels. He is the founder of Bluewater Yachting and Training whom I took the course with. Jules was with us for the next three days and taught us about personal survival techniques, fire prevention, and basic fire fighting. I have to say that Jules was my favorite of the three instructors. His introduction to us as a class was…(in a thick Welsh accent) “Alright then, my name is Jules and I am the short, fat Welshman that John warned you about. I am going to crack on each of you for the next three days…but don’t worry…I expect you to crack back.” We had a blast with him and learned in many ways why fire is something that you absolutely do not want on a yacht. Part of our training was putting on a fireman’s uniform, donning a full mask and breathing apparatus, going into a pitch black two level container with a team of three, crawling through hatches and working around obstacles; then climbing a ladder into a container with a fairly large wood burning fire and putting it out…it was awesome and quite the rush. Performing in this scenario really helps you to understand why training and drilling are so important on a regular basis onboard a luxury yacht.

Rod was with us on our last day and taught us about basic first-aid and CPR. Rod was the most seaworthy and salty of the bunch. He was a retired Merchant Mariner and worked for most of his life as Chief Mate and Captain onboard chemical-carrying container ships (most of which he told us were highly explosive). He has been all over the world delivering these dangerous chemicals and has captained vessels as large as 250,000 tons…wowsas! My parents are big fans of the cruise industry and I have been fortunate enough to travel with them on some of the largest cruise ships in the world. Rod was captaining ships bigger than those and full of deadly and highly explosive chemicals….my hat is off to Rod and man did he share some great stories with us. Stuff goes on aboard those container ships that you wouldn’t even dream of…movie type action in real life. As Rod said…“When the shit hits the fan, the shit really hits the fan.”

I finished up my STCW training Friday a week ago and started looking for a job quickly thereafter. There are numerous crew agencies in town that I posted my resume with and have tried to conduct interviews with each of them. There are also many crew databases online and websites with job postings where I have also submitted my information. Then there is the task of ‘dockwalking’. Dockwalking can be considered dreadful or loads of fun, depending on how you look at it. You simply shorten your resume and contact info to one page then walk the docks where many of the mega-yachts are berthed and look for day-work which gives you experience, offers good networking and could land you a job. I didn’t have much luck with finding work like this and must admit that you sometimes feel like a bum bothering people for work. But it is a good experience and I know several people who have had great success with finding a permanent position by walking the docks. I did, however, get lucky with a crew agency.

A friend of mine, Marien, is a crew agent here in Antibes and this past Friday she submitted my resume for a deckhand position onboard M/Y Stampede. With my luck not running so hot walking the docks I had decided to check out of France in mid October and head to Ft. Lauderdale to hopefully catch a boat for the winter season in the Caribbean. I had just spoken to US Air an hour or so before when Marien informed me that I had an interview with the captain on Stampede…good stuff. So I phoned up the captain, had a good interview, the stars aligned in my favor, and I was offered a job as deckhand. I am leaving for Naples, Italy this Thursday (30th) and will start work Friday morning. Stampede was built by Delta yachts in Seattle and after going through a major refit in 2007 she is just at 120’. There are 5 other crew onboard and the captain really strives to integrate a team-like atmosphere. He is an instructor for MCA and RYA and says he likes to offer his crew the opportunity to learn and train-up to further their careers. The boat is private (no chartering) and the owners are from the US. Captain Laz says they are great people and really love their boat. We will be cruising the Western Mediterranean and Spain through late November-early December at which point we will cross the Atlantic over to Antigua and spend the winter in the Caribbean. He mentioned going to Cuba in my interview which would be an awesome experience I think. http://www.turnkeywords.com/uploads/file/78_stampede.pdf (the link is to an article concerning Stampede’s refit and has some good pictures of the vessel)

I am really looking forward to meeting the boat and the rest of the crew on Thursday and feel very fortunate to have been offered such an opportunity. Being a deckhand will be a lot of work but I feel I am capable and ready for the challenge ahead. Thanks for reading over my blog and for your interest in my travels and whereabouts. I look forward to sharing the new experiences to come. I have posted some pictures from some recent day trips I have taken. They are from Ville Franche, Beaulieu Sur Mer and Theoule Sur Mer. Three beautiful seaside towns along the Med in France. Enjoy and Peace to you all…Mike, “Yabo”

Beachfront in Theoule sur Mer

Red Rock Cliffs of Theoule Sur Mer…it is awesome how the coastline changes along the Med

Secluded beach in national park at Theoule Sur Mer…there were many people jumping from the cliffs seen into the sea..looked like fun

Entrance hall to Villa Kreylos…Villa Kreylos is a reconstructed villa similar to what would have been found on the Greek isle of Delos…It was built at the turn of the century, lived in until the 60′s and is an awesome place to visit

Ceiling and column inside Villa Kreylos…the attention to detail was unbelievable…the Greeks were an incredibly advanced society.

View to the east from Villa Kreylos

View from Ville Rothchild in Ville Franche…this gives an idea of the beautiful flora found along the Med…not to mention the incredibly blue sea.

Villa Rothchild..Completed in 1912 and located on Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat…Concieved and owned by Beatrice Rothchild (part of the dynasty family of merchants, bankers, and collectors)..one of my favorite places I have visited so far in France…the gardens are unreal

Waterfall found in the gardens of Villa Rothchild.

French garden at Villa Rothchild…looks like something from a fairly tale to me…there are 8 gardens in all that are apart of the villa…I cant imagine living at a place like this.

The RCCL ship Voyager of the Seas leaving Ville Franche…this picture is for my parents…big RCCL fans and loyal clients..hah

Ville Franche as the sun sets