Finding a yacht job is like charting your course in the ocean… Now that you’ve made it to Fort Lauderdale and accomplished setting your sails as we recommended in our last blog, now start getting to each waypoint along your course:
A habit of networking - Network at least eight hours a day, everywhere you go, everywhere you are. Perk up your ears and get that mouth moving. Start picking brains, professionally please. Ask every single person you meet if they know any crew that would give you thirty minutes of advice. Ask the crew house owner for tips and suggestions.
One half-dozen visits to crew placement agencies - Crew Unlimited and Crew Finders always helped us the most, but there are many. Research their schedules because they only take walk-ins at certain times. Ask for informational interviews and don’t be discouraged by the feedback you get. Just take it all in.
One half-dozen visits with yacht brokers – These guys are the gurus. They know what owners are buying boats and need crew, what crewmember’s just left some yacht, who are the best captains to talk to, what other sources you might reach out to. Gather info from these guys and then expand, expand, expand.
Four visits with marinas’ dock masters – Dock masters know most of the yachts in their marinas, and most of the captains. They are a helpful resource to add to your arsenal. And walking the docks and talking with crew, as long as you are a legal US citizen or green card holder, makes some of the best use of your time after that dock master visit.
Top it off with some day work – Volunteering on the docks to help clean boats or run errands is a good way to meet other crew and show you work well with others. Take any pass thrown your way, whether it be cleaning heads to painting bilges. Walking the docks can turn up great opportunities, disguised as they might be.
Set your sails firmly, chart your course with commitment, then incorporate your remaining “deck duties” into your daily routine. You’re plotting a solid course for a great career in yachting. Good luck, and let us know how you do! Because there’s a yacht more to the story…
Winston Hovey and Cynthia Zvanut Hovey transformed their desire to simplify their lives and be free of all their “stuff” into a mutual second career in paradise, first running a pirate bar and then as crew on megayachts. Their new book, "There's a Yacht More to Life," spans 25 years of their adventurous career makeover. For more information contact Winston and Cynthia at wincyn@wincynbook.com
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