Hello all, My name is Duncan Gibbons. I am currently busy planning how I can get to France and find a decent job onboard the Superyachts.   I would love to know what it all entails? What certificates/qualifications would you suggest I get in order to be almost guarenteed a job onboard these ships? What will I need to fund myself, ie what must I plan on having to pay for? Any suggestion how I can raise enough money in half a year to make this all happen? What are my chances of making this work, and anything else I should know before delving in this industry?   Any help would be much appreciated Thanks Duncan

    Its 21:28 on Day 3 of the crossing. You join me while I am aboard a 56m Feadship heading for Falmouth UK. We set off from Fort Lauderdale on the 11th after what can be described as "one of those days". Nothing seemed to be going to plan. ------------------------We woke early on the morning of the 11th to move on to the fuel dock.. oh no.... scrap that, someone has come in during the night and taken our spot. A lot of faffing later and the captain has been woken up and we are now at 8am on our way. During the maneuver a thoughtful chap needing ice.. yes ICE.. decided to pop in front of us. Thanks for that. So. There we are... waiting. Waiting in the channel like the girl who no one wants to dance with, awkwardly, waiting for the man... in his boat.. to pick up ice. What ...

Yotspot is starting to gather pace in the industry people. Last week we had over 300 new members join the site and we are getting more paid jobs. With 300 new members in a week, we need you to help us help you! Simply put.. we need more jobs, more links, and more exposure.    We ask all of you to spread the word. This website has the potential to be an incredible tool for all in our industry.   Captains can now Post a job for free, receive unlimited CVs for free, if s/he likes the quality of the applicants? s/he can pay just £99 to unlock the contact details of every one of the applicants for that job.   There are some exciting changes we want to make to the site this year, and change doesnt come for free ;) We need to spread the word about YOTSPOT!! We w...

I have been doing my best to land that first position in the industry it is so incredibly tough, I am still looking for a deckhand position onboard and will be looking until it happens. I have been looking for seven months, and have had lots of experience over the last six months. I would love for an opportunity, and hoping something to come soon. Any advice is well appreciated!  Thanks!  

I'm not sure about this whole blog thing but I just thought I would share my story...   I moved down from Falmouth, Cornwall, England nearly 2 weeks ago, to find work as a stewardess onboard a yacht this season.  It all happened so fast, and I left on a bit of an impulse if I'm honest!!  Some of my friends used words like 'brave and 'adventurous', whilst others used 'optimistic' followed by 'naieve'.. all of them were right!!  I felt I had no commitments keeping me in England, I had been single for 2 months, in between jobs, and the house I had just moved into I had to be out of in 6 weeks anyway.. so it seemed as good a time as any to take on a new and exciting adventure :-) It is far from a holiday being here in Cannes, with little money in the bank, it is defin...

Disclaimer: Owners of yachts are all incredibly awesome and generally fantastic people. Some of the nicest people that I have ever met, nay, THE nicest people I have ever met. What has been written below is clearly the delusional witterings of a pea brained village idiot. (see below)   Owners of yachts are mental. Fact. Actually, I would like to amend that statement 'your honor', and go as far as saying that all owners of yachts are mental. Anyone who decides that it is a good idea to throw gabillions of dollars/pounds/euros/groats into the cash black hole that is a luxury yacht has got to be a few croissants short of a continental breakfast right? Before I get myself black listed from every yacht on the planet, I would like to add that just because the...

  Tuesday, November 6, 2012   By Captain Peter Squicciarini, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Master Merchant Mariner   Yet another tragedy at sea. The October "superstorm" known as Hurricane Sandy claimed another vessel, this time the unique and historic HMS Bounty. She was lost October 29th off the coast of North Carolina in some of the Atlantic's most treacherous waters. She isn't the first or the last ship in the graveyard of the Atlantic. One crewmember has died and the Captain is missing, presumed lost.    How? Why? The investigations (plural) have already begun. The Coast Guard has some of its best investigators looking into it now. All of the answers will never be fully known as it appears the Captain went down with his ship. Bu...

Yachting News: Baha Ha-Ha Time Again!!!! 26 August, 2012 This year's Baha Ha-Ha Cruiser´s Rally will be the 19thand will be held from October 28th to November 10th. The Rally has seen nearly 2,500 boats and about 9,000 participants during it´s nearly two decades and has also covered nearly 16,000 miles of Open Ocean. The rally this year will travel its traditional 750 mile route from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.The Rally will be open to all vessels over 27´and the smallest entry so far is only 28´. The entry fee this year is $375 and single handing is not allowed. The Baha ha-ha is not a race in any sense of the world, nor is it a party trip. While drinking is not prohibited, wild and crazy behavior or drinking heavily while under...

Spithill performed exemplarily to replicate his success on the baseball pitch in the water race. His winning trail began when he beat Dean Barker's team. The winning continued when he exhibited strong racing performance making it to the Sunday's Grand Finale. Spithill commented that the first fleet was the most exciting. Anxiety caused his team to break the start line before signal, a fault he laid upon himself. He however, noted the level of commitment amongst his team members in fighting for their place. He attributed his team's success to vigor that motivated them to fight harder when left behind. The reward is ultimately a win. In the opening fleet, Energy Team, led by Yann Guichard came from behind to steal the win from Barker and Spithill. Spithill&...

Portosole Sanremo was witness to a fire that claimed two yachts, the 23m Pershing, Ibris and 4m Maiora-built Manhattan. Lena Sundell, the yacht manager at Sanremo ASP Yacht Management, reports that the fire began on the Ibis at approximately 4am on August 29th, and was apparently caused by an accident in the kitchen that involved an oil-spill while preparing a meal. The fire is then thought to have spread across the deck compromising the neighboring Manhattan. The fire burned for several hours before it was extinguished. The fire began and spread so quickly that there was little chance to effectively use fire extinguishers. The second yacht was quickly towed out to open water to keep the fire from causing any more damage. Fortunately there were no reported injuries but ...