The first thing an employer or Captain will look at is your photo. Do you look the part?  Does your face fit?  Like it or not, your photo will be the first impression your potential employer gets from your Yotspot profile and with lots of crew competing for superyacht jobs you want them to remember you in a positive way.  Not only that, your photo will appear on your CV and every time you make an online comment, so make sure it's a good one.  It's going to give potential employers an indication of what you will be like to work with. Captains have been known to eliminate candidates just because of their profile picture.  Rightly or wrongly, the industry does favour those with the right look, so take a bit of time to make sure your photo gives you the...

This is a story about two tales.   In 2017 I was given the opportunity to run the London Marathon 2018 for a charity called Mercy Ships (more on them later). I had never ran a marathon before but had always enjoyed running to keep fit, but nothing on this scale (26.2 miles or 42.16 km to be precise!). In my yachting days, a run to Shirley Heights (Antigua) was occasionally on the agenda but this usually involved a 6am start if you didn't want to burn alive and I'm certainly not a morning person. If I'm completely honest I had probably wanted to run a marathon for years but had never dedicated myself to the training, discipline or planning, plus getting a ballot entry was nigh-on-impossible it seemed. Alas, I had finally been given a place so set about researchin...

We caught up with Tim Fletcher, Founder & CEO of Workrest this month. Having worked on superyachts for 5 years, Tim's experienced first-hand the frustrations captains and crew face when logging hours of rest and monitoring compliance. Whilst I'm sure you're familiar with the process, it's worth highlighting the inefficiencies of a process that's a legal requirement for everyone working at sea (on a commercially registered vessel) and one which led Tim to create Workrest. Each month crew members are required to manually fill out a printed spreadsheet with the hours that they worked and rested throughout the month.  But as most crew members will tell you, working at sea is incredibly demanding and tasks like filling out your hours of rest spr...

Stuart didn't know the first thing about the superyacht industry before landing in the South of France for a change of scene, bit of sun and a break from working as Chef in UK hotels. Working in a restaurant by night, he met some crew members working on yachts in the marina and before he knew it picked up some day work, painting, washing, cleaning tenders and climbing the mast.  "I had absolutely no deckhand training or experience, I was a qualified Chef but working nights in a restaurant in Nice wasn't bringing in much of an income and the people I'd met onboard were so friendly, helpful and grateful I was a quick learner." How did you get your first super yacht job? "I fell into a completely different world, picked up more and more day work,...

South African yacht crew face new tax implications, with SARS (South African Revenue Service) introducing an Expat tax amendment to the South African Income Tax Act, already prosecuting South African taxpayers who are non-compliant, but planned to take effect in March 2020. It means South African Yacht Crew and all South African tax payers working abroad will be liable to pay tax on their foreign earnings, once those earnings reach over R1 million per annum.  An earning threshold that's not just made up from cash components, but the total package, so for yacht crew if you get your accommodation, food and any travel, transfers or tips, everything you earn will be thrown into the same pot.  So your salary can very quickly get over that R1 million threshold. Previously th...

St Mary's Stadium in Southampton swapped the high drama of premier league football for the glamour of the Superyacht Industry last weekend, playing host to the Superyacht Charity's 5th annual ball. With a champagne reception to welcome some of the industry's leading yacht designers, suppliers, supporters together with their families and friends with one common aim.  To raise as much money as possible for their chosen 2019 charities; Sail4Cancer, Turn to Starboard and Oceans of Hope. Over 500 superyacht industry movers and shakers were welcomed by a champagne reception and cheered as Derek Munro, Chairman of the Superyacht Charity, outlined the charity's ambitions for the coming year and plans to launch additional fundraising events in other yachting v...

(A kind note for whoever reads this article: please read it as if I am talking as a friend and yes I am very humurous.) Travelling has been almost everybody's dream but as for seafarers, it has been a dream and an obligation.  Life at sea is such a bliss but sometimes when circumstances don't play fair, we may also say it is also a burden. Especially when we have to work and smile even though physically, emotionally and mentally we are drained. (Oh wait, also financially) I have been in my seafaring career for almost only four years. Starting from when I finished my University, until now. And well honestly I am still looking for another Yacht right now with the right and nice team and family in which would let me stay for the rest of my life until my hair grows white...

Any team is so much more than just the sum of its parts. But a successful team thrives on team work, each member putting their best foot forward, putting the hours and focus into training, all pulling in the same direction, with a shared goal or purpose.  It's exactly the same when it comes to the crew team on board a sailing or motor yacht.  The efficiency and smooth running of any yacht is a measure of the skill and harmony of its crew members. With up to date training, experience and thorough knowledge of their individual roles and what's expected of them, crew are better placed to deliver a safe, efficient and accomplished service for owners and guests.    However, the unexpected does occur and being an expert in your particular field sometimes isn...

My two biggest confesable passions in life are technology and sailing (not necessary in this order). I am on the tech business industry for the last more than twenty years and at sea for nearly forty. Over the years, I've noticed that the skills that every good salesmen acquires at high seas are extremely helpful and provided me with some business crucial lessons I apply daily. My passion for technology was innate due to - because of family traditions - my professional career should be spent in other sectors but my first job, back in 1993, was already related with telecoms and telcos. Since then, it has been a long and amazing trip deep into all types of customer projects, ITC Companies (as an employee, customer, provider or partner), sales ...

HEIGHTENED SENSES As a superyacht engineer all your senses need to be totally in tune with your boat.  Constantly watching out for vital signs on every dial and screen, listening for the reassuring hum of the pumps and picking up the scent of anything amiss below deck! Imagine the scene, the sun's just up, you're anchored in Monaco Port. You're one of the first to rise from your bunk and as you grab the first coffee of the day you tune in to the continuous sounds of the boat.  Water pumps running as crew take their morning showers, toilet pumps starting, air conditioning and refrigeration compressors stop and start.  As the vessel's engineer it's Mel's job to know the boat so well she can tell as soon as something's wrong. ...