The realities of deckhand working hours vary hugely, depending on the owner, yacht size, Captain and crew - oh and whether it's chartered or privately owned!   We talked to a few deckhands and here are a few real answers: KS – "off charter, I work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week and some Fridays I might get a half day. On charter I have been known to work up to 15 hours a day. So it can vary massively." PB – "could be 8 or 18, basically as long as it takes to get the job done. It's the same whether there are guests onboard or charter." CS – "we could work up to 16-18 hours on average, but there should be down-time or a break built-in too if possible. Legally we're obliged to have 77 hours rest in any one 7-day period, but the daily time sc...

  As an online superyacht crew recruitment platform, we often get asked if tattoos are a barrier to getting work onboard a luxury vessel?  Like most walks of life, superyacht owners come from a variety of backgrounds and walks of life themselves. So I strongly believe there will always be a yacht for every type of yachtie. Owners who like tattoos, owners who don't and those who are completely indifferent either way! What I would say though, is that visible tattoos can reduce the number of roles you might be successful in applying for, due to the fact that some boats have a no visible tattoo policy. The superyacht industry is renowned for being particular, to say the least.  It's a popular career choice, so there's lots of competition for...

Ok, so we're the other side of Brexit. UK is no longer part of the EU. And UK crew working on superyachts and shoreside around the world have questions.  We hope the following helps answer a few of them: An overview from 1st Jan 2021: Unless you hold a VISA or residency for a specific EU country, UK citizens can only stay in the EU for tourist purposes or work for 90 days in a 180-day period. UK citizens must (from the 1st January 2021) have their passport stamped in and out of each EU country, when visiting member EU countries. UK citizens must hold a passport valid for up to 10 years, with at least 6 months before it expires. If I entered the EU before 31st December, I didn't get stamped in. How do I stamp out? As a UK national, from outside the EU, you can ...

Owning a luxury yacht is a lifestyle choice. Spending time with family and friends on board your yacht, enjoying the scenery, basking in the sunshine, a glass of Krug in hand is precious time you've earned. But how can you be sure owning a luxury yacht a sound financial investment? Did you know that the ongoing upkeep and maintenance costs of your yacht will probably equate to about 10% of the price you paid for it? The good news is that you shouldn't be subjected to the same level of depreciation you'd expect from buying cars and more traditional boats.  Luxury yachts, if well maintained, do tend to hold their value.  But well maintained is the key phrase here!  As with anything, certain models, yacht designers, marine architects, boat builders and manufac...

Check out Yotspot's 5 Step Plan. We've all got to start somewhere. Superyachts do take on people with no prior experience, you've just got to be willing to work hard, work long hours, keep smiling, be polite and agree to take on an entry-level job, so you can learn on the job.   Positions like; stewardess, steward, cook or junior deckhand.  All jobs currently listed on our Yotspot jobs board today. It's an incredibly popular industry to work in, especially for ambitious individuals; flexible enough to travel, keen to gain experience and eager to see the world. So, let's get started… Hop on the Yotspot jobs page, walk the docks or visit local agents Polish and perfect your CV/resume (the Yotspot team are on hand to  help if y...

Welcome to the world of superyachts If you're looking for work on a superyacht then this is the place to start.  Your online jobs board where recruitment agencies, yacht captains and owners advertise jobs and meet thousands of potential superyacht crew.  Together, we've walked the docks, earned our sea hours and asked the experts, "what do you wish you'd known before you got your first superyacht job?"   YOTSPOT Yotspot's online jobs board has been developed to make it as simple as possible to create your very own online profile, find out about training and latest courses as well as apply for hundreds of jobs advertised at any one time.   And because we've made it super easy for crew Captains and Owners/employers to...

2 years ago, 18th October 2018 to be precise, we featured the Ocean Clean Up's launch  of System 001, AKA Wilson.  About to be towed out from San Francisco Bay, for it's intermediary trial before heading a further 1200 miles offshore to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch – the largest accumulation of trash in the world. 2 years on, we're thrilled to report that The Ocean Clean Up team have not only continued their work, but overcome what could have been an absolute disaster, to develop their first product made entirely from recycled plastics recovered from the Patch. After initially high hopes for Wilson, the team got a call in early 2019 reporting that plastics were starting to drift out of the system and that Wilson had broken into 2 parts and nee...

Luxury superyacht gym design specialists, Gym Marine, choose only specific brands and pieces of gym equipment because of their design, high-specification and quality. Here they share their top 10 picks: Our most popular is the Kinesis personal vision cable machine. Great if there's not much floor space, because it's conveniently built into the wall. The Technogym Kinesis Personal Vision has a beautiful flat-wall, mirror design so users can check their posture mid-exercise.  And with a staggering 200 exercises in one multi-functional piece, resistance can be changed with the soft touch digital display. If you'd like to add a splash of glamour, why not request the more luxurious Black, Leather or Gold finishes?   Popular with superyacht clients ...

Fingers crossed the magnitude of the Coronavirus pandemic is receding as we learn to live in a cleaner and healthier way. Mindful to limit the spread of the virus, we now need to focus on our own health, fitness, strength and well-being. So, with health and wellness top of mind, we approached Gym Marine Yacht & Interiors, the luxury gym designers who specialise in the design and build of jaw-droppingly beautiful gyms onboard superyachts, to find how high net worth individuals keep fit onboard superyachts, what sort of gym equipment they're using and why. With their work predominantly dedicated to building permanent gyms onboard superyachts for owners, charter guests wanting temporary treadmills, spin bikes or weights, or smaller scale gyms for crew, we asked Gym Marine how t...

A recent rise in fake yachting job ads has been reported, with individuals falling foul of the scamming trickster.  In particular, Facebook have seen a rise in ad scams, where so-called employers invite men or women to attend interviews for jobs that don't even exist. Whether it's for the purposes of getting hold of your personal documentation for identity fraud, money or something more sinister, we want you to be warned, be smart and stay safe. Here's Yotspot's Top 10 Tips for what to look out for and how to avoid getting scammed: If you've agreed to meet a yacht captain, owner or recruiter, make sure you meet in a public place in daylight hours. It should be obvious but please tell a friend or colleague where and when your interview is and who ...