It’s September, the season is almost over. Eight charter weeks out of the way. The owners have just left after a straight and intense 4 weeks on board and the first of 5 more charterweeks ahead is already in full swing. The sun has been brutal all summer. After helping out on deck she goes below to tidy up the interior. The aircon hardly cools her down.
Pocket Superyachts are luxury yachts between 15 and 30 meters run to superyacht standards. They have complex technical systems providing comfort on board. The owners desire a service that is similar to what you find on super yachts.
Human beings, generally speaking, don’t like change. This should become even more true when we’re talking about employment. For the 99% of people in the world employed in land based jobs, this generally means that their employment is geographically determined. In other words, they have to find the best job possible near home. Yacht crew don’t have these geographical chains that limit their options. Additionally, the yachting industry suffers from a lack of quality crew. The next opportunity is always around the corner for good yacht crew. This makes good crew just like gold: hard to get and hard to hold. At Invisible Crew we do what we can to hold on to those golden talents. In any case, truly good crew don’t just jump ship at the drop of a hat. Truly professional Pocket Superyacht crew understand the value of working within a professional structure provided by a management company that advises both the owners and themselves on the best plan of action. Having the right systems of accountability in place motivates and rewards our crews to do the best job possible on all fronts. Nobody can expect these young energetic professionals to know everything. That’s why they know […]
Ever since I started in the yachting industry 16 years ago -and probably before- there has been talk of a shortage in quality crew. I am not convinced that much has been done about it. In fact, I feel the problem has been made worse for several reasons. The most obvious one being the sheer numbers of yachts ordered and build. Also, yachtmaster licenses which -with enough miles in your logbook- can be obtained in as little as two weeks, have become unaccepted under more and more flags. Insurance companies have had a very hard couple of years, mainly through meteorological and environmental causes, but it made them scrutinise captain’s cv’s a little more closely than they did before. Surely all the above are, in a way positive developments for our industry, but it hasn’t helped us to get more qualified crew. Three years ago I launched the online course How To Work On Pocket Superyachts, in an attempt to contribute to the solution of the issue. However, I bumped into 2 issues. One was that completely novice crew -who were very easy to motivate to enroll in the course- were not employable after the course as they still […]
It’s really exciting to work with people who are serious about purchasing a yacht or already have a yacht in build. Prior to buying a yacht there are the dreams and the plans. The budget is the catalyst that makes the dream turn into a plan. At that early stage everything needs to be dreamed up. The colour of the hull, the toys, the fabrics and interior colour schemes and of course, the cruising plan and many other things. It takes professional guidance from people like us to make sure educated choices are made. We also make sure the less exciting items are taken care of. Such as the captain’s phone and laptop and the data contract to go with it. The crew bank accounts, the maintenance plan, the marina bookings, the uniforms etcetera. Then comes the day when everything materialises. The yacht is commissioned, the crew steps on board, the gear is loaded on, procedures are in place, owners and guests step on board for their first holiday and the lines are thrown off! Some owners have experience owning a yacht. Some even have experience owning a crewed yacht. Some owners have no experience at all. Whichever category they are in, if they are going at […]