First Officer

Deckhand, Bosun, Officer and Captain are all deck crew roles available on superyachts. Their availability is dependent on experience and the size of the yacht; there is a gap of approximately 2-3 years of experience needed in-between each jump in rank. 

The job of a new deckhand will be to assist and learn from the more experienced deck crew. Day to day roles will mainly involve exterior maintenance, washing, detailing, polishing, maybe even some painting and varnishing. When guests are onboard, on top of that exterior maintenance, there will be watersports, driving tenders, a lot of security duties, some elements of navigation being introduced and of course assisting the rich and/or famous in anyway you can.  This role takes patience and resilience; whilst you are employed on a superyacht, the needs of the guests come before your own.

Superyachts travel to beautiful places all over the world. The scenery is always changing and the crew are able to explore and enjoy the amazing places they sail to when time allows. The crew are like a family as we live and work together onboard the yacht for months at a time. 

PATHWAYS TO THIS ROLE

UKSA, IOW: Superyacht Cadetship: Superyacht Cadetship Programme – Unique to UKSA

UKSA, IOW: Edmiston Superyacht Crew Training: Superyacht Crew Training – all-inclusive with UKSA

University of Plymouth: BSc(Hons) Navigation & Maritime Science: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/bsc-navigation-and-maritime-science

INFORMATION ABOUT THE EMPLOYER

The employer is the yacht, all are different.  The super yacht may be used privately by the owners or chartered and rented out, travelling worldwide to places off the beaten track or simply staying in the guest’s favourite places. The guests may stay onboard for only a few days, to weeks at a time. 

There is no standard for how a yacht will be run, except those set out by the Maritime labour convention. This sets minimum standards for crew. You should expect a minimum of 45 days paid leave a year, all food, travel, medical and accommodation cost covered.