JULIA KEADY
CHIEF STEWARDESS
"A little insight and advice ..."
I'm just back from loading up six trolleys and spending US$3000 at the supermarket, doing the weekly shop for our 16 crew. From green tea to grape juice, deodorants to diced apricots the weekly half-day sojourn is a chance to clear my chief stewardess mind, unless that is, I'm shopping in a foreign country!
We're in Antigua, definitely one of the gems of the Caribbean. We've
been here two weeks after having spent last month in the Bahamas, where we had our owners onboard for two weeks with three guests. Now, that's what you call heaven! Lovely owners. We cruised back via the British Virgin Islands, and then have had two weekends off here in Antigua. I've just completed one of my goals for the Caribbean and that was PADI Open Water scuba diving certificate. Look out Barrier Reef! Fabulous course, despite a small near-drowning incident, but what's life without a few speed bumps!
That is definitely one of the benefits of this lifestyle. How many people can say in the last four months that they have
- Learnt to dive
- learnt to windsurf
- gone swimming on horses (bareback)
- snorkeled untouched reefs on deserted Bahama island
- crossed the Atlantic ocean on a yacht
- had New Year's Eve in one of the world's hot spots - St Barts
- worked on one of the first private motor yachts in the world
- met and served Harvey Weinstein, Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Eddie Murphy, Rupert Murdoch, Anthony Kiedes
- cruised the waters of the Caribbean
- dined in great restaurants
- shopped for fabulous, often ridiculously-priced clothes and jewellery in faraway lands.
PLUS
- paid good money to work and live on a yacht with no expenses.
It's the life of yacht crew, but one that is not always as glamorous as it sounds. And the lure of the above can often have many new crew disillusioned when it comes to 18 hour work days .. for 2, 3, weeks or months at a time! Unless you've done a stint on Big Brother or Survivor there aren't too many experiences that prepares you for living & working with 8, 16, 20, sometimes up to 40 other crew members. Often the crew is a symphony of different nationalities with languages, values, customs, behaviours and smells very different to Down Under!
Heavily used charter and private boats are not for the faint hearted. One of my girlfriends recently just had two days off after working four months solid.
So .. are you coming into this industry to make it your cash-cow, to travel, to try something different in life or to advance your hospitality, engineering or yachting skills? If you can work out your priorities then you will have some hope in finding a yacht that works for you. Maybe it's the latest 100 metre charter yacht in the market where you might make a mountain of cash in tips, or maybe it's the seldomly-used 25 metre sail boat that you and your best mate run together.
Though you may not get your first preference in your first season, just get the experience and reference under your belt so you can go onto pursue your preferences. And don't let the crew agents rain on your parade. Some are very good at saying 'you don't have enough experience for that' but you need to remember that they don't always know what you are capable of. And they have to work within tight parameters to get captains the right crew.
One of my top ten pieces of advice is don't let a crew agent determine your future in yachting. Everyone starts somewhere, and often attitude, persistence and work ethic can be just as important than having all the skills. I have just had my new junior stewardess arrive, who has no experience and also speaks very little English. So we have some work to do together, and I've already learnt five phrases in her language, to help break down the language barrier. So never say never, never accept never, and believe in what you're setting out to achieve for yourself.
But most of all ... and above all ... remember to have fun. Don't take it too seriously. In some respects the industry has become a little too serious for itself. After all - how on earth can you make a richly rewarding, luxurious travel experience for Mr Billionaire, if deep down you are not loving your own adventure. So soak it up ... earn squillions (and save it!) and have the time of your life. |
