boatcrew wrote:
On Wed, 05 Oct 2005 01:11:32 -0700, Tim Synge wrote:

We were in St Tropez in July and got chatting to one or two of the crew
of "Rio Rita", a rather impressive 50 metre motor yacht. The consensus
seemed to be that the most successful way of getting a job was simply
to trawl around the harbourfront in a suitable location and ask at each
boat whether there are any vacancies. Whether this approach is relevant
to sailing vessels, I am not sure.

Walking the docks is a very good method, but a lot of marinas are locked
or have restricted access. It depends on where you are. A few other ways
are crew lists (Internet, magazine, marinas), advertisements posted at
marine stores, crew agencies (for professional crew), and acquiring
daywork through crew houses. If you are working with the super yachts
like the one you mentioned, you can make $100 to $150 (US) cash per day
just washing them. The crew are making from $3,000 to $10,000+ per month
plus huge tips. The $10,000+/month wages are the captains and engineers
of the biggest boats.

I've been up all night working on adding some forums to the site. Still
needs some work, but it's a bit nearer to completion.

How many deck crew or cook/housekeeper hands did you interview to
arrive at your conclusion that these entry level jobs typically pay
$36,000 a year plus "huge tips"? It is my impression that would be on
the high side for a grunt, but in exchange for that or likely less the
crew person will be living aboard with one single bunk, maybe 2
drawers, and half a small locker to stow all their worldly posessions.
Large areas of the yacht will be "off limits" to the crewperson, unless
functioning in their capacity as a water-borne servant.

The job is on-call 24/7, but on the bright side for a young, footloose,
adventurer willing to kiss butt in any port of the world it's a good
way to do some travelling. Many owners of the biggest mega-yachts are
aboard for only a few weeks a year, but maintain at least a minimal
crew at all times.
Paul Allen will pick up the phone, call his skipper in the Virgin
Islands, and say "I would like to meet the boat in Barcelona on the
first of next month and cruise the Med. for two weeks" The crew never
really knows where it will be, or when, but on the upside the
atmosphere is probably not as intense when the owner and his party are
not aboard.