Work - 'SuperYachts'

D3AN · #1 (**permalink**) 08-20-2006

Hello people,

Been a while since i posted on here, been kinda busy...
Hope everyone is well...

I'm new to sailing, only took part in a race, and doing a yacht delivery @ the end of sept. i was looking @ doing a course with UKSA, or FlyingFish (UK).
But the kind of work i want to do, is working on superyachts. I'm not sure if the course i was going to go on, is the right path.. I will have the Yachtmaster cert. on completion of the course. But i'd eventually like to work my way up to Captain/1st Mate on a superyacht, any advice would be greatfully appreciated...

Thanks,
Dean.

nolatom · #2 (**permalink**) 08-21-2006

There are certificates issued by private companies/schools, and then there are the licenses issued by governments, like the UK and the US (I only know about the latter).

I'm not sure if the school certificates, by themselves, are going to get you where you want to go. Most "superyachts" are large enough to require a Coast Guard-licensed captain for a US-flag vessel, I suspect the same is true in the UK. Even if you seek employment on a yacht which is flagged in a country that is less stringent, you may find most owners, or charter boats, want will prefer to hire a skipper with a government-issued license from a reputable maritime nation.

The school certificate may be reflective of excellent training, but it may be just part of the picture. Generally, the government licenses require several years of proven underway time on big enough tonnage, plus an exam. In the US, the most common one is the 100-gross ton Master's license, then 200-ton, 500, 1600, then unlimited. Tonnage is tricky to measure, but generally 100 tons may be up to around 100 feet and 50 passengers (very roughly speaking). Your super-yachts are more like 200 feet or more in length.

Maybe the school certificate will get you on board one as a deckhand or unlicensed mate, then you can work on getting your tonnage and time to sit for the captain's exam.

I'm not speaking from personal experience, so am being intentionally vague. Check with some charter companies or captains you know, they may give you a different employment-potential story than the schools will.