Fellas,
I left about 7 years ago and went into the Merchant Navy. I had my first experience of Super Yachts about 4 months ago, so I'm no expert, but I have a few pointers....
First off, the recession, Credit Crunch, or whatever it's called this week, will obviously affect the numbers of boats & crews. However, not all bad news, there is such a shortage at the mo that there's some slack to be taken up before they stop recruiting.
Second point, any Matelot would be well qualified/experienced. Most of the safety courses have done at Raliegh/Pheonix etc. already have STCW certification, sometimes you need to ask for the cert. to be given it.
The (badly named) 'STCW Course' is really basic, a lot more noddy than EVERY matelot has done, probably even more basic than the stuff deploying Crabs do!
If in any doubt contact Percy at the 'Hoylake Sailing School' (Google it or click the link,
www.hss.ac.uk ) and he can sort out what you need to do on an individual basis.
He's a top bloke and helped me out with MN and Yacht stuff.
The job is ideally suited to all breeds of Matelot, Dabbers, WE, ME, OPs, Logs, (even WAFUs - as some have helos), they are apparently really short of all types of engineers.
It can be hard work, so don't expect all sun, sea and sex, and you DO NOT get a cut of the charter fee, however, some guests tip (very) heavily (But only on Charter Boats - some don't charter).
The very best advice is get yourself as many quals & PJT as you can esp. outside your trade, yachts crews are only small so a Decky may have to help out in the engine room etc.
They do need people who can get along, you have few (if any) rights so they can sack you if your face doesn't fit or they just don't like you... So if you're already an unpopular moaning tw*t, the yachting industry probably isn't the best place for you.
One big thing is the level of experience in the industry is pretty low, so if you come in guns blazing, some under-qualified git might get rid of you as you know a damn sight more than him... honest! I had to bite my lip on so many occasions (unfortunately a skill I only learnt after leaving the Mob!)
On board, the food is good, the cabins are shared (apart from the Officers), messing is all in. Leave is about what you get in the Mob, it's not MN standard until you get to Captian/Cheif Engineer - and sometimes not even then.
Becoming an Officer is straight forward, many will already be qualified, agian I'll refer you to Percy on that one. The Officer/Rating 'divide' is almost non-existant (There's always a few knobs who make me pause before going back and removing the 'almost', but you know what I mean), The main gap is cash based.
Money is good but not great until you get up the ladder. Most are paid in Euros or Dollars, so your real UK wage fluctuates with the currency.
I know I've rambled a bit, but I hope that this was of some help?
Any qu's just give us a shout.
