Work on a superyacht for a super-salary

Wanted for the entire summer 2013 season on beautiful Lake Michigan,based in Chicago: an ‘exceptional’ stewardess / deckhand crew member to be responsible for the interior and exterior of a 21m/70ft Azimut motor yacht. Salary: US$3,000 a month.

Wanted urgently: a cook/stewardess (male or female) for a 25m/82ft private motor yacht,a San Lorenzo based in Mandelieu la Napoule. The contract will be for three months from 1 May 2013. Salary: 2,600 Euros (US$3,383) a month.

Needed full-time: a chef for a 43m/141ft private/charter motor yacht,to start around 20 April in Valencia. The first trip will be to Portofino on 30 April, and the charter season starts in Corsica on 31 May. The summer season in the western Mediterranean will probably be followed by a winter season in the Indian Ocean and beyond. Starting salary: about €5,000 (US$6,506) with three days’ holiday per month, full insurance cover and benefits.

Hiring now: second engineer with Y3 and an AEC/MEOL qualification is neededfor a 75m/246ft private sailing yacht based in the UK. Start date: 1 May. Salary: US$8,000 per month

Those are just a few of the jobs currently on offer to well-qualified hard-working, sociable and outgoing, committed and conscientious yacht crew. Working on a yacht isn’t a breeze: it’s not your holiday. The hours are long. Your passengers always come first. But it is a chance to make some serious money, doing a job that’s fun, challenging, rewarding and out on the open sea. And the larger the boat, the bigger you can expect your pay packet to be.

There are plenty of jobs available on super-yachts, so what are your chances of landing one?

To work as a steward or stewardess (known in the trade simply as a ‘stew’)or a chef, you need the two-week STCW 95 Superyacht Interior Crew Training.

There are three elements to the course:Foundation training, covering the role and skills needed as a member of interior crew, from cooking and housekeeping to budgeting, STCW 95 Basic Safety Training (elementary first aid, personal survival techniques, personal safety and social responsibilities, fire prevention and fire fighting) and radio operation, and an introductory course in powerboat driving. Along the way, you’ll learn flower-arranging, wine appreciation, how to make canapés and mix cocktails and how to greet guests.

To qualify as a deckhand, you’ll need the two-week STCW 95 Superyacht Deck Crew Training.

This also covers STCW 95 Basic Safety Training, a compulsory qualification for crew on superyachts and all vessels over 24m/79ft, and a two-day RYA Powerboat Level 2 course, as powerboat driving is a basic function of deck crew and is required in many countries. Any skipper hiring crew will expect to see this qualification on your CV.

In addition, you can extend your deck crew trainingto include the RYA Competent Crew component, when you live onboard the boat for five days and learn the basics of sailing in inshore waters and seamanship and the skills needed to be a useful member of the crew.

Check out availability on all our Superyacht Interior Crew and Deck Crew Training courseson flyingfishonline.com

The Flying Fish recruitment board is currently advertising vacanciesfor skippers, first mates, crew, delivery crew, cooks, stewards and stewardesses with STCW 95 Basic Safety Training.

Access to full details for all jobs on the recruitment boardis free to all graduates of Flying Fish courses. As soon as you qualify, you are given a password which allows you to see all jobs.