Be Show Ready: The Cannes Yacht Show

Your summer season is coming to a close. This is the perfect opportunity to get your personal life organised, prepare for your next role in the industry and your visit to the Cannes Yacht Show.

Although not as big as the Monaco show, it is still a great opportunity to network, get yourself ‘out there’ and market brand you! Often, when you’re super busy working on board, you can be quite isolated from what is really going on in the industry.  

New to Yachting

If you are new to the industry and hoping to find work or promote yourself at the show, make sure you have the following.

A concise, clear CV including any extra skills you may have, extra languages, hairdressing, physical training and more. You will also need documents to confirm you have completed the STCW and proof of a medical. Be ready to start work immediately if required.

You need to look like a yacht crew. No visible tattoos or metalwork, dress in the standard yacht crew outfit, polo shirt, shorts, docksiders, have a conventional hairstyle, and be well groomed. Make it easy for captains or yacht management to visualise you as part of the crew.     

 Already in the Industry

Although there is a wide range of boats from owner boats to Superyachts at the show, it is a great opportunity to meet others in the industry… A great many different people all in a small area.  A meeting at the show today could lead to a job tomorrow. You will also get a feel for the direction the industry is going over the next few months. Often, when you are working on a boat, you get very involved in the day-to-day and not the big picture. It is always useful to be up to date with current salaries, new boats and builds, new cruising grounds and the general atmosphere in the industry.

You may not be looking for a job right now, but that could change very quickly. Is your CV up to date? Does it need revamping? 

Are your socials up to date? If not, now you have a chance to update them.  Don’t forget to mention you were at the Cannes yacht show and your thoughts and comments.

Organising Your Personal Life

When you are busy working on a boat, it is very easy to let your personal life slip. As the summer season finishes, you should have a chance to get your personal life in order.

Banking: Do you have Euro and USD accounts? It is vital that you have accounts in the currency you are paid in.  

Many crew now have Revolut or Wise accounts, which is fine, but it’s also a good idea to have a designated bank account for seafarers, (Standard Bank Isle of Man Seafarer account), where you can speak to an actual person if you have any issues and which provides international transfers at no charge. 

Contact us for more details.    

Health Insurance

Boats have to provide health cover on board. However, in many cases, this can be quite minimal.

What can also happen is if you become seriously injured, you could then be fired, and your health cover will cease. 

It also means that if you are between jobs, you are not covered.

The most sensible approach, and for your peace of mind (many economise on this) is to have your own health cover.

This means that whether you are working or not, and wherever you are (subject to the terms of your health cover), you will be covered.

And the good news is that it’s not as expensive as you think. Visit our maritime health insurance page for further details.

Life Assurance

This is insurance cover that will pay out a lump sum, should you die or be diagnosed with a terminal illness.

Just living life has risks, and you’re working at sea, so you are exposed to the weather far more and visiting far more locations than many working at home.

All boats have to have some life assurance cover for crew, but the minimum cover for boats is very low. The basic requirements also only require that cover is provided while you are on the boat.

So, if you get knocked down by a car when off the boat, you may not be covered, and you won’t be covered if you are between jobs.

Life assurance is age-related and not necessarily expensive, so if you arrange cover as soon as possible, this is the cheapest cover you will ever be able to have. The monthly price will not increase during the term agreed for the policy (For example, 10 years/ 20 years). Therefore, the younger you take out life assurance, the cheaper it is…

You could argue that you are a single person with no dependents, so you don’t need it, however, that situation is very likely to change in the future.

If you have dependents, it is essential that you have life assurance cover to protect your family if anything happens to you. It is one of the best actions you can take for your peace of mind and family protection.

Visit our yacht crew insurance page for further details.

Taking a Break

You’ve worked hard all summer. The boat is heading for the Caribbean for the winter season or to the shipyard.  

October/ November is an ideal time for the crew to take a break. A lot of boats now offer rotation to many of the crew, so they will automatically be ‘on leave’ regularly. If you don’t have a rotational position, it is essential that you take a decent holiday so that you come back refreshed to the boat. Burnout amongst yacht crew is now recognised as a significant problem. Don’t let this happen to you. It is much easier to avoid than to cure. You weren’t only put on this earth to provide wealthy individuals with great holidays.  

Making a Plan

In your downtime, as well as going to as many shows and meeting as many other crew and others in the industry as possible, you also need to step back and really think about what you want the industry to provide for you. If it is just an opportunity to travel for free for a few years in your early 20s, that’s fine, but if it is going to be your career, then you need to make a plan.

Yachting is a great opportunity to save substantial amounts of money over a relatively short period of time. This could be life-changing, but you need to be disciplined. Some people are able to identify their financial goals and stick with them, revising where necessary. Most people need help, and that is where a financial advisor/ mentor comes in. This could be Yachting Financial Solutions. You can find out more about our financial planning details by contacting us to discuss.

Five simple tips when making a plan

• Be realistic about how long you may stay in the industry. You don’t see that many yacht crew over 50 and much younger for women. 
• Think very hard about your life after yachting. What would you really like to do? You have already spent a large part of your working life looking after other people, ideally, the next part of your life should be centred on you.
• Where would you like to live? You travelled a lot. Is there any place you would like to live? Often when crew start yachting, they say that when they leave, they will go back home. In reality, at least 50 % don’t do that. It often also depends on who you meet along the way.
• In your life after yachting, you will not be on a yachting salary and benefits. The time to build up your finances is while you’re working in the industry. Although there is a lot of pressure in the industry to spend heavily, don’t get caught up in it. Your yachting career presents two opportunities: Spend it/ Save it. Don’t miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime chance to build up serious capital. You don’t want to be one of the crew leaving yachting who had a great time but saved no money. Returning to yachting, because you spent everything the first time around is not really an option. It is likely you will be very resentful if you do.
• Find a financial mentor/planner you can work with. Their job is to ensure that you do what you say you are going to do, and they will keep reviewing your plan to ensure you are ‘on track’ and achieve your goals.

Working as a yacht crew successfully means that you are constantly marketing Brand You. You should visit as many yacht shows as possible. In the Autumn in Europe, the key ones are the Cannes yacht show, followed by the star show the Monaco Yacht show.

By doing this, you are constantly meeting new people and making new contacts, exchanging fresh ideas and keeping up with current developments in the industry. These shows are definitely not to be missed, and hopefully, they will not only be very informative and helpful, but also fun.