So finished the winter season in the Caribbean, what to do next?

You have just finished your first hectic season as a junior crew member and now have experience, new skills and a good reference to offer your new employer.

The first thing to do is to weigh up your options and make a list;

Mediterranean season?

Do you want to carry on and obtain another position on board, travel to the Mediterranean or some other exotic destination?

If you enjoy travelling, enjoyed your first season and want to extend your yachting career, there is no need to sit around and spend all your hard- earned wages waiting for the next season to kick off. You could find another position on a large vessel going over to the Mediterranean, either on its own steam or on the Dock Express. The smaller yachts will no doubt be winterizing and staying at their home port for the winter season. Unfortunately, this means most of the interior crew and junior deck crew will be laid off and only skeleton crew will stay employed over this time.

Training?

Many crew feel this is a good time to get extra training and refine those skills learnt over the winter, moving up to the next level for a larger yacht and bigger teams. This can be very advantageous as many yachts now ask for added skills such as masseuse, beauty therapy, advanced service, mixology, barista, wine, valet, floristry laundry, housekeeping different cooking skills, the list goes on…Abacus and March offer all PYA GUEST accredited Interior courses, running out of our training centre based in the heart of Antibes. For more info on training contact lucy@abacus-march.com.

Of course, there are added qualifications required for many crew these days, especially for the MLC certified yachts:

  • Food and Hygiene – various levels
  • Ship’s Cook certificate
  • PDSA

And various deck qualifications:

  • Power boat
  • Security Awareness

The more experienced crew work towards their extra tickets such as OOW and engineering certifications.

If you have any queries or would like more info about our Interior courses please don’t hesitate to contact Lucy at lucy@abacus-march.com or take a look at our website www.abacus-march.com

Things to do before leaving your current position:

  • Renew and update your cv with your last position including start and end date, name and size of yacht, cruising area and duties onboard, and of course your reason for leaving, such as end of contract or other…Make sure you have it in the correct formats as different crew agencies may prefer a word doc to a PDF.
  • Update your photo! Be sure it’s smart and well presented. Hopefully over the season you have lost any extra pounds too and have a sun tan which gives a healthy glow. Don’t forget to smile!
  • Get your new references in order and ask your head of department and the captain. Don’t ask your colleagues or friends as crew agents do check and see straight through this, be professional!
  • Check how to organize your visa online. if you haven’t got a European passport find out which embassy to contact and which is in your area for working abroad. Crew Agencies will not sort this out for you. All visas are the candidate’s responsibility.

Now you are fairly organized, where to go to move forward and to start looking for that new position?

  • So now you are prepared, where to go to look for work? Antibes (France), Barcelona and Palma (Spain) seem to be the favourites in the Mediterranean.
  • Check out the local crew houses for accommodation and book early as they soon fill up. Do remember to stay vigilant when abroad, be careful with your possessions and yourself. We are affiliated with the Crew Grapevine located in the centre of Antibes. Should you want more info contact lucy@abacus-march.com.
  • Do remember that most yachts in the Med will start recruiting from February through to May/ June. This is the best time for crew to start looking and grab their next opportunity. In April/ May most yachts will be organized and starting to look for day work for the final preparations before the owners and guests arriving. They may offer crew temporary positions for crew cooking and other interior/deck positions.

Never give up. Enjoy the sun or snow but whatever you decide to do, be fantastic, work hard, play hard and see you all for the next Med season 2018!

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