I initially wanted to be a Wedding Planner & honestly, I blame J-Lo for that decision. (She made it look so fabulous in the movie!) After going to school for Event Management & planning a few weddings, I realized I had zero passion for weddings/bridezillas & needed to figure out my ‘plan B’ ASAP!
One of my classmates had just completed 5 years on yachts and after hearing her stories of travel, high end service and planning large events onboard, I just knew. I didn’t think about it for too long because it was the first thing in months that just made total sense to me. It was everything I needed without knowing it at the time.
I think I’m going to do this whole yachting thing, I said to my best friend Jeanine. Luckily, Jeanine was as crazy as I was & replied with when do we leave?
We wrote our final exam and a week later we found ourselves in a Crew House in Fort Lauderdale. For a girl that had never lived away from home, it was quite a shock to the system. The house slept 16 people, it was pretty filthy & there were nightly parties happening in our backyard until the wee hours of the morning. Looking back now, I have to laugh at myself because I was so out of my depth. (Good news is that Crew Houses have drastically changed & there are some fantastic accommodation options available)
After completing the appropriate paperwork, I started emailing every Crew Agent I knew of. It was then that I realized, Crew Agents don’t typically make time for Green Stews! My plan of walking onto a boat a week after my course was obviously not going to happen & I needed to refocus a little. So I became a little obsessive & worked tirelessly to find that first job!
My average day/week looked like this…
- Updated every crew agent website before 8am
- Attended every networking event in Florida
- Read Dockwalk Magazine & The Trition Newspaper
- Spent hours on linkedin trying to connect with different contacts
- Visited every yachtie related shop in the area (provisioners, florist, uniform etc.)
- Spoke to as many crew as possible about their experiences
I was really pleasantly surprised at how helpful all of the industry professionals were. The Owner of Liquid Yacht Wear was especially kind during my weekly visits to the newly opened store. The girls in the shop would tell me about different trends they were noticing & the logistics of ordering. For that weekly 15 minute visit, I felt as thought I belonged in the Industry even though I didn’t have a boat to call home.
The first few weeks in Florida were really tough.
Majority of my roommates were Green Crew and everyone was ridiculously broke, we relied on McDonalds $1 burgers for lunch & walked for miles on end because no one could afford a taxi. It was also only when I arrived in Florida that it hit me – my best friend was now my competition. We really struggled to find a balance between supporting each other and looking out for ourselves.
Looking back now, it was the hardest time in our friendship, but I wouldn’t change anything because without Jeanine, I wouldn’t have had the courage to actually get on the plane.
One month after arriving in Florida, I decided to fly home to drop off 2 of the 3 suitcases I was carrying around. (Curious about what you ACTUALLY need to pack? Click here for my free printable packing list!) While at home, a Captain & Chief Stew had popped into Liquid Yacht Wear to collect uniform and mentioned they would be purchasing more once another stewardess was hired. I then received a call from the ladies at Liquid who asked for a copy of my CV – I sent it through right away & anxiously paced around my house. The next day, I had a call from a Chief Officer, explaining that they were looking for a Junior Stewardess to join their 40M Charter/Private yacht. I was on cloud nine!! Within a few days, I had spoken to the Chief Stew & Captain and accepted a position onboard.
Giveaway Time!
To celebrate the start of the season, I reached out to Liquid Yacht Wear. I really wanted to put together a give-away for all of the New Crew that are going to be walking the docks in the next few months. So Liquid & I are partnering up!
You could win:
- 1 ENTIRE OUTFIT.
Skort/shorts, polo & belt to get you ready for this new adventures. You’ll be welcomed into one of the Liquid stores to get outfitted! (Fort Lauderdale or Antibes) - 30 min skype session with me! We can go through anything you like, from CV questions to the best questions to ask in an interview, pick my brain!
All you have to do is follow the instructions on my instagram to be entered to win!
Best of luck!
Big Hugs,
Gemma xx
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