How to find the right superyacht crew

We’ve all witnessed the rise of reality TV, and the often jarring and cringeworthy – and bingeworthy – antics of those being filmed. The superyacht industry has not escaped this trend, but while the fly-on-the-crew-mess-wall format has opened superyachting and crewing to a vast new audience, it has also helped place seeds of doubt in the minds of some potential new owners. After all, would you really want a crew who treated your yacht – and who acted – like they do on Below Deck? Is that what really happens? And how do you navigate the minefield of crew selection, particularly if you are new to the superyachting game?

Fundamentally, it’s about realising that there are people who will take care of that for you, and it’s about having faith in the professionalism of everyone who is involved in selecting crew for your yacht. It’s not a decision that you have to make directly, although some owners like to meet potential new crew to get a gauge on them. There are tiers of professionals who are involved in the running of a superyacht who are also there to ensure it is manned properly, ranging from the yacht management company (who often will be a multi-service company or brokerage with a crew management division too), to crew placement specialists whose job it is to filter potential applicants and put forward those who they believe are the best fit. Within those confines, there is little room for potential crew who perhaps arrive with the wrong idea about what crewing a superyacht entails.

Ultimately, though, it comes down to the captain, who will most likely be the one who makes the final decision, who oversees the crew as a unit, and who sets the boundaries for crew behaviour and professionalism. Get the right superyacht captain, and the rest will take care of itself.

“Below Deck is a TV show and so of course they may have a tendency to overdramatise situations and to put people on board who don’t really work well together in the same environment,” says Nigel Tang, a 31-year-old captain of a 54-metre yacht. “I think yachting is not really like that. When I hire crew I try to make sure I hire the correct person for the correct culture on board – so I might ask them how they spend their evenings, and if their response is that they like to go out drinking and partying with their friends then I know that person will not be a good fit for my boat.”

Building the onboard family

The truth is that a successful yacht – whether a charter superyacht or a private vessel – incorporates a team that not only works well together but also becomes like a family, and it is the captain’s job to build that family and to act as its head.

“I think one of the biggest ways to keep [good] crew would be how the captain treats the crew members,” Tang offers. “Yes, the management company offers the salary and the benefits, but it’s the captain who shapes the culture of the ship, so you need to create an inclusive culture where you listen to your crew and give them the space to express themselves. My crew are always welcome to talk to me at any time – my chief stewardess has even said to me that I’m not just the captain, I am the crew’s psychologist and therapist!”

On top of that, Tang says, the captain needs to create a space where crew can feel like they are at home. “Yachting isn’t a job,” he asserts, “it’s a lifestyle. Crew have to spend months at a time on board, and you have to create some sort of home for them. So on board my yacht, every Friday we have a barbecue, and we have game nights, and whenever we do drills I try to make it as realistic and as fun as possible.”

A good crew will also take it upon themselves to create that sense of family, and of socialising that doesn’t revolve around drinking. “I’d tell someone it would be the end of their yachting career if they went on Below Deck,” says Captain Matthew Pownell-Jones. “There are other ways you can have fun rather than drinking, and that’s a massive thing. We’ve done go-karting one day, 10-pin bowling the next,” he continues. “We do gym on Mondays, yoga on Tuesday mornings, running on Wednesdays, watersports on Fridays when we’re at anchor. It’s about being proactive and guiding the team on what we’re going to do – and it’s not just me; the chief stew, the second officer have all initiated things, and the ETO will set up movies on a Thursday and it just brings everyone together. We are a family at the end of the day, and it’s so important we stay like that.”

Building the superyacht work ethic

Crewing on board a superyacht is hard work, involving long hours, particularly when there are guests or charterers on board, and when crew have been working together and living together in the confines of the yacht and the crew areas for long periods, it’s easy to understand the need to blow off steam. But it’s also why crewing takes a particular type of person – and typically, not the type who might appeal to a reality TV audience.

“It seems the culture on shows like Below Deck is very heavy on work hard, play hard, but we don’t do that on my yacht – we work hard, relax hard!” offers Tang. “I feel people maybe have the wrong idea about yachting, and when it’s marketed like that you can attract a different kind of potential crew – but I believe in an ethos of hard work, self-discipline and proving yourself. And for new crew coming in, imagine how much you would stand out as a green crew member when you adopt a policy of do first, demand later!”

Adds Steve Osborne, captain of the yacht Slipstream: “There’s a risk of people coming into this industry with a perception that it’s all about money. It can be hard to find the right people who are willing to work hard for what they get, and the right people who can live in a sort of a melting pot and all get along as well. But it’s possible, and I think we’ve managed to do that pretty well on Slipstream – and we have managed to do that well over the years, which means longevity and that also means the owner and charter guests see the same faces each year.”

Crewed awakenings

There’s no question that crew are a central part of the yachting experience and, more important, central to the safeguarding and maintenance of perhaps anyone’s most valuable asset – their yacht. And while finding good crew who work well together and who balance their expectations in terms of salaries and shore leave with hard work and professionalism is always a challenge, the truth is that there are thousands of superyachts operating successfully with strong crews on board.

“My favourite part of the job is also the most difficult part of my job, and that’s crew,” says Captain Kelly Gordon. “Right now, my boat is a happy, fun-loving, playful, hard-working professional boat. But,” she continues, “it’s taken a long time to put together that programme. I’ve had to work really hard at the relationships with the crew.”

So, is finding good crew hard? “Hell yes it is,” Gordon continues, “but if you work at it, and you put the time in, and you as a captain invest into finding and working with and mentoring your crew, you can create the best-operating boat. I think,” she concludes, “it’s also important for the crew to know and to understand the reason someone buys a yacht. It’s because they have incredibly busy and stressful business lives. The boat is supposed to be their safe space, their stress-free zone, their place to come and play for the day or a week or a few weeks. There are always underlying issues with operations on a yacht, but as soon as our owner steps on board, it needs to appear that everything’s running smoothly. It’s our job to make that his fun zone, his no stress zone.” It’s the sort of attitude and approach to crew that should reassure any potential owner that with the right captain and shoreside team, their yacht will be in the best of hands.