I work on a superyacht AMA

[belowdeckyoubet]

I was thinking about describing my job in an abstract way, it's very hard to do. So, I work on a big white boat, like you see on the tv. AMA

[belowdeckyoubet]

@SwanShaped the money, predominantly. And someone else is paying for you to see the world. I view it like being in the military and having to go away. You get used to it as a way of life

[belowdeckyoubet]

@Mydarlingsleepthief definitely not. There are plenty of heads onboard

[belowdeckyoubet]

@CorvusPurpureus yes, you share with the same person full time. You get used to each other’s ways. The owners want longevity in their crew so you life is made a bearable as possible to that end

[ImAncient]

How much would it cost to charter? And then the fuel? Not likely but I can dream. I agree about Croatia. Beautiful.

[M0nstermunch]

Do you really get tips as big as you see on below deck? Are they shared equally with the crew?

[BeeGeeTee]

If you were a chef at high-end restaurants, isn’t it rather dull to now e cooking for creatures of habit who only like ‘simple American food’?

[billysboy]

What a fabulous insight !

[SwanShaped]

You must be saving loads. What do you spend your money on? Or is it all stashed away ready to retire early

[LudoTrouble]

So you have children and a partner but only go home twice a year?

[Somuddled]

I also want to hear more about how you actually manage to have a family yet go home twice a year. You aren't giving enough detail in the side.

[LabbyNoona]

When you say you have a family, are your kids young or older? And how long do you get to go home for when you do go twice a year?

[Beefcurtains79]

Do you only see your family twice a year?

[belowdeckyoubet]

@ImAncient the charter fee is $300,000 a week, the fuel consumption depends on where you are starting from, but it costs $1,000 a day just to run the generators (to sit still basically) and dockage is roughly $1,300 a day too.

[belowdeckyoubet]

@M0nstermunch yes, the tips are that large - or usually larger. On Below Deck, the guests generally come for 3 days. In reality, you will have guests for at least a week, most likely 2. The tip is generally 10% of the charter cost (this is written into the contract signed by the guests) so 10% of $600,000 divided by 9 is what you receive. Only once have I received more that anyone else. If that's given in cash, you are obliged to give whatever cash you are slipped to the captain to share out equally, but this was transferred to by bank so I was unable to. Guests sometimes slip the boys as much as $300 for running them ashore of an evening, so it all adds up

[belowdeckyoubet]

@BeeGeeTee Sometimes - but they do entertain an awful lot and that is where you can do what you like. They very much like to show off to their guests, not so much in flair, but in taste and quantity. and you can take your time

[belowdeckyoubet]

@SwanShaped I'm playing catch up on that actually. Years of having to survive as a single mum takes its toll

[belowdeckyoubet]

The rest of the questions seem to be about family life. My children are older now, they come out to see me when they can, and I go home when I can. My BF is in the US, so life is split for me definitely.

[ImAncient]

Oh my gosh thank you. Definitely a dream then

[BigGreen]

Thanks, this thread was so interesting! Definitely adding Croatia to the list :)

[SwanShaped]

Interesting, thanks! I’d assumed you were in your 20s or 30s so your kids would be young. Or that you were a man who worked away. What’s the average age of staff? What do your kids think of your job? What did you do before?

[KeyboardWorriers]

I live in a yachting town on the south coast.... I know a lot of couples where the husband (usually) is away for very long stretches. They come back for stints of time and the children will go out to see them as well in school holidays. Interestingly I have never heard anyone quiz them about that lifestyle. It is an accepted part of a very highly paid job.

[KeyboardWorriers]

@belowdeckyoubet do the guests generally treat the crew well/politely?

Again it is a question from my below deck addiction (I can't get enough of the locations!)... But I have been shocked by the rudeness and also the objectification of both male and female crew members. Again though I don't know if that is because the TV studio hand pick some monstrous guests because it helps with viewing figures.

[bathorshower]

You've said that you come home twice a year. How long are you home for? I've worked within merchant shipping, and then the norm for crew was four months on, two months off (so, like you, home twice a year). Given the nature of the ships, they spent a lot less time in port than you I think.

[Tehmina23]

My colleagues' son worked as crew on a superyacht, one day they docked & this girl from another crew walked past... they fell in love, are now married and work on the same yacht together!

Also my sister worked in the superyacht broking business until recently... she came across a lot of Russian mafia & other shady types who buy & own superyachts.

Have you come across any mafia / crime lords or have you avoided that kind of owner?

[Tehmina23]

Also my sister knows ex special forces men who work as security for yachts in areas where there could be pirates.

Its actually quite dangerous to sell a superyacht to a mafia type as the broker has to sail with the yacht & a skeleton crew plus the buyer & his associates for about 12 miles outside the local countries' national waters to avoid the buyer having to pay ££££££s in tax then wait on the yacht while the sale goes through.
Then travel back to shore on a small boat with the crew.