Where do I go?
The four hiring ports and which one fits your passport.
Chapter 6
FREE GUIDE · BY THE CAPTAIN WHO DOES THE HIRING
Join yachting. Do it properly.
The whole route in. Where to go, when to arrive, what it costs, which certificates to buy first, which crew house to book when you land. Everything I wish I had known when I started green.
Not ready for the email? Work out what a season is worth first.
What the guide answers.
When do I go?
The season calendar. Arrive six weeks early or arrive late and pay for it.
Chapter 6How much money do I need?
Courses, flights, a crew house and the runway until your first day of work.
Chapter 3Which certificates first?
STCW and ENG1. What they are, what they cost, what not to buy yet.
Chapter 4How do I dockwalk?
Hours, dress, what to say, when to leave, and the rules that keep you welcome.
Chapter 7Ten chapters. One honest version.
Everything I wish someone had told me before my first dockwalk, in the order you will need it.
A letter from the bridge
Who I am, why this exists, how to use it.
What yachting actually is
Superyachts, private versus charter, who owns them, how many crew.
Is this for you?
The honest test. The no-experience myth. Who thrives, who does not.
The perks and the price
Pay by rank, tips, what the boat pays for, cabins, hours, leave, rotation.
Get certified
STCW and ENG1. Time, cost by region, and the courses to skip for now.
Pick your department
Deck, interior, galley, engineering. The ladders and the first rung.
Right place, right time
The four hubs, the season calendar, Schengen and US visa basics.
Landing on the dock
Crew houses, agencies, Facebook groups, daywork, dockwalking, networking.
Your first job
What to look for, references, contract basics, being asked back.
Your CV is your dockwalk
What a captain sees in thirty seconds, and where to build it properly.
What the paid guide adds
Season plans by passport, visa strategy, cert-cost matrix, port sheets.
PDF · 41 pages · 2026-27 edition · free
02 Is this for you?
Nobody on the dock cares where you studied. Turn up at 07:30 with a clean polo, a real CV and the sense to ask before you touch anything, and you are ahead of most of the CVs I read. The bar is lower than it looks. Clear it this season.
I hire green crew. This is the briefing I wish they had.
I run superyachts. I read the CVs that come up the passerelle and I decide who joins the boat when it crews up. I started green too, with a land CV and a lot of guesses. No name on this site: the boats I run do not need the attention, and neither do you.
Every season the same five questions reach me. On the dock, in my inbox, from friends of friends who have just worked out that this job exists. I used to answer them one at a time on my phone, between a fuel stop and a crew change. This is the answer written once and written properly.
It costs you nothing, because the information was never the hard part. Turning up ready is. Get your certificates straight, get your CV right, and be on the dock in Fort Lauderdale in October when the boats crew up.
Questions? ahoy@joinyachting.com. I read everything, I reply when the boat lets me.
Your CV is the only thing that walks the dock when you can't.
I read a CV in about thirty seconds. Most green CVs lose me in ten. SeaPapers builds the one a captain expects: yacht fields, department templates, two-page discipline. Build yours before you book the flight.
on SeaPapers, the CV builder for yacht crew
Find out what your role needs before you book a single course.
Deck, interior, galley and engineering all want different paper, and half of it has an expiry date. See the list for your role, then keep every certificate, medical, passport and visa in one place a boat can open with one link, with an email before anything runs out.
Then store them in the SeaPapers folio.
Both live at SeaPapers. One account, one link to the boat.
Boats hire on a calendar. So should you.
It is September. Crew change in the Med and the Fort Lauderdale season opens. Two doors are open at once.
| Months | Where | What happens | Your move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan-Feb | Caribbean, Bahamas, Fort Lauderdale | Charter season peak | Be there already, or book courses for April |
| Mar-Apr | Antibes, Palma | Boats crew up for the Med | Arrive with STCW, ENG1 and a CV |
| May-Jun | Mediterranean | Season starts, film festival, Grand Prix | Daywork hard, network harder |
| Jul-Aug | Mediterranean | Mid-season | Save, certify, prepare |
| Sep-Oct | Med (crew change), Fort Lauderdale (FLIBS) | Crossings and boat shows | Two windows open. Pick by passport |
| Nov-Dec | Fort Lauderdale, Antigua, St Maarten | Caribbean shows, crew up before Christmas | Be on the dock by mid-November |
Dates shift a week or two each year. The guide has the detail.
Tap a dot to see the port. Drag the globe to find another.
WHERE THE JOBS ARE
Four docks do most of the hiring. These are the rest.
Green crew get their first job in a handful of ports. The circuit is bigger than that, and it moves with the calendar.
68 of 68 ports. Scroll the list, or arrow through it.
Tier 1Green crew get their first job here
Tier 2Real hiring, thinner or seasonal
Tier 3Boats pass through, refit or charter base
Tier 1hiring hub · agency cluster
Antibes
France
Best windowMarch to May
The whole Riviera crew scene sits within a few streets of Port Vauban and the old town. Green crew dockwalk here more than anywhere else in Europe; hiring peaks March to May as boats come out of the yards for the summer season.
Green crewGood odds for green crew. Six named crew houses, multiple crew agencies and Port Vauban itself all sit inside a 10-minute walk; dockwalking is an accepted local practice.
PassportSchengen 90/180; SA passports need a visa first.
DayworkEUR 120 a day with lunch included, per a June 2026 Yotspot listing
Fort Lauderdale
United States, Florida
Best windowSeptember to November
PassportUS visa in your passport first
Hub pageChapter 06Newport
United States, Rhode Island
Best windowMay to October
PassportUS visa in your passport first
Hub pageChapter 06Antibes
France
Best windowMarch to May
PassportSchengen visa or exemption
Hub pageChapter 06Palma
Spain, Mallorca
Best windowMarch to May
PassportSchengen visa or exemption
Hub pageChapter 06
Second tier: St Maarten, Antigua, Viareggio, Auckland, Sydney, Dubai, San Diego. Cape Town for cheaper certificates.
Every yacht job wants different paper.
Deckhand, stew, cook, engineer: the list is not the same, and half of it expires. Here is what each job must have before anyone will talk to you, and what runs out when.
Deck
Deckhand
STCW Basic Safety Training + ENG1 + passport and visasSTCW every 5 years, ENG1 every 2 years
- Nothing else is mandatory on the first rung.Expected on top: RYA Powerboat Level 2 with Commercial Endorsement.
Efficient Deck Hand has to be held for at least eighteen months before an officer of the watch certificate can be issued, so the clock starts long before the exam.
Interior
Junior steward or stewardess
STCW Basic Safety Training + ENG1 + passport and visasSTCW every 5 years, ENG1 every 2 years
- Level 2 Award in Food Safety in Catering3 years is the industry norm.
Finishing a GUEST course only earns a course attendance certificate, and the Certificate of Competence arrives later once the awarding body receives a signed training record book.
Galley
Crew cook or cook steward
STCW Basic Safety Training + ENG1 + passport and visasSTCW every 5 years, ENG1 every 2 years
- Level 2 Award in Food Safety in Catering3 years is the industry norm.
The Ship's Cook Certificate carries no expiry date, because it is an MLC certificate rather than an STCW one.
Engineering
Junior, third or fourth engineer
STCW Basic Safety Training + ENG1 + passport and visasSTCW every 5 years, ENG1 every 2 years
- Nothing else is mandatory on the first rung.Expected on top: Approved Engine Course 1 (AEC1).
The Y1 to Y4 yacht engineer route closed to new entrants on 31 December 2022, and new engineers now go through the Small Vessel structure in MSN 1904.
Once you have them, keep them where a boat can reach them in one link, and get an email before anything runs out.
Straight answers.
Is it really free?
Yes. Email in, guide out. There will be a paid guide later that goes deeper: season plans by passport, visa strategy, a certificate cost matrix, port sheets. You do not need it to start.
Do I need experience?
No. Every captain started green. Chapter 2 tells you who this suits and who it does not, and chapter 7 tells you how to get your first days of work.
Am I too old?
Boats hire attitude and certificates. Most green crew are 18 to 30. Older entrants exist and do well, especially with a trade, a hospitality background or a licence.
Do I need to be South African?
No. The guide covers the Schengen and US windows for any passport. There is a Cape Town note because certificates cost less there.
What will you email me?
The guide, then a handful of useful emails over two weeks. Reply to any of them and a human answers. Unsubscribe in one click.
What is SeaPapers?
The CV builder and document folio for yacht crew. Department templates, yacht fields, the CV a captain expects. Then a private folio for your certificates, medical, passport and visas, dated and checked, one link to send a boat.
Where do I build the CV?
On SeaPapers (seapapers.com). Department templates, yacht fields, two-page discipline. It is the one I send crew to.
Where do I keep my certificates once I have them?
In the SeaPapers document folio. Every certificate, ENG1, passport, visa and reference in one place, dated and checked, so you see what runs out when and can send the whole set to a boat with one link.
Get the guide tonight. Be on the dock in October.
One email. Ten chapters, free, from the captain who does the hiring. Everything I would tell you if you found me on the dock.