Top 5 Yacht Crew Life Hacks
I'd love to share a few hacks with you that have made my life easier while moving from boat to boat and between my permanent jobs over the years. Whether you’re just getting into the yachting industry or have been doing seasonal and temp yacht jobs for a while, these tips could make a difference. While saving money and staying focused on your goals is essential, I don’t regret trying freelancing in between jobs. It’s an incredible way to travel, make money during the season, and then focus 100% on your passions—fly wherever you want and just live!
As I said, it might not be the smartest idea for your wallet, but if you don’t get stuck in the cycle of saving and spending, you can enjoy the perks and lifestyle the yachting industry offers.
When I was between yacht jobs, I didn’t have a home base. It was just me, myself, and my bags, figuring out where to go next and what places and people to see. This flexibility is one of the many appealing aspects of working in the yachting industry.
Essential Insurance for Temp Yacht Crew
Choosing the right insurance is crucial when you’re not employed on a yacht, especially if, like me, you no longer have ties to your home country. For long-term contracts or seasonal work, yachts usually provide medical insurance worldwide. However, for temp yacht jobs, you need to get your own insurance.
My go-to choice was always SafetyWing. They offer plans you can register for with any passport and from any location. Their basic Nomad Insurance plan starts from as little as $45.08 for 4 weeks, covering basic medical and travel insurance. They also offer options to add on, such as coverage for extreme sports like kitesurfing.
You don’t have to pay for a whole year in advance or commit to a long-term contract. You pay monthly and can cancel anytime, which is perfect for yacht crew moving between jobs. When I was between yacht jobs, I would sign up for a month and keep it running as needed. This flexibility is ideal for those unsure how long they’ll be between jobs.
Improve Your CV with Grammarly
Before you start writing your yacht crew CV, sign up for a free Grammarly account. It’s an automated grammar checker that helps you avoid spelling mistakes and feel more confident about the emails and applications you send to potential employers in the yachting industry. They also offer a Premium subscription that helps with sentence structure, ensuring your CV is precise, well-formulated, and easy to read.
Banking Tips for Yacht Crew
Wise and Revolut
Banking as a yacht crew member has its perks. You can apply for an offshore account with the yacht’s papers for all your tax-free earnings. In addition to this, having accounts with Wise and Revolut can save you money on currency conversions, as you can open multiple currency accounts and use them as prepaid cards. This feature is handy for managing finances when traveling between yacht jobs and splitting bills with fellow crew members.
Wise and Revolut are very similar, but Wise offers more options for different currencies. I use both to maximize their benefits, especially when working in the yachting industry.
Packing Right as Yacht Crew
When coming as a Crew onboard a Yacht, it’s advised to choose a duffel bag or any kind of luggage that is not a hard shell suitcase. Yachts often have limited storage space and the crew luggage shouldn’t take up too much space. I was looking for quite a while for the perfect bag for me, it should be spacious enough, as a girl you might have more luggage than the boys, so I wanted something big but not too big and a practical duffel bag that can be made very small once empty and easy to store away. And most of all one that is durable and will last for a few years as you will be taking many flights throughout your yachting time.
My personal favorite is the Osprey Transporter Wheeled Duffel 90. It comes in 90L and 120L. The 120L was a bit too big and bulky for me, so I went for the smaller option 90L. It has lasted me throughout my 5 years in yachting, and been on an absurd amount of flights in high spirits still with me on all of my journeys!
After a while, as things accumulate, I added on the Transporter Duffel 65 backpack for some extra space, which you can either check-in or have as hand luggage on your flight.
Stay Connected with a Reliable Travel SIM
The issue I often faced was how to receive an SMS code for verification on my phone while traveling through different countries. I often needed to put down a phone number to receive SMS codes to log in to certain pages, for transferring money from and to my bank accounts, for verification purposes during an online payment, etc. So I needed to find one sim card, and one number that I will always have with me and works with receiving text messages no matter where I am in this world (provided I have service of course). I have been using Travel Sim since I started my Yachting Career. I wish I had this during my time as a Flight Attendant.
You receive your E-sim right after signing up and can choose from a view county code for your number. It’s a prepaid card and depending on what regions you will be in, you can charge it with the amount of data you wish to have for that certain region. I have this number to mainly receive text messages like verification codes and the odd WhatsApp app use when I am off the boat. They do unlimited plans as well, and depending on the country they are really affordable. What I have noticed, is that even if for a few months I don’t recharge my number with credit, I can still use it to receive my SMS verification codes, no matter which country I am in. Which gives me a feeling of safety and knowing I can do online payments in any country.
