What constitutes a bad boat is of course, as with most things, very subjective. I remember being offered a job in 2005 and was warned that the vessel in question ‘had a bad reputation’.

No Facebook groups to consult, no public naming and shaming etc. Needless to say, I joined the yacht and quickly came to realize that while the owners were known to be ‘difficult’ it really did not matter much to me as in the 2 years I was on board, I never saw them once.

I am all for embracing technology and gathering information in order to make educated decisions, however I feel that one should also take people’s points of view with a pinch and sometimes a bucket load of salt. Opinions vary greatly and one crew member with an axe to grind can influence a lot of people’s perception when given a public platform where context is often lacking.

I was speaking with a crew member recently who was trying to decide whether to jump ship and during our discussion it became apparent that there was nothing wrong with the yacht, package, owners etc. He was in fact just bored as the yacht was not as busy as he wanted it to be (not dual season charter). My suggestion was to make the most of this ‘quiet’ time and dedicate it to completing his OOW modules and helping out in the bridge wherever possible.

I know all too well that down time can be troublesome to manage for HOD’s and Captains as one needs to keep crew engaged and busy enough to hopefully keep them from getting themselves into ‘trouble’ during yard periods etc. and this is often the time crew start considering a move. Ironically yard periods are fantastic opportunities to improve on and learn new skills.

We have certainly noticed an uptick in ‘unhappy’ crew over the years which one can of course put down to various things but I do feel that with the prevalence of social media and the like. More and more crew seem to take the view that the grass is greener on other yachts when scrolling through Instagram etc. Of course, things aren’t always as they seem which is why we encourage discussion with our crew and clients before they make decisions.

Once on the job search, many are faced with the tough reality that there are hundreds of applicants applying for jobs across the board. This holds true for all roles. As always, junior positions typically receive the most applications but senior roles are also increasingly oversubscribed.

With that said, great crew will always be sought after. Please do bear in mind that how you decide to go about leaving your vessel will influence a lot going forward.

One person’s dream boat may be another’s nightmare so feel free to discuss your thoughts with us. If nothing else, it may help to put some things into perspective as we can advise you on what may suit you best given your specific needs.