Where do I go?
The four hiring ports and which one fits your passport.
Chapter 6
FREE GUIDE · WRITTEN BY A SERVING SUPERYACHT CAPTAIN
Join yachting. Do it properly.
The five questions every green crew member asks, answered by a captain who reads the CVs on the dock. Where to go. When to go. How much money you need. Which certificates to buy first. How to dockwalk without annoying anyone.
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 7INSIDE THE GUIDE
Ten 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 how to build it for free.
What the paid guide adds
Season plans by passport, visa strategy, cert-cost matrix, port sheets.
PDF · 30-ish pages · 2026-27 edition · free
02 Is this for you?
Nobody on the dock cares where you studied. They care whether you turn up at 07:30 with a clean polo, a real CV and the sense to ask before you touch anything. If that sounds like you, keep reading.
WHO WROTE THIS
A captain, not a content creator.
I am a serving superyacht captain. I started as green as you are, 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 land in my inbox and on my dock. I answer them one at a time, badly, on my phone, between a fuel stop and a crew change. This guide is the answer written once, properly.
It is free because the hard part is not the information. The hard part is turning up prepared. I would rather you did.
Questions? crew@joinyachting.com. I read everything, I reply when the boat lets me.
BEFORE YOU DOCKWALK
Your CV is the only thing that walks the dock when you can't.
Captains read a CV in about thirty seconds. Most green CVs lose them in ten. SeaPapers builds the CV a captain expects: yacht fields, department templates, two-page discipline. Free to build. No card.
on SeaPapers, the CV builder for yacht crew
AFTER YOUR FIRST JOB
Keep every paper ready.
Every certificate, medical, passport and visa in one private folio, dated and checked. You see what runs out when. One link sends the whole set to the boat.
Both are SeaPapers. Same captain, same standards.
SEASON CLOCK
Boats hire on a calendar. So should you.
It is August. Mid-season. Fewer starts. Use it to save, get certified and build your CV for September.
| 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.
WHERE THE JOBS ARE
Four docks do most of the hiring.
Green crew get their first job in a handful of ports. Arrive in the right one, in the right month, and the odds change.
Fort Lauderdale
United States, Florida
Best windowSeptember to November
PassportUS visa in your passport first
Chapter 06Newport
United States, Rhode Island
Best windowMay to October
PassportUS visa in your passport first
Chapter 06Antibes
France
Best windowMarch to May
PassportSchengen visa or exemption
Chapter 06Palma
Spain, Mallorca
Best windowMarch to May
PassportSchengen visa or exemption
Chapter 06
Second tier: St Maarten, Antigua, Viareggio, Auckland, Sydney, Dubai, San Diego. Cape Town for cheaper certificates.
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, made by the same captain. Free editor, department templates, 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). Free editor, department templates, yacht fields, two-page discipline. Same captain, same standards.
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.