What is a Stewardess?

Definition: ‘Steward/ess’ is one who manages the domestic concerns of a family or institution. Also known as Stewie, Stew, Hostess. For the purposes of this article the steward/ess will be referred to as female.

A stewardess is in fact a very up-market housekeeper/hotel manageress/waitress. It is her job to keep the interior of the yacht absolutely spotless. It is her job to arrange the flowers. It is her job to lay the tables and make the beds and do laundry and iron and clean interior windows and polish shoes and serve drinks and do the shopping and serve the food and turn back the beds and lay out the clothes and meet guests and greet the guests and vacuum the interior … and smile and be nice.

Yes, these yacht jobs are demanding but take heart. It is very well paid, can be a lot of fun and it will take you to places in the world that you could only dream of visiting and you get to meet some really wonderful people.

For the owner and his guests, the opportunity to escape to the yacht makes a very welcome break from that can be a hectic schedule. It is the stewardess who is largely responsible for making this break the ex- perience it should be. Central to the stewardess’ duties is a pleasant reception and all the required care and attention. The food has to be perfect, the crew friendly and accessible, as well as helpful.

Together with the captain, the stewardess is responsible for programming the day. They also decide jointly on changes to the plan if conditions, such as the weather, demand. For passengers, the stewardess is frequently the person who is always on hand to ask things of. She must have an accurate idea of what the guests expect and the experience to deal with their demands with absolute confidence. For this, leadership qualities are essential, as well as a keen sense of perception, flexibility, a friendly disposition and manner. It is certainly a wonderful career for making all your friends back home sick with envy.

What Makes A Good stewardess?

A good stewardess is usually attractive, lively and will have a great sense of fun. She is also usually a ‘people person’ and is very good at making people feel at ease.

Although the comfort of the owner and/or guests is a priority, a stewardess is involved in every aspect of a yacht’s interior.

• She is usually very good at keeping it meticulously clean and tidy.
• She will also know all the weird ways of getting things clean. Like removing a wine stain from marble and so on.
• She will also know about food.
• She will know which wines to serve with which dish and she will know what cutlery to lay up with.
• She will understand that when the chef says a meal is ready, a meal is ready.
• She will be able to get the owner and his guests to the table then and there without having to manhandle them.
• She will also be able to press the $1000 Versace silks and satins and then iron loads of crew uniforms without being fazed.

The owner will also get to know and trust her taste and judgement and she may be asked to purchase new or replacement accessories to keep the yacht’s décor fresh. She will also be proficient at arranging flowers and learn all those special little tricks florists have to keep them looking good for as long as possible. Find- ing another twelve bunches of gladioli when you on an uninhabited Greek Island is next to impossible. Mak- ing the ones you have last is an important skill. We have a range of useful tips and tricks at the end of this chapter. We also include a few websites where you can get a whole range of information.

Stews face very long hours and the work is hard. However, beginners shouldn’t be discouraged. On the larger yachts newcomers to the industry are often placed under the tutelage of a knowledgeable chief stew. Many yachts actually prefer to train a novice, who brings no bad habits along. There are training classes available for newcomers to the yachting industry or for those who need to brush up on their skills.

Personal Requirements

There are no legislated requirements for a steward/ess but certain personality traits will help: Leadership skills – Self discipline – Maturity – Sense of responsibility – Good sense of humour.

Of course we shouldn’t say this but good looks do help. This is definitely not to say that they are vital, but they certainly smooth the way.

The Stewardess and Qualifications

Current legislation requires that a steward / stewardess needs no formal qualifications.

In terms of helping him or her find a job it does help enormously if they have been in some form of hospi- tality industry or medical profession. There is a big demand in the business for stewardesses who are quali- fied nurses. Qualifications that are very useful to have but are by no means essential are:

• Nursing
• Catering/Hotel Management
• First Aid
• Interior Design/Cleaning
• Massage
• Hair Dressing
• Beauty Therapy
• Silver Service
• Sommelier (Wines and Spirits)

The stewardess and the Crew

The relationship between the rest of the crew and the stewardess is largely an individual thing. There are few outside influences besides those of personality. The situation is a little different if you are chief stewardess but, as a rule it comes down to how easy you and the rest of the crew are to get along with. On larger yachts, a chief stew delegates responsibility and divides the work among the other stews and themselves, whereas on a smaller yacht a deckhand may be required to share the stew’s duties along with the chef.

The stewardess and the Chef

The relationship between the chef and the stewies is a very important one. These two have to work hand in glove and it is vital that a good working relationship is forged. It is the stewardess upon whom the chef relies for feedback.

He depends on her to have the guests poised to eat when the meal is ready. (No mean skill this we can tell you) She will usually be the one traipsing back to the galley and passing on messages like: ‘Caviar and hors d’ouevres at five tonight and the boss said he wants crispy rosemary potatoes with dinner.’

The chef will usually mutter something under his breath and produce. Communication has to be good. A stewardess will usually go shopping with the chef and they have to work together regarding the beverages and savoury snacks etc. Strange things like fruit bowls become an issue.

The stewie will want top of the range stuff and the chef won’t want to blow his budget. The stewie has to deal with the guests and wants to impress and please them. The chef rarely sees the guests but has to explain when the time comes for them to settle up why the fruit bill was over $400 for one week.

A stewardess may find herself tackling some galley duties, such as making hors d’oeuvres, peeling grapes or garnishing dishes. The stewardess will also ensure that the liquor and drinks cabinet is kept well stocked. This may sometimes lead to raging disputes between the stewardess and the exterior crew.

The stew will suddenly have to find storage for a delivery of 18 cases of wine and spirits and 28 cases of Evian and Perrier water. The deckhands will suddenly find their sail/equipment lockers filled with bottles of sparkling water and Pepsi. The storage conditions on board yachts can sometimes call for creative solutions. A stewardess may be asked to provide a comprehensive wine list for the guests/owner to peruse when on board.

The Stewardess and the Guests

As a stewardess your aim is to make the owner and guests feel completely comfortable and at home. You should be friendly and polite but not over familiar. You must try to strike a balance between meeting guests’ needs without intruding on their privacy. Anticipate their requirements without being pushy.

Excellent serving skills can only be of benefit to you. Not only will you find yourself suddenly asked to do silver service, you may find yourself doing it on a boat that is rocking and rolling around. The skill of pouring gravy, with graciousness, onto a moving target is one that can only come with time.

A stewardess will probably find herself on duty for very long hours for several days at a time.

Working through holidays is standard practice as well. Having said all that, the bonuses are numerous and substantial such as travelling to new places, meeting new people and cultures and making friends the world over, and of course the financial rewards make the whole proposition very attractive.

The stewardess and Money

The stewardess often has a budget for provisioning the boat with all the beverages, cleaning supplies and other necessities for the yacht’s interior. As always it is essential for a very strict accounting system to be set up and maintained.

A stew’s budget can be very large when you consider that on some of these boats the wine drunk may cost more than £100 ($150) a bottle and six guests may get through a bottle a night, each, excluding the champagne, spirits and mineral waters with every meal. Work that one out over a two-week voyage! The stew is also responsible for providing all the drinks for the crew. It is standard practice to have a well- stocked crew fridge with wines, beers and soft drinks constantly available.

If getting paid to travel the world as a superyacht Stewardess sounds like the perfect job for you, then enroll onto the Superyacht Diploma e-learn course and get started today!

What Is a Deckhand?

A deckhand (or deckie) is a vital cog in the daily operation of the world’s superyachts.

Deckies are multi-skilled crewmembers whose primary responsibility is the upkeep and maintenance of the ‘exterior’ of the superyacht. They are responsible for things like the preparation of the yacht for all ocean voyages and passages, the operation of deck related machinery like cranes and outboard rigging gear, the safe operation of personal watercraft (Jet Skis), driving tenders (powerboats), all water sports (water skiing, wakeboarding, scuba diving), handling mooring lines, rigging towing lines, repairing ropes, anchor lift/drop operation, and painting, waxing, buffing, varnishing, polishing and washing down of the vessel.

They are also required to carry out certain officer duties like standing steering and lookout watches and filling out the officers’ logbook during passages.

Desired Personality Traits

Deckhands are incredibly hard working, very sociable, reliable, honest and presentable. The best deckhands have a ready willingness to learn, a positive attitude, and an enthusiastic and polite manner when dealing with owners or guests. They go about their responsibilities in a relaxed but professional way and are easygoing individuals who like to work hard and play hard.

The Profile of a Typical Deckhand

Deckhands are typically young, male, single and happy-go-lucky. They can be seen sunning themselves in the sun during the working day and partying hard by night. They typically own more than three pairs of designer sunglasses, at least two expensive wristwatches, a multitude of personal water sport toys (surf boards, kite surfing kit, etc.), a wardrobe of designer clothes, and range of digital cameras and video recorders. They sport some seriously hard-core tan lines and typically spend a lot of money in the pursuit of getting laid.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Deckhand Jobs

The deckhand’s job is probably the most fun out of all the crew—you’re outside all day and, more often than not, messing around with fellow deckies and checking out the hot new stewardesses that have just arrived on the yacht next door. You have the least amount of responsibility and are commonly looked at to provide some lighthearted entertainment onboard (usually the antics from the night before do pretty well there).

The deckhand’s job can also be quite mundane at times due to the very nature of some of your duties, like sanding capping rails and polishing hundreds of meters of stainless steel. You will also find yourself spending countless hours wiping down already clean stainless and windows and performing washdown during the early hours of the morning when the owner or charter guests are onboard.

It is very rare for deckhands to find themselves managing anybody else onboard—you are the lowest on the pecking order, and as such you can expect to be given arguably the worst duties onboard (garbage runs, cleaning the yacht’s bilges, ditching toxic fluids, scrubbing bird feces off certain docks in the Caribbean, etc.).

The Deckhand and the Crew

On larger superyachts of 50m (150ft) or more, deckhands will usually share a cabin with a fellow deckie. On smaller yachts, you may find yourself sharing a cabin with either the Engineer or 1st Mate.

As a deckhand, the interior crew is generally very relaxed towards you, providing you play by the rules.

The Bosun, 1st Mate and Captain will of course be your direct superiors, so it’s best practice to follow orders and work your ass off as best you can.

It’s very common for all the crew to head into town for dinner and a few drinks, as there is nothing like letting off some steam after a grueling two-week charter.

If getting paid to travel the world as a superyacht deckhand sounds like an ideal job for you, then enroll onto the Superyacht Diploma e-learn course and get started today!

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