Where Are They Now
What happened to your classmates? Where are they now? .....
On the search for an ex-crew member, or maybe you just dropped from the superyacht radar?
ALSO , WE CAN POST ALL STCW95, DECKHAND,STEWARDESS, & MASTER OF YACHTS CLASS
SNAPSHOTS THAT WERE TAKEN DURING YOUR
TRAINING !
>>>>> More news from Pomeland !!!!!
Hello everyone,
I am currently in Hull, that is on the East Coast of Britain (I stopped calling it great britain, there is nothing great around here!) That being said, that city is quite nice with a great atmosphere... looks a bit like Hobart, just bigger.
We have had our first training week with parts of my 35 people crew. We trained from Gosport to the north of France, then onto Rotterdam for a day off there... except that just before entering Rotterdam Harbour, we had 55 knots of winds, huge seas (it is not very deep around the English Channel) and the wind in the same direction as the Harbour entrance... and no visibility!
You know when they tell you in the manuals not to get into a harbour with following winds, following seas, no visibility, and huge ships in the way.
Well, we did just that, we went in!
(and I agree with the manuals, dont do that at home!)
I was not trusting my navigator (he had never done such a thing before) so I was on beam reach along the coast, trying to find out where the entrance was.
I saw the dark shapeof a huge ship going toward the coast, so assuming he knew where he was (which is more than I could say to be honest) I decided to follow it!
As I bore away toward the stern of the ship, I found the leading lights showing the entrance, but very faint in the dark clouds of the day. I am not sure I would have seen them if the ship hadnot been pointing at them.
Problem is, as soon as I bore away, I started surfing huge waves between the two walls of the Harbour entrance, I was going faster than the ship (only had a small staysail on, no head sail, no mainsail) and no way to slow down the boat.
So we overtook that ship between those two huge walls, under the bemused eyes of their crew...
Even once into the harbour, we were still going 10-11 knots under staysail down the river...
Great arrival into Rotterdam were we had some official duties before a race from Rotterdam to Hull... our very first official race so we were all looking forward to it!
We got a great start and I led the fleet for a few hours the first day, was very exilirating (??) and was still leading at night fall.... however, 2 boat overtook us during the night, I suspect because I did take it a bit easy as the forecast was for a lot of wind again)... in the morning, we got overtaken by another boat but we managed to come back and we got them just an hour before the finish! really exciting finish, 6 minutes ahead of them, and in third place (out of 10 boats).... so I am really pleased and we have had medals ceremony yesterday evening and that was quite cool to be rewarding in such a way!
Bad weather here is really the talk of all the crew... Lot of wind arriving into Hull meant we had to anchor for the night down the river.... A few engine dramas and we arrived in Hull.
More bad weather forecasted for tomorrow when we start our trip back to Gosport and more training.
Next big event after training
Reynald
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Hello all,
Well, I am still officially in Europe, although it does feel like Africa around here!
I am in Las Palmas de Gran canarias, so since that belongs to Spain, we are still in the European Community, but since we are so close to Africa, people here have taken on the African attitude.... yes, you´ll get what you are asking for whenever I feel like it!
in other words, we are in the middle ogf the Atlantic and it feels like it!
I am preparing a boat to race into the ARC, atlantic Rallie for cruisers (about 300 bpoats, from the little 35 footer to the open 60, and some oyster and Sawn). After having prepared the Clipper boats for 4 months in the UK, all for nothing, it is good to be at it again! Although there is a tiny twist: the whole crew is from Japan and does not speak English... and as you know, my japanese is really good to say hello, but that is about it!
Good news is I got the credit card from the owner, so I get to buy whatever I want to get the boat ready. (which is not much really, but hey, new toys are always good).
you will wonder how I managed to get that ride, given the communications issues. Well, I wonder too but I dont ask!
The owner bought his boat in the med and is taking it to Japan via the Atlantic, Panama, marquesas, tahiti and Japan. Unfortunately, I secured a ride only to St Lucia, which is the end of the ARC. The boat is a Lagoon 47, so quite nice and spacious with all the good toys on board, even allowing a shower every day!
We have some issues with the oven (which will be repared before we start the race I have been promised) and the windlass, which will be back on board before we need it next I have been told. yeap, I am trying not to panic, and lets face it, it is hard to get over excited when it is 30 degres (compare to -6 in Paris last week!!!)
Other advantage is the food will be quite comic, as they served me some miso soup yesterday evening, to be eaten with sticks... They managed, but I gave up and went to buy some forks, knifes and spoons today... I do have some limits in my adaptability!
well, start is on Sunday 25th and you can follow the trip on the ARC website (boat is called Wakazimu (i think, it is spelled in Japanese on the hull!!! ) and hopefully, it should take us about 16-18 days to get there...
Oh, being on a Japanese boat has its advantages: we received today 50Kg of Frozen fish, courtesy of the Japanese fisheries which have their main atlantic base in las Palmas.
Also, we get some help by the Japanese consulate here... I am still trying to know if there is a French and Aussie consulate!
Well, short message today, as there is a dressing up party to go to and I am dressed up into a sailor-repairing-oven costume!
oh, just saw that Jem is doing very well in the Twilight race in Sydney, well done!!! (are they doing better since I left???)
Cheers!
Reynald
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.... Finally On My Way
Well I have finally book my ticket - I leave Australia on the 20th Sept and arrive in Nice on Friday 21st around lunch time - I'm a bit nervous about not finding a job so will start looking on the Monday... I'm looking at going for my B1/B2 visa in the next few weeks ...
Anyway cant wait to see you all for a cheeky drink
Jen xx
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Jen
Its probably a better idea to go to Fort Lauderdale in Sept as that is when the boats are selecting their crew for the Caribbean season.
There is still work here in Antibes at that time but winter will be starting so most boats are heading off.
I got to Antibes a couple of weeks ago, got offered a charter position after 5 day, went out to celebrate and got hit by a drunk driver while walking on the way home, spent 5 days in hospital with a fractured skull!!!. Ended up giving the job to my brother and i have just been offered another job which starts on the 26th in the med then we head to Fort L in Oct.
Its awesome here weather is stunning town is beautiful but quite expensive.
Anyway hope it all goes well
Take Care
Brendon Poole
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Thankyou for getting in touch!
Hi Chris,
I am working as first mate on a private yacht (sail) and we're currently in panama and heading across the pacific. Inorder for me to take the position on the boat I had to get my YM offshore and because of time constraints I had to do it in Ft.Lauderdale, unfortunatly. I was looking foward to coming back to sydney to do it, but it just was not possible.
I have been recommending your school to a few of my friends in Sydney and Melbourne who are looking to do their STCW95 and YM.
Thanks again for contacting me...
Kind regards
Jess Rousseau
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Action, Action, Action
Hi everyone,
Just wanted to send some photo's of the Sailing Boat that I have been working on here in the Caribbean for the last 3 1/2 months. We have travelled all over the Caribbean from the British Virgin Islands down to Granada near South America. We are currently back in Antigua but will be heading to Bermuda for 4 to 5 Months as long as no Hurricans hit Bermuda or we get lost in the triangle
The last few months have been very interesting, I have been a fire fighter on a house fire here in Antigua with some of the boys from the boat. We even made the local paper and the Antigua/Barbuda National Commissioner of Police visited our boat to thank us personally for our efforts in trying to save the house. Also when we had guest on the boat and we were anchored of a island called Palm Island and man on the beach had a hart attack, so two crew and myslelf jumped into our tender and when ashore with our first aid equipment to help but unfortunatly we were not able to help and he passed away, it certainatly not something that i like to go through again in the near future but it very much was a life experience and showed me that life is to be lived in full everyday.
Two weeks ago I went to a one day match between the West Indies and Zimbabwa which was a very interesting with the local crowd and local music between overs and the caribbean version of bay 13 at the MCG. But i did manage to get my way into the biggest corporate box with the big boys of Antigua and i even seen Viv Richards. I have met some fantastic people from all over the world working in this industry and made a lot of friends, on Saturday Night i met Eric Clapton's daughter here in Antigua at the local Night Club, she was friends with some local friends that i have made here.
I am still enjoying myself but I must say that i am working hard and its not all fun fun fun. Look forward to seeing people when i head home approx next Jan - Feb 07.
I will try to keep in touch more often but you all know what i am like.
Talk soon.
Love Brett
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Update
Hi there Guys n Girls,
I hope you're well and having a great time cruisin our wonderful world and wherever you might be I hope you're havin a blast...
I'm still in the Whitsundays and have had a great time, the Yacht I'm on is pretty good, the owners are really nice and the crew just fantastic but its time to move on..
I've decided to head over to Frt Laud for the boat show this Oct and was hoping that you might be able to offer me some helpfull hints regarding crew houses, crew agents, B1/B2 visa tips and some great bars to hang out in!! well I'm pretty sure I'll sniff those out on my own..
I have registered with a few agencies already and was planning to arrive around the 25th Oct..the boat show starts on the 25th and goes to the 29th oct should I arrive before or after? what hints do you have for my B1/B2 visa interview and application? and what about crew houses, can you suggest ones that are cheap but not nasty?? I am on a budget but running hot water would be an advantage!!..
and finally and most importantly are any of you guys going to be there and where should we meet for a few bevies??
take care, bye for now and safe sailing..
Daz..xo
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Hi Gorgeous!
Oh so much to tell, and not much at all.... Not sure where you're up to. Short story, Keith and I found our dream team job, Keith as captain and me as hostess on a 25m motor yacht. Almost the dream.. sail would be better. But anyways, 6 weeks later the boat has been put up for sale arrrrgh! No probs... we had tickets to go home for a visit anyhow. So, I think we're coming home October 18, Keith is keen to do his Master of Yachts Ocean with Clubsail. You'll no doubt be on your way to the states by then. So here's some advice for you beautiful!
We stayed at "THE CREW CASTLE" in Fort Lauderdale, not the cheapest, last year it was US$175 a week, but by far the most comfortable, secure and friendly. It's super close to all the agents on SE 17th street, and it has 24 hour free wifi. The owner Sam can be a hard bitch, but there's method to her madness and she's really lovely once she knows you're not a party-animal boozehound just there to create a drama. There are no more than 3 beds to a room, 5 bathrooms, lots of living spaces and a great kitchen. I thoroughly recommend it. We fell in with a group of serious career yachties, we all cooked for each other, helped each other out with daywork, and generally had a really good time. One thing I learned in Fort Lauderdale, which has been valuable ever since, if you want help from other people to find work, get out there and find out about jobs for them as well. Give a person a job lead and they'll return the favour.
Also.... our most successful recruitment efforts were putting our resumes in the folders at the Smallwoods uniform store (on SE 17th street). Go back there weekly and move yours to the front. Hopefully you won't be there that long.. but just so you know.
And also... get yourself some business cards printed..with your photo on it and quals like STCW etc... everyone has them and swaps them around. There are a couple of places that will print them cheap on SE 17th Street. Get a local Fort Lauderdale sim card as well and put your number on the card... we went with Cingular, which worked great.
As for your visa app, for gods sake don't mention the word work, or boats or anything like that. You're on your way for a holiday to visit friends and family (have one address of an American friend ready to prove it), and you're going to visit Canada and Mexico too, so you'll be popping in and out of the country on your trip. Have a mock itinerary on hand that goes for longer than 90 days, and includes the aforementioned countries, and a story about the job your coming back to.
Stamp. Thanks for coming. DON'T give them more information than they've asked for. JUST answer the questions they ask without elaboration and smile. We sat in that office listening to about 10 people before us going on and on about this and that and they all got rejected. The people who just simply answered the questions they were asked got stamped and moved on.
And TAKE A BOOK... you'll be waiting a while... think centrelink. And good luck!!!
If we go back to the Caribbean, we'll get there around the beginning of December, before the St Maarten and Antigua yacht shows which begin around december 4th. We'll bypass the states this time. St Maarten is much easier.
Keep in touch babe! Have fun!!!!!
Rochelle & Keith
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Hi Deb,
Hope this message finds you well...I accidentally unsubscribed from the list, but did not mean to?!
Would you be able to put me back on? .... habibiroe@yahoo.com
I am now working on a 46m new build Perini as the deck/stew....loving it so far.
Hope that you and Chris are wonderful!
Beautiful day to you both.
Kind Regards,
Amanda Roe
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Hi Amanda
No problem, back on you are!
What a blast from the past! Lovely to hear that you have landed on your feet, I am sure the guests will only have the best care and attention from you. Good luck with your travels and adventures!
We are all well here in Sydney and very busy with training and recruiting.
ciao
Deb Brown
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8 Days In Antibe
OK after a week here I can give some advice. Dont arrive on a Sunday as everything is shut (including 80% of buses) and you need to do a lot quickly so the ball starts rolling. A phone that works here is essential and it must be a French sim card. Will cost you 30 euros and can be it here in town. You then need to get that number on your resume and print out various copies here at $1 per page. The agents want a hard copy AND electronic of your resume, certificates, references, log books, etc ... whatever you have. Put it on a memory stick or floppy disk as you will canit often at their insistence.
Expect to spend at least two to thress weeks here before anything comes through. And it will cost at least 50 euros a day living cheap in youth hostels/crew houses to survive. That is, you need $2000 sitting in an account. There is daywork but very competitive - there must be about 80 smartly dressed STCW qualified people walking the streets here (at least half of them aussies) and there are not that many jobs. Anything else you have put it on your resume (trade, silver service, languages, etc, etc). Its competitive and you need to stand out. Most jobs will be gone by mid june other than day work. Hope that doesn't sound too depressing after all the stories you've heard, but you should have a Plan B. I am sure there are lots of jobs awaiting in the Carribbean in Sept.
Meanwhile the cheese and wine is good! Just twice the price of Italy!
Craig
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Hi Deb and Chris,
Dee and i have just landed in Fort Lauderdale yesterday. The weather is great here right now but i bet its equally nice back home. If you hear of any positions available for a second engineer, deckhand or stewardess could you please let us know or forward on our resume's. Even daywork would be muchly appreciated.
Thank you.
Zac & Dee.
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Hey Deb
Just checking in..
I'm loving it over here! Still in the setup process..
I'm with the 2 best Crew Agents and they really like me so they should find me a good job soon.. At the moment i'm staying at a hostel with a pretty interesting range of people.. Made some really good friends already.
I have Day work starting tomorrow aboard a beautiful vessel $120 cash a day so that will get me by untill i land something solid..
Last night was a big industry party so i went and did some networking and got a really good contact on a 144ft power vessel with a really nice crew so i sent them my CV and i am waiting for an interview.. wish me luck!
Everyone is Super Yacht crazy over here especially because the boat show that is about to start lots of work and lots of partys!
Beautiful latino and ghetto girls and they love Aussies!
But don't worry i won't get too distracted hahaha thanks for everything!
Adam
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Hey everyone ...
These are a couple of pics of the boat i have been working on for the last 5 days and 1 from a crew party...
... fingers crossed because the boat has a great itineary and the crew are all really nice..
Adam
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Hi everyone,
I have been in the USA now for 6 months working on M/Y Thirteen as a Deckhand, a 160ft Christensen Motoryacht. I trained my feburary with Chris and Deb in Pittwater, Syd and enjoyed it alot, they are great fun to train with and and very happy to help get your career kickstarted - to me anyway considering im only 18!
We have just cruised the east coast of america from Palm Beach up to Bar Habour, Mt Desert, Maine; and back. next we are off to the Carribian and the Med - cant wait for that and ill keep you all posted.
Josh.
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Way to go Josh!
Thanks for your blog, we'd love to see photos of you in action! you can email them to me, all the best in your travels and keep up the good work...
Regards
Deb Brown
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Hello everyone,
Thought we would send you a quick email to let you know that Ian and myself have just secured a permanent team position on a new superyacht called status quo, it was a little daunting at first especially arriving here at the start of the boat show frenzy, we were very fortunate to get a good team position in just over 2 weeks.
Thank you for everything and we will see you in the future at some point when time permits to further our education.
kylie and ian
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Hi Kylie and Ian
That’s fabulous news about your couple crew position. Your Megayacht Deck qualifications obviously gave you a foot up the ladder when you applied for the job. Congratulations once again and keep in touch, the team here at Superyacht Crew Academy will love to hear how you are going in your travels.
Regards Deb
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I hope this message finds you well and happy.
I have had a busy year since joining M/Y Triton in February in Panama - after passing through the Panama Canal we bounced around a lot of the Caribbean including some funky islands like the San Blass Islands (Panama), Dominican Republic, Cuba, Turks and Caicos, Berlize and Roatan (old British Honduras) the Caymans, plus more and even a brief stopover in Cartagena, Colombia. From there the boat crossed the Atlantic to the Med for trips around Monaco and the Cote d'Azur, Spain (America's Cup, Valencia, Barcelona, Ibiza and Mallorca) before spending the rest of the summer around Malta, Sicily and Turkey. After a brief refit back in Malta we shot down to Egypt, had a look at the Pyramids (again) then sailed down the Suez to Sharm el Sheik, then onto Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. We did a two week dive trip in some unspoilt areas of the Red Sea (Saudi waters) before heading on down to the Seychelles taking a wide berth around Somalia with its reputation for modern-day piracy.
We spent about a month in the Seychelles, including an owner's trip again, and it was truly a bit of paradise. The beach, Anse Source d'Argent in the pictures attached is reputedly the most photgraphed beach in the world. But all the islands and atolls of the Seychelles have great beauty, both on top and underwater. After the Seychelles we spent a few days in Mayotte in the Comores Islands before heading down to Zanzibar off the coast of Tanzania. All the crew have just been on 5-6 days safaris in the northern Tanzanian game parks - Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorogoro Crater and the Serengeti - and are now following it up with some 'urban safaris' ;-0 in Zanzibar. We will be here for Xmas and the New Year before the owners return in early Jan for another week of diving locally.
Still not sure of our plans after that but we may be hanging around Kenya for a little while before heading over to Indonesia, possibly via the Seychelles again.
I've attached a few recent photos - enjoy - and hope to get more of my albums on Facebook ( www.facebook.com ) up to date soon.
Best wishes for a merry Christmas and Happy New Year - from Ian, currently in Zanzibar.
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Hi Chris and Deb,
Happy belated New Year!! hope you guys had a great new years and xmas.
Beck and I are currently cruising South America onboard "Le Grand Bleu". We joined the yacht last november, we are currently in Uruguay then heading to Argentina, Patagonia, Antarctica, up the west coast of south america to costa rica then back down through the Panama Canal to Florida for a yard period. We are having a good time, Beck is a senior deckhand/dive assistant and Im the Bosun.
South America is a pretty cool place, but again nothing like home. We are looking forward to coming home in the near future but just unsure what to do!
How are things at Club Sail? Hope all is well.
Better run, have to go and look busy!
Regards
Brendan Dean and Rebecca Hawke
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Hey Guys,
Good to hear from you again! Sounds like the vessel has a great itinery planned, should be very interesting.
Things here are going great... this year we are holding more courses, and there are more and more positions being added to our crew placement register. The more students we get, such as yourselves, the better.
Hope to catch up soon.
Regards,
Team @ SCA
PS For those out there who are not familiar with 'La Grand Bleu', here is a slide show to give you some idea of what the world's richest can afford ... LE GRAND BLUE SLIDE SHOW
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I had a fantastic and totally amazing time, learnt a lot and travelled at lot. Based in Monaco travelled to Greece return to Monaco four times! PHEW
The stewardess course was brilliant and to be totally honest I was a lot more competent and professional than the second stewardess
who had already done one season in the Med.(as noticed by the captain who quickly raised my salary to match the second stewardess)
Sally
UPDATE:
I'm now back in Melbourne town working at a fantastic restaurant very similar to being on a yacht except I get to go home every evening.
The husband owns the marina and the wife owns the restaurant, see attached web link.
I have been very happy since my return, but, I am open minded and keen to follow up any yachting opportunities.
If you require any feedback from me regarding how amazing the course was then just ask.
Wishing you all the very best.
Thank you again for all your training, advice and support.
It gave me the strength to ask for and expect the best!!!!
Regards, Sally.
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HI Guys!!
Just a little up date from France, been here exactly 2 weeks now and loving it!! such a nice place. Went snow boarding last weekend up in the Alps, still plenty of snow!! there is so many people looking for work at the moment! all the crew houses are packed and have wating lists. luckily simon and i got a sweet appartment in Juan Le Pin, only 15 mins walk to Antibes, its the best and the cheapest way to stay here. there is another 2 guys staying with us also.
Tell the guys who are doing the course that the best way to get jobs in this current situation is dock walking, and lots of it! all the agencies are maxed out, and because there are so many people here and so many dock walkers the boats arent bothering to go to the agents.
I was dock walking everday for 4 days, morning and arvo, and going to differnt ports up and down the coast and from that got a weeks day work! from that i now have a full time job on a boat called ALTAIR, so happy!! althought its kinda tough and feels like a wast of time, its the best way to meet people. i even got a call the other night from a captain who got my CVfrom one of his mates, all from dockwalking.
Not sure of the exact itinery for ALTAIR yet, but there's talk of Croatia, caribbean, ibiza and then scotland. We also race through out the year as well!! staying in cannes at the moment for the Film Fest!!
All the best,
Ryan..
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Hi Ryan.
Great to have your email and hear all your news, Love the boat what a beauty!!
Thanks for keeping in touch with some great info we will put your email on our face book.
Kind regards
From the Club Sail gang
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Gday Deb,
I'm back over in the States, working again on my old yacht 'Mine Games' and looking at a few different options. I have been offered to 2nd mate the launch crew of the new 196ft Trinity to potentialy show at centre stage again at the Ft Lauderdale show.....as if there arent any more delays.. So im not sure what my options are to complete this course. I guess i would have to come home at some point throughout the year. Its crazy but also pretty cool to walk back into this yachty crazy place and fall back in. Only here 1 day and find work and job offers. worked miami boat show covering crew days off , here now three weeks and today played a round of golf with my captain at a private course driving around his jag etc etc.....hahha its fun being back in the fast lane. Will get you some cool pics. Hope all is well in Newport.
Andy Jolly
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Hi there Andrew
Good to hear the glowing report from FTL from you, the boat obviously saw you coming !! The upskilling is like gold, we are proud of your achievements and your on going committments……… enjoy the season and keep in touch, when and if you get back to Sydney sometime in the future, give us a call and we’ll take up where we left off.
Kind regards
Deb
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