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- Many young South Africans are heading overseas to work on yachts.
- While the job sounds glamorous, and can be incredibly rewarding, dedication is required to make a career out of being a "yachtie".
- The industry has become increasingly competitive, and it can be tough to find a position.
- For more stories, visit the Tech and Trends homepage.
Many young South Africans are heading to the coastal cities of Europe and North America with a view to travel the world on a slice of paradise by finding work on board a yacht.
Wealthy individuals need crews of deckhands to perform a variety of tasks on the yacht to keep things running and ensure the passengers are entertained and looked after. Many South Africans are lining up to offer their services.
But experts said "yachties" need to put in the hard yards to find work and make a success of the opportunities they get, given the increased competition for positions in more recent times.
Many people spend huge amounts of money travelling and staying overseas and come back empty-handed without getting an opportunity on the yachts.
Jason Hunter, the founder of Super Yachting South Africa - a company that provides deckhand training - who has extensive experience working on superyachts, having worked his way up to becoming a captain, said competition for positions on the yachts had increased from when he started working in 1997.
"Captains are spoilt for choice. In my day, they had to take whoever they could because there was nobody standing on the quayside," he added.
This was backed up by Taelin Jones, the director of South African Yachties, a general hub for yachting advice and the industry, that provides visa assistance services.
"I can say that the industry is definitely growing as a whole," said Jones.
"That 1% in the world has continued to invest their money into the yachting industry and into their boats."
She added it was difficult to get a good read on the growth statistics but there had been a clear change in the dynamics of the industry over time.
"It's not an easy industry. Yes, there are lots of boats coming out every year and lots of positions, but the popularity has grown so much. There is just so much competition."
Leaving empty-handed
Jones said it was a reality of the industry that some people did not find any work on the yachts, despite spending a lot of money travelling to get to areas where people were hiring.
"The unfortunate truth is that there are a lot of kids who come back without a job and that's just the nature of the industry," she added.
"The point is if you don't find a job in the first season, just go back the next if you are able to."
Jones said some people approached the yachts with the idea they would spend a brief stint working, over a few months, before moving on.
This was not a good way to approach the industry, in her view, as it was expensive to head out to find work and the job search could be really hard.
"The risk kind of outweighs what the slight possibility of a reward would be for maybe a season's worth of work if you don't plan on making a career out of it," said Jones.
Hard graft
Hunter highlighted some of the attributes that were important for success in the industry, given the high level of competition.
He said many of the captains and senior crew members, who are recruiting, were looking for old-school attributes in junior deckhands.
"The attributes that matter to us are well-mannered, respectful, punctual, and hard-working.
"What hard-working actually means is doing boring, basic, monotonous, and repetitive tasks over and over again to the same level you did it to the first time when you were looking to impress the crew. And that's what's difficult."
Hunter added junior deckhands could realistically expect to spend a lot of time cleaning to make sure the vessel was in immaculate condition.
"As a junior crew member, you are going to clean. That's the starting point. If you can't do that to the right level you are just going to get hoofed off the boat anyway."
Incredibly rewarding
Both Jones and Hunter said the working conditions on the yachts could be fantastic and there were growth opportunities as people rise through the ranks and became more senior.
Hunter said workers on the yachts would get an opportunity to earn foreign currency which increased with the level of responsibility taken on.
Workers also get offered a holiday rotation which means they generally do not have to be away from home for too long.
He said progression up the ranks was not actually that difficult, adding this was an appealing aspect to the industry because it made the work feel more justified.
"Myself and my brothers, and some of my mates from Plett and Knysna, we are perfect examples of people who were destined to be waiters and bartenders, but this industry provided us with an opportunity."
Jones also spoke to the quality of the "yachtie" lifestyle.
"It's a lifestyle that few people can ever really dream of."
