Day in the Life: Deckhand on a Superyacht

The sun comes up over Monaco Harbour and the 58-metre motor yacht you work on catches it at exactly the right angle. Nobody on the dock is awake to see it except you and the engineer finishing his overnight watch. After three weeks in the Med, that view still stops you for a second. Then you pick up the buffer and start on the hull panels.

The Working Day

07:00 — Morning clean-down. On a charter yacht, the exterior has to be immaculate before the guests surface, and the guests on this particular vessel surface at 09:30. That gives you two and a half hours to wash, chamois, and buff the hull topsides, clean the tender, fold the sun pads on the sundeck, and set the aft deck breakfast table. You work methodically from bow to stern with the second deckhand. The bosun checks the work before signing off the deck.

09:15 — You change into whites. On a luxury charter yacht, the crew uniform changes with the function: working clothes for maintenance, whites for guest interaction. The transition takes five minutes and it marks a mental shift too — you are now visible to guests and everything you say and do reflects on the vessel and the company.

09:30 — Guests on deck. A family of six, charterers paying €250,000 for the week. Your job right now is to be helpful, invisible, and anticipatory. Someone's coffee cup is half empty — you notice before they do. The youngest child wants to see the bridge — you ask the captain, get clearance, and make the tour happen. These interactions are not in the job description but they are the job.

11:00 — Departure for Portofino. You handle the lines as the vessel leaves the berth, stow them correctly in the anchor locker, and take up a position at the bow for the marina exit. Once underway you are released to continue with the day's maintenance schedule — the tender davit wire needs lubricating and there is a navigation light fitting to replace on the port bridge wing.

13:30 — Anchor station. The captain has chosen a bay east of Portofino for lunch at anchor. You are on the bow for the drop, communicating hand signals to the bridge: out, out, holding, snubbed. Once the anchor is set and the vessel swung, you rig the swim platform and deploy the water sports equipment.

14:00–17:30 — Tender driving and water sports. Two guests want to take the jet skis; one wants to paddleboard. You drive the chase tender — a 6-metre RIB — keeping station between the swimmers and any passing boat traffic. When the guests are done you recover everything to the deck, rinse, and stow. The RIB alone takes forty-five minutes to wash down properly.