Foundations Guides

Your first season starts here.

Starting out in yachting can feel like an impossible industry to break into. No one tells you what dockwalking actually looks like, what to say to a crew agent, or what really happens in those first seven days onboard.

The Crew CAP Foundations Guide — The Stewardess Handbook was written to change that.

It's built from more than 35 years of combined experience: a working Captain who started his own career walking the docks with no contacts and no certainty, and a Chief Stewardess and Purser who spent 15 years working her way up through interior departments on yachts up to 80 metres. Everything in this guide is what we wish someone had told us. Not textbook theory, but the real, practical detail that helps you walk in prepared and thrive once you're there.

Inside, you'll find straightforward, practical guidance on:

• Creating a professional yacht CV
• Dockwalking and approaching yachts
• Working with crew agencies
• Essential certificates
• Preparing for yacht interviews
• Salaries, gratuities and banking
• Understanding your employment contract
• Preparing to join your first yacht
• Your first seven days onboard
• Laundry systems and standards
• Housekeeping basics
• Interior service
• Crew mess and cabin etiquette
• Yacht hierarchy and chain of command
• Building a professional reputation onboard
• Essential yachting terminology

This isn't a checklist of qualifications. It's a realistic look at what life onboard actually involves, from your first interview to your first seven days, and everything in between.

Instant digital download (PDF). Start reading in minutes and be ready for your first opportunity.

For personal use only. Not for redistribution.