On different trips to the Seychelles, we often encountered
cliques of tanned and healthy youngsters hanging around
sweeping the decks, yet having the run of these luxury toys for
most of the year as they sailed from harbour to harbour waiting
for the yacht’s rich owners to jet in for a day or two once in a
while. Paul Allen’s Octopussy came through there once, with its
own helicopter, basketball court and movie theatre. This is the
kind of neighbourhood where you want to work.
Of all the young South Africans we met alongside the quays
of the worlds’ exquisite marinas, Alex takes the cake. She
graduated from UJ with a general BA. She au paired abroad
for a while in the north-eastern US, and then started working
on yachts. She also learnt to cook. Really well. In fact, so well
that a famous Australian media mogul and his wife decided
that Alex should cook for them on-board their yacht, regardless
of where in the world they sailed, as well as at each of their
multiple homes across the globe, even if that meant she had
to constantly travel with them on their private Boeing 737 to be
on call at their next location. It is hard work, but it pays well and
she gets to travel and network with great people.
With that long a working life ahead, it makes
all the more sense to take a few years off to
travel and experience the world while you
are still young and beautiful.
So, altogether it’s not a bad idea to get yourself certified at
any one of several reputable local sailing academies and, upon
graduation, you can set off to see the world. Moreover, if you
plan on being a future investment guru or real estate tycoon in
your own right, it’s never too early to get to know the glamorous
world of large yachts and sailing boats.
Each sailing academy tends to reflect its owner’s character, so
do check out each of them carefully to find the ideal match. You
also need to verify the quality of training, so do ask for several
alumni references and make a point of phoning or messaging
alumni and asking their opinion. Odds are, once they have
sailed for a few years past graduation, they will have a wellinformed idea of what was good or lacking in their training.
Finally, pick up a magazine such as SA Sailing, a long-standing
institution among local sailors, and see what they have to say
about each potential sailing school. The courses can be quite
expensive and your life and limb may depend some day on the
quality of your training. So, do the homework upfront.
Anchors away.
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