Trusting the universe to guide me...: Becoming a Yachtie

Partial crew of the Mia Elise II

It has been awhile since my last post and I am thrilled to report that I have landed my first job on a yacht! The yacht is a 60m Trinity motor yacht called the Mia Elise II. I have been hired as an interior stewardess on a team of 5 gals. The yacht has been stationed in Derektor's Shipyard in Ft. Lauderdale undergoing some maintenance so for the first week we were dry docked and then I got to witness the boat being put in the water which was pretty crazy to watch. We are now docked and getting ready to depart for a holiday charter trip.

Check out the vessel here:
https://www.yachtcharterfleet.com/luxury-charter-yacht-23175/mia-elise-ii-photos.htm#yacht-tabs

I landed the job with a mixture of help from friends as well as proving myself with dock walking and day working. I met Luke and Roxy through Cuan, and they mad mentioned they needed some interior crew and knew I wanted to get on a boat. They asked for my CV and passed it along to the captain last Monday 12/5. I just happened to be dock walking that morning, and unintentionally walked up to the Mia Elise II and asked if they needed day work. They then realized they had my CV from Luke and invited me to work for the day. The next day the Chief stewardess went out to interview 5 ladies for the job, and when she came back that afternoon she ended up offering it to me! I have been working on board since then and it has been quite humbling to be a new "green" person just trying to learn as much as I can on board. Roxy has been an incredible mentor for me so far and I am learning a lot.

We will be doing a secret santa gift exchange and feast for the holidays right before our guests arrive and then it will be incredibly busy until January when we return. So far everyone has been great and I am looking forward to my first trip with the boat, should be quite the experience!

Mia Elise II dry docked and getting ready to be moved

The Yacht being transported to the water

View from the back

The globally diverse crew minus a few! From left to right - Roxy (Soth African, 3rd stew and a ROCKSTAR), Calvin (Canadian, asst. chef), Bjorn (South African, deckhand), Steve (Aussie, deckhand), Richard (New Zealand, first officer), me :), Soren (Danish, engineer), Dave (South African, engineer), Steve (British, engineer). Not pictured - Captain Ron, Luke (South African, Bosun/photographer/Roxy's beau), Taraleigh (New Zealand, chief stewardess), Kayleigh (British, 2nd stewardess), Pam (Peruvian, 3rd stewardess).

Now that I have a job I can finally provide some answers for all the questions I was asked in the beginning...

Where will you be going? - The first trip we are taking is to the US Virgin Island of St Thomas, then to the British Virgin Island of Tortola (docked at the Bitter End Yacht Club), then Turks and Caicos for a short owner trip. We will have a family on board December 26th-January 2nd then the owner will come on after that for 4-5 days. Once we return the boat is scheduled for a 3 month interior re-fit and will be dry docked in Ft. Lauderdale. After the refit the boat is scheduled to head to the Mediterranean for the summer charter season. Will be interesting to see how everything unfolds over the next couple months.

How long will you be gone? - The first trip we will be gone about a month in total.

How many days will you be out at sea at a time? - It will take us about 5 days to get from Ft. Lauderdale to our first stop in St. Thomas. I have been told we are expecting some rough seas so I am curious to see how my stomach handles that!

Have you been hired on a boat already? If not, how long will it take to get a job? - It took me about a month to land my first job and I have Cuan and my new friends Roxy and Luke to thank, along with my own persistence in dock walking up to the Mia Elise II on the same day my friends gave the captain my CV.

How big is the yacht you will be working on? - 60 meters or just about 200 feet.

How many other staff will be on the boat with you? - The Mia Elise II runs with a crew of 15 and we have Aussies, New Zealanders, South Africans, Danish, Canadian, American and British crew. I love the mixture of people and so far the conversations around the crew mess table have been lively and I look forward to getting to know everyone on board!

What type of work will you be doing? - I am an interior stewardess so my duties will involve cleaning guest rooms, crew and guest laundry, managing the "crew mess" area and by keeping the fridge and cupboards clean and stocked, prepping for meal time and cleaning up after, and helping with inventory of all the supplies.

How much do you get paid? - I will make a good salary (higher then what I was expecting) plus tips from every charter trip we go on. The tips are split evenly among the entire crew, there is no hierarchy which is nice - we work as a team. I get health and dental insurance, and all my food and basic care supplies provided.

Will I see you on the reality show Below Deck? Is it just like that show? - Funny thing is I met a lovely gal from that show the first week I arrived in Ft. Lauderdale, Sierra Summer Storm (yes that is actually her name, her parents are pretty free spirited apparently). I have mentioned her in a previous post, and I think it is so funny considering how many people asked about the show. I LOVE her and she has been a great friend to me and provided lots of encouragement and support through the process. She doesn't like to bring up the show and has not seen much of it; from the few chats we have had about it my suspicions about it being less accurate then reality were pretty spot on...

Is there a chance you will end up like the girl from the movie "Taken" (This is my dad who has clearly become a victim of Hollywood's devices) - Doubtful, I am pretty sure most folks in the Bahamas/Caribbean just want to relax. I also have a gang of guys that would protect me in any shady situations!

Are you going to encounter pirates? (My other dad who clearly values preparedness for anything that should come my way) - Probably not, but we will encounter many people who want to drink rum like Pirates of the Caribbean!

Can you bring a pistol with you to protect you from said Pirates? (Sorry, dad, but unfortunately not) - No guns on board, but I received my safety orientation on the boat today and know where all the emergency equipment is so that is good!