The Webpage Told Me To Say Howsit

[brownbear]

So......Howsit All. I'm a helicopter pilot who is feeling extremely lis to do some sailing. A mate of mine did his day skippers and sailed for a few years before turning to aviation. He reckons I am mad , and am going to work like a slave for almost no pay!

Pretty much like aviation. But chicks dig it!

Anyone got some light to shed here? what kind of pay could i expect? enough to buy beer (or do we call it grog here?) and the odd luxury?

And most importantly where is the best place to get trained? dont mind going offshore if it would be worth it!

Sorry so many questions. And not sure if this even the right spot to be posting them.

But anyway, Howsit All

[Lighthouse]

Welcome aboard.

If you wish to do this commercially then you must certainly go through the correct channels. I would suggest that you contact (Google search) a merchant marine academy or your local sailing schools to find out what you require for the level of "competence" that you want to attain in the field (commercial employment).

CruiserLog is a community of predominantly ocean cruisers/sailors that are cruising around the world on their own yachts.

Good luck - let us know how it goes.

[brownbear]

Thanks Light. Eish, think I am still many moons away from having the pleasure of my own boat. Can you recommend a more suitable forum. Not feeling unwelcome here, just want to get some more info re: best place to train without pestering the cruisers

Thanks Again LH

[Lighthouse]

Google as I suggested. Get hold of a sailing academy and ask them about the various boating tickets that are available - those that will give you the ability to earn an income. Where are you located?

[brownbear]

Im in the Eastern Cape at the moment, But heading back to JHB in 6 days time. Checking out some schools in CT as we speak, seems like Ocean Sailing Academy and Yacht Master Ocean Sailing School offer good courses. Googling for some durban schools also

[JeanneP]

Hi, brownbear.

Cruisers are pests sometimes, so their being pestered is only fair. So please don't worry about annoying us, though doing a lot of search on our forums is one way to ask and get answers to your questions. Been quite a bit about earning a living, sometimes barely subsistence, on and around boats, pick and discard as you see fit. I don't know of any forum specializing in earning a living on the sea, though that is possibly because I don't.

There is a US-based (Florida) monthly newspaper for people who make their living working on luxury yachts. They are quite helpful in pointing people towards ways to find employment in the yacht industry. The Triton Browse through there to see if any of it helps you better define what you want to do.

One observation of the majority of new members to this forum is that they don't think to include in their profile where they are located. Since we are such a wide-spread and international group, knowing where you are gets the right people interested. I assume that you are in RSA. Right?

It is my understanding that RSA requires some form of license demonstrating competence to take a boat offshore in your waters, so I assume that you should be able to find schools and courses relatively locally. Most of them will be happy to tell you how their graduates have fared financially from their courses.

good luck

J