How to become a Skipper
Nobody starts as a Skipper. The usual path starts as a Delivery Crew, a job you can get with no yacht experience, and reaches Skipper at about year 3 to 5 of a yacht career.
The pathFrom no experience to Skipper. A typical path, not a rule.
Delivery Crew
Year 0. Pay from about US$3,000 a month. Delivery crew move yachts between cruising grounds, standing watches, handling lines and keeping the boat running on passages with no guests aboard.
Deckhand
Year 0-1. Pay from about US$3,000 a month. Deckhands keep a superyacht's exterior spotless, handle lines and tenders, run water toys and stand watches.
Mate / Deckhand
Year 2-3. Pay from about US$3,800 a month. Second in command on deck on a smaller yacht.
Skipper
Year 3-5. Pay from about US$4,500 a month. Master of a small yacht, usually under 30m, who navigates, maintains and runs the boat with one or two crew, or none at all.
Before you applyWhat a Delivery Crew needs, from the Delivery Crew guide
Must have
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 or equivalent medical
Gets you hired
- RYA Competent Crew or Day Skipper
- RYA Yachtmaster Offshore
- VHF SRC radio licence
- PDSD
- RYA Diesel Engine course
Later, for Skipper
- RYA Yachtmaster Offshore with commercial endorsement
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 medical
- VHF SRC radio licence
- RYA Powerboat Level 2
Visas
- Schengen access for Mediterranean deliveries
- US B1/B2 for arrivals into Florida and New England
What counts instead of yacht experienceOur advice
Captains hire a Delivery Crew for watchkeeping and lookout, sail handling and trim and line handling and mooring. With no yacht job behind you, show the same skills from work ashore. A background in watersports and boat handling is the closest match, for example work as a watersports instructor.
Write each job on your CV as what you did, with numbers: how many guests, how many boats, how many covers. Then list every skill below that you can prove.
- Watchkeeping and lookout
- Sail handling and trim
- Line handling and mooring
- Basic engine checks
- Cooking at sea
- Weather awareness
- Passage log keeping
Your first stepsIn the order we suggest
Get the tickets a Delivery Crew must hold
You need STCW Basic Safety Training and ENG1 medical before a yacht can put you to work as a Delivery Crew.
STCW and ENG1: what they are and what they cost →Write a first Delivery Crew CV
Keep it to one page. Put your tickets and your start date at the top, then the work that transfers: watersports and boat handling.
See a Delivery Crew CV example →Create your crew profile
Upload that CV and we build your profile from it. Your name and contact details stay hidden. Captains and recruiters contact you. It is free.
Create your crew profile →Apply and look for daywork
Apply to open jobs and to crew agencies, and take daywork: a few paid days on a yacht is how most first-time crew get a reference.
Delivery Crew guide →Step up to Deckhand
The usual path puts Deckhand at year 0 to 1. Pay starts from about US$3,000 a month.
How to become a Deckhand →
QuestionsMore in the green crew guide
Can I become a Skipper with no experience?
Not directly. Skipper is command work. The usual path starts as a Delivery Crew, which you can get with no yacht experience, and reaches Skipper at about year 3 to 5.
How long does it take to become a Skipper?
The usual path puts Skipper at about year 3 to 5 of a yacht career, after Delivery Crew, Deckhand and Mate / Deckhand. It is a typical path, not a rule: time on busy yachts and the tickets you pass move it.
What does a Delivery Crew earn at the start?
From about US$3,000 a month, by our Delivery Crew guide. Most delivery crew are paid a day rate of roughly USD 100 to 180, shown here as a monthly equivalent. Food aboard and a flight home are usually covered. There are no tips and no pay between trips, and some first crossings are unpaid, done only for the miles.
Let the yachts come to you
Upload your CV and we build your crew profile from it. Captains and recruiters contact you. Free for crew.