Delivery Crew
Delivery crew sail or motor a yacht from one place to another with no owner or guests aboard. Typical runs are Palma to Antigua for the winter, Fort Lauderdale to Newport for the summer, or a shipyard in Turkey to the Côte d'Azur. You are paid by the trip. You stand watches and come home with sea miles and a reference that counts.
The jobWhat fills the day
The job is passage making. You stand a watch, often three hours on and six off, keeping a lookout, logging position and weather, and calling the captain when something changes. Between watches you help cook, clean, check bilges, fix chafe and trim sails. In port you handle lines, fuel up, provision and help clear customs. There is no silver service and no guest laundry. The boat has to arrive safe, on time and in the condition it left in.
The size of the yacht changes the work a great deal. On a 15m to 25m sailing yacht crossing the Atlantic you might be one of three, hand steering in squalls and sharing every job. On a 40m motor yacht running from Fort Lauderdale to the Bahamas you will be part of a fuller crew, with an engineer aboard and more structured watches. Some deliveries go with the yacht's own permanent crew, who take on delivery hands to cover the extra watches.
Delivery captains hire people they trust to stay calm, stay sober and pull their weight when they are tired. Real sea miles count for more than certificates, though STCW and ENG1 are expected. Many people start through RYA sailing schools, offshore racing or daywork in Antibes or Palma, then get a first crossing through word of mouth. Fit, practical people with sailing experience, some mechanical sense and the ability to cook in a seaway get picked first.
Delivery work feeds into two careers. Some crew use the miles to log time towards RYA Yachtmaster Offshore and Ocean, then go on to skipper deliveries themselves. Others use a delivery as a trial and get offered a permanent deckhand job on the yacht at the end of it. Sea service from deliveries can count towards MCA Yachtmaster and OOW tickets if it is logged correctly and signed off. Keep a careful record of every passage.
Skills captains look for
- Watchkeeping and lookout
- Sail handling and trim
- Line handling and mooring
- Basic engine checks
- Cooking at sea
- Weather awareness
- Passage log keeping
A day aboardDay 9 of a transatlantic, 27m sailing yacht, Las Palmas to Antigua
Take the midnight watch with the mate. Check the log, the course and the AIS, then settle into a three-hour lookout in steady trade winds.
Hand over to the next watch, give them the barometer reading and a squall seen to windward, then sleep.
Breakfast in the cockpit. Captain briefs on the overnight weather download and the miles made good.
Daily rig check with the captain: shackles, sheets, chafe on the genoa sheet at the fairlead. Re-lead it and tape the stanchion.
Engine room round. Check the generator oil, coolant and raw water strainer, then run the watermaker for two hours.
Day watch at the helm while the autopilot rests. Gybe the spinnaker pole as the wind backs to the east.
Off watch. Read, wash some clothes in a bucket and log hours in your sea service record.
Your turn in the galley. Make a one-pot chilli for five, wedged against the galley strap, and wash up.
Back on watch at dusk. Reef the main early on the captain's standing order before the night squalls.
Pay by yacht sizeMonthly, before tips. Estimates. Bars share one scale.
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. See the Bosun & Deckhand salary guide for figures from live adverts.
Tickets and visas
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
Visas
- Schengen access for Mediterranean deliveries
- US B1/B2 for arrivals into Florida and New England
Where it leadsA typical career path
Bosun & Deckhand jobsOpen now on SuperyachtRoles.com
Questions crew ask
Can I do a delivery with no yachting experience?
Sometimes, but you will usually need some sailing behind you, such as RYA Competent Crew or a season of club racing. Captains take on a novice only when the rest of the crew is strong. Expect your first trip to be unpaid or poorly paid.
Does delivery sea time count towards my tickets?
Yes, provided it is logged properly and signed by the captain. RYA Yachtmaster Ocean needs a qualifying passage, and MCA Yachtmaster and OOW routes accept yacht service with the right paperwork. Get the vessel's details and the captain's signature before you fly home.
Who pays for flights?
On a professional delivery the owner or delivery company normally pays your flight to the boat and home again. On informal crew-wanted trips you may have to pay your own way and share food costs. Agree this in writing before you go.
Is delivery work a career on its own?
For a few experienced hands it is, moving between delivery captains all year. Most people use it to build miles and contacts, then move into a permanent deck role or start skippering deliveries themselves.