First Officer

The core of the job is the bridge. You stand a watch at sea, usually the 04-08 and 16-20. You prepare and check passage plans, keep the charts and ECDIS corrections up to date and make sure the bridge equipment works. Off watch you look after an area of responsibility, often life-saving appliances, fire-fighting equipment or the ISM paperwork. You also run drills, keep training records and sign off crew familiarisation. When the Chief Officer is ashore or on leave, you step up and run the deck.

With guests aboard the bridge gets quieter and the deck gets busy. At anchor you supervise tender operations, swimming platform safety and water toy launches, and you manage the anchor watch rota. You may run a tender yourself for shore runs or beach set-ups. On a 60m yacht the First Officer works closely with the deck crew and gets their hands dirty. On a 120m yacht with a helideck, a submarine or a dive centre, the work leans towards planning, permits to work and coordinating several teams.

Captains hire First Officers who hold at least an OOW 3000gt CoC and have two or three seasons as Second Officer on yachts of similar size. They want someone who keeps a clean bridge, writes a sound passage plan and can manage deckhands who may be older than them. Experience with ECDIS, DP or helicopter operations gives you an edge on the largest yachts. References from the same management company or a well-known captain carry real weight.

Most First Officers are working towards their Chief Mate 3000gt (Yacht) or Unlimited ticket and the move to Chief Officer. Expect two to four years in the role. On rotation you can use your time off to finish sea time and courses without losing your position. Officers who want command early sometimes take a Chief Officer job on a 50m yacht instead of staying First Officer on a 100m yacht. Both routes work. The bigger yacht gives you better systems experience, and the smaller one gets you running a deck sooner.