Watersports Instructor
A watersports instructor runs the toy programme on a large yacht. You teach guests to wakeboard, kitesurf, foil and snorkel, drive the tow boat, and keep a garage of kit worth millions of dollars working. On most yachts you sit inside the deck team, so expect to wash down and handle lines when the guests are ashore.
The jobWhat fills the day
The job has two halves. With guests aboard you are on the water from breakfast to sunset. You brief guests, fit wetsuits and impact vests, drive the tender for wakeboarding, coach a nervous teenager onto an eFoil, then watch the swimmers off the swim platform. With no guests aboard you service jet skis, rinse and dry every kite and wing, patch inflatables, log Seabob hours and keep track of spares. Salt water breaks kit. A good instructor finds the fault before a guest does.
Under 50m the role rarely exists on its own. A deckhand with RYA Powerboat Level 2 and a PWC ticket covers it. From around 60m, and on charter yachts with a long toy list, owners pay for a dedicated instructor. On 90m+ explorers you may lead a team of two or three, help run a dive centre and work alongside a separate dive instructor. You may be listed as specialist crew, but the captain and bosun still set your watches and deck duties.
Captains hire teachers. Freestyle tricks matter less than calm, patient coaching of beginners and children and good safety habits. Most people who get hired come from ski resorts, holiday centres or kite schools and hold an instructor qualification in at least two disciplines. RYA Powerboat, Dinghy or Windsurf Instructor, IKO or BKSA kite, and PADI Divemaster are the usual ones. Add a tidy appearance, good manners with guests and basic deckhand skills, and you are employable.
Many people treat the job as a few seasons on the water. Those who stay usually move across into deck, working up through lead deckhand and bosun while building sea time towards OOW 3000gt. Others go after the top instructor posts on 100m+ yachts, train as dive instructors, or move ashore to run toy hire and training businesses in Antibes or Fort Lauderdale. The quickest route forward is a deck CV backed by instructor qualifications.
Skills captains look for
- Patient beginner coaching
- Tender and tow driving
- Jet ski and Seabob servicing
- Kite and foil instruction
- Risk assessments and briefings
- Deck maintenance basics
- Calm guest manner
A day aboardCharter day, 70m motor yacht, British Virgin Islands
Open the garage, fuel the jet skis and tow tender, and check the Seabobs charged overnight. Inflate the slide and rig the swim platform.
Breakfast in the crew mess, then a quick briefing with the bosun on the guest plan for the day.
Wakeboarding and tubing off Norman Island for two teenage guests, with a deckhand spotting from the tender.
Lunch in shifts while the guests eat on the aft deck.
eFoil lessons for the younger guests, then a kitesurf session for the charterer once the afternoon trade wind fills in.
Snorkel guide at The Indians with the children. Headcount on the way in and again on the way out.
Rinse, dry and stow the kit, refuel, log engine hours and report a jet ski impeller that is slipping.
Crew dinner, then off until morning unless the guests ask for a night tender run ashore.
Pay by yacht sizeMonthly, before tips. Estimates. Bars share one scale.
Charter tips, usually 10-20% of the charter fee and shared across the crew, can add USD 2,000-5,000 a month in peak season. Seasonal contracts rarely include paid leave. See the Bosun & Deckhand salary guide for figures from live adverts.
Tickets and visas
Must have
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 medical
- RYA Powerboat Level 2
- RYA Personal Watercraft Proficiency
Gets you hired
- RYA Powerboat Instructor
- IKO Instructor Level 1 or BKSA
- RYA Dinghy or Windsurf Instructor
- PADI Divemaster
- PDSD
Visas
- US B1/B2
- Schengen
Where it leadsA typical career path
Bosun & Deckhand jobsOpen now on SuperyachtRoles.com
Questions crew ask
Do I need yachting experience to get hired?
Not always, but it helps a lot. Captains will take a strong instructor from a resort or kite school if they also hold STCW, an ENG1 and a powerboat ticket. Some daywork on deck in Antibes or Palma first shows you can do the rest of the job.
Which instructor qualification is most useful?
Kite and foiling are in demand on charter yachts, so an IKO or BKSA instructor ticket stands out. RYA Powerboat Instructor is valuable because driving the tow boat safely is half the job. A PADI Divemaster adds a third discipline and opens more doors.
Will I have to do deckhand work as well?
Almost certainly. On most yachts you join the deck rota when guests are ashore or the yacht is in port. That means washdowns, varnish touch-ups, line handling and night watches.
Is this a long-term career?
Dedicated posts are limited to larger yachts, so most people use the role as a way into deck work and keep instructing on the side. A few build a long career on 100m+ yachts or move ashore to run toy hire and training businesses.