CATCHING UP
It's been a while since my last post, and you must be thinking, "Well, if she doesn't have a job, why doesn't she have time to post?" In the life of a yachtie, or wanna be yachtie, time flies. Every morning I would wake up and by the time I updated my CV, in Word might I add, and searched every FB page and every agency website for jobs, it was already after 1pm. I would spend the rest of the day running errands, riding my bike, or laying by the pool/beach (tough life I know). Once 4:30 hit, and everyone came home from their jobs, it was time to get ready to go out. It's hard to turn down partying when ladies drink for free 3 out of the 7 nights of the week plus brunch on Sundays! Maybe I'll write a post on the nightlife in Laudey if I get around to it... morale of the story: work hard, play hard.
So after a few freelance charters and some daywork, I was offered a seasonal position on a yacht that I had interviewed for a month prior. I wasn't supposed to start for a few weeks, so I chilled for a bit but also helped my friend promote his new company, YotChef, at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. YotChef is an online platform that is a one stop shop for chefs that include provisioning, job postings, scheduling, menu planning, meal inspiration and collaboration. Soon it will expand to other yacht positions and I can't wait to use it! I know it's going to be a great success and I'm glad I was able to promote it at FLIBS.
Right after the boat show, I received a text from my captain saying there was an engine room fire and it was best to look for another gig. Unbelievable! I turned down an interview a week or two before, and obviously stopped my job search because I thought I was already employed. Luckily, I called a boat that I had dayworked on a few weeks before and they needed a stew! Phew! So now I am a solo stew on a 100' yacht that charters to the Caribbean in the winter and Bahamas in the summer working with a crew of 4-5.
I moved onto the boat after Thanksgiving and left the crew house that I had been staying in for almost 4 months. I'm going to miss the crew house life, and I never expected to love living with 20 other people, although having a maid service definitely helped ;) Living in the crew house was everything I was hoping for and more. We threw some epic parties, braai's, pool parties, the hurricane party (aka Hurricane Will), Halloween party, and an amazing home cooked meal on Thanksgiving that everyone pitched in for. I'm going to miss these guys but I'm looking forward to seeing everyone in awesome places around the world!
Look out for my post in the next few days about my crossing to the Caribbean!
