Want to Work on Tall Ships?
If you are hankering for a career under sail you are not alone. Very few tall ships can afford to pay staff at ‘entry level’. Often deckhand roles will be filled by volunteers or as part of a training scheme. Like all desirable outdoor jobs where you are turning a leisure passion into a vocation, there will always be a lot of competition for voluntary positions. You can spend a lot of time and money gaining qualifications but you will nearly always earn more on private yachts than on traditional sailing ships. However, if your end goal isn’t money, a career on the heritage fleet can be incredibly challenging, satisfying, exciting and fun.
If you are already determined to give it a go, then talk to as many people as possible for advice, but be warned, everybody will have an agenda! When our skippers are in the office, we are there to sell sailing holidays, so our careers advice is not always impartial. Spending money to go on a voyage to find out about sailing as a career from the crew at ‘the coal face’ is not a bad option, however. If you impress, you might even find yourself with a job or a volunteer placement.
Job Opportunities
Please note, Classic Sailing is not an employment agency, and we are not responsible for employing the paid or voluntary crew on the vessels we work with.
From time to time we may post job opportunities on our social media channels. These will be from our sailing partners or other operators in the industry who we know and trust.
Follow our Classic Sailing channels to see any job opportunities that come up:
Our Facebook – Our Instagram – Our Pinterest – Our LinkedIn
A Career on Tall Ships
Working on tall ships is a very desirable occupation to many people. Unfortunately this gives rise to a situation where tall ship owners, who all have very difficult finances, can either charge people to work for them or pay practically nothing. As many of them are also charities you can see the logic of this, but it is very frustrating if you have your heart set on a sustainable sailing career.
The route to paid work can be long and sometimes frustrating. The main thing is to make sure it’s something that you really want to do, before you invest your time and money in qualifications and sailing experience. Read our articles on the roles aboard ship to give you a real (and honest!) look at what to expect, and make sure you get out on the water at every opportunity.
The Hands on Line & Paintbrush… the Role of Deckhand
The Way to a Crew’s Heart… The Role of the Ship’s Cook
The Mate’s Role on a Traditional Ship: Alright Mate?
The Power & the Glory? The Skipper’s Role
Where to Start?! Some Routes into the Traditional Sailing Industry
Route One
You can pay to sail on any voyage, provided you are over 18 (some ships will take unaccompanied 16 year-olds). A short taster voyage is recommended if you have not sailed before. Gain experience, get to know the crew, express your interest in working aboard. If you make yourself useful the crew will keep you up to date with any training schemes and refit opportunities, as well as explaining how recruitment works on board that particular ship.
Route Two
Sail as a volunteer. This is the tricky one. Tall ships have a constant stream of people trying to volunteer to sail with them. Given that they really need to find people to PAY to sail with them (ie charter guests), they are understandably picky about who they will bring on as volunteer crew. Often ships will only pick people that have sailed with them before which puts you back to Route One. The working crew have a big influence on who gets to be a volunteer. Show them how good you are working in a team and be prepared for some grotty tasks and they may invite you onboard.
Route Three
You are much more likely to be accepted as a volunteer during the winter refit and maintenance months. That way you get to learn the ship, the crew. and they get a chance to assess you too. In return you may then be able to sail as a volunteer or as a paid deckhand.
Route Four: Get Lucky!
It is not unknown to jump aboard a ship just before they leave port if they have an unexpected crew vacancy. It helps if you have relevant experience and that you just happen to be in the right place at the right time.
Keep Track of ALL of Your Experience
Make sure you keep a log from day one, and have it signed off by the skipper or refit manager after every stretch of sailing or maintenance, whether this is paid or not. The biggest factor in choosing professional crew is experience, and the more breadth and interest you can show, the better.
Being multi-talented also helps enormously. Practice your tender driving skills and your practical maintenance techniques. Teach yourself the basics of sail repair. If you have an engineering mind, use it! If you can cook, make sure the ship is aware of this. Everyone is after the romantic deckhand jobs, and there’s a misconception that it’s all picturesque rig-climbing in a rolling sea. You may well spend more of your time cleaning and fixing things than setting sails.
For more on this, check out our article on How to Write your Sailing CV.
Keep at it!
The most important thing is to keep jumping at those opportunities as they come up. The traditional sailing industry is a small world, and if you get a name for yourself as someone who is enthusiastic, cheerful and competent, you’ll go far. If you are genuinely in it for the right reasons: a passion for the ships and a desire to learn, then you will be most welcome!
