Superyacht Captain Report 2021
Yachting is one of the most dynamic and fast-changing sectors of maritime and, the demands placed upon Superyacht Captains have never been greater. Superyachts continue to get bigger, more technologically advanced, and greener. The reliance on these leaders to meet the ever-increasing demands of owners, managers, guests and the crew is more prominent than ever.
Captains represent a pivotal role as the leader of the Superyacht. Whilst the status and prestige of the position is sought after, this is a complex role encompassing all parts of yacht management from the technical and engineering side, to hospitality and leisure, to recruiting and managing the crew and everything in between.
Over the last twelve months, the industry has been experiencing one of the biggest challenges of its time: the COVID-19 pandemic. Travel restrictions and social distancing measures have made Superyacht operations considerably more difficult, and people fear contracting the virus. The owners, managers, guests and the crew will have been looking to the Captain for advice, guidance and strong leadership on how they should manage their way through this challenging time.
We felt it was essential to speak to the Captains themselves to delve deeper into the factors that have impacted them over the last 12 months and their predictions for the future of Superyacht careers.
We have created this unique report to establish and highlight trends from a Superyacht Captain’s perspective. We look to uncover changes that we have seen since our previous surveys and explore employment, career, pay and recruitment from the Captain’s view, discovering where the industry excels and falls short.
It covers areas such as: What makes a great Captain? Who will be seeking a new Captain role? Are Captains stressed? How should new generations of talent be managed? Is pay still as competitive as it once was? Are people concerned about their job security? These are just a few of the questions that are so unique to the superyacht sector and ones that only the Captains themselves will answer.
To discuss any of the findings of the report, please contact Mark Charman or Kelsey Purse.
For media enquiries, please contact Nic Jones.
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