Superyacht Onboard Hospitality Training on the Gold Coast

by Donna Morris - SOHT on 14 Jun 2010 The week after the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show, Superyacht Onboard Hospitality Training held a 5-day Stewardess training course onboard the classic motor yacht Bali Hai II at the Marina Oceanus on the Gold Coast.

“We all learned a great deal from the experience and thank the owners, Joe and Claire Akacich of Australian Marine Enterprises, for making their yacht available and also to their steward Lindesay Middleton for being a fantastic host!” says Donna Morris, the Principal Trainer.

“The Bali Hai II is not only a masterpiece from Norman Wright and Sons but also one of Australia's most well known and maintained charter vessels with a history second to none,” says Ian Swan, a former charterer. Ian speaks highly of the experienced and very professional crew saying: “I believe you have chosen a sensational vessel to train with and wish you and your team great success training on Bali Hai."

Morris agrees and so do the students. Kirralee Campbell said 'I have had such an amazing and invaluable experience and an incredible insight to working on a Superyacht! I loved the 'hands on' valuable lessons and very helpful manuals. I am very excited to put this practice into action.'

And another student, Charmaine Mawdsley said 'I thoroughly enjoyed the course and have gained a lot of valuable and useful information from it. I very much appreciate the opportunity that this represents and I thank you for your time and effort: Donna and Michelle are stars!'

Michelle Rochefort, a super-yachting veteran of over 10 years experience working as interior crew on Superyachts, assisted Donna Morris during the course onboard, and these two also head up the Superyacht crew agency Australian Superyacht Crew Recruitment. “The Crew Recruitment activity is really gearing up” says Morris. “We are receiving a lot of interest from Owners and Captains both locally and internationally.”

SOHT aims to place all its students and have had great success in this regard. Age doesn’t seem to be a barrier either, only last month ASCR managed to place two past students on a large motor yacht and both were over 35 years old! It’s really about finding a “good fit” for the owner and captain. Many owners are looking for finesse and extra skills these days so it is often a viable idea for someone who wants a career change to cross-train to work on yachts. Students who have backgrounds in massage, beauty, hairdressing, medical, cooking etc. usually don’t find any problem getting work and our courses make sure that their approach is spot on.

Superyacht Onboard Hospitality Training is aiming to set up a local training centre at the Gold Coast in about 12-18 months time. SOHT is also aiming to have another “onboard” course up on the Gold Coast on 16-20 August so anyone interested should contact early to register before places fill. Meanwhile, students can also attend courses at the Sydney Superyacht Marina in Rozelle Bay, Sydney, as it is close to transport and inexpensive accommodation. Courses are run at least once per month, and sometimes more often according to demand.

All information can be found on the website: www.superyachtstewardess.com and this training is for both men and women of course!