By Carmen Charrett-Milton of Tea in Bed
We are all connected. Yachting taught me to connect with anyone from any walk of life. As on yachts you live in such close quarters, you have to get on with everyone. I learnt that every person you cross paths with in life you will share common ground with. This is a refreshing, renewed, non judgemental outlook that I had started to harbour when I initially went traveling, but certainly deepens when you are literally living with the same few people in a small space for months on end.
Confidence. Yachting gave me a confidence I hadn’t felt before. The nature of getting into the industry meant me being bold, brave and demonstrating that I believed in myself. Through this I have learnt that whatever you set your mind and efforts to, you can achieve!
Friends for life. I made wonderful, close friends for life. You come together with so many like minded people and you spend so much time with them. I have best friends from all around the World because of yachting. I also met my incredible boyfriend thanks to this crazy industry.
Work hard, play hard. Yachting taught me that hard work and team work pays off. I worked damn hard on the yachts, it was very full on in season but the reward was great. You are a part of a unit and everyone does their bit and at the end you get a decent paycheque, sometimes a hefty tip and various meals and nights out to remember (or sometimes not remember) with your crew!
To be in the moment. I learnt patience whilst working on the yachts. Sure some of the work is mundane and often repetitive. You learn to be OK with that and actually enjoy the simple tasks, and see them through as they come up, rather than be overwhelmed. You trick yourself, basically.
Travel. Yachting took me to incredible destinations all over the world; I got to travel around the Caribbean, Florida, New York, The Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Europe. I was able to visit places I had only dreamed of visiting, while living on a boat and earning a decent salary, with little coming out of my pocket.
To have less stuff. Yachting taught me to live with the bare minimum (due to such limited space!) you have to regularly clear stuff out if more comes in.
To save, save, save! I learnt to save like a boss- in the end. But it did take me a good year to get the hang of it. Because of yachting, after all my hard work and ability to save money, I am now able to take some time out while I work on my next move.
Self control. Most boats have cupboards full of treats, plus the chefs will often make ridiculous desserts and cakes for the crew, so if you are cutting naughty things out you really have to practice self control. Working hard and feeling tired, with so many sugary goods within reach is testing.
The blessing that is coffee. I don’t care what anyone has to say about coffee being bad for you, on charter, and on next to no rest, coffee is a godsend.
I can function on barely any sleep (with coffee). Yep, despite hardly sleeping and working like a dog I learnt that the body and mind adapts to whatever the conditions and works to keep you on the up and up.
Check out more yachting musings from our guest writer Carmen on her blog: Tea in Bed
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