After two months working on the motor yacht, Eitan and I began talking about our plans for the future. Our contracts did not technically have an end date but they included a three-month trial period, which meant we needed to decide if we were leaving in a few weeks or staying on for the long haul. Before coming onboard, the tentative itinerary included the whole eastern seaboard, Bahamas, Caribbean and potentially even further. Having never been to these places before, I was quite excited for the trip. But since we didn’t leave Florida until mid-June, due to work being finished up on the boat and a variety of other factors, it seemed less and less likely that we would be covering the ground initially planned. It became evident that we would not be traveling to many of the places that made this opportunity so attractive to begin with.
Aside from the delays and constant schedule changes, the work really started to feel like, well, work. Since the owners were originally only looking for a captain, the agreement was that I would carry my weight helping as a deckhand/stewardess and would only be compensated in accommodations and food. Having no previous yachting experience, I felt that this was fair, kind of like a yachting internship and helping to build my resume in case Eitan found other work for us down the line. I didn’t mind the cleaning, laundering, and dishes at first because these were all things I was used to doing in my free time at home anyway. But after the first few weeks, it became very apparent that the expectations had changed.
Although I was happy to “carry my weight” as an unpaid member of the crew, after our first couple of weeks I was surprised to receive a job description that included a 50-hour per week schedule and included tasks like cleaning and laundering the owner’s cabin and bathroom, catering to their guests, polishing their silver, and even drying every drop of water in the sinks. Eitan brought up the fact that this was not what we agreed to and if they want a full-time stewardess, they need to pay for one. Falling into my natural tendency to be a people pleaser, I agreed that I would consider the new job description and try to up my level of service to what I felt was reasonable.
Since this was more work than initially discussed, Eitan pushed me to negotiate a salary. A beginner stewardess makes about $3,000 per month, which was a small fraction of what I had been making as an engineer. Did I even want to make $3,000 per month working as a professional stewardess? Did I really quit my engineering job to become a full-time maid? Was the experience I was having worth the longer work days and smaller pay? After thinking through these questions, it was quite clear to me that cleaning someone else’s toilets was not how I wanted to spend my early 30s. Sometimes, I like to imagine myself in my elder years thinking: how much would I pay to go back and be my current age for a day? I try to remind myself that my youth, health, and freedom are finite and invaluable. I made the difficult and conscious decision to brake from my career so that I would have the opportunity to make the most of this time now.
Left with the decision of staying or going, Eitan and I decided our time is best spent back on S/V Sierra Wind, where pants are optional and Mexican food is plentiful. So, we put in our one-month notice and agreed to deliver the yacht to a marina where it could spend the rest of the season dockside until a new captain was hired. After checking marina prices and availability farther north, the owners decided to stay put in Annapolis, meaning we were back on the dock for the rest of our time onboard. Although we got to see some cool places along the east coast, it was a bit disappointing that 10 of our 13 weeks on the yacht would be spent tied to a dock in a marina.
Since Eitan receives regular solicitations to captain other boats for charter or delivery, it’s likely we will end up taking another couple’s position down the line. Lucky for me, Eitan’s credentials give us the opportunity to work short term to continue to fund our adventures on S/V Sierra Wind. The last few months have been a great learning opportunity for me and have given me much more perspective on what to consider for future opportunities and the types of positions I am willing to consider. Since I am still in my mini-retirement, I don’t want to go back to work too quickly. At least not the kind of work that feels like a job!