All roles/Deck and Bridge/Delivery Crew
Deck and Bridge
Delivery Crew
Delivery crew move yachts from one port to another, often across oceans, standing watches, handling lines and sails, and keeping the boat safe and running for a captain on a tight schedule.
- Department
- Deck and Bridge
- Reports to
- Yacht Delivery Captain
- Yacht size
- 15m to 60m
- Contract
- Per delivery, day rate
- Starting pay
- €3,000 per month
What the job is
Delivery crew help a captain move a yacht between ports with no owner or guests on board. A boat might need to go from Palma to Antibes for the season, from the Canaries to Antigua for the winter, or from a builder's yard to its first owner. Trips last from two days to five weeks. You join for that one passage, get paid a day rate, and fly home or on to the next job when the yacht is tied up.
On passage you stand watches, usually three or four hours on and the rest off, around the clock. On watch you keep a lookout, log position and weather, check bilges and engine room, trim sails on a sailing yacht and wake the captain if anything changes. Off watch you sleep, cook, clean and fix things. Crews are small, often three to six people, so everyone cooks, everyone scrubs the heads and everyone helps when a sail tears at 03:00.
Before departure you help prepare the boat: provisioning, securing everything below, checking safety gear, rigging jacklines and topping up fuel and water. On arrival you clean the yacht and hand it over in good order. Many people do deliveries to build sea miles toward a Yachtmaster or OOW ticket, or to fill the gap between seasons. Captains hire crew they can trust in bad weather, who stay calm, sleep when they can and never skip a watch.
What makes a good one
- Standing night watches
- Sail trimming and line handling
- Basic diesel engine checks
- Cooking for a small crew
- Staying calm in heavy weather
A day in the life
- 04:00Take over the 04:00 to 07:00 watch. Read the log, check the course and wind with the outgoing watch and clip on before going on deck.
- 05:30Do the hourly round below: bilges, engine room temperature, generator, watermaker. Log position, barometer and boat speed.
- 07:00Hand over and make porridge and coffee for the crew. Eat in the cockpit while the captain downloads the morning weather file.
- 08:00Sleep for three hours. On a long passage the rule is simple: if you are off watch and nothing needs doing, you rest.
- 11:30Rig check with the captain. Walk the deck looking for chafe on sheets and halyards, check shackles and pins, and tape a worn spot on the genoa sheet.
- 13:00Gybe onto the other tack as the wind shifts east. Everyone on deck, one on the helm, two on sheets, one on the preventer.
- 16:00Back on watch until 19:00. Trim for the building trade wind and keep an eye on a squall line forming to windward.
- 19:00Your turn to cook. A one pot pasta for five, then wash up and wipe down the galley before the night watches start.
- 20:00Short sleep before the midnight watch. Lay out foul weather gear and lifejacket so you can be on deck in two minutes.
Pay by country
Monthly equivalent of day rates. Delivery crew are paid per day on passage, typically €100–180 for crew and more for experienced or ticketed hands. Flights, food and berth are covered. No charter tips. Pay stops when the delivery ends.
- France and Monaco
- €3,000 – 4,500
- Spain
- €3,000 – 4,500
- Italy
- €3,000 – 4,500
- United Kingdom
- £2,600 – 3,900
- USA (Florida)
- US$3,300 – 5,000
- Caribbean
- US$3,300 – 5,000
- UAE
- AED 12,000 – 18,000
- Australia
- A$5,000 – 7,500
- New Zealand
- NZ$5,500 – 8,300
Required
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 medical
Recommended
- RYA Yachtmaster Offshore
- VHF SRC (Short Range Certificate)
- RYA Diesel Engine course
- RYA Powerboat Level 2
- Efficient Deck Hand (EDH)
Visas
- Schengen
- US B1/B2
- C1/D
- Australian MCV
Where it leads
Delivery Crew jobs open now
Questions crew ask
Can I do deliveries with no sailing experience?
Some captains take keen beginners on short coastal runs, but most want sea miles or at least a Competent Crew level of skill. Ocean crossings almost always need people who have stood night watches before.
Do deliveries count toward my sea time?
Yes. Miles and days on passage count toward RYA Yachtmaster qualifying passages and can count toward MCA sea service if the captain signs your testimonial. Keep a personal log and get it signed at the end of every trip.
Who pays for flights?
The owner or delivery company normally pays your flight to join and your flight home. Agree this, the day rate and how weather delays are paid before you book anything.