All roles/Specialist crew/Private Tutor
Specialist crew
Private Tutor
A private tutor teaches the owner's or charter guests' children on board, keeping their schooling on track while the family travels, so a summer or a year at sea never costs them a term.
- Department
- Specialist crew
- Reports to
- Captain, with lessons agreed with the owner's family
- Yacht size
- 50m to 150m+
- Contract
- Seasonal, trip-by-trip or permanent travelling with the family
- Starting pay
- €5,000 per month
What the job is
You are the teacher for one to four children living on a private yacht. Most families keep a home school curriculum running while they cruise, often British national curriculum, IGCSE, IB or American programmes, and your job is to deliver it. You plan lessons, mark work, liaise with the child's school back home and prepare them for exams. Some tutors cover every subject. Others are hired for one specialist area, such as maths, languages or exam preparation.
Life on board is different from a classroom. Your schoolroom might be a spare guest cabin, the sky lounge before lunch or the aft deck table under shade. The yacht's plans change with weather and the owner's wishes, so a lesson can move from 09:00 to 15:00 at short notice. You work around swims, shore trips and tender runs. Good tutors turn the cruising ground into material: marine biology at anchor, local history ashore, navigation with the officers on the bridge.
You live as crew. You share a crew cabin, eat in the crew mess, follow safety drills and keep the same discretion as every other crew member. You are usually not expected to clean or serve, but on smaller yachts a light steward or childcare role can be part of the deal. The family trusts you with their children and their privacy, so references, background checks and a calm, consistent manner matter as much as your teaching record.
What makes a good one
- Planning lessons for mixed ages
- Teaching a set curriculum remotely
- Adapting to changing schedules
- Discretion with high profile families
- Calm, patient manner with children
A day in the life
- 07:00Breakfast in the crew mess and a quick word with the chief stewardess about the guest timetable. The captain confirms the yacht stays at anchor until mid afternoon.
- 08:15Set up the schoolroom in the upper deck study. Print worksheets, charge laptops and check the school's online portal for new assignments.
- 09:00Core lessons with the two children, maths and English for the eleven year old, phonics and reading for the seven year old. Short blocks with breaks to keep focus.
- 11:00Science outside. You join a deckhand on the swim platform to look at sea urchins and seagrass, then write it up back inside.
- 12:30Children join their parents for lunch on the aft deck. You eat in the crew mess and mark the morning's work.
- 14:00Lessons pause while the family takes the tender to a beach club. You plan the next week and send a progress note to the parents and the school.
- 16:30The yacht repositions to Paros. A one hour reading and homework session in the sky lounge while underway.
- 18:00Short French lesson over a board game, as agreed with the mother. Then the children go to the nanny for dinner and bath.
- 20:00Off duty. Dinner with the crew, a call home and an early night before the next school day.
Pay by country
Monthly salary, paid in EUR or USD whatever the flag, for yachts 50m to 150m+. Higher end for qualified teachers with exam experience and permanent travelling roles. Private trips rarely carry tips; on charter a share of the crew tip may apply.
- France and Monaco
- €5,000 – 8,500
- Spain
- €5,000 – 8,500
- Italy
- €5,000 – 8,500
- United Kingdom
- £4,300 – 7,300
- USA (Florida)
- US$5,500 – 9,500
- Caribbean
- US$5,500 – 9,500
- UAE
- US$5,500 – 9,500
- Australia
- A$8,500 – 14,500
- New Zealand
- NZ$9,300 – 15,800
Required
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 medical
- Teaching qualification (PGCE, QTS or equivalent)
- University degree
- Enhanced DBS check or equivalent background check
Recommended
- Paediatric first aid
- IGCSE, A level or IB teaching experience
- TEFL or second language teaching certificate
- Food Safety Level 2
- PDSD
Visas
- Schengen
- US B1/B2 or C1/D
- Australian MCV
Where it leads
- Childcare Specialist
- Nanny
- Governess
- Private Tutor
Private Tutor jobs open now
Questions crew ask
Do I need to be a qualified teacher?
For most permanent roles, yes. Families want a PGCE, QTS or equivalent and classroom experience, and they will check references closely. Specialist subject tutors with strong exam results sometimes get in without full teaching status.
Will I have to do crew work as well?
On larger yachts you usually only teach and supervise study. On smaller yachts the role can include light steward or childcare duties, which should be written into your contract before you join.
How does time off work?
You often get evenings and weekends off while the family is aboard, but plans change with the itinerary. Permanent travelling tutors usually agree holiday around school terms, when the children return to school or go home.