General Caribbean Yachting work permits

[contrail]

With all due respect, the Fahie administration, which succeeded the Smith administration, rescinded that 25 person quota. It went back to the law, which allows persons who have resided continuously for 20 years, to apply for Belongership, and, in a huge ceremony in 2019, regularized the large backlog, granting, if memory serves, well over 1000 foreign residents Belongership status. Most of the expat icons of the charter industry are now Belongers. It takes a long time (I am at 15 years), but it is now an achievable goal.

It is also the case that immediately before the law quoted by Montanan, anyone born in the territory was automatically a BVIslander, just as people born in the US are US citizens. So there are quite a few proud young expat BVIslanders who were born of parents who have now gotten the same status. However, that route was closed, as in the quoted regulations.

A majority of the population are non-Belongers, many of whom have lived here for decades. Their kids go to school with Belonger kids, and many have owned businesses for years. Many Belongers are, in fact, very welcoming, recognizing that ex-pats are the backbone of a number of industries, including the charter industry. Stay tuned!

[Craig Cape Town]

Originally Posted by Cpt Mark

200 GT is a superyacht. If you want to be a chef, be a chef. Nothing wrong with that and good ones are hard to find. Being able to cook in a commercial kitchen in Canada with a ton of food stuffs available is not the same thing as cooking on a yacht with whatever local foods are available.

If your goat is to be a Captain then get a job as deckhand and work your way up learning as you go.

Cpt. Mark raises a valid point here. Most small sailboat charters, such as the type you are interested in, are operated by couples or a team of two (sometimes three on bigger cats). Each member has a particular role with relevant skills.

Charter companies prefer teams who have a history of working together and seldom hire separate individuals for hosted charters as they have a high fall-out rate. You may be able to "fill in" on bare boats with skipper, but the work is not as consistent as all in. charters. Best to hook up with another team mate.

Don't let anyone dampen your enthusiasm. If you want to work in chartering, then I'm sure you'll find a way. I must warn you that my sailing buddies struggled to find work before covid19 and competed with up to a hundred applicants for a deck hand position, with the minimum requirement of a Yachtmaster ticket. Currently the industry has a long line of unemployed experienced personnel, so the opportunities are few.
Might as well sail for fun now until the situation improves.

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by grantmc

This morning's post was quite funny to read.

Good one, GrantMC!

I especially laughed when you veered into New Zealand cricket! HoHoHo

Now, short answer to the OP. Most Caribbean countries, just like Canada, have (fairly stringent) work permit requirements to protect jobs for their own nationals.

Your best bet would be to arrive in the BVI's on a boat you're already working on. Try Ft. Lauderdale and get on a nice private yacht that will be touring the Caribbean...

And update your profile with your location, please.

LittleWing77

Just curious - where did you qualify for your Yachtmaster in Canada? Chris Conner?

[Craig Cape Town]

Does it have to be the BVI?

If you qualify to live and work in the USA, then you don't need a work permit for the USVI. As a Canadian would it not be easier to obtain a USA work permit?

[Shrew]

The other thing to consider is that most of the charter industry splits roles into two major sections:

Interior: Think of this as the "Hotel". Galley and Stews

Exterior: Think of this as the "Boat". 'Operations' might be a better description of this group (e.g.: Deck Crew, Engineering, Bridge Officers). While Engineer, 1st mate, Captain aren't actually outside cleaning, they're not really tied to the interior either.

Dual roles tend to stay within their respective categories. Sure, a stew or engineer might assist with line handling, depending on the number of deck crew available, or difficulty with docking. A more common split role might be Deck/Engineer, or Chef/Stew.

You don't see a lot of Chef/Captain; Chef/Engineer, Chef/Deckhand combinations. Often because the chef is working at the same time the boat is being moved. And the chef has to be busy in the galley both prepping, cooking, cleaning.

If you've ever worked in food service (which I did in my youth), there is not as much time between the clean up of breakfast and the setup for the preparation of lunch as you would think. Clean-up goes on long after the last plate has gone out. Set-up and Prep starts long before the first plate of the next meal goes out.

Chef/Captain is a model that works when you hire a crewed charter on a small, private charters like "The Moorings".

[The Other Side]

Originally Posted by Shrew

The other thing to consider is that most of the charter industry splits roles into two major sections:

Interior: Think of this as the "Hotel". Galley and Stews

Exterior: Think of this as the "Boat". 'Operations' might be a better description of this group (e.g.: Deck Crew, Engineering, Bridge Officers). While Engineer, 1st mate, Captain aren't actually outside cleaning, they're not really tied to the interior either.

Dual roles tend to stay within their respective categories. Sure, a stew or engineer might assist with line handling, depending on the number of deck crew available, or difficulty with docking. A more common split role might be Deck/Engineer, or Chef/Stew.

You don't see a lot of Chef/Captain; Chef/Engineer, Chef/Deckhand combinations. Often because the chef is working at the same time the boat is being moved. And the chef has to be busy in the galley both prepping, cooking, cleaning.

If you've ever worked in food service (which I did in my youth), there is not as much time between the clean up of breakfast and the setup for the preparation of lunch as you would think. Clean-up goes on long after the last plate has gone out. Set-up and Prep starts long before the first plate of the next meal goes out.

Chef/Captain is a model that works when you hire a crewed charter on a small, private charters like "The Moorings".

I'm trying to keep this post tight.

Yes you are 100% correct and your information re-confirms my chosen direction, somewhere in between the ''Moorings'' model and a private or crewed Charter yacht.

This is what I've been dancing around and failed to communicate, thank you and others for the attention getter.

I know a Captain/Hostess couple who operated a sailing Cat for 9 charter seasons in the Caribbean. This is what I wish to do or something similar.

Respectfully.

The Other Side.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by The Other Side

I'm trying to keep this post tight.

Yes you are 100% correct and your information re-confirms my chosen direction, somewhere in between the ''Moorings'' model and a private or crewed Charter yacht.

This is what I've been dancing around and failed to communicate, thank you and others for the attention getter.

I know a Captain/Hostess couple who operated a sailing Cat for 9 charter seasons in the Caribbean. This is what I wish to do or something similar.

Respectfully.

The Other Side.

In that case you need to find a partner willing to be hostess.. every crew working crewed charter cats that I knew in St Martin (Maribor French side) were married or living together.
Then submit your resume'.. St Martin used to be wide open for work opportunities that's why so many folks from other islands headed there..
Whether this is still the case is for you to discover.

[The Other Side]

Originally Posted by boatman61

In that case you need to find a partner willing to be hostess.. every crew working crewed charter cats that I knew in St Martin (Maribor French side) were married or living together.
Then submit your resume'.. St Martin used to be wide open for work opportunities that's why so many folks from other islands headed there..
Whether this is still the case is for you to discover.

Thank you for your advice.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by The Other Side

Thank you for your advice.

That should read Marigot, French side.. Damn auto correct..