What is dock walking?
Day work, permanent work or to leave them with one of your CV & Dock walking along the walking along a daughter, going up with a yacht, speaking with the crew on the board, # 39; s.
For me this proved to be one of the most nerve wracking processes about finding a job on a super yacht ...
I am living in a crew house with numerous other & # 39; super yacht crew, all eagerly trying to secure a job on a super yacht, all competing I get up early, I want to be the first in the shower (before people start to queue for the shower) and to have a shave for my first day walking the docks of Antibes. I pack my bag with the essentials, sun I want to be the first out of the crew house and onto the dock in case I can cat any early crew out on deck.
It is a beautiful fresh morning, the salty smell of the sea lingers in the calm air that surrounds the small cobbled streets in Antibes. The sun is about to rise, the sky is clear with white aeroplane trails scarring the blue background, there is a Leaving the cobbled streets behind I am greeted with a vast selection of yachts moored, all overlooked by a beautiful golden fort that looks down on the harbor of Antibes, the rising sun accentuates the golden color of The fort. As I walk along the dock side a scavenging sea scurries into a hedge dragging some left over pizza from a torn bin bag. The water is calm and the town empty, it is 0730 and the port is quiet.
I walk toward the International Dock, the main dock home to some of the largest super yachts in the world, past the more modest yachts, which by standards at home are still impressively sized yachts. My anxiety is growing as I approach the entrance to I pass the security barrier through an open gate looking like a school boy about to embark on his first day at school, rucksack on, clean ironed clothes and As I enter the International Dock I am greeted by a large yacht with the large letters spelling & # 39; written down the side in gleaming silver , the reflection of the water ripples glistening off the yachts hull and the front of the distance; my heart beat and the distance; I almost try to convince myself that it is not a good day to dock walk and I will try tomorrow, as it wi ll be easier then ... I know I must continue.
Sitting on the dock it is 0735, there is no-one around bar the security guard and he looks wholly uninterested in my intentions here this morning. I sit by a flower bed that overlooks the vast stretch of yachts before me, all moored stern to Two days ago I was working in an office watching the rain falling outside on a busy road ... now I I'm feeling the dock, I struggle to comprehend the change in worlds I am experiencing in just two days. sit, unemployed, admiring these incredible yachts, with the blue sea and sky around with the back drop of that old golden fort.
Slowly more dock walkers appear, some look highly seasoned dock walkers, walking with a certain confidence and heir of knowing, some I talk with politely and briefly, some people are focused purely on the yachts and walk past without so much as an acknowledgment.
It is 0745 and I decode to walk to the far end forward, hoping to catch crews before they are disturbed by the other dock walkers. The larger yachts are at the beginning, I anticipate As I walk to the end of the dock, the yachts start coming alive, deck crew appearing from side doors on I see the crews coming out, a moment I have long been anticipating, and my anxiety steps up another notch. My heart beats now to a level where I can feel My mouth dries and I feel sweat building below my armpits, I go to approach ___ ___ ___ 0 the first yacht, the crew member looks at me, I think I have his mind attention, I smi le, before he looks down and heads up to the second deck to raise the flag at the back of the yacht, I am sure he noticed me, but my polite English dispositions stops me disturbing him and I convince myself they must be fully crewed and therefore I should look elsewhere. As I walk away, I realize I have failed at the first hurdle in my search for work on a yacht.
With my disappointment building but my heart rate easing a little, I continue along the dock, determined to not succumb to fear on the next yacht, I vow this will be the only yacht I do not approach, a new beginning ...
The third yacht along, some approach is putting out the flag at the back of the yacht, I approach, again the heart rate increase, but with grit and determination I call up to the chap, "are you looking for crew?" The chap However, I have overreach my feeling of feeling, I have overcome my fear of asking for work on one of these yachts and feel a little more equipped to start on my journey to find work on a super yacht.
That morning I managed to talk to crew on five different young people I feel more confident than I have on the walk out this morning and pleased I have managed to give some some CV 's I. have completed my first mornings dock walking, the start of many more docks walks now lay ahead.
The process improved with time, I became slicker at asking if they need a day work or new crew, I I always tried to have a polite conversation with crews before leaving, hoping to develop some form of polite rapport, which I was surprised to find crews surprisingly helpful and welcoming to me as dock-walker. The reality is most crews on-board will have at some point endured the process of dock walking and understand it Is a necessary part of finding work on a yacht, empathising with you and helping you where they can can.
My dock-walking took me too many docks, Antibes, Cannes, Monaco, Nice, St Tropez, among a couple of other ones. I have many days of walking miles of docks, handing out many I always tried to keep keep and keep moving forward, but it was difficult at times and I the yachts would soon leave the mediterranean for the Caribbean.
However, the hard work, persistence and patience historically paid off. I got day work on a couple of yachts which built my experience on my CV, making me much more more employable.
Without realizing it my dock walking days are I approached one yacht not long after it had docked one late afternoon. The normal routine of asking for work following with polite pleasantries, I handed the crew member my CV, He requested about I left with disappointment as the yacht had an interesting itinerary and the crew Looked really friendly on- The following morning walking the dock I passed on the same yacht that I had handed my CV to the afternoon before, the crew member called wolf of the work, to a weeks, which lead onto a trial period, which lead over permanent work and all this fateful day of speaking and handing that one CV to that person.
Working on that yacht as I Moved all possessions on board, as I went from dock walker to full time crew member It is a loveful moment in my life. I am afraid that my life is working.
Looking back, the dock walking was the most nerve wracking part of the job finding process. But you did not get easier with time and practice, you just have to overcome that fear of asking that first yacht.
As humans I feel we need to get more comfortable at embracing fear and uncertainty, for it is often the things that make us feel uncomfortable, fearful or nervous that can lead to some of the most exciting changes and opportunities in your life ...
... you never know, that one decision you make, that one conversation or person you can change the direction of your life or career and take your life on a whole new exciting adventure.
