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In this month’s Life After Yachting feature, we speak to Matthew Taylor. Matthew grew up in the South West of England, and originally went to university to study automotive design. He switched to the university’s boat design course halfway through, and then chose to start working on superyachts after graduating. Whilst at university he also undertook work placements with both a yacht design studio and a yacht broker.
How long did you work onboard? What was your role and which yachts did you work on?
I started out as a green deckhand in the summer of 2011. The majority of my experience was on large motor yachts over 50m in length, although my longest period of service was as first mate on board a 40m motor yacht. My last permanent contract was as chief officer on a 55m motor yacht.
When did you leave the Superyacht industry and what were your reasons for leaving?
Like many other superyacht crew, I’ve left the industry more than once! However, the last (and final) time was in April 2023. The lifestyle just doesn’t work for me anymore. This is one of my main reasons for wanting to educate other crew about the importance of making the most of their time in the industry. When you first get started, it’s easy to think that the excitement of working on superyachts will last forever, but this often isn’t the case.
Before leaving, did you plan an exit strategy?
The main benefit of having tried to leave before was that I knew it wouldn’t be easy. A land-based job didn’t work then, and it wasn’t going to work this time either. There were a few reasons for this: I needed more flexibility than a typical job would allow; my experience as a yacht crew member didn’t make me eligible for jobs that paid anything like what I wanted (and had been used to); I have always wanted to start and run a successful business, and this wasn’t going to be my first time trying.
Accordingly, I decided that I wanted to develop Work on a Superyacht into something more than just a YouTube channel. My exact plan for doing this wasn’t clear at the time, but it did at least give me a starting point.
Most important lesson you learnt as a crew member that you now apply to day-to-day life on land?
A number of my captains asked that before crew members bring a problem to them, they think of some possible solutions. This is particularly useful now because entrepreneurship is all about finding problems, then coming up with solutions to solve those problems.
What is your current job role, and where are you based?
I’m now working full-time on Work on a Superyacht, and I split my time between England and Poland.
Can you tell us more about Work on a Superyacht Academy and what you do on a day-to-day basis?
Work on a Superyacht Academy has been designed to help deck crew first identify their goals whilst working in the industry, then give them the support, knowledge, and tools to make those goals a reality. “Work on a superyacht, move up through the ranks, and maximise your potential.” It’s been my soundbite from the beginning, and it remains the guiding principle of my work.
I currently spend my time building out the online classroom, mentoring my students, and developing the business in general.
The good, the bad and the ugly parts of transitioning from yachts to shore?
The best part about having stopped working on yachts is being able to get away from work and choose who I spend my time with. However, by not getting another job and instead trying to start a business of my own, there’s an element of risk involved. A steady income; accommodation; bills; your schedule simply handed to you by the demands of the yacht and its owner or guests. These are things that you take for granted, and when you finally have to take care of them yourself, the pull of a yachting job is strong. This is probably the hardest part about trying to leave a career on yachts: knowing that I could solve all of these problems next week by simply updating my CV and making myself available. Fortunately, I’m able to resist doing this because experience has taught me that it’s not a long-term solution.
What is the hardest struggle you have faced since leaving the industry, and how did you overcome it?
I haven’t encountered any real struggles of note, which I believe is due to this not being my first time leaving.
Read more: Life After Yachting: Tracey Boston From Our Faceless Crew, Upskilling Crew!
Did you have any other career options in the back of your mind when you were considering your life after yachting?
I’ve always wanted to start and run a successful business, and this isn’t my first time trying. I think it was inevitable that this would be my next step, and I’m grateful to have found a way of using my knowledge to benefit others.
If you could return to the start of your yachting career, would you change anything?
Absolutely! There are far too many to list here, but I speak about them at length on many of my videos. These are the things that I now encourage others to look at, think about, and plan for.
What kind of positive changes would you like to see in the industry?
I’d like to see training and career progression become the norm. Yachting is advertised to so many as nothing more than a way to earn good money, travel the world, and live a glamorous lifestyle. Unfortunately, this is attracting crew with the wrong expectations, and motivations that are at odds with creating a professional industry. It’s well known that the turnover of junior crew is very high, and that yachts are spending a lot of money hiring, training, and then losing them. We cannot be surprised by this, and in order to see any meaningful change we must work to educate new crew members.
What does success mean to you and what is your career vision for the next 5 years?
When somebody tells me that by sharing my knowledge I have made a positive impact on their yachting career, I feel that I’ve succeeded in my mission. Ultimately, I want to positively impact as many crew as possible, and my vision for Work on a Superyacht Academy is that it becomes the go-to programme for both new and existing deck crew members.
Lastly, can you share 3 pieces of advice for crew members thinking about their life after yachting.
Don’t make decisions about whether or not to leave yachting in the middle of a busy and stressful season. In those situations, your emotions can lead you to believe that anything will be better than working on yachts, which is probably not true. Instead, think about your life after yachting when you’re well rested and not under pressure.
Leaving more than once will cost you a lot of time, money, and energy, so make sure that you really have finished with your career in yachting. This will help stop you from having to go back to it when you later realise that you haven’t saved quite as much money as you thought, and you haven’t developed certain skills that would allow you to get a head start working ashore.
If you’ve only managed to do a few years in yachting, don’t assume that this is the fault of yachting. Could it be that you just haven’t developed the skills and habits necessary to stick with something long enough to see a reward? In that instance, there’s a chance you’ll move ashore thinking the grass is greener, only to find yourself wanting to change that up in another few years.
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