Deck/stew Molly Priebe on trusting your gut and her best stew tip.
Honestly, when I first started yachting my only goal was paying off my student loans. Now that I’ve done that, I’ve been enjoying where I’m at for a moment. I enjoy my current role as a deck/stew — it allows me to do a good mix of things, while traveling and doing what I enjoy.
I got started in yachting as a sole stew on an 85-foot private boat. I had just graduated from college and didn’t want to go into the world of a desk job quite yet, so I flew myself to Florida, took my classes and hoped for the best.
You’ve got to just go for it. Book the ticket, take your classes and stay in a crew house. Building your connections and making good impressions is definitely a huge part of getting gigs, and it’ll go a long way for your career. I couldn’t count on both hands the amount of possible hires that I’ve seen made or broken based on personal or network impressions.
Combining “trust your gut” and “listen and learn” is the perfect pairing of advice. Trust your gut when it comes to finding your boat and program, and then listen and learn when you get there. When you’ve found yourself in the right program, trust your crew to teach and train you as they do. A good crew want you to succeed just as much as you yourself want to.
Before last year’s summer season, I finally got the sea time to get my 100-ton captain’s license, so I went in and took my classes to make it official. While it may not be a huge accomplishment in everyone’s eyes, it was really affirming for me and I felt like it cemented my place both in this industry and as a woman on deck.
I love tablescaping and guest service. Being on a charter program allows me to have a lot of creative expression when it comes to theme nights and fun cocktails, and it’s 100 percent of the reason I’ve been able to hone those skills.
Tough dockings, crazy weather and drunk guests are all just part of the day-to-day and go just fine if you have a good crew, but difficult guests can drain you mentally and emotionally.
Always be a step ahead of the guests. Have the board games and scavenger hunts ready for the bad weather days, and have the extra sunscreen and water bottles packed for the excursion before they can even think to ask.