Dockwalking: how it actually works, and how not to waste a season

Dockwalking is still how a large share of green crew get their first job. It is also the part everyone describes badly, so here is the honest version. WHAT IT IS You walk the quay in a yachting port, politely introduce yourself to whoever is on deck, hand over a CV, and ask if they need daywork. Most days nothing happens. Then one morning a bosun is short a pair of hands and you are on a boat. WHERE Antibes and Palma for the Med season, Fort Lauderdale for the US and Caribbean. Golfe-Juan, La Ciotat, Barcelona and Viareggio all have yards worth walking. Pick one base and work it properly rather than touring. WHEN Early. Be on the dock by 07:30, because crew are turning to at 08:00 and after that everyone is busy. April to early June in the Med, October to November in Florida. Turning up in mid-August to look for a first job is a hard way to learn this lesson. HOW TO NOT ANNOY PEOPLE • Look the part — clean polo, shorts, deck shoes in hand, no sunglasses on your head while talking. • One page CV, printed, in a folder so it isn't damp. • Ask if it's a good moment. If they're busy, it isn't. Leave the CV and move on. • Never step aboard uninvited. Never photograph boats. • Say what you can do today, not what you hope to do eventually. WHAT TO EXPECT TO SPEND Budget realistically for six to eight weeks of accommodation and food with no income. That number surprises people more than anything else, and running out of money three weeks in is the most common reason good candidates go home. THE PART PEOPLE MISS Daywork is the interview. Crew talk to each other across the dock, and the person who worked hard, shut up and made the tea is the one who gets called when a permanent slot opens. Treat every day job as a two-week trial that happens to pay. Post actual daywork offers on the Daywork board, not here — this section is for advice. What worked for you, and what would you do differently?