What a first season actually costs before you earn anything

Most "how to get into yachting" guides skip the money. Here is a realistic list of what you spend before your first wage lands. Figures move with the season and the school, so treat these as orientation, not quotes. BEFORE YOU TRAVEL • STCW Basic Safety Training — the non-negotiable one, roughly a week of classroom and pool. • ENG1 or equivalent seafarer medical — book early, availability is the bottleneck, not the price. • Powerboat Level 2 if you're going deck. Food hygiene if you're going galley or interior. • Passport with real validity left on it, and any visa you need (see the Visas section). ON ARRIVAL • Accommodation in a crew house, priced per week and per bed, not per room. • Food, transport, phone data, laundry. • Printing CVs, and a decent pair of deck shoes. THE ONE PEOPLE FORGET A contingency for the weeks where nothing happens. Plan for six to eight weeks of zero income. If your plan only works when you find a boat in ten days, it isn't a plan. WHAT YOU DO NOT NEED YET A full sea-survival stack, an expensive tender ticket, or a course somebody cold-called you about. Get the basics, get on a dock, and let the boat tell you what to train next — often they'll pay for it. AND THE THING THAT ISN'T MONEY Time. First jobs come from being present, reliable and around for weeks, not from a perfect application sent from another country. If you've done a first season recently, what did you underestimate?