City suits pull on the flip-flops

Yacht training company sees strong demand for courses as stressed executives look for "more to life"

Interesting news in from the UK sailing school Global Yacht Training (sister company of racing charter firm Global Yacht Racing) is that the company is seeing an increase in bookings for RYA sailing courses which it attributes to redundancies in the City – a result of the credit crunch affecting the big City firms.

Some of the increase in bookings have come from people looking change direction in their careers and using their redundancy pay outs to invest in getting training to work in the expanding yachting industry. It is a trend the company is not expecting to change in the coming months with City suits taking up sailing courses as more and more people take career breaks, or lose their current jobs.

Jobs in the marine industry vary and so does the pay, but for most people who have worked in another industry before taking up sailing the rewards go far beyond the financial. Following a Global Yacht Training Yachtmaster course there are many exciting options open to the graduate yachtie. For people experiencing the “there must be more to life syndrome” the prospective choices are very enticing - these include working as a flotilla skipper or mate, delivery skipper and yacht crew positions world-wide. With more experience, the skipper could be in charge of a Mediterranean charter or teaching centre, be responsible for a fleet of charter yachts or land a great job working for a private race yacht owner.

There are then many options to further a sailing career. Teaching or becoming the Principal of a sailing school requires instructor endorsement - first as a cruising instructor and then Yachtmaster instructor. Ocean Yachtmaster is the next step for those wanting to work as a trans-ocean delivery skipper or on private ocean-going superyachts.