Transitioning form life ashore to living on a yacht can be challenging, you have probably heard from a lot of stews: “ I got very big on my first season”.
A massive selection of snacks only comparable to that on a supermarket at the tip of your fingers, a buffet of delicious food cooked by a talented chef every meal ( you want to try it all!), lack of access to a gym many times; others lack of time or energy to exercise… if we add that to the fact that you are in a complete different country away from home, drinking with the crew is your everyday extra curricular activity and it’s basically your only expense, you have the perfect equation for bad habits.
Sleeping hours on charter are not exactly abundant, and when you get to sleep you’re either underway or your roommate is a snorer… Maintaining an unhealthy lifestyle is a direct passage to suffering mental health issues, specially without your closest relatives and being so far from the place you call home. However, if you play it smart and use yachting to your advantage, you can actually enjoy a lifestyle that most of the world can’t.
The ingredients provided onboard you wouldn’t be able to find or to afford; many vessels have their own gym or at least gym equipment available for crew; there probably isn’t anything that comes close to meditation in the middle of the ocean, with it’s own natural relaxation music, rocking back and forth, up in the sundeck or the foredeck, the smell of the ocean, the breeze of the wind… just you. Laundry magically appears clean everyday, by your doorstep.
Come on, we have it pretty cushty. On top of all of this, we have yachtie fellows, that have transitioned to life ashore creating businesses to help us with all these matters that they themselves have had to deal with. Fitness programs onboard (@saltlickfitness), mental health support (@the_crew_coach), Nutrition (@theyachtnutritionist)… and dozens more that are available online and very accesible to those who live at sea.
The best thing is that they have been in our shoes, so they know exactly how it is and they have created these programs from experience. Although at the end of the day we are glorified toilet cleaners and chamois masters , we are part of a very , very small percentage of the world that get to live a life most could not even dream of, let’s make the most of it.
Kind regards
The Bester Crew