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Portfolio of Articles

A Few of My Favourites

From the serious to the silly, factual pieces and opinions, please have a scroll through some of my previously published articles and feel free to get in touch for more.

LGBTQ Yacht Crew

October 2021

Pride month was back in June, but here at Dockwalk we don’t believe that Pride should be limited to just a few weeks of the year, we believe love should be celebrated year-round. Most of the time we see articles focusing on the negative aspects of yacht life experienced by minorities, so we decided we’d turn this on its head and drop the spotlight on the positive for a change.

Image by Gama. Films

Dockwalk November 2022

 Times are changing! What’s with the new trend of naming and shaming online and what are the possible ramifications of doing so? 

Image by Ryan Moreno

Onboard Spring 2023

I’m still talking about mental health awareness. It’s time we started
incorporating Psychological First Aid Training into all yacht crew training syllabuses, from the start.

Image by nikko macaspac

Onboard Winter 2022

With the breaking news of another suicide in the yachting community, it’s time we stopped waxing lyrical about change and started doing something about it. 

Taking photos of sunsets is always a gamble! You can never trust the weather forecast to t

Onboard Autumn 2022

We’re all feeling it, and we’re all seeing it. There are not enough crew to fill all the positions right now. Why? Where have they all gone?

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Summer 2022

We are all aware that those within our industry rarely live a "normal" life during a busy charter season, and we can't all afford our very own Shaman to help us battle through these summer months, so what's the answer?

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Winter 2022

So here’s the thing. When I set out to research and write this article, I gave the term “being woke” a spin. I am now deeply embarrassed about this, as after looking into it I discovered I sounded like an absolute knob head.

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Onboard Spring 2021

Well, over a year into the Covid-19 pandemic and countries are still going into more lockdowns, although the vaccine programmes are rolling out it’s starting to feel like there’s no end in sight to this cycle of restrictions, wherever we find ourselves in the world...

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Onboard 2020

Since the last article, the OOW we spoke to, Jenny Matthews, has launched a pretty amazing platform alongside Chief Mate 3000gt Natasha Ambrose called She of the Seas. Their aim is pretty straightforward, “to connect and empower women working in yachting and those who support them. Cultivate equality, realise potential and celebrate diversity.”

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Onboard 2020

So last time you heard from me, we were talking about the perils of Social Media (SM) addiction. It’s now a recognised problem, especially amongst the younger demographic, and when we consider the fact that yachting is by default a bit of a younger person’s profession (research shows the average age people start on yachts is 22-30, and stay in the industry up to 8 years), coupled with being away from home, family, friends and mentors for long periods, we can safely assume a large percentage of crew could be overusing social media platforms.

At%20Canada%E2%80%99s%20star%20child%20startup_%20Shopify%2C%20a%20picture%20captures%20a%

2020

I’ve worked from a home office set up since I launched my own company in February 2013. A lot of people ask me how I motivate myself to do this, and in the current conditions with lock downs and self isolation everywhere, I’m getting this question more than ever...

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2020

To some, social media addiction is a mystery, but to others it is an important part of daily life. The rush of dopamine you get from "likes" is a comfort blanket. But we ask, is it damaging our industry?

MY Resilience.webp

2022

The team behind this custom-built 65.5-metre yacht lived up to her name – Resilience – and produced a remarkable new flagship for ISA Yachts. And I, got the inside scoop...

Mobile Phone

Spring 2022

New tech and innovation is great, but it has created a society where everyone expects you to respond to calls, messages and emails within seconds, and if you don't, woe betide you. There comes a time to switch off our devices and switch off ourselves.

Traveler with Suitcase

Autumn 2021

It's not big and it's not clever to work yourself into the ground. You're the important one and you need to look after yourself - so book some time off and recharge those batteries.

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Onboard 2021

We all know that working at sea in “normal” conditions is already tough enough – long hours, high levels of stress, no personal space, not enough time to connect with loved ones… and the list goes on and on. Research from the International Seafarers Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) has demonstrated that across the industry (both commercial and yachting) the number of crew suffering from mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, is worryingly high already. With the additional impacts of the pandemic, these numbers are growing.

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Onboard Spring 2021

Addiction is a tricky thing, some people have a more addictive personality than others. Which explains why most people can enjoy a few alcoholic drinks or smoke the occasional joint without it turning into a daily dependence. Do we take the substance or in this case, the media, away for everyone because of a minority who find it detrimental? 

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Dockwalk 2020

In a time of absolute uncertainty, the one thing we can all agree on is that 2020 is a year like no other. When Covid 19 struck and lockdowns imposed in the spring, many wondered if there would even be a summer season for the yachting industry. But, months later, as the borders cautiously began to open up across Europe, restrictions eased off and countries like Croatia publicly welcomed back superyachts, the Med season tentatively began...

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Dockwalk 2020

Well it’s official. The world’s gone nuts… half the planet is on lockdown or headed for it, the conspiracy theorists are having an absolute field day, everyone seems obsessed with overbuying toilet paper and flour, and if you’re looking to give yourself crippling anxiety, just head straight on over to facebook where mis-information, hearsay, blame and gossip is absolutely rife.

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Dockwalk 2020

Another day, another case of sexual harassment in yachting. How can we tackle this in an industry where senior male crew still say things like “the #metoo bandwagon”? Bandwagon? Seriously guys? What a privileged life you’ve had to never experience what most women accept as part of their daily existence. 

Yacht

2019

For many, a rotational yachting role really is the holy grail. Still mostly only prevalent on larger yachts, yet seen as the norm in the commercial shipping sector, why has it not yet been fully embraced in the superyacht industry?

Beach Party

2019

Green and experienced crew weigh in to talk about their experience with first seasons in the superyacht industry.

Trees in Lake

2019

Working in superyachts is already a high stress environment, adding a traumatic event to our day to day operations could, possibly, tip us over the edge especially if it’s not dealt with properly.

Underwater Dive

2019

Mental health and wellbeing are hot topics at the moment, especially in yachting, so it seems natural we move on to talk about how we deal with grief, and of course in our close knit living set up, how to respectfully deal with those who are grieving.

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2019

It’s a safe assumption to say that the new younger generation coming into yachting is very, very different to the old salty sea dog crowd....

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2019

We all know - what goes on, onboard... stays onboard... Apart from when it gets reported (anonymously of course) to yours truly...

Girl in Shop

2018

Long regarded as "old school" in its approach to gender equality, how do we address the imbalance in the yachting industry, and improve female crew retention?

Pride Parade

2017

Gay and bi crew are a minority in the yachting industry, so I put the question out there to the community to tell me about their personal experiences.  I am extremely happy (and actually relieved) to report that although there were a number of negative stories, the firm majority were positive.

Pinacolada

2016

That wonderful feeling of waking up the morning after a spontaneously savage night with a vile hangover and having to put your game face on...

Romantic Couple Enjoying View

2016

How do we cope with working apart from our loved ones? Be it on separate yachts or when one is ashore?

Flour

Cocaine in the Yachting Industry

2016

The drug of choice for those with spare cash, why is cocaine so rife in the yachting industry?

Dog Portrait

2017

What happens when the boss brings his/her furry (or feathered) friends with them for their boating trip? Chaos usually...

Man in sweatshirt on beach

2017

Tackling sexual harassment in the yachting industry during a time when the #metoo movement gains momentum.

Sunny Sunglasses

2017

So, I was asked the question, “What constitutes a sackable offense in yachting” the other day; crikey what a broad topic but let’s see what we come up with!

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2017

Exploring sexist and bullying behaviour towards our male crew members.

2017

Everyone experiences good and bad days, ups and downs… but sometimes those negative feelings just won’t go away. If that’s the case, you, or someone you know or work with, could be suffering from depression.

Woman on Window Sill
Electrician

2018

Getting my geek on here for a piece about EMF exposure.

Smart Dog

2015

You work on a yacht, so sleep deprivation is all part of the job right? Hmm... but at what cost?

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2018

It's a fact of life - everyone is always connected in one form another, but how do superyachts tackle privacy rights and rules?

Want to see more of my stories? Contact me today.

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