Week in the Life of a Flotilla Technician with Sunsail!

Once the technicians arrive at the base at the start of their season, they will have a few weeks to prepare for working on board. This will cover everything from how to order spare parts to what is expected of them as a technician. The local base technicians are very experienced and are a great support, whether the flotilla team is in the base or out on the water. Most importantly our techs will need some common sense and a willingness to learn!

 

The week starts with turnaround day – which is the day the guests arrive. When they first step on their yacht the technicians will show them the basics for their first night, including how to use the oven and gas hobs, the toilets, and the basic electronics such as where the light switches are. The next morning the flotilla skipper will give the welcome briefing, where they will give a summary of what to expect over the week and introduce the rest of the team and what they do. The technician will then go around each flotilla yacht and give a full check in briefing. This briefing will cover all the basics and then will depend on how experienced the guests are – some are new, and some have been coming for many years! Once the guests have had this full yacht briefing, and any issues/questions have been addressed they can then leave the dock and start their holiday!

The flotilla team will then meet the guests at the next port that afternoon/evening. Once all the guests have left the lead boat will then follow them, which normally takes a few hours to get to the next location. During this time, the team will have down time as well as the daytime admin for the technician such as checking the spare parts and keeping the lead yacht clean and tidy!

As the guests will take their time and explore the lead team will arrive at the next port before the guests do. Once the guests start arriving the team will help them with mooring up. The technician will support the skipper mooring up yachts, catching and tying lines, and assisting with safe docking. It is very important to work as a team and show a united face to the guests to ensure they feel confident and comfortable as this can be quite daunting for the less experienced guests!

The technician then go between each boat and ask how their day was, whether they had any technical issues, how their boat is, and whether they have had any issues you can support with.

This role is all about being flexible and supporting each other – sometimes the guests would tell this information to the host instead, so it is important to communicate and work as a team.

The technician will then fix any issues that the guests have mentioned and then will help the flotilla host setting up the G&T or punch party or the other entertainment for the evening and then sometimes join a group meal. An important part of this role is being social, and the guests love hearing about the job!  

The following day the skipper and the host will hold a briefing in the morning regarding the day’s activities. This will give the technician time to go over the yachts to make sure the guests don’t have any more technical issues that may have occurred overnight. Once the briefing and any repairs are done, the team will then help the guests with departure and repeat the day over again but in a new location!

On the final evening of the week, the technician will check out each vessel and ensure the boats are in good condition visually. The team will then hold the week’s final drinks and say their goodbye speech to this week’s guests. This is when the guests normally say what an amazing time they have had

Turn over day part 2! The busiest but most rewarding day! The technician will be checking over each vessel in detail to ensure that everything is ready for the next guests. This includes doing the basic engine checks, checking oil, water, fanbelts as well as supporting the technical teams to ensure that the boats are in working order.

Although every week is going to the same places every week is different as there is different weather, different guests and different issues happening! It is a fantastic learning curve and really increases your people skills and adds to your experience.