Superyacht Crew Hiring Season
Superyacht hiring isn't spread evenly across the year — it clusters hard around a handful of boat shows and the two big seasonal handovers between the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. Turning up in the right place during the right two or three weeks matters more than almost anything else for landing a first job.
The season, month by month
Dates shift slightly year to year, but the pattern is consistent — the industry moves between the Mediterranean in summer and the Caribbean in winter, and hiring clusters around the shows and crossings in between:
April – May
Med season crews up — Antibes, Palma, Cannes
Boats provision and crew up ahead of the Mediterranean summer season, which effectively kicks off around the Cannes Film Festival and Monaco Grand Prix (both mid-to-late May). This is the single best window to be dockwalking Port Vauban in Antibes or Palma's Paseo Marítimo.
September
Monaco Yacht Show — Monaco
The largest superyacht show in the world, typically the last week of September. More geared toward brokerage, senior crew and established relationships than entry-level dockwalking, but still worth being in the region for — the Cannes Yachting Festival usually runs the week before.
Late October – early November
FLIBS — Fort Lauderdale, USA
The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show is the biggest hiring event in US yachting — a huge cluster of boats converge before heading south for winter. See the note below before making any plans around this one if you're not a US citizen or green card holder.
Early December
Antigua Charter Yacht Show — English & Falmouth Harbour, Antigua
An industry-only show that marks the start of the Caribbean charter season, as boats that crossed the Atlantic after FLIBS get ready for winter charters.
Christmas – New Year
Peak Caribbean charter season — St Barths
Gustavia, St Barths is the single busiest, most concentrated charter window of the year for superyachts. It's a small, competitive scene, but temp and daywork opportunities cluster here hard over the holidays.
January – April
Caribbean winter season continues — BVI, St Maarten, Bahamas
Charter season runs through the winter across the wider Caribbean before boats start repositioning back across the Atlantic for the Med, and the cycle begins again.
A serious note on looking for work in the USA
If you're not a US citizen or green card holder, we do not encourage dockwalking or actively looking for crew work in the USA. A B1/B2 visitor visa — or entering under the Visa Waiver Program on an ESTA — does not permit you to seek or engage in employment on US soil. Immigration authorities can treat active job-hunting itself — dockwalking, handing out CVs at marinas, networking in crew houses for work — as a violation of your entry status, separate from actually being paid for work.
The consequences are real: being refused entry, having your visa cancelled, or being barred from returning to the US, sometimes for years. This isn't legal advice and immigration rules and enforcement can change — confirm your own situation before you travel — but it's a mistake we've seen cost people dearly, so treat it seriously. If a US-based or Fort Lauderdale-departing boat is genuinely the goal, look to get hired through a crew agency before you travel, rather than showing up to look in person.
The Mediterranean season
Antibes and Palma de Mallorca are the two big Med crew hubs. Antibes' Port Vauban — Europe's largest superyacht marina — is often called the crew capital of the Mediterranean, and both towns fill with crew houses, agencies and boats provisioning for the season through April and May. The season itself runs roughly May through September or October, tracking the Mediterranean charter calendar.
The Caribbean winter season
Once FLIBS wraps up, a large share of the US-based fleet crosses the Atlantic for the Caribbean winter season, which runs roughly November through April or May. The Antigua Charter Yacht Show kicks it off in early December, and the season builds toward its peak over Christmas and New Year, concentrated overwhelmingly in St Barths, before spreading out across the BVI, St Maarten and the Bahamas for the rest of the winter.
Frequently asked questions
When is the best time to start dockwalking in Antibes or Palma?
Late April into May, in the weeks before the Mediterranean summer season starts. Boats are provisioning and crewing up for the season ahead, which is when entry-level deck and interior positions open up.
When is FLIBS and why does it matter for crew?
The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show typically runs late October into early November. It's the single biggest hiring cluster in US yachting, as a huge number of boats and crew needs converge before heading to the Caribbean for winter — but see our note on US immigration rules before planning around it.
Can I look for yacht crew work in the USA on a tourist visa or ESTA?
No — this is a genuine legal risk, not just a formality. A B1/B2 visitor visa or ESTA/Visa Waiver Program entry does not permit you to seek or engage in employment on US soil, and US immigration authorities can treat active job-hunting — dockwalking, dropping CVs at marinas, networking in crew houses for work — as a violation of your entry status, separate from actually being paid. Consequences can include being refused entry, having your visa cancelled, or being barred from returning to the US, sometimes for years. If a US-based or Fort Lauderdale-departing boat is genuinely the goal, get hired through a crew agency before you travel, rather than showing up to look.
Where do superyachts go for Christmas?
St Barths, overwhelmingly. Gustavia harbour over the Christmas-to-New-Year period is the most concentrated, highest-profile charter window of the entire year for large yachts.
What's the Antigua Charter Yacht Show?
An industry-only charter show held in English and Falmouth Harbour, Antigua, typically in the first half of December. It marks the start of the Caribbean charter season, after the Atlantic crossing that follows FLIBS.
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