Unpicking The Culture Of Misogyny And Abuse Within The Yachting Industry
“Everything in the world is about sex except sex. Sex is about power” Oscar Wilde
Since June 2020, I have been gathering stories and interviewing crew members about their experiences of abuse onboard superyachts. These stories range from rape and sexual assault to more subtle forms of bullying and manipulation. I have also witnessed this culture firsthand as a crew member, a culture, that has sexism and abuse deeply stained within its fabric.
It’s no longer a secret that, like many industries before it, the yachting industry is due to be rinsed clean. Many are calling for an overhaul of an outdated status quo, and are seeking to embed more credibility within an industry that is seldom taken seriously.
In 2020, I joined a Facebook group called ‘Women for Women Yachting’ where hundreds of female crew members told their stories of harassment and discrimination. The bio for this page reads:
‘A group for women in the yachting industry that have been exposed to abusive situations or malpractices that we all know are common/ widespread and never dealt with’.
Whilst it is hopeful that female crew members are rallying together to tell their stories, progress must be propelled further. A new infrastructure of support is due, one that actually succeeds in protecting crew.
Smaller beginnings
I have been working on and off in the yachting industry for almost ten years, since the age of eighteen. My father, who joined the merchant navy aged sixteen, was a yacht captain. My dad got me my first job as a junior stewardess onboard a busy charter yacht in Ibiza. A rabbit in the headlights, I saw all of the usual antics.
There were ridiculously demanding guests, escorts, drugs, partying. The days were long and the nights never-ending. I was eighteen, but with my father as my captain, I was protected from some of the more sordid happenings that many young stewardesses are subject to. It was not until later that I would see and hear some of the crookedness of this budding industry.
In the beginning, my father knew all of the old school seafarers that worked out of Mallorca, most of them working on small pleasure yachts and sailing boats. This was back when you could get away with working without a health certificate, or a legal contract for that matter, before many boats were ‘MLC Compliant’ (more on that later).
The early yachting industry is widely thought of as a landscape occupied with ex-pat cowboys, before the industry took the shape of a more respected and viable career path. In these days, the industry was relatively unknown to ‘non-yachties’, way before Bravo’s Below Deck curated an entire show around the antics of hapless young seafarers. The true story of this relatively tiny but mighty industry contains much more scandal, excess and mistreatment than Bravo’s show could hope to convey.
Industry growth
In the early 2000s, superyachts became of more interest to the super wealthy. The world’s 1% figured out that travelling by yacht comes with less restriction, maximum privacy, and an entire team of dedicated ‘crew’. Since then, the industry has shown exponential growth. In 2016, Forbes reported that: “today’s superyachts enable the Super Rich to combine fun, adventure, exploration, fine dining, relaxation, partying and culture while staying in control”.
Nowadays, the industry continues to grow into a behemoth money-making machine, with several diamond-clad fingers stuck firmly inside the proverbial yachting pie. These fingers belong not only to the owners but to the brokers, crew agents and management companies, and of course crew, that all rely on the industry thriving.
The yachting world is a vast one, of private luxury and liveable fantasies. Stories of baby tigers paraded around on leashes, and the world’s most famous DJs arriving by helicopter to play two hour sets, circulate within the industry on endless replay. The credibility of such stories are questionable — but one thing is certain, private yachts are floating Edens, an entire world where anything is possible. Service is delivered to the highest degree of satisfaction, and onboard activity is shielded from prying eyes. It is the perfect storm.
This secretive environment poses as the perfect setting for abuse. Not only do many clients have inexplicably high expectations, there have also been several cases of guests crossing the blurred line of professional boundaries. However, it is not only the antics of the owner’s that bare investigation, it is also the veiled behaviour of crew themselves.
Reports of sexual abuse and bullying in high profile industries are hardly anything new. In recent years, we have seen the exposure of the abuse of power in other industries. Indeed, any environment where great wealth and status are involved is sure to be rife with misconduct. Other corporate industries are notorious for the mistreatment of employees, mainly women, but importantly, also sometimes men. Wallstreet and Silicone Valley are no strangers to investigative reports surrounding the sexual harassment of staff, and of course many individuals within the film industry have since had their day of reckoning with the famous Me Too movement.
Environments of abuse
So what factors must be present within work environments to allow for sexual harassment to thrive? Psychologist Marianne Cooper illustrates several of these factors in her Ted talk on sexual harassment, stating that industries that are male dominated, super hierarchical and forgiving of bad behaviour experience the most complaints of sexual harassment amongst employees.
Indeed, the yachting industry runs upon a strict hierarchy of roles. Dependent on the size of the vessel, a single yacht may employ up to 25 crew members, all of whom report to the Captain. It also remains true, for the most part, that women fulfil the more domestic roles onboard, and whilst this may be a fact that many are eager to see change, progress is slow. Needless to say, within this environment, hyper-masculine behaviour is often present.
A friend within the industry once told me that during his time as a young deckhand, instead of being reprimanded for turning up late for work, he was instead praised by his seniors if he admitted that he had slept with a woman the night before. Creating a kind of competitive sexual culture is surely asking for trouble. In this world, bullying, discrimination and sexual deviancy thrive like black mould. This ‘boys club’ culture is not dissimilar to what is currently being exposed within the Met Police force, of which Guardian journalist Sandra Laville writes: “[in ten years] nothing has changed — indeed, the unchecked, pervasive and violent attitudes to women seem more, not less, prevalent”.
“It is not just more explicit actions like groping and direct sexist remarks, the problem also lies within the ‘harmless banter’ and casual comments, that point toward a more colossal issue”
In order for a toxic work environment to thrive, there has to be a leader who sets the tone. This acts like an invisible thread that runs down from the top through to the bottom. When bad behaviour goes unpunished by the leader, (or is perpetrated by the leader themselves), it occurs again and again until it becomes the norm. It is not just more explicit actions like groping and direct sexist remarks, the problem also lies within the ‘harmless banter’ and casual comments, that point toward a more colossal issue. This ‘bad behaviour’ eventually becomes unrecognisable as wrongdoing.
Furthermore, whilst the boundaries might seem blindingly-obvious to some, to others, these lines are less blatant, or important. Add alcohol and drugs to an already toxic concoction and the lines become even less distinguishable - it is important to highlight though, that alcohol and drugs simply add fuel to a fire that is already raging.
It is also important to highlight that sexual assault is not necessarily about sexual desire, as Cooper also states: “its about communicating to women in subtle and not so subtle ways that they don’t belong”. As women onboard yachts don’t, generally speaking, hold the most authority, it is unsurprising that they are often subject to harassment. Catherine MacKinnon, author of Sexual Harassment of Working Women writes that: “Sexual harassment of women can occur largely because women occupy inferior job positions and job roles; at the same time, sexual harassment works to keep women in such positions”.
Crew members who hold little authority are also likely to withhold from exposing a higher ranking crew member as a bully or harasser, due to the obvious worry of job loss. I have spoken to several women that insisted on remaining anonymous due to their concern that exposing a person with authority may mean they’d never work in the industry again.
Accounts of assault
I spoke to Abi, aged 25, who told me that she had received several threats after reporting being sexually assaulted by a captain. Abi spoke of being in her late teens when she joined the industry: “I was extremely excited, I was 19, I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into”.
A few years later, Abi found herself landing another dream position onboard a busy sailing yacht, despite some concerns: “The whole interior crew were leaving when I interviewed for the boat. It was a busy charter boat, which is what I wanted for financial reasons, and it was also going around the world. I was twenty four [at the time]”. Speaking of the culture onboard, Abi professed that “I had a hard time [with it], it was a huge drinking culture, the captain would very much encourage it”.
Abi continued to speak of her experiences with the captain, who had initially come onto her at a crew party. She said the captain had tried to kiss her, which she initially brushed off, until it became clear that he had no intention of letting his flirtations subside quietly:
“I never thought I’d do this but I just tried to forget about it. I thought he was just drunk and on drugs and he probably felt bad. Nothing was said after that, it was my first bad experience. After that, he would touch me in-front of others. I laughed it off because I knew he could make my life a living hell”.
Abi was unable to confide in fellow crew members as she felt they believed that she was actively engaging in flirtations with the captain: “The other crew did nothing. I think they thought because I wasn’t saying anything that I was partaking”.
Eventually, the captain took his interest in Abi a step further: “After several advances, he sexually assaulted me on the boat. It wasn’t until I was away from the boat that I realised what he had done to me. I never thought I’d let it happen to me”. It all came to a hideous end for Abi when the chief stewardess found out about her claims and violently attacked her in the middle of the night, dragging her out of her cabin and throwing a glass at her, after which, Abi finally left the boat.
What followed was a painful process for Abi, as she attempted to source some kind of support after the assault: “When I reported it to management I realised captains were untouchable. They told me I had to take it beyond them and to court. They said unless I wanted to file assault charges there wasn’t much they could do. It was only after I heard that other girls had come forward that I decided to share”. The captain in question was later sacked upon the arrival of a new management company who took Abi’s claims more seriously - he is still working in the industry onboard another charter yacht.
In response to those who might question why Abi would stay, her answer is typical: “They fund me, they pay me, that’s why I stayed. Everyone would say ‘you don’t talk about captains like that’. They could destroy my reputation, they have that power, so you shut-up. They said ‘we are going to ruin you’”.
Seeking support
Most of the crew I have spoken to have experienced less than helpful conversations with management companies when seeking help or advice.
In fact, a recent poll carried out by The Crew Coach revealed that an astounding 82% of crew members do not trust that they will be supported by management when reporting an issue. Within the same poll, crew members spoke of management consistently ignoring calls, failing to pay for medical bills upon accidents onboard and generally favouring the captain in disputes.
It seems that those at the helm of these operations tend to turn a blind eye — seemingly because their focus is to keep the wheels in motion, or perhaps there just isn’t the infrastructure with which to deal with claims such as Abi’s. Certainly, on busy charter yachts, the ‘season’ is a sacred period of time that cannot be interrupted under any circumstance. In yachting, the attitude is always that the show must go on, no matter what happens. A complaint from a crew member is unlikely to rock the boat when there is so much financially at stake.
Similar to Abi, Faye, 34, also experienced a misogynistic environment onboard a prestigious superyacht. Her experience taking a complaint to the management company turned out to be exasperating. Faye told me that within the first few weeks of joining the yacht, she witnessed inappropriate behaviour from the captain.
At her first crew dinner, Faye noticed that the captain was sat with his hand placed on the female purser’s upper thigh. The purser seemed un-phased. This was the first of many displays of inappropriate touching from the captain: “It was common knowledge amongst the crew. When I spoke to the deck team about his touching, they said ‘thats just cap’”. Over the months that followed, the captain continued to display inappropriate behaviour towards Faye, making comments about what she wore, sending inappropriate text messages and making flirtatious remarks.
“I was really worried at this point because we were stuck on the boat with him, and allowed to drink, it didn’t feel like a safe environment, so I raised concerns”.
Faye later spoke to the purser about the captain’s behaviour, who told her that there had been similar complaints from previous crew members. During a period of lockdown onboard, Faye raised the issue again to the purser: “I was really worried at this point because we were stuck on the boat with him, and allowed to drink, it didn’t feel like a safe environment, so I raised concerns”. She was told to be ‘vigilant’ by her purser, to ensure crew members didn’t drink to excess and to monitor the captain’s behaviour. A few months later, the captain groped Faye’s thigh in front of the entire crew:
“It upset me a lot, you’re supposed to respect your Captain and give your time to them, if they asked you to sit down for a conversation you do it, but not when you’re in fear of them touching you”.
Eventually Faye decided to make a formal complaint. The purser asked her to write down everything that had happened, and members of the management company were notified ashore. A Zoom meeting was then set up with members of management: “At this point I was pretty scared because the captain was so well connected”. After the meeting, Faye was asked several questions, the first being whether or not she had shared her feelings with the captain himself: “that was it, that was the only thing that they suggested”.
The meeting left Faye questioning if her complaints were being taken seriously: “I felt instant rage by what management had said, they basically suggested that due to the captain’s age he didn’t know any better. It should have never been acceptable to sexually harass women in the workplace”. Soon after, the crew were told that the captain had left the boat due to a ‘family emergency’. Faye felt left in the dark by management, who had promised that there would be transparency surrounding the outcome of the complaint.
It later came to light that the captain had been placed on a course, which Faye suspects was concerning sexual harassment in the workplace. He later returned to work, and whilst there was a noticeable shift in his behaviour, Faye ended up leaving the boat. Several emails were sent to the management company by Faye’s seniors requesting information surrounding the complaint, all to no avail.
These women’s stories simply skim the surface. I have been sent stories of rape, groping, bullying and general harassment. There is a plethora of posts from members of the Women for Women group that detail stories of bullying and abuse. Here, women consolidate with one another and seek advice on how to approach situations safely and effectively, perhaps indicative of the lack of support onboard.
Stronger support
I investigated just what is currently in place in order to protect crew, and my findings are that the current complaints policies lack definition and clout.
The Maritime Labour Convention or ‘MLC’ pertains that commercial vessels over 500 tons must hold a certificate which requires the vessel to maintain certain standards, incase of onboard audits. This certificate means vessels are open to inspection by Port or Flag state authorities. The MLC requires all vessels to have an onboard complaint procedure for crew members. This also means though, that private vessels and those below 500 ton can often slip through the net.
Before joining a vessel, crew are likely to sign what is called an ‘SEA’ which stands for Seafarers Employment Agreement. In this document, the crew member can find a basic breakdown of the details of their employment, including obligations and duties, confidentiality clauses and repatriation policies. I dug up one of my own previous SEA contracts for the purpose of this article.
I discovered long drawn out sections that detailed elements such as ‘Confidentiality and Social Media’ and ‘Disciplinary Procedures’, yet under the section ‘Grievance Procedure’ was a singular sentence guiding the crew member to refer to the ‘Crew Handbook’ if they feel they should want to file a complaint. The Handbook usually directs the crew member to speak to their head of department or captain. This feels largely inadequate when considering the gravity of the ‘complaints’ of the likes of Abi and Faye.
Whilst there are organisations such as Nautilus where crew members are able to seek confidential and non-biased advice, shouldn’t crew members be able to seek consolidation closer to home first? Why should crew have to seek outside help in order to be taken seriously?
I spoke to a second-officer onboard a charter yacht, William, who told me that within his vessel’s complaint procedure, there is a ‘one size fits all’ attitude toward complaints, with a clause that states that ‘crew should seek to resolve issues at the lowest level possible’. William suggested why management companies often seek to silence issues onboard rather than raise it further:
“The management company are trying to keep the peace, they want to make the owner’s life easy. So, for them to call the boss and say we’ve just had to fire your captain because of sexual assault claims, it doesn’t make them look good. The owner will probably then change management company”.
Moving forward
In order to move forward then, what must be done? Jenny Matthews of She Of The Sea, an organisation that seeks to incite diversity and inclusion within the industry, believes that the resolution relies on a new business model. Matthews, an active Chief Officer and graduate in Sustainability Leadership and Corporate responsibility at The London Business School has been at the forefront of the conversation surrounding gender diversity within the industry for many years.
Matthews believes that in order to see real change, there needs to be an incentive for management companies, owners and captains alike: “the catalyst for protecting crew and creating real change is when the actual business case for doing so is more widely understood and when accountability and transparency is instilled into policy and practice”.
“The only reason for inaction is ignorance and apathy”.
Matthews also believes that there exists a conflict of interest within the industry that prevents change from happening: “[change] wont be driven forward by ‘wanting to do the right thing’ or for ethical reasons, but by needing to mitigate risk as there are more tell-alls, more exposés and more lawsuits”.
She Of The Sea is focused on educating and recruiting talented and dedicated individuals to join the yachting industry, and believe that the status quo that has worked for those currently at the top of the chain is due to be broken down. To Matthews, whilst change may be slow, it is also inevitable and the message is ‘get onboard or be left behind’. In a recent speech, Matthews proclaims: “The only reason for inaction is ignorance and apathy”.
Much like She Of The Sea, there are other individuals that have dedicated their careers to inciting change within the industry. Karine Rayson, established The Crew Coach in 2009, and has been working to create programs that crew members can utilise to improve the culture onboard. Rayson is counsellor to dozens of crew members yearly, and recently stated “what I’m hearing at the moment is that [crew members] are crying out for help and support…they feel alone, and its about time that we close the gap between the right information and the correct reporting procedures”.
In the film industry, it was announced in July 2021 that after three years of lobbying, a new legislation was finally in place to protect employees: “We will be providing further protections to employees who are the victims of sexual harassment, whilst also furnishing employers with the motivation and support to put in place practices and policies which respond to the needs of their organisation.” The policy was described as “one of the first key statutory changes in the U.K. to happen since the #MeToo movement” by women’s rights leader Deeba Syed.
In the entertainment industry, it took two female journalists to incite the dissolution of Harvey Weinstein’s tirade of power. This action has inspired women worldwide to incite change within their respective industries. In the yachting industry, there is no such solitary figure that holds the strings to all of the puppets, no oaf like mogul to aim an arrow at to bring down once and for all. Instead, there are thousands of floating universes, all operating under ‘rules’ that bare little to no relevance when one is out at sea, with nobody to report to except oftentimes the harasser themselves.
If women and men have been blowing the whistle against sexual harassment in the entertainment industry since 2018 and only just formulating new legislations, then yachting is surely traipsing far behind. There have been recent reports from yachting magazines, and whilst this display of solidarity is long overdue, it is somehow irksome.
“It can be frustrating for women to see that the very issues they have been shouting about for years, tend to gain more traction when merely whispered by men”
Whilst the input of men is entirely necessary and crucial to achieving significant change, to centre male voices feels insincere in this moment. It can be frustrating for women to see that the very issues they have been shouting about for years, tend to gain more traction when merely whispered by men. It is hard not to view such articles as anything but virtue signalling, when they focus entirely on stories that, whilst shocking, can come across as sensationalist.
The overall consensus seems to be that what is ultimately needed are more effective frameworks with the sole purpose of protecting crew, more education on what constitutes abuse and more transparency — as well as a strong incentive to uphold the respect and wellbeing of every person onboard.
Organisations such as She Of The Sea deserve the utmost support for focusing on harbouring more diversity and bolstering the inclusion of women in authoritative roles within the industry. It is no longer acceptable for those at the helm to reap the rewards whilst leaving a trail of damage in their wake — damage, that for many individuals, will last a lifetime.
