Angie was mid to late thirties when she started her yachting career. Originally from Surrey in England, she now lives on the beautiful island of Mallorca with her whippet dog Maple, who is also her office assistant and quality control checker! Throughout her career, she spent ten years travelling the world on various yachts. The largest being an 85-meter Superyacht as a Purser. In December 2014, the pull of the sea loosened its grip and a life on terrafirma began. Angie now runs the successful, not to mention award winning, on-line business, Purser Trainer.
When Angie’s not working, she loves hiking with her dog and being in nature. Reading and going to the movies are also high on her list of favourite pastimes, and as a bit of a wine buff, she also likes nothing more that a crisp glass of wine paired with delicious food.
We caught up with her to talk about why and how she made the jump from Ship to Shore!
Angie tells me that she fell into yachting completely by accident. “I had a bit of an early mid-life crisis and quit my job, packed my bags, and took off travelling. I started in the Catskill mountains, then found myself in Roatan, Honduras and from there, I backpacked my way around Central America. When I reached Panama, I was broke and completely lost for what to do next. I suddenly found myself crewing for passage on a sailing yacht. That is where I started my journey into professional yachting.”
I was keen to know what Angie’s highlights and low points were whilst working in the yachting industry and if she has any funny stories to share. “Definitely the highpoint of my career is the travel. I have been so fortunate to have been to some of the most beautiful and inaccessible areas on sailing yachts, and to travel to Alaska and Canada on the larger yachts.
For Angie, other highlights include exploring different cultures, and meeting different people that she feels has been amazing. “Working within the Superyacht industry is intriguing for many people. My family were fascinated about my life onboard, and being able to share some experiences has been great, (naturally NDAs fully upheld!). I have grown as a person from my time at sea and, now on land, and my compassion for others has definitely expanded!
I have had a few scary moments too, when I was hitch-hiking across the Pacific, but only one time where I felt my life was in danger on a boat. As with all thriller stories, it was late at night, there was a storm, and the halliard on the mainsail came loose. It went under the boat and got caught in the rudder. With crashing waves and rain, I had to lean over the side to try and hold onto the line. Not being tethered, I was petrified. Being a complete novice, I was clueless as to what to do or in fact not do, as was the case!”
Another moment, she remembers, was on the yacht where she sailed from Bora Bora to New Zealand. “We were heading into Tonga, and again, it was pretty stormy. As there were only two of us onboard, (it was an 11m yacht) the owner/Captain had to go forward to reef down the sails, and I was in charge of steering the yacht into the wind. All I kept thinking was if he fell over-board, what the hell was I going to do?!”
Angie is a seasoned traveller, but I want to know, out of all the places she has visited, what has been her favourite destination and why? “ For definite Suwarrow, in the Northern Cook Islands. It’s a tiny island surrounded by a beautiful reef system. We completely lived off the island, cooking bread fruit, coconuts, fresh fish and coconut crabs, it was an amazing experience! I also loved Alaska and Canada because of the breath-taking scenery and the fact you get to see some of Mother Nature’s most impressive species!”
Angie crewed on another sailboat from New Zealand to Fiji, and it was there that she found a 35m motor yacht in need of a stewardess. Their previous stew quit mid-season, and she managed to bluff her way onboard.
It was onwards and upwards for Angie as she returned to the Mediterranean and worked her way up from Deck/Stew to Purser over a span of ten years.
I’m curious to know what finally made her decide to make the jump from Ship to Shore. “As I got into yachting late in life, I found myself rapidly approaching fifty years of age and perhaps foolishly thought, I better get a job ashore while I was still of employable age. I was asked to become a trainer for an interior training school, and that seemed to be the perfect opportunity to switch.”
It was the right place, at the right time but she explains that the transition wasn’t easy. “Transiting from an 85m Superyacht as Purser to a shore-based job was very difficult. Not only was I in a very well-paid position, but I also had full rotation and while onboard had everything provided, as you do being crew!”
Angie explains, the new job entailed her moving to France, so she had to leave her home in Mallorca, her friends and her lifestyle behind. “I became an 8 to 5.30 worker in a static environment, where the locals were often unfriendly and the cost of living very expensive. Naturally, taking a pay-cut to go land-based, and suddenly having to pay rent, bills, and food was a bit of a shock. It took time to find my rhythm, and honestly, the first six months were pretty miserable!”
However, once Angie found her “groove” and started to settle, she began to see all the good things that being in one place had to offer. “I was able to manage my own time and no longer be at anybody’s beck and call. I had the ability (and more importantly the free time) to plan weekends away, and evenings out celebrating birthdays and anniversaries with friends. Basically, allowing myself a social life! The ‘just because I can dinners’ were the best! Knowing your schedule in advance certainly has its advantages!”
Angie returned to Mallorca in 2017 and works for herself from home. She happily tells me she now has the freedom to plan her schedule. “I have a dog and if I want to go for a walk or a swim during the day, or meet friends for lunch, I can!”
I’m eager to know what she misses most about his yachting life. “Most definitely the travel. I was so fortunate to be on a world-wide travelling yacht, and now it would cost me a fortune to go to those places! Naturally, I miss the money, gone are the carefree days of rosé lunches, clothes shopping, expensive handbags and watches. Now I am always in dog walking clothes and shop in Lidl! She laughs, “the one thing that has remained the same though is that I still spend my day behind a computer!”
So, what does Angie do now? “I have developed online training courses for Pursers which you can find at www.pursertrainer.com.“
“I love it, it took a long time to develop, and it has been operational now since March 2018. I have students from all over the world, and I work from home. The course is comprised of nine modules; six modules are the core written modules, and three software modules. The written modules have assignments that the students complete, and as the students work their way through, we have one-to-one Zoom call chats to clear up any questions, confirm comprehension and generally get to know one another.”
“As the course is online, students have the freedom to study wherever they are in the world, as their schedule allows and work at their own pace. With the one-to-one chats, they have the personalised service that you wouldn’t get in a classroom.”
“All of my students, present and past, know that they can always contact me if they have any questions, and I offer on-going support once the course has been completed.”
Since Angie started her business, the Purser course has gone through several revamps, and is fully accredited under IAMI and GUEST. “Having these professional accreditations is fantastic as it really sets the standard of training. We are finding that both management companies and Captains are requesting this certificate, and it can lead to the Purser CoC, which just reinforces the importance of this course. Many Captains and Officers are amazed at the depth of content that the Purser Program offers, and some have signed up to take the course!”
Other exciting developments were in 2021 when Angie won the coveted ACREW ‘Crew Trainer’ award in recognition for all her hard work! “I was astonished to be honest but felt truly honoured…so thank you to all who voted!!”
Angie informs me she is also PYA Director of Interior Training and head of the PYA Welfare Group, where she assists yacht crew with welfare issues such as bullying, harassment and mental health issues. “We support crew through the myriad complexities that the yachting industry offers, and, hopefully, empower them with knowledge as to their rights. I have held several webinars on this subject and, if you are interested, you can look up the PYA Welfare Group on YouTube.”
Finally, I ask Angie what advice she’d give to fellow yachties about going land based. “Make sure that you have been wise with your money. Have investments and money in the bank. Think carefully about what you are going to do, what excites you, what your flaws are and follow your passion. Life ashore can seem rather humdrum after years of travel and living in a ‘bubble’, so you need to do something that you love. Remember, the rest of society does not understand this fickle industry, so either you find something that still relates to yachting, or you go out into the boonies and find your dream.”
“Try to set something up or put in place before you quit, so that you don’t float around eating up your hard-earned cash while you figure out what to do!…And get a dog!”
