Captains
A licensed captain for a standing program or a defined season, matched to the yacht, the waters you run, and the way you like the boat to be kept.
Crew placement
The right people, properly checked
Captains through day-work crew, for a standing position or a defined period. Captain Poda handles the search and the due diligence, then remains the point of contact after the placement.
Staffing that fits the yacht, and the owner
The people on board set the tone of the program, the safety of the yacht, and how it feels when you arrive. We place crew for the Italian and European yachts we look after from Miami to the Hamptons, NY, and for owners who need a role filled even if the boat is not yet on a full management plan.
Every search starts with how you actually use the yacht — weekends, a season, a delivery, or a standing program — and whether the placement is permanent or temporary. We do not send a stack of résumés and leave you to decide alone. Captain Poda interviews, checks, and presents the people he would be prepared to put on board.
If the role is for a passage rather than a position on the boat, Yacht Delivery covers licensed delivery crew for runs throughout the United States, Canada, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, and Mexico.
The roles
Staffing for every position
Permanent placements and temporary cover, including relief, day-work, and a defined period on board.
Relief and delivery captains
Cover when your regular captain is off, or a licensed captain for a specific passage. Longer deliveries are planned as their own project — see Yacht Delivery.
Mates and deckhands
Deck crew who can run the boat with the captain, keep the exterior to standard, and handle lines, tender work, and the ordinary rhythm of a day on board.
Engineers
Engineering support for yachts that need a dedicated person on the machinery and systems, whether as a standing role or for a period of heavier use.
Chief stews and stewardesses
Interior crew for owner and guest use — service, housekeeping, and the standard of the interior — as a chief stew or as additional stew support.
Chefs
A chef for weekends, a season, or a trip, briefed on how you like to eat on board and on the limits of the galley they will actually work in.
Day-work and temporary crew
Day crew for washes, moves, events, and short-notice cover. Temporary placements are vetted with the same care as a standing role, scaled to the work and the time on board.
Due diligence
How we vet crew
A placement is only as good as the work behind it. This is the process we follow. We do not invent shortcuts to fill a date, and we will tell you if a candidate is not ready.
1
Needs assessment with the owner
We begin by sitting with you to understand how the yacht is used, which roles you need, the experience that actually fits, and whether the placement is standing or for a defined period.
2
Sourcing
Candidates are drawn from Captain Poda’s professional network and from a targeted search for the role, not a generic open listing. The shortlist is built to the yacht, not to a pile of résumés.
3
Interviews
We interview shortlisted crew ourselves, looking at how they work on board and how they would deal with you, as much as what is written on the résumé.
4
Licenses, certificates, and sea time
We verify licenses and certifications that apply to the role — for example a USCG license, STCW, and ENG1 or other medical fitness where it is required — and we review sea time against the yacht and the waters you run.
5
Reference checks
We make thorough reference checks with past captains and owners, not a single courtesy check. We want to know how the person actually worked, not only that they were employed.
6
Background and drug screening
Background checks and drug screening are arranged where you require them. We will tell you what we can coordinate and what remains yours to specify; we do not treat this as a formality to be assumed.
7
Sea trial or trial period
Where the role and the calendar allow, we set a sea trial or a trial period on the yacht so you can see the person at work before the placement is settled.
8
Matching to the yacht and owner
Papers are not enough. We also look at whether the person will fit this yacht, this program, and the way you like things done, and we will say so if the match is not right.
9
Follow-up after placement
Once someone is on board, we stay in touch. If something is not working, you still have a single point of contact, and we help put it right rather than leaving you to manage the placement alone.
Next step
Tell us about the yacht
Email Captain Poda, or send a short note with the vessel, her location, and what you need.
Email[email protected]