From Santa Catalina to Superyachts: Erica Lay's Mallorca Story

What is it really like to work on a superyacht in Mallorca? Erica Lay, founder of EL CREW CO and author of The Superyacht Life, returns to the Majorca Mallorca Podcast to talk about yacht recruitment, crew life and the changing reality of working in one of the island's most important industries.

From the days when newcomers could arrive with a backpack and a hope and a dream to today's world of qualifications, visas, money and online recruitment, Erica explains what aspiring crew need to know. We also discuss yacht crew welfare, recruitment scams, rising costs in Mallorca and the growing attraction of alternative yacht hubs such as Vilanova i la Geltrú. Listen to the full episode and subscribe to Majorca Mallorca for more conversations about life and work on the island.

Episode overview

Mallorca has been at the heart of the Mediterranean yachting industry for decades, but the business is changing.

Erica Lay has spent years working at the sharp end of that change. After arriving in Mallorca in 2007, she moved from a career in construction project management into yacht recruitment and eventually established her own agency, EL CREW CO, in 2013. Her business works with yacht crew across a wide range of roles and vessel sizes. Erica has worked in international yacht crew recruitment since 2007 launching her own agency in 2013.

In this conversation, Erica talks about her early years living in Santa Catalina, before moving to the Mallorcan countryside, and about the dramatic changes she has seen in both Palma and the yacht industry.

She explains how finding yacht work has changed. The old image of arriving in Mallorca with a backpack, walking the docks and hoping for day work has largely disappeared. Today's newcomers need qualifications, documentation, money behind them and a much more professional approach.

There is also a warning for anyone tempted by the glamour portrayed in television programmes such as Below Deck. Yacht work can provide excellent opportunities, but it can also mean long hours, cramped living conditions, isolation and significant pressure.

Perhaps most importantly, Erica discusses recruitment scams, fake jobs and fraudulent approaches targeting inexperienced crew.

The wider conversation looks at Mallorca's future as a yachting centre. Rising costs are encouraging some yachts and businesses to consider places such as Vilanova i la Geltrú, raising questions about how much the island can charge before the industry begins to move elsewhere.

What you will hear in this episode

• Erica's journey from the UK to Mallorca
• Life in Santa Catalina before its transformation
• Why Erica moved from Palma to the countryside
• How yacht recruitment became her career
• How yacht jobs have changed over the past two decades
• What new crew need before arriving in Mallorca
• Why Below Deck is a poor guide to real yacht life
• Seasonal yacht work and freelance crew
• The realities of working and living aboard a yacht
• Crew welfare and isolation
• Mental health support for yacht crew
• The importance of qualifications and documentation
• Fake yacht jobs and recruitment scams
• How social media has changed recruitment
• Why Mallorca became a major yachting hub
• Rising costs for yachts and businesses
• Vilanova i la Geltrú as a potential alternative
• What the changing industry could mean for Mallorca

About Erica Lay

Erica Lay is the founder and director of EL CREW CO, an international yacht crew recruitment agency based in Mallorca. She has worked in yacht recruitment since 2007 and established EL CREW CO in 2013.

She is also the author of The Superyacht Life: How to Start, Succeed & Stay Sane, a guide covering different stages of a career in yachting.

www.elcrewco.com

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