From 2020 to the end of 2023, I was a quality controller at an engineering company that made mining machinery in South Africa, I managed 132 employees and earned 3,000 euros, around $3,333 a month. My future was pretty secure at the company, but I lacked that sense of adventure and felt like there was more to life than working away every day and not seeing the world as I would like. I knew some friends who had entered the yachting industry since leaving school, and it looked very intriguing and adventurous.
My previous job had long hours and was hard work, which made me comfortable stepping into the yachting industry. When I started working on deckhand certification courses in January this year, I was told about these massive yachting hubs where it'd be easier to find work opportunities because they were saturated with boats. One of those was Antibes, France.
I moved there in May this year and traveled the entire coastline of the south of France, dock walking daily, exploring the vessels, and putting myself out there to catch the right opportunity. I started documenting my job search on on the day I left for France. I was very nervous that I didn't have a job yet, and I wanted to stand out and get a step ahead in my job search.
I love expressing myself through video creation, so the two went hand in hand. I met this girl who works on this vessel docked in Monaco for the season. She saw my videos, and we got to know each other.
I was the first person she contacted when they ne.