During my 3rd year exams at Stellenbosch University, I met my husband while he was home refreshing his STCW Basic Training, and six months later, I was in Palma looking for work as a Stewardess.
I have eight years of experience within the industry on yachts ranging from 38 – 70m, 6 of which were spent as Chief Stew on heavily chartered vessels with multi-national clientele.
Before studying I spent two years in London as a personal assistant & property manager, and the two fields have given me a unique understanding of the needs of seafarers and the organisational skills to get things done.
I was a born & bred stewardess & would often be found tinkering about customising as much as I could for upcoming charters in my time off & struggled at the idea of ever leaving the industry. While planning a large party during the St Barths Bucket, a previous captain I had worked for was watching me run around like a headless chicken & he said to me, ‘You really should be charging for your services with all the added extras you do outside of your scope of work’ and from this comment, the idea of The Seafarers Secretary was born. After assisting a few deck crew with their NOE & exam process, I had a maritime school comment that I should be charging for such services, which again highlighted that there might be a need for crew support with personal admin.
The level 5 lockdown in South Africa was one of the most severe and meant that many crew were locked in the country, unable to get back to work during Covid. Using the documentation from IMO & various maritime bodies, I lobbied against the legislation that stopped employed South African citizens from leaving the country to return to work. Without intending or realising it, my following grew; I was interviewed on our national news channels & helped have the legislation on the matter changed. The first 800 people permitted to depart South Africa & return to work were all Seafarers on my initial list. I then assisted as many people as possible until systems were implemented to make the process easier. Without initially realising it during this time while assisting & organising the logistics, I had started to build the foundations of my business.
After returning to work on board, my phone continued to ring off the hook with various other queries & requests from crew. I then started bouncing the idea of The Seafarers Secretary around & tried to find out all the tasks crew struggled to complete while working on board. The older I got in the industry, the more crew retention was highlighted & I noticed the number of people leaving a position or the industry to get back on track with their personal lives. I noticed great support for vessels in terms of virtual on-shore assistance & courses for new crew joining but I wanted to assist already employed crew in ensuring their personal lives weren’t put on hold or forgotten about, especially while working hard during the season. The aim was that with one call, they could have someone start to tackle or outsource a number of varied tasks. I’m your virtual assistant with multiple years of experience within the Superyacht Industry, so I understand time, location & internet constraints.
Whether it’s visas, tax, revalidations, NOE & Exam Applications, certifying documentation for a property purchase or buying your mum flowers on her birthday – I’m one centralised contact focussed on getting your personal life and goals organised.
Linktree for The Seafarers Secretary Contact Info, Instagram, Facebook & Webpage: https://linktr.ee/seafarerssecretary?fbclid=PAAaZRRYcKCiysVpN8iBpd0FPQFNNTGtBLhL2cInzeYM9YiBYtJXCsUKde0pY_aem_th_AV2jnP5pPSHwvt8efVEftNimDaFhbZwq38u15b160nb243s6p3QOE98Q75JejcvyY54
