From nightshift to a life shift

Tamryn Van der Merwe

“Worked in the yachting industry for 5 years” – is quite an unusual gap to have on

your resume as a designer.

People are always amazed to hear about this time in my life, they think this “yachtie”

world is truly unbelievable and exciting and glamourous.

Sure, there were moments of glamour, found deep beneath the lack of sleep, crazy

guest requests, larger than life crewmembers and things you probably weren’t

supposed to see. An industry with a bit of a toxic reputation, let’s be honest.

But there were many amazing moments too, the people I met, the places I travelled

to and the things I’ve learnt along the way. It’s the kind of life experience I feel

privileged to have had. A privilege that came with a lot of sacrifice and hard work, no

doubt.

Yachting was never the end goal for me, it was a way to afford myself better

opportunities in life, opportunities that would not have been achievable otherwise.

I entered the yachting industry with very clear objectives. Keeping my mind fixed on

my goals was crucial to get me through the tougher moments.

I started with no previous hospitality experience and spent 5 years in the industry,

across a few different yachts, mostly privately owned and 100m+. My only

aspirations were to have a good rotation, happy crewmembers and a consistent flow

of income. My textile knowledge and seamstress skills were definitely to my

advantage. Ultimately, I ended up front of house, owners stewardess – which I

enjoyed the most.

I resigned from my last yacht job and took my repatriation flight directly to Stockholm.

I always knew the transition to land life was going to be challenging, but I still had no

idea how hard it would be to start my design career from scratch again, let alone in a

foreign country.

I had a few moments within the first year where I doubted if I could do it, if I had left

the industry too soon or did I stay too long? Was a move to Sweden the right

decision?

To make myself more employable for the transition period back to land life, I studied

Graphic Design. I did this during my yacht career, which was hard, but not

impossible.

Fast forward 3 years, I now live in Copenhagen, Denmark, and work as a Fashion

Designer.

Volunteer work, content creation, hospitality, fashion design Internships, app design,

graphic design, animation, illustration and writing a children’s book, are a few of the

things I’ve done leading up to this point.

You need to remember that things in the “real world” take longer to build. Salaries

are not as grand as what you were used to, living expenses are high and titles aren’t

just easily given.

But, that land life you’ve been dreaming of - it is achievable and it is worth it!

Tam xx

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