The Brief
This opinion piece was the first article I ever pitched to the yachting publication OnboardOnline, where I would later go on to become the lead writer and editor. The Director was very open to publishing controversial opinion pieces, which was highly refreshing. As ex-crew, I’d seen the nationality issue begin to cause rumblings in the industry, so it was a great opportunity to write about it with humour and a crew perspective.
Monty Python & the Rise of the Multicultural Yacht Crew
It’s just a flesh wound,” I said, as I sucked the blood off my finger. I smiled at the Filipino stewardess.
“Yes, I know. You cut your finger. It is little – not bad.”
She looked at me oddly, as if thinking ‘such a hypochondriac. It’s practically a paper cut.
“Monty Python?” I said hopefully. Blank look.
“The Black Knight, he gets his arm chopped off, but he yells, ‘Come back here and fight, you pansy! It’s just a flesh…’” I stopped. She’s Filipino: she probably doesn’t know Monty Python. I go back to putting a plaster on my finger, happily muttering, “I say Ni to you” to myself, while she wandered off down the corridor, no doubt thinking: Why are all Westerners nuts?
I mention this here because this conversation reflects a change occurring in the crew dynamic on motoryachts. The monopoly of British and Antipodean crew on large motoryachts is at an end. The Asian century is upon us, Eastern Europeans are on the move, and South American merchant seamen have discovered the superyacht industry. The influx of Filipinos, Romanians and Brazilians is slowly altering the culture of the crew mess.
Predictably, not all are happy about the change. Some objections are grounded in reason, some in emotion. Some are justifiable, some flat-out racist. Most are just the normal human reaction to change.
Read the full article here.