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Confessions
of a Stewardess Julie Perry has it all. She's pretty and smart, and she has a new book out called The Insider's Guide to Becoming a Yacht Stewardess: Confessions from My Years Afloat with the Rich and Famous. Julie showed up at Bluewater's Third Annual E-Nav Update on November 1, books in hand and ready to make a splash in Fort Lauderdale's nautical scene. She insisted that we carry her book, and we were happy to oblige. A few days later, I attended her book release party at the Seventh Street Wine Company with a couple of Bluewater's crew members. The place was packed. Julie's parents, who are obviously proud of her accomplishments, were there to cheer her on. When I asked Julie how she had gotten word out about the event, she listed a whole slew of websites, including her own and her Myspace page, Yachta, Yachta, Yachta. I couldn't help thinking that perhaps Julie's next book should be about internet marketing.
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Julie pitches the book as being "part how-to, part memoir," and she compiled it from three years of experience as a yacht stewardess, interviews with marine industry and recruiting professionals, interviews with other crew members, and her own personal travel journals. The book is divided into two main sections—the first on what, exactly, is entailed in a career as a yacht stewardess, and the second telling the reader exactly how to proceed. Her audience is anybody who may be considering a career on yachts, no matter what their level of experience is, and she addresses some important topics right from the get-go, such as the differences between super and mega yachts, average salaries according to boat size, who has what responsibilities on a yacht, where yachts usually travel, what is required by the guests, and much more. The second section begins by urging the potential stew to move to a place like Fort Lauderdale, Antibes or Newport, which are all yachting hubs and places where potential crew can register with crew agencies and get to know the right people. She encourages professionalism every step of the way, which is nice to see in an industry where many things are "done that way" simply because they always have been.
By far, the best part of this book are the short sections titled, "I must confess..." that pop up every few pages. In these, Julie reveals some of her deepest secrets and confessions from working as a stewardess. Her stories are hilarious, and her honesty is to be applauded. In one section, she writes about how she went to her first yacht job, which was to clean and prepare a 140-foot vessel for the Miami Boat Show, with her personal toothbrush, because an older stew had told her that a toothbrush was "a stew's best friend." She didn't realize until halfway though the first day of cleaning that what the stew meant was the she was to use a toothbrush to clean. She writes of a Playboy Bunny girlfriend of one of her yacht's guests who showed the entire breakfast party her newly implanted breasts and then later told Julie that she needed to try to reach a higher state of spiritual enlightenment. Through each of these anecdotes, Julie is candid and self-deprecating, while keeping a sense of humor that endears the reader to her. Bluewater Books & Charts will be hosting an event with Julie in our Fort Lauderdale store on January 18 at 6:00 PM. She will read sections from her book and answer questions, and will be happy to sign. Meanwhile, check out her website, and her Myspace page! We like the book so much that we'll even forgive her for listing Bluewater's old address in her book. Hey, she wrote it before we moved. |
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Part
II is where the book really gets into what steps are necessary if one
wants to work on a yacht. She lists training programs and courses, attitude
requirements, and even suggests other areas of expertise, such as massage,
that may help a stew or stewardess earn a spot on a top yacht. She discusses
crew houses, special schools such as 
