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NOTL woman living the 'yachtie' life

University of Waterloo graduate has been enjoying life at sea for the past 20 months, living and working as a deckhand on an 87-metre yacht

There are very few specifics Abbie Gowans can share about the yachts on which she spent most of her days and nights over the past 20 months, though she will say life on the ship is nothing like it’s portrayed on the television show Below Deck

A non-disclosure agreement prohibits her from providing the private vessel's name or the name of its owner(s). She can’t say where the ship normally docks or how the owner(s) made the millions (or billions) one would have to earn to own and operate it. 

She can say the ship is 87 metres (285.4 feet) long. In comparison, an NFL football field is 109.7 metres or 360 feet in length. A staff of 28 crew members is employed in an assortment of external and internal positions. 

And she can share a bit about where the ship has taken her. 

“We’ve gone to a lot of places,” Gowans says, “We went to the south of France, to Italy, Corsica, and Sardinia; the usual stops on the Mediterranean. As a normal person from Canada, I never would have made it to any of those.”

Growing up in Queenston, Gowans was comfortable in the water as a swimmer. She was a member of Laura Secord Secondary School’s swim team, making it to the Ontario championships multiple times. But when it came to boats, she was more of a landlubber.

She fell into the life of a yachtie almost by accident. 

Gowans studied English and Business in a cooperative education program at the University of Waterloo. She had completed work placements in Ottawa and Toronto and was scheuled to head to Amsterdam in 2021 before the pandemic kiboshed those plans. 

Instead, she spent that summer running a business called Picnix, delivering five-course meals to visitors to Queen’s Royal and Simcoe Parks in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Then, when she graduated from Waterloo her parents Keith and Sandra offered to take over Picnix so Abbie could explore other options.

“I had some friends who had worked on cruise ships so I started looking into that,” she explains. “I also started researching travel jobs and I found out you could get jobs working on privately owned yachts.”

Gowans discovered the existence of yachting hubs where people take the courses needed and make connections. One is in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and another is in Palma, Spain. She opted instead for the seaside city of Antibes, located on the French Riviera between Cannes and Nice.

“I stayed at a crew house there and took the required seafarers’ courses to get certified,” says Gowans. “I also started networking throughout the town. It’s a tight industry. Even though it’s global it’s so niche. There are agency websites where jobs are posted but many people get work through networking.”

Making connections paid off when she was hired to be the sole deckhand in a skeleton crew on a 50-metre boat. She flew from France to Panama, where the yacht was docked in a marina full of small sailboats. 

“These people were sailing across the world,” Gowans enthuses. “I got to meet so many of them and hear such amazing stories about them living at sea. Some were young families homeschooling their kids and living on a sailboat. It blew my mind.”

She credits that first job with allowing her to learn much about maintenance and repairs on a yacht, giving her the experience and confidence she felt she needed to pursue the agency route for her current position on the larger vessel. 

“It was a big step up,” the 25-year-old laughs. “I walked on for the first time and my mouth was hanging wide open.”

As deckhand she cleans and polishes the yacht, ensuring everything is immaculate. She also drives tenders, smaller boats kept on board and used to shuttle people from the boat onto land and back again. She also takes people out to enjoy watersports. 

The crew is comprised of men and women mostly in their 20s and 30s. Some, like Gowans, had little experience before boarding their first yacht. She insists that it didn’t take long for her to get her sea legs. 

The pay is good and she has few expenses while she is at sea, not having to pay rent or buy groceries.

She has made friends from around the world over the last year and a half.  And how many people can say they have crossed the Atlantic Ocean from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean and been paid for it?

Gowans’ sense of adventure serves her well in the industry. 

“I’m really proud that I have put myself out there in a daring way,” she says. “I went out there and met people and got advice. I was really keen and eager to learn and I think people saw that.”

She adds that Keith and Sandra love telling whoever will listen about their daughter’s endeavours.

Abbie also enjoys the sense of mystery involved in her current career. When she was home for the holidays she knew she would be heading back to the 87-metre ship sometime in January. But she didn’t know exactly when or even where she would rendezvous with the rest of the crew.

Gowans is indeed back on the yacht now. As for the future, she’s not sure how much longer she will continue living the life of a yachtie, but she’s enjoying every minute of it right now.

“It’s a really dynamic industry that allows you to change jobs or move to different boats,” she claims. “Different contracts offer different things, too. I take it as it comes month by month, year by year. I don’t like to plan too far in advance for anything.”

 



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Mike Balsom

About the Author: Mike Balsom

With a background in radio and television, Mike Balsom has been covering news and events across the Niagara Region for more than 35 years
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