April 4 - 10, 2015 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 31

Excellence is servedGalileo superyacht crew training takes Phuket to the worldBy Chris Husted

PHUKET has much to be proudof in terms of excellence providedin the island’s marine and yacht-ing industry, but taking excellenceto the personal service level is the1) Galileo Yachting SuperyachtTraining Academy in Thalang.

At a secluded high-end villa hid-den among rubber trees nearThanyapura Sports and LeisureClub, trainees undergo coursesspecifically tailored for careersonboard superyachts, whetherthey have their sights set on beingstewards, deckhands or evenchefs serving the millionaire andbillionaire owners and guests.

Founded in 2012 by BrianMurray, a career chief engineer inthe British Royal Navy and asuperyacht captain for 30 years,Galileo offers courses that twineskill sets from the upper echelonof the hospitality trade withrequisite skills needed for work-ing as superyacht crew.

“On superyachts, you need tobe able to provide a particular ser-vice at the highest level and to beable to perform as an able crew-man,” explains Anthony Gould,director of the facility.

“Here, we replicate the condi-tions of living on a superyacht.The trainees live together in closequarters, and during the coursethey need to develop their ownindividual skill set and they mustwork together as a team in orderto be effective.”

The modules of the two maincourses available – the SuperyachtDeckhand Course and theSuperyacht Stewardess Course –run the gamut from flowerarrangement, housekeeping andbed making to Western and Thaicooking, table setting and silverservice, wine and champagne ap-preciation, barista, bartending andmixology to yacht etiquette, ten-der driving to ropes and knots andbasic navigation and seamanship.

The training is extensive, andeven includes “forensic cleaning”.

“That includes cue-tips aroundthe mirror”, smiles Anthony.“When you step onto a superyachtthat might be, say, 12 years old,you look at it and think it’s notmore than six months old – that’sthe standard set by the captain –that’s the expectation from theowners.”

But those who benefit the mostfrom the courses are those whobring their own skills to the cen-ter, and look to develop themfurther or to hone them to servesuperyacht clientele, explains mar-keting manager Arisara “Sana”Pattaramalai.

“Some people are alreadyskilled in one position on the boat,and want to broaden their skill setin order to redirect their careersor simply make more career

opportunities available,” she says.Anthony points out that already

excelling in a chosen field is noguarantee of a position on asuperyacht.

“Some people ask, ‘Whywould I want to do a course thatI am already skilled in?’,” heposes. “We have had cordon bleuchefs ask this, and we can givethem 18 good reasons why.”

To add to the likelihood of suc-cess in placement, coursegraduates are also vetted beforebeing approved to undertake acourse at Galileo, Sana notes.

“Before accepting a candidatefor our courses we look carefullyat general health, presentation andcareer background as well as lan-guage skills before accepting anapplicant for a course,” she adds.“This helps avoid complicationslater when it comes to finding

them a position on a superyacht.”Placement is key to the future

of Galileo, notes Anthony. “Thereis no point in training superyachtcrew if they cannot be placed,”he states plainly.

Bill O’Leary, a long-term lead-ing figure in Phuket’s yachtingindustry and a shareholder atGalileo, adds that it is word ofmouth that is vital to theacademy’s success.

“Our reputation of providing theright caliber staff is crucial. Oncea captain hires a Galileo graduate,they call us back looking for othercrew and make referrals to othersuperyacht captains,” he explains.

“This is what makes our gradu-ates highly sought-after.”

This is music to the ears ofNirut Matchai, a student who justcompleted the March course andwho hails from Ao Nang, Krabi,

where his family lives and wherehe gained his entry to the hospi-tality trade.

Nirut plans to take his new skillsout into the world.

“I’d like travel around theworld. I already have years ofexperience working front desk ata high-end resort, and so I ampursuing a career as a steward.Ideally, I’d like to find a placementworking in the Med,” he explains.

Laureano Enrique Martinez, ofItalian-Venezuelan parents andnow living in France, is taking thedeckhand course, and has his eyeson a career as superyacht captain.

“I work at a hotel in Nice, andI love water sports – jet-skis,boats, kayaks, name it,” he says.“This could be the right start toend up on the bridge.”

To that end, the Galileo coursesoffer much more than silver ser-vice training. The courses includefirefighting and security aware-ness as components of themandatory Standards of Training,Certification and Watchkeeping(STCW95) certification.

The STCW95 requires basicsafety training in elementary firstaid; fire prevention andfirefighting; personal survivaltechniques; personal safety andsocial responsibilities; and nowship security awareness.

“You cannot work on any com-mercial boat without an STCW,”explains Anthony. “Captains willnot allow crew to join a ship ifthey don’t have this. If there is anincident, then insurance would notcover them. You just can’t affordto have anyone on your boat whois not qualified.”

For Laureano, connections atGalileo are already working theirmagic. He heard of a placementopen on a superyacht in Antibesthrough a former graduate.

“I just emailed him, and it mightwork out,” he smiles. “It’s hardto believe it could be that easy.”

“Yes, it can,” assures Sana.

The ability to safely extinguish different types of fires is also a critical part of the course. A team of Galileo trainees undergo the required personal survival skills training.

The Galileo team onboard one of the yachts where they performed training, including ‘forensic cleaning’.