COVID MENTAL HEALTH ON BOARD


Mental health has been a hot topic for some time across the industry but this year, with the Covid 19 pandemic leaving many seafarers isolated, jobless, and with no way of getting home, the pressure on the yachting industry to look after its crew is more prevalent than ever Words: Erica Lay


no personal space, not enough time to connect with loved ones… and the list goes on and on.


W


Research from the International Seafarers Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) has demonstrated that across the industry (both commercial and yachting) the number of crew suffering from mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, is worryingly high already.


With the additional impacts of the pandemic, these numbers are growing.


So before we go on to look at how Covid has affected yacht crews across the globe, it’s important we draw attention to the free and confidential helpline ISWAN launched in the Autumn of 2020. You can find more information here: www.yachtcrewhelp.org.


e all know that working at sea in “normal” conditions is already tough enough – long hours, high levels of stress,


You can call, chat, or email them and someone will always be available 24/7, 365 days a year. The website includes info on self-help resources, mental wellbeing issues, and links on how to tackle these issues on board from reputable sources such as Nautilus, the PYA, and the International Chamber of Shipping. Strongly recommended reading for all seafarers, especially now! And let’s face it – if you’re somewhere you can’t go out you may as well use the time productively and do a little self-improvement.


Back to Covid issues now, we spoke to several people across the industry to see how morale has been, and how crew, captains, managers, and owners, have been coping with the changes to plans.


Chief Officer James* works onboard a 50m MY, usually busy charter for the summer season. Their entire crew were retained even though the start of the season looked extremely shaky, but all agreed to a 25% pay cut in order to avoid any crew being


laid off. “At the end of the day we were all grateful to have a job when yachts all around us were being dropped down to skeleton crew due to the uncertainty of having a Med season.


The senior crew


discussed options and wanted to protect our juniors. That’s why we opted for a pay cut over losing team members.” As it turned out they still had a pretty good season, even though some charters were cancelled, they still cruised extensively and saw the owner more than usual as a result. They’ve entered winter all back on full pay and the positivity has remained.


James explained “I feel that because in the early stages we demonstrated we wanted to keep the team together, and made everyone feel like an important part of the crew, this helped keep the morale high. As seniors we all led by example and as such, we’ve not had any crew leave either.”


Head Chef Chantal* didn’t have such a positive experience when she caught Covid


40 | WINTER 2021 | ONBOARD


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172  |  Page 173  |  Page 174  |  Page 175  |  Page 176  |  Page 177  |  Page 178  |  Page 179  |  Page 180  |  Page 181  |  Page 182  |  Page 183  |  Page 184  |  Page 185  |  Page 186  |  Page 187  |  Page 188  |  Page 189  |  Page 190  |  Page 191  |  Page 192  |  Page 193  |  Page 194  |  Page 195  |  Page 196  |  Page 197  |  Page 198  |  Page 199  |  Page 200  |  Page 201  |  Page 202  |  Page 203  |  Page 204  |  Page 205  |  Page 206  |  Page 207  |  Page 208  |  Page 209  |  Page 210  |  Page 211  |  Page 212