Advanced Superyacht Crew Training
Specialist Training for Superyacht Crews
Who Dares Group, founded by UK Maritime Special Forces veterans, provide highly-specialised, advanced training for superyacht crews, focusing on professional standards, conduct, and security awareness. The training is designed to address gaps not covered by standard crew training programmes, with emphasis on areas such as discretion, judgement, and operational readiness.
We work with owners, captains, and management teams to improve crew performance in areas such as preparedness, communication, teamwork, and professional standards. All training is practical, structured, and purposeful, we deliver clear, measurable outcomes and ensure that all training content is directly applicable to real-world tasks and scenarios.
We know in some cases, training the crew is last on the list for some super yacht owners – however Who Dares Group with our Special Forces instructors specialising in maritime and up to date tactics, techniques & procedures (TTPs) – instantly gives return on investment.
Common Challenges in Superyacht Crew Management
Superyacht owners and managers face several recurring challenges when it comes to hiring and managing crew. These challenges go beyond basic qualifications and often relate to trust, capability, and long-term retention in a high-pressure, high-expectation environment.
Trust and Discretion:
Crew have access to sensitive areas, personal information, and high-value assets. Owners need to know that crew members can be trusted to maintain confidentiality, behave professionally, and exercise good judgement, especially in close proximity to high-profile guests.
Security Awareness:
Many crew members receive only minimal security training, which leaves gaps in their ability to identify or respond to threats such as unauthorised access, suspicious behaviour, or targeted social engineering. This creates risk for both the vessel and those on board.
Professional Standards and Readiness:
While many crew members hold mandatory certifications (e.g. STCW), this doesn't always reflect real-world competence or preparedness. Owners often find that newly certified crew lack experience, confidence, or the ability to operate under pressure.
Vetting and Background Checks:
In some cases, recruitment happens quickly, without thorough background checks or proper vetting. This can expose owners to reputational, operational, or legal risks, particularly when hiring for roles with direct access to private areas or client information.
Cultural Fit and Soft Skills:
Yacht operations are close-quarters and high-pressure. Crew members must not only perform well technically, but also fit into the team dynamic, communicate effectively, and maintain composure in front of guests. Poor soft skills can lead to friction, high turnover, or damage to the onboard experience.
Retention and Continuity:
The yachting industry is known for its high crew turnover. This disrupts consistency, weakens team cohesion, and creates recurring recruitment and onboarding costs. Owners and managers often struggle to retain reliable, long-term crew, especially for senior or security-sensitive roles.
These issues highlight the difference between certified and capable. Addressing these gaps requires a more focused and practical approach to crew development. Who Dares Group work with superyacht teams to help close these gaps and raise overall standards.
What the Training Covers
Main Areas of Focus
The training we provide is built around six core areas, each addressing a specific operational need. These areas focus on the behaviours, decisions, and standards that directly impact performance, safety, and professionalism on board.
Behaviour, Judgement, and Decision-Making:
Crew are trained to remain calm under pressure, make sound decisions, and act with discretion. Training focuses on consistency, discipline, and maintaining professional standards in both routine operations and unexpected situations.
Security Awareness Through Practical Scenarios:
Realistic, role-specific scenarios are utilised to improve awareness of threats such as unauthorised access, surveillance, and social engineering. Crew are taught how to recognise early indicators, respond appropriately, and escalate without drawing unnecessary attention.
Communication and Team Function:
Crew are trained to communicate clearly, consistently, and appropriately across roles and departments. Exercises focus on verbal and non-verbal communication under pressure, role alignment, and structured task coordination to support effective day-to-day operations and reduce internal friction.
Conduct and Role Expectations:
Clear standards are reinforced around behaviour, presentation, confidentiality, and guest interaction. Crew are expected to understand their responsibilities on and off duty, with a focus on consistency and professionalism throughout.
Leadership and Crew Stability:
Senior crew receive support in leading teams, managing turnover, and maintaining continuity. Training focuses on oversight, communication, and reducing disruption during handovers, promotions, or new crew integration.
Maintaining Standards Over Time:
Routine checks, refresher sessions, and peer accountability are used to reinforce key behaviours and expectations. These measures ensure that performance remains consistent, professional standards are upheld, and improvements are sustained across day-to-day operations.
Training Isn’t Always a Priority...
But It Should Be.
Here at Who Dares Group, we understand that extra training often falls behind other priorities, especially when your crew are already qualified. However, we also know, from experience, that most operational issues on board aren’t caused by a lack of qualifications; they come from poor communication, unclear expectations, weak leadership, and inconsistent standards.
The advanced training programme we offer is designed to address exactly that. It costs less than the disruption caused by turnover, conflict, or guest dissatisfaction.
If you want a crew that performs consistently, communicates clearly, and works as a team—not just a group of individuals with certificates—get in touch.
Our Process:
Structured, Adaptive, Effective
Initial Consultation and Briefing:
The process begins with a direct consultation involving the owner, captain, yacht manager, or designated representative. A comprehensive assessment is carried out to establish the vessel's operating profile, crew structure, known issues, and any specific areas of concern.
Assessment and Planning:
A review is carried out to identify relevant risk areas, performance gaps, or operational pressures that affect crew performance. This may involve input from senior crew or heads of department. From this, a structured training plan is developed, tailored to the vessel, crew composition, and operational requirements.
Delivery of Training:
Training is delivered on board or at an agreed location, with minimal disruption to schedules. Sessions are practical, role-specific, and focused on clear outcomes. Delivery includes individual and group exercises, scenario work, and guidance for senior crew on maintaining standards post-training.
Review and Ongoing Support:
After training is completed, a short review is conducted to assess outcomes and address any remaining issues. Where required, follow-up sessions or refreshers can be arranged. Support is available for senior crew to help reinforce training objectives and maintain long-term consistency.
The transformation we’ve seen in our crew’s synergy and confidence post-training is noteworthy. I’d highly recommend WDG’s superyacht crew training programme to anyone seeking to elevate their team’s capabilities and unity.
Donna Green, Head of New Build Projects, Y.CO
Case Study:
Superyacht Crew Development in Action
Y.CO, also known as The Yacht Company, engaged Who Dares Group to deliver an off-site training programme for a newly formed crew made up of headhunted individuals with varying levels of experience, ahead of the delivery of a new build yacht.
The two main objectives: building trust among crew members and improving coordination across roles and departments. The multi-day training covered situational awareness, crisis management, leadership, and team cohesion, delivered with a focus on real-world application and the standards expected in a high-pressure, service-driven setting.
Why Invest in Advanced Superyacht Crew Training?
Even with a fully qualified superyacht crew, hiring a company like Who Dares Group provide distinct, operational advantages that standard training alone doesn’t cover. Here are the key benefits:
Fills Gaps in Standard Certification:
Certifications confirm a baseline level of knowledge, not real-world judgement, discretion, or behavioural consistency. Who Dares Group focus on the areas that matter most day to day: professionalism, conduct, communication, and readiness under pressure.
Raises the Standard Across the Team:
The training reinforces clear expectations, strengthens team cohesion, and aligns behaviour across departments. Even experienced crew benefit from structured, practical refreshers that keep performance sharp and consistent.
Improves Security Awareness and Risk Response:
Social engineering, surveillance, and unauthorised access are real risks. Who Dares Group train crews to recognise, manage, and escalate these threats calmly and discreetly, something rarely addressed in formal qualifications.
Supports Leadership and Continuity:
Senior crew receive focused support to manage their teams effectively, reduce turnover, and maintain standards during changeovers. This helps protect operational consistency and avoid performance drop-offs over time.
Builds Confidence in High-Pressure Scenarios:
Through scenario-based training and decision-making exercises, crew develop the ability to act confidently in unexpected situations. This improves safety, professionalism, and guest experience without relying on instinct alone.
Invest in your team today
In short, the goal here is not to replace standard superyacht crew training and the companies that provide it, but rather to reinforce and build on it. Who Dares Group often work alongside other training providers to help ensure superyacht owners and management teams have a capable and fully prepared crew on board.
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW
Who Dares Group provides advanced training focused on areas that standard certification does not cover. This includes decision-making under pressure, communication, professional conduct, and team cohesion. The training is not about basic skills or qualifications, it is about improving how the crew think, act, and work together on board.
Qualified does not necessarily mean capable. Your crew may be fully certified, but standard training does not cover how individuals perform under pressure, communicate in difficult situations, or work together consistently over time. Who Dares Group fills those gaps. Our programme helps owners ensure that the crew operate as a high-functioning team, one that is composed, coordinated, and professional in every aspect of their day-to-day responsibilities. It focuses on judgement, conduct, leadership, communication, and security awareness, areas that directly affect guest experience, operational reliability, and crew retention. In short, the training is not about ticking boxes. It’s about raising standards and making sure the crew deliver when it actually counts.
The training provided by Who Dares Group is designed to address specific crew-related challenges that are not covered by standard certification. These include lack of trust within newly formed or mixed-experience teams, inconsistent communication and unclear role boundaries, weak leadership or oversight from senior crew, poor judgement under pressure, low standards of conduct and presentation, and lack of awareness around security and threats. The goal is to strengthen crew performance across all these areas to ensure consistency, professionalism, and operational reliability.
No, this training is not limited to new or inexperienced crews. It is designed for any crew where performance, coordination, or standards need to be improved or maintained. For newly formed teams, the training helps build trust, establish expectations early, and develop effective communication from the outset. For experienced crews, it helps address complacency, reset standards, and improve leadership, especially in high-pressure or high-turnover environments. It’s also valuable during periods of change, such as the delivery of a new build, refit handovers, or ahead of a busy charter season, when clear structure, consistency, and cohesion matter most. In short, the training is about improving performance, regardless of experience level.
The training delivered by Who Dares Group covers six key areas, each aimed at improving how crew operate, communicate, and perform in demanding settings.
- Behaviour, judgement, and decision-making: crew are trained to remain calm under pressure, make sound decisions, and act with discretion. This helps prevent errors, improve consistency, and build trust across the team.
- Security awareness through practical scenarios: realistic, role-specific scenarios are used to train crew in identifying and responding to threats such as unauthorised access, surveillance, or social engineering. The focus is on early detection and controlled escalation.
- Communication, team coordination, and hierarchy: training develops clarity and consistency in communication, with a strong focus on rank structure, accountability, and cross-department coordination to reduce friction and prevent misunderstandings.
- Conduct and role expectations: clear standards are reinforced around behaviour, presentation, confidentiality, and guest interaction. Crew are expected to maintain professionalism on and off duty.
- Leadership and crew stability: senior crew are supported in managing teams effectively, retaining staff, and maintaining performance through transitions such as role changes or handovers.
- Maintaining standards over time: routine checks, refresher sessions, and internal follow-up are used to ensure that improvements are sustained, not temporary, and that standards become part of daily practice.
Each area is tailored to the crew’s composition and the yacht’s operational priorities, ensuring relevance and measurable outcomes.
Who Dares Group ensures the training remains relevant over time by embedding follow-up and reinforcement into the process, not treating it as a one-off session. We offer refresher sessions, periodic reviews, and ongoing support for senior crew to help maintain momentum. Crew are also given practical tools and habits that can be applied day-to-day, ensuring key behaviours and standards are reinforced through normal operations. Rather than relying on formal retraining alone, we focus on creating sustainable routines, clear expectations, and internal accountability, so that the impact of the training is maintained well beyond initial delivery.
The training is delivered in person, either on board or off site, depending on the vessel’s availability and client preference. Delivery is hands-on and structured around practical exercises, scenario-based learning, and direct interaction with the crew. Each session is tailored to the yacht’s operational priorities, crew composition, and working environment. The format avoids classroom-based theory and instead focuses on relevant, role-specific situations that reflect real challenges crew are likely to face. Training can be delivered over one or multiple days, with minimal disruption to schedules.
The training typically takes one to three days, depending on the size of the crew, the layout of the vessel, and the areas of focus identified during the initial briefing. Shorter programmes may focus on specific issues like communication or leadership, while full crew training covering all six focus areas is usually delivered over multiple days. Follow-up sessions, refreshers, or departmental training can also be arranged separately to support long-term performance and continuity.
Senior crew benefit from the training by gaining clearer structure around leadership, team management, and day-to-day coordination. The programme reinforces the chain of command and provides practical tools to help senior members of the crew set expectations, manage performance, and guide less experienced crew effectively. It also improves communication across departments, reducing confusion and inefficiency. For vessels experiencing changeovers or onboarding, the training supports continuity and helps maintain standards during periods of transition. Ultimately, it enables senior crew to lead with more confidence and consistency, which contributes to a more stable, professional, and high-functioning team.
The training provided by Who Dares Group positively affects crew morale and retention by creating a more professional, structured, and cohesive working environment. When expectations are clear, communication is consistent, and roles are properly understood, crews are less likely to experience conflict or frustration. The training also helps individuals feel more confident in their roles, better supported by leadership, and more integrated as part of a functioning team. This reduces unnecessary turnover, improves job satisfaction, and encourages long-term commitment, especially in environments where stability and trust are essential to smooth operations.
