Volunteer as a crew member

Be part of our team and contribute to a good cause
Do you fulfil the requirements of any of our positions?

This is your chance to live an incredible experience on an astonishing sailing ship, while helping people in their personal development, and promoting life skills around the world. Apply for a position on board and contribute your skills and your experience to make Atyla’s adventures possible.

Basic requirements

These apply to all the positions:

  • It’s not only about sailing the ship: It’s about guiding others and letting them do things (even if it takes longer than doing them yourself). People come to Atyla to participate, so you’ll have to get used to delegating.

  • You don’t need to spend the whole summer sailing with us: If you have other professional or personal commitments we can try to organize your embarkment around them. Still, having more time available increases your chances, especially if it’s your first time.

  • Laidback doesn’t mean unprofessional: The good vibes on board is one of Atyla’s signature traits. But that never comes at the expense of safety, professionality or hard work.

  • Communication is key: It’s impossible to do your job on Atyla without communicating and collaborating with other people at all levels (with your peers, with the people in charge of you, and with the people you’re in charge of). We (literally) need to “pull together” if we want to sail it to the next port.

  • Proposing challenges: We run a program based on challenges that help make adventure better for everyone. The tasks of the participants are framed into challenges that help them reflect and develop one of more life skills. You need to be part of proposing those challenges, and eventually participating in them.

  • If you’re here for the money, you’re in the wrong place: Atyla is a charity without any big donor behind (yet). We’re trying to do something good for the world and accessible to people without money. That means that most of our crew are volunteers, and those who have a salary have a very small one.

Positions on board

Watch leader:
You and the other watch leaders (3 or 4 in total) guide the participants in their adventure. You do sailing watches with a group of participants and one officer. You are part of the tasks required to keep the ship in good shape.
You need to have some experience sailing and as a leader/mentor. If you lack sailing experience, you can join us first as a participant. If you lack leadership experience you better be a great sailor so that you can learn the rest on board.
Cook:
You decide the menus on board and plan the shopping list. For shopping and cooking you can count on the help of participants and watch leaders. Participants do the serving and wash the dishes themselves. You don’t need to do sailing watches.
You need to have experience cooking and planning meals for big groups (we’re up to 24 on board). You need to be clean and tidy, and be sure that you don’t get seasick on ships.
Coach:
You coordinate the challenges on board and propose challenges that complement those of your crewmates. You also support the officers in some organisational tasks (mostly while in port). You might need to do some sailing watches if there are only 3 watch leaders on board.
You need to have experience with mentorship, training, coaching or some sort of group leadership role. You also need to be good at listening, at reading people’s emotional state, and at communicating efficiently and empathically.
Chief engineer:
You keep the mechanical stuff on board running smoothly and repair it if it breaks. You are the officer of one of the sailing watches.
You need to have experience with ship’s machinery, and preferably also with electricity and woodwork. You need to either have experience on sailing ships or be eager quickly learn about on board.
Chief officer:
You organise the main aspects of the life on board. You coordinate the maintenance and repairs on the rigging. You are the officer of one of the sailing watches.
You need to have a good amount of sailing experience, preferably as an officer, and preferably on sailing ships. You need to be good at organising and planning.
Captain:
You take the strategic decisions on board. You are in charge of safety. You are the main authority on board, and the main responsible if something bad happens. You are the officer of one of the sailing watches.
You need to have a lot of experience, including sailing on Atyla. You need to be responsible and empathetic. You need to have a humble and inspiring leadership style that generates trust.

*Of course, for some of these positions a number of certificates are required, but the list changes depending on several factors, so just list your certificates in the application.*

Ready to apply? Complete this form:

It will take you around 10 minutes.
You can’t see the form properly? Click here.

Lacking enough experience?

Join as a winter volunteer instead
The program on board
Much more than “just sailing around”
The ship’s specifications
All technical details of Atyla
Our mission and our values
What’s at the heart of our organisation?