Green to Ready: Yacht Interior Training & New Crew Support | The Crew Car

Green crew need more than a checklist. They need honest guidance, realistic expectations, and a clearer understanding of what they are walking into before they step onboard.

In this episode of The Crew Car, Captain James Battey speaks with Jemma Cunningham, Founder of The Yacht Interior Academy, about preparing new yacht crew for the realities behind yachting’s polished exterior.

Jemma’s own route began far from superyachts. After leaving school at 16, she started in hairdressing, then joined the cruise ship world at 18 before stepping into yachting in 2015. Her first yacht experience gave her a sharp understanding of how intimidating the industry can be when new crew arrive without context, support, or a clear sense of onboard culture.

Through The Yacht Interior Academy, Jemma is focused on helping future crew understand far more than the certificates they need. Her work looks at expectations, hierarchy, crew dynamics, communication, emotional resilience, and the practical reality of joining a yacht as a new crew member.

This conversation explores why personality and team fit matter as much as qualifications, how toxic leadership can damage confidence, why communication is essential onboard, and how better education can help protect new crew from misinformation, poor preparation, and exploitation.

For an industry that continues to talk about raising standards, this is where it starts: with better preparation, better support, and more honest guidance for the people entering yachting at the very beginning.

In this episode:
• Jemma Cunningham’s journey from cruise ships to superyachts
• What her first yacht experience revealed about onboard culture
• Why green crew need realistic expectations before joining a vessel
• How toxic leadership can push good crew out of the industry
• Why The Yacht Interior Academy was created
• How online training and mentoring can support new yacht crew
• Why interior crew preparation must go beyond certificates
• The importance of personality, team fit, and communication onboard
• Why mental health and emotional support matter in yachting
• How trusted information can help protect new crew
• Why raising crew standards helps raise industry standards

Connect & Learn More:

The Yacht Interior Academy
https://theyachtinterioracademy.co.uk

Yacht Workers Council
https://yachtworkerscouncil.com

Prefer to read? Head to Yachting News on the website:
https://www.yachtinginternationalradio.com/yachting-news

Search Yachting Channel on your favourite podcast platform for more conversations from across the global yachting industry.

🎙️ The Crew Car | Yachting International Radio