A full season with Quarterdeck is typically 8 to 10 weeks of work for a skipper or host who is available for the whole summer, and more once you move into Lead and Manager roles. On the 2027 rate card that works out at roughly €4,500 in a first season, €8,200 in a second, €11,200 in a third, €11,750 as a Veteran working half the season as a Lead, and €17,700 to €18,700 in a Manager season.
These are the amounts you invoice Quarterdeck, before any tax, VAT, or social charges you owe in the country where you are registered. Tips are not included and are never guaranteed. All figures are in euros and apply to the 2027 season.
How the progression works
Your rate is set by your cumulative career weeks with Quarterdeck, not by how many seasons you have been with us. Weeks bank and carry across seasons, so a host who finishes a first season on 8 career weeks starts the next season at week 9 and crosses into the next pay band partway through it. This is why a second season earns close to double a first season on only three more weeks of work.
Band | Career weeks | Weekly pay |
Base Rate | 1 to 10 | €700 |
Salty Rate | 11 to 20 | €850 |
Seasoned Rate | 21 to 30 | €950 |
Veteran Rate | 31+ | €1,050 |
On top of the band rate: Lead Skipper or Lead Host adds €250 per week, Route Medic adds €250, Lead Technician adds €150. Route Manager is a flat €1,600 per week and Host Manager a flat €1,400 per week. Private charter assignments start at €1,050 per week.
Season earnings at a glance
Stage | Weeks | Season total | Average per week |
First season | 7 | €4,500 | €643 |
Second season | 10 | €8,200 | €820 |
Third season | 12 | €11,200 | €933 |
Veteran (half as Lead) | 10 | €11,750 | €1,175 |
Route Manager season | 14 | €18,700 | €1,336 |
Host Manager season | 14 | €17,700 | €1,264 |
First season: around €4,500 over 7 weeks
A typical first season is 7 weeks. Your first two paid weeks are reduced by €200 each to repay the €400 Academy subsidy, so they pay €500 instead of €700.
Weeks 1 to 2: 2 × €500 = €1,000
Weeks 3 to 7: 5 × €700 = €3,500
Total €4,500, an average of €643 per week
For the full first season picture, including high season examples, see How much will I earn my first season?
Second season: €8,200 over 10 weeks
This is a skipper or host who banked 8 weeks in their first season and is available for the full second summer, working career weeks 9 to 18. They finish the €700 Base Rate band early on and spend most of the season on the €850 Salty Rate.
Career weeks 9 to 10: 2 × €700 = €1,400
Career weeks 11 to 18: 8 × €850 = €6,800
Total €8,200, an average of €820 per week
Third season: €11,200 over 12 weeks
This is a skipper or host arriving with 18 career weeks banked and working through to week 30. Most of the season sits on the €950 Seasoned Rate, and they finish it on the edge of the Veteran band.
Career weeks 19 to 20: 2 × €850 = €1,700
Career weeks 21 to 30: 10 × €950 = €9,500
Total €11,200, an average of €933 per week
Veteran season: €11,750 over 10 weeks
Past 30 career weeks, every week pays the €1,050 Veteran Rate. Veterans are also the people we ask to run a route team as Lead Skipper or Lead Host, which adds €250 per week. This example is a 10 week season with half of those weeks as a Lead.
10 weeks at the Veteran Rate: 10 × €1,050 = €10,500
5 of those weeks as Lead: 5 × €250 = €1,250
Total €11,750, an average of €1,175 per week
Note that this beats a 12 week third season on two fewer weeks of work.
Manager season: €17,700 to €18,700 over 14 weeks
A Manager season splits across three kinds of work: half the season managing a route, half as a Lead Skipper or Lead Host, and 4 weeks instructing at Academy. Managers are past 30 career weeks, so the Lead and instructing weeks are paid at the €1,050 Veteran Rate, with the €250 Lead bonus applied to the Lead weeks.
As Route Manager (€1,600 per week)
5 weeks as Route Manager: 5 × €1,600 = €8,000
5 weeks as Lead: 5 × €1,300 = €6,500
4 weeks instructing: 4 × €1,050 = €4,200
Total €18,700, an average of €1,336 per week
As Host Manager (€1,400 per week)
5 weeks as Host Manager: 5 × €1,400 = €7,000
5 weeks as Lead: 5 × €1,300 = €6,500
4 weeks instructing: 4 × €1,050 = €4,200
Total €17,700, an average of €1,264 per week
What these figures assume
Full season availability. Every example assumes you are open for the whole season. Partial availability means fewer weeks and a lower total.
Group and flotilla work. The examples use the group and flotilla rate card (Yacht Week and similar events). Private charter weeks start at €1,050, so a season that mixes in private charter work earns more.
Weeks are offered, not guaranteed. Quarterdeck typically offers around 8 to 10 weeks to a skipper or host available for the full season, and more to Leads and Managers. We plan conservatively and aim to offer more than we promise, but the number of weeks depends on booking demand, your performance and reviews, your paperwork and visa status, and how flexible you are on dates, destinations, and yacht types.
Before tax. Quarterdeck staff invoice as independent consultants. You are responsible for tax, VAT, and social charges where you are registered, so your net will be lower than the totals above.
Accommodation and food are covered while you are working on a yacht, so these earnings come with very low living costs during the season.