Yacht Crew Agencies in Antibes: Where and How to Register
Why Antibes, and why agencies
If you've come to the Côte d'Azur to find your first yacht job, Antibes is where you want to be. Port Vauban has some of the largest yachts in the Med, and several yacht crew agencies have offices within walking distance of the quay. The Crew Network puts it plainly in its FAQ: "you need to generally be where the yachts are."
Agencies won't do the work for you. They are one of three routes into a job, alongside dockwalking and daywork, and green crew who use all three usually get hired first. This guide covers the agencies whose own websites confirm an Antibes office, how to register with each, what to bring, and how to stay on a crew agent's radar once you have.
The yacht crew agencies with an Antibes office
Five yacht crew agencies list an Antibes office on their own websites: Bluewater, The Crew Network (TCN), YPI Crew, Hill Robinson Recruitment and Global Yachties. All of them take registrations online, and none should charge you to be placed. We checked each site on 12 October 2026. The list isn't a ranking, and where a site doesn't say something, the table says so.
A yacht on the quay at Port Vauban, a short walk from the agency offices in town. Photo: Abxbay, CC BY-SA 4.0.
| Agency | Antibes location | Focus | Green crew? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluewater | 7 Boulevard d'Aguillon, 06600 Antibes | Crew agency since 1991, with offices in Antibes and Palma. Crew Unlimited has merged into it. | Yes. Offers "interviews and CV guidance to all new crew" | Bluewater crew placement |
| The Crew Network (TCN) | 12 Avenue Pasteur, 06600 Antibes (about five minutes' walk from Port Vauban). Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm | Crew recruitment, a subsidiary of Fraser. Describes itself as fully MLC 2006 compliant | Not stated on site. Lists entry-level roles but warns newcomers "will have a more difficult time" | TCN Antibes office |
| YPI Crew | Résidence de la Mer, 6 Avenue de la Libération, 06600 Antibes | Deck, engineering, interior and senior officers for private and charter superyachts, plus specialist roles (spa, nurse, personal trainer) | Not stated on site. Has a "New to Yachting" section | YPI Crew |
| Hill Robinson Recruitment | Résidences du Port Vauban, 17 Avenue du 11 Novembre, 06600 Antibes | Crew for superyachts and private estates | Not stated on site. Deckhand and Junior Stewardess roles were listed on 12 Oct 2026 | Hill Robinson jobs |
| Global Yachties | 26 Rue Lacan, Galerie du Port, Antibes | Small agency. Also helps with seaman's book applications | Not stated on site. Its position list includes Junior Deckhand, Junior Engineer and Junior Steward(ess) | Global Yachties |
If you've heard of Crew Unlimited in Antibes, it's now part of Bluewater, so you register with Bluewater.
Walking in vs registering online
Every yacht agency in Antibes on this list takes registrations online. Do that first, wherever you are, so your profile already exists when you turn up.
Bluewater (formerly Crew Unlimited)
Bluewater is the only one whose site advertises walk-ins: "come by the office, Monday-Friday, between 9am and 12pm - no appointment necessary." Register online first using the Register button on its looking for work page.
The Crew Network (TCN) Antibes
TCN runs registration through SuperyachtCrew.io, which puts you on its candidate database (details here). After that, its FAQ says: "Remember to contact your local office to arrange an interview." In other words, phone or email before you show up.
YPI Crew
YPI Crew uses its "Login / Submit CV" button or its chatbot, PEARL. Its FAQ says "You will need to upload your CV, certificates, and personal details." If you're under 18 you can start registering, but YPI won't place you on a yacht until you turn 18.
Hill Robinson Recruitment
Hill Robinson has a Register form on its recruitment site. The site doesn't mention a walk-in desk, so register online and wait for them to contact you.
Global Yachties
Global Yachties has an online CV form on its looking for a job page.
Online registration gets you into the database. Meeting a crew agent face to face is what gets you remembered. If an agency offers an interview, take it, and dress as you would for a yacht interview: neat, clean, and not sweaty from dockwalking.
What to have ready
Agencies won't put you forward until your profile is complete. Before you register anywhere, get these sorted:
- A yacht-style CV with a professional photo. Global Yachties' form asks for photo(s), nationality, current location, salary expectation in euros, your highest maritime qualification, and a work history that gives a reason for leaving each job.
- STCW Basic Training and an ENG1 medical. Bluewater lists both as what newcomers need, describing the ENG1 as "a medical certificate obtained from an MCA approved doctor."
- References. TCN asks for "3 written references with updated contact details for verification." Global Yachties takes up to three written and three verbal references. Non-yachting references from hospitality, trades or sport still count for green crew.
- Scans of everything. TCN wants reference letters, licences and certificates emailed as PDF or Word files, each under 500 KB. Make a folder of compressed PDFs now, and you can upload to any agency from your phone in a couple of minutes.
You should never pay to be placed
Registering with a crew agency and being placed in a job should cost you nothing. Two separate rules back this up:
- French law. Article L5321-3 of the Code du travail says no payment, direct or indirect, can be demanded from job-seekers in return for placement. Breaking it is a criminal offence under Article L5324-1, punishable by six months in prison and a €3,750 fine.
- The Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006). Standard A1.4, quoted on YPI's FAQ, says "no fees or charges for recruitment or placement may be borne by the seafarer, in whole or in part." There are a few exceptions, such as your own medical certificate, seafarer's book and passport.
TCN says outright that applying through it is "simple and free of charge."
Paying for your own STCW, ENG1 or seaman's book is normal. Paying an agency to put you forward for a job is not.
Some agencies or their parent companies also sell training. Bluewater, for example, runs entry-level courses as a separate business. Buying a course is a separate transaction from placement, and it should never be a condition of being put forward for jobs.
How agencies fit with dockwalking and daywork
Agencies mostly fill permanent and seasonal positions, and captains usually call them when they need someone vetted for a long-term role. Green crew usually land that first permanent job by being in Antibes and visible: dockwalking in the mornings, picking up daywork, and showing up at the agency in between.
Antibes old town from the Pointe de l'Ilette, a short walk from Port Vauban. Photo: Txllxt TxllxT, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Daywork works differently. It's often arranged the same day, and the captain or bosun wants someone who is already nearby. On Radius, captains can see dayworkers near them on a map and contact them directly. It's free for crew, so you can keep your availability listed alongside your agency profiles. A few days of daywork also give you the yacht experience and references that make agencies more interested in you.
Be honest with yourself about how long this can take. YPI puts it bluntly: "Entry level positions are highly competitive, and there is no guaranteed timeline for securing your first role." Budget for weeks in a crew house, not days.
Staying on their radar
Registering takes ten minutes. The real work is keeping in touch afterwards.
- Check in often. Bluewater's FAQ tells crew with 0–1 seasons to "check in online daily, Monday to Friday, during the busy season." Once you have two or more seasons, it suggests checking in 1–2 times a week.
- Keep your profile current, "especially your location and your career objective," as Bluewater puts it. An agent won't put you forward for a boat in Antibes if your profile still says you're in Cape Town.
- Tell your agent when your situation changes. TCN asks for this specifically. If you take a daywork stint, a temporary job or a permanent role, update every agency you're registered with.
- Know the going rate. Bluewater says that for entry-level positions, "a salary of €2,500 / US$2,700 per month upwards would be the norm." Put a realistic figure on your forms.
Your next step
Today: compress your CV, STCW, ENG1 and references into small PDFs and register online with the yacht crew agencies in Antibes listed above. Then plan your week in Antibes around their office hours. That means Bluewater's 9am–12pm walk-in window, a call to TCN to book an interview, and dockwalking and daywork in the hours in between.