Recent years have seen a surge in Russian-speaking super yacht owners and charterers, bringing with it a range of new demands for captains and crew.
One is communicating with them, as on the whole Russians tend to speak little English and feel more comfortable when addressed in their own language.
Endeavour Languages, a communications company specialising in the super yacht industry, has decided to tackle this situation by offering basic Russian training to super yacht crew.
The first “Russian for Yachties” courses will take place in Palma shortly and will show crew the basics of Russian language, such as meeting and greeting, nautical terminology and the different levels of formality required.
Russians are renowned for being loyal clients, so if a crew member can say “Good morning, how are you?” or “Welcome aboard” in Russian to a Russian-speaking guest, then it will make them feel at home and boost the chances of repeat charters, for example. To learn more about how Russians tick, the training also involves an introduction to culture and mentality, so that crew can also understand the guests better.
The first course in Palma, lasting ten hours and taught by a qualified Russian teacher, will take place during the week commencing 11th March, and more are scheduled for following weeks.