You are leaving in eleven days. Your replacement arrives the day after you go, in the middle of a yard period, with a charter booked six weeks later. Everything you know is in your head, in a spreadsheet only you understand, and in a relationship with an agent in Antibes whose mobile number is in your personal phone. What you do in the next eleven days decides whether the yacht keeps running.
The principle
A purser is judged twice: once while in post, and once six months after leaving, when the yacht discovers what was actually written down. The handover file is the deliverable of the whole job.
What the file contains
| Section | Contents |
|---|---|
| Role and authority | Reporting lines, approval limits, who signs what |
| Financial | Chart of accounts and coding guide, bank and card details and holders, open POs, accruals, the last closed month, current cash and float positions |
| Charter | Live and pending charters, APA position and statements, broker contacts, guest profiles |
| Crew | Crew list, SEAs, payroll calendar, certificate and visa expiry register, leave and rotation plan, live employment issues |
| Compliance | Certificate register and expiry dates, SMS and audit status, open non-conformities, upcoming inspections and class dates |
| Suppliers and agents | Named contacts, terms, account numbers, who is reliable and who is not |
| Systems | Logins in the password vault, filing structure map, backup arrangements |
| Calendar | Everything due in the next twelve months, dated |
| Open items | The honest list of what is unfinished, unresolved or awkward |
The handover itself
- Write the file continuously, not in the last week. If your file is current, your handover is a walkthrough.
- Overlap in person if at all possible: a few days together is worth a hundred pages.
- Introduce your successor to the captain, the office, the broker and the key agents, by name and in writing.
- Hand over the open items list face to face, including the things that are embarrassing. Concealing a problem in a handover is the fastest way to end a reputation in a small industry.
- Confirm in writing that cash, floats, cards and bond stock were counted and agreed, and have both parties sign the count.
Continuity while you are aboard
Handover is not only for leaving. If you are hospitalised in Naples tomorrow, the yacht must still be able to pay crew and clear customs. Keep a continuity note: the five things that must happen in the next thirty days, and where to find them.
Onboard Notes
- Never take yacht data with you when you leave. Crew and guest personal data belongs to the yacht, not to your career.
- Never leave a mess for a successor to discover. The industry is small and pursers all talk to each other.
- A signed cash and bond count on the day of handover protects the departing purser as much as the arriving one.