Caring for your mind, body and soul during confinement

Whether on board a yacht or working remotely for the first time, we understand a lot of Superyacht crew are experiencing some sort of confinement.

In the spirit of helping you to maintain a positive mindset, we want to share some ideas we’ve come across for staying fit and healthy in mind and body. We’ve also pointed you towards online training and professional development opportunities specially designed for crew. Why not brush up on your skills while you can?

Protecting your mental health

Looking after your mental health is more important than ever. We’re constantly bombarded by news updates and doomsday predictions, which isn’t helping anyone.

While we’re not mental health experts, we believe the BBC has shared some great advice on how to protect your mental health during this challenging time. One key piece of advice being shared is to limit time on news sites and social media when it is negatively impacting your mental health.

Don’t forget that if you would like to speak with someone confidentially about how you’re feeling, you can contact Seafarer Help, a free, confidential and multilingual helpline for seafarers including yacht crew.

Top 10 apps 

More and more people have turned to mindfulness apps in recent years and it’s no surprise they’re now even more popular. From guided and silent meditations to calming bedtime stories and gentle exercise, there is a great range of mindfulness apps on offer.

The following ‘top 10’ are available for download on both iOS and Android:

• Calm
• Headspace
• Simple Habit
• Stop, Breathe & Think
• 10% Happier
• Insight Timer
• The Mindfulness App
• Buddhify
• Reflectly
• Smiling Mind

Both Headspace and Simple Habit have made their apps free; Simple Habit is free until the end of April and have curated a collection of plans dedicated to combatting stress caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Caring for mental health is incredibly important, not only for crew in confinement but every day. These apps can be a great way to develop new habits.

Care for your body

EXERCISE

We’re not exercise experts either – we look after your financial well-being. However, we do know the benefits of staying fit and healthy and looking after your immune system. We have come across some great tips, especially if you’re restricted to small spaces like being on board a Superyacht!

• The Darebee Resource is an independent fitness resource run and maintained by a small group of fitness professionals and volunteers. There are free workouts and training plans to download along with nutritional information and meal plans. There’s even a ‘Workout of the Day’.
• The current health crisis has got everyone talking about immunity. But where do you even start to learn more? Australian Accredited Nutritionist and Mindset Coach Stephanie Malouf has shared some really useful information about how to boost your immune system against viruses and other infections.

Eat well (where possible)

If you are still able to get provisions to the yacht, then this can be a great time to test new recipes. Instagram is full of great chefs sharing ideas and here are just some we’re enjoying:

• @thenutritiouspea (has a C-19 recipe section)
• @noorishbynoor (also shares workouts)
• @thesuperyachtchef (good for resources and great at sharing what other superyacht chefs have been creating during their respective lockdowns)

Feed your soul

see some art

While feeding your mind and body is crucial, feeding your soul is just as important. Did you know you can visit some of the world’s most incredible museums without having to leave your couch?

Here’s a list of the top 10 museums offering a peak into their collections:

• The Louvre (Paris, France)
• Solomon R Guggenheim (New York City, USA)
• National Gallery of Art (Washington D.C., USA)
• The British Museum (London, UK)
• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (Washington D.C., USA)
• Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City, USA)
• The Dalí Theatre-Museum (Catalonia, Spain)
• NASA (Virginia, USA)
• The Vatican Museums
• National Women’s History Museum (Virginia, USA). 

Lose yourself in a good book

While we’re all easily distracted right now, reading can be valuable for crew in confinement. It helps focus the mind, zone out distractions and help take advantage of those extra hours we find ourselves looking to fill.

Here are some nonfiction books that can shed light on the current predicament thanks to Bloomberg Opinion Columnist John Authers:

• Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
• Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
• Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World by Liaquat Ahamed
• When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management by Roger Lowenstein
• Factfulness by Hans Rosling.

Prefer something easier yet still finance-related? We recommend:

• The Fear Index by Robert Harris
• Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter.

Prefer to listen to stories than read from a book? Audible has you covered and has a free trial.

Improve your knowledge 

Training and event providers in the Superyacht industry are taking their courses online, which means you can keep learning and sharpen your skills from the comfort of the crew mess or your own cabin. Confinement can be incredibly draining for Superyacht crew but if you do have any spare energy reserves investing in your future self is a great investment.

• ACREW are moving their value-packed and fun workshops online. Their webinars won’t be boring tutorials but will be free. You can sign up here.
• Luxury Hospitality has developed two online courses for yacht crew: one to develop your Personal Leadership and the other to help you develop greater Insight into yourself and your fellow crew members so you can work better as a team.
• Quay Crew have come up with some great suggestions for how you can share knowledge, build confidence and develop leadership skills within your team, such as giving short presentations each week. They also have some ideas for what green crew can do to upskill while in lockdown (with posts for senior crew coming soon).
• Another idea we’ve seen discussed and really like is learning another language. After all, the yachting industry is an international one. There are many language apps available but one of the most popular and user-friendly is Babbel.

 Crew confinement and morale

• Have you played YACHT-OPOLY yet? If not, now’s the chance to discover the Superyacht’s industry very own version of a classic board game. If you can’t get a version out to you then some creative crew have been making their own versions:
  You’ll need to be part of Palma Yacht Crew Group on Facebook to see the full post.
• For all the ‘stranded sailors’ out there, there’s a fun crew challenge happening on Facebook to help keep morale high.
• Don’t forget to tune into Superyacht Radio for news, interviews and tunes.
• And if you can, why not take the time to do some good and give back. Yachting Gives Back are doing some amazing things, raising money for those who need it most.

Your future mind, body and soul

While it’s the perfect time to catch up on some leisure activities – within the limits of crew confinement of course – now is also the time to take a step back and reassess where you are financially. In other words, now is not the time to neglect your financial goals.

Use this time to seek greater clarity around your savings and investment plans and to talk about what’s really important to you and your loved ones. It’s a good time to refocus.

What are the important but ‘boring’ jobs you’ve been putting off? Do you need to make adjustments to your insurance policies? Do you have a documented financial plan?

Enforced downtime can be the perfect opportunity to ask yourself the following questions to better prepare your financial future:

• Who would you like to spend more time with?
• How often do you want to go on holiday?
• Where do you want to go/what do you want to do after you exit yachting?
• What skills have you gained that might be useful in a second career/as a volunteer?
• Who do you feel a sense of financial responsibility toward in life?
• What legacy would you like to leave?

Above all, we encourage you to use the time in a way that works for you. This might be binge-watching the Tiger King or it might be learning a language.  We are all living very different confinements and it is about getting through each day with the best possible mental health.