LIFE ON A SUPERYACHT

While we’re all glued to TV series Below Deck, Francesca Buckley, 27, knows what it’s really like

- FRANCESCA WOODSTOCK

As a 47m superyacht docked in the British Virgin Islands, I admired its beauty. Equipped with a large sun deck, hot tub, outdoor bar and luxury accommodation for up to 10 guests, motor yacht Ohana was worth more than £8 million, and cost around £120,000 per week to charter.

It was 2014, and Season Two of Below Deck was being filmed on board. Cameras captured the crew’s wild antics as they catered to crazy guest demands, plied themselves with champagne on days off and got up to mischief.

But as a stewardess on the superyacht docked beside Ohana, I knew what the job really entailed.

At 16 years old, I’d just finished school and couldn’t bear the idea of a nine-to-five office job. I’d grown up in Folkestone, Kent, and living by the coast felt like being at the edge of the world. I wanted to travel, see new places and experience different cultures.