Offboarding: Emma Ross’ Mission to Make Mental Health Matter

Apr 10, 2024 by Gemma Harris

After spending more than a decade on board as a yacht chef navigating the highs and lows of a demanding yachting lifestyle, Emma Ross knew the industry needed help. She launched Seas The Mind, an organization that is revolutionizing the conversation around mental health while delivering mental health first aid training to yacht crew. Her hope is to create a lasting impact for the next generation.

How and when did you get into yachting?

I got into yachting in the early 2000s, in my 20s. I completed a psychology degree but quickly abandoned that for my first yachting job and then for the next 15 years! My friend had kept sending me photos of her crew with Colgate smiles in the Bahamas with a blue sea background — so I decided I wanted to join in. Within 10 days of being in Antibes, I got onto my first boat based out of Panama. I only stayed on that boat for three months. While I had an incredible chief stew, there was also a male engineer on board who took a shine to me and mistook my friendly nature for more, which became very challenging and drove me to leave fairly quickly. I then joined a 45-meter motor yacht where I worked for an amazing captain and chief stew couple; the crew worked hard and partied hard, ticking those cliches of the yachtie scene back then. This second job was where I fell completely in love with the industry and saw it could be a career where I would forge life-long friendships.

Where did your inspiration for Seas The Mind come from?

When I started working on board, mental health wasn’t spoken about; there was a vacuum with no support. I needed that support in my time, so I relied on genuine conversations with friends, but that wasn’t happening in yachting in general, only isolated conversations. The seed for Seas The Mind was always there — I understood how vulnerable crew are and how isolating being in the industry could be. I had always been interested in psychology and mental health, having studied it, and I knew that as a 38-year-old chef, I had an expiry date and needed an exit strategy. It was the COVID-19 pandemic that brought this. During this time, I couldn’t get back on board and I met an incredible female chef in London. We connected about how wild hospitality was. She had started a foundation called Kelly’s Cause Foundation and was teaching mental health first aid; when she started telling me about it, everything seemed to click. After she described the course, I knew we needed it in yachting. On the STCW and fire-fighting safety courses, crew are taught to be self-reliant, to always look out for each other, and to identify dangers — which was what this mental health first aid model was about. Before the ink was dry on my certificate, I knew this training was my exit strategy, so I signed up to become an instructor, and this is when Seas The Mind was formed.

What is your current take on the mental health landscape of the industry?

It is still tricky, but it is starting to get better and get the attention it deserves, all because we have brilliant people talking more about it. The number of 100-meter-plus boats currently being built is insane. There will be around 90 crew on these bigger yachts, so the captains will be more like CEOs of another branch of the owners’ company. Many HR elements in the corporate world are now being adopted within yachting to make it more professional. So, while many individuals support Seas The Mind, I think we will have to start seeing management companies taking it more seriously and realizing that preventative measures are better. There have been discussions that mental health training should become part of the STCW, and that is when we will see more systemic change. The industry will get more regulated and safer; that is my hope!

How has your experience in yachting helped you make Seas The Mind successful?

Somedays, it feels like I never know what I’m doing. I wake up in the morning and hope to do better than yesterday! I tell myself I don’t have any good business skills, but what I do tend to hear is how much passion I have. I am a terrible self-promoter, but get me in a room full of people talking about yachting, seafarers, and mental health, and everyone can see I am ridiculously passionate. I believe in our course and how this business should be rolled out. What I lack in experience, I make up in determination. Also, being a former crewmember myself, I know I have that legitimacy. The crew don’t have to explain to me what it’s like to get bullied on board, to share a cabin with someone you don’t vibe with, or to be away from home for long periods of time. No one has to explain this as I know it, and I have lived it. This has given me good referrals and feedback as I’m not just a trainer giving them educational content — I have been there.

What has been your proudest moment in your entrepreneurial journey?

It is crazy to see the person I was when I started yachting to who I am now. When I first started day working in Antibes, I was returning from a job interview, and Monaco caught my eye to explore; I ended up at the Oceanographic Museum and fell in love with it. Fast forward to this September and I was invited back to this museum by ACREW to lead a mental health seminar with Capt. Kelly Gordon at the Monaco Yacht Show. I high-fived my 20-year-old self to see how far I’ve come and where I am now. The talk was incredible, and we had every link in the chain represented explaining their sides. It became an open dialogue; someone said it felt like actual change, and I felt that too. It was such a proud moment, a big wow moment. But I also love having conversations, not just on this industry-wide level, but with the individual connections I make with all my students. If this training saves even one person’s life, that is all that truly matters to me.

What has been your biggest challenge in your entrepreneurial journey?

I’m not a business-minded person. I have never run a business before. I can read books and listen to podcasts, but I am a chef. You develop a business idea, and it becomes your baby; you look after and care for it. And it is hard! I’ve had so much rejection, whether people don’t believe in mental health or just about Seas The Mind. Last summer, it felt like I experienced around 100 days of rejection, no emails, and no sign-ups, but I still got up on day 101 and kept working for it because I believe in it. The irony is that keeping my own mental health as robust as I can has been the biggest challenge while facing rejection and financial insecurity every day as I slowly build up the business.

What do you miss about working on board?

Firstly, I definitely miss the boat AMEX when buying my own shopping! Coming land based, you also realize how dynamic yachties are and the instant gratification of completing a work list. The circles of completion in business are a lot longer; I’ve been in talks with companies for years, whereas when you are on board, you do things there and then. I miss this yachtie mindset, intensity of friendships, and brilliant camaraderie. Obviously, the travel and the money too, but for me, it has always been about the people and the connections you make.

What is your advice for crew looking to step ashore?

I feel weird advising because I had a bumpy ride and didn’t do it that successfully! But the thing I did do right was that I was lucky enough to be on rotation. I built my business up while still working on board; it was a kinder exit strategy. The core thing I have learned is you have to believe in whatever you are going to do, otherwise, it is tough. I believe in Seas The Mind implicitly. I suggest that you do it in stages, like a rotation. I would also say to be really smart about money. I was never very good at planning or finance; if I were to leave again, I would have a bigger financial safety net. Also, find people who believe in and comfort you to remind you why you left and started something new when you forget in that fog of self-doubt.

What does the future hold for Seas The Mind?

Seas The Mind has given me meaning and purpose; it meant I hadn’t just spent 15 years on board just to walk away; it has also honored my degree. I am now doing this for the next generation; they deserve to feel safe. It will be exciting to see where this new generation of yachties goes. In the short term, it is about getting as many people trained as possible. When it (mental health training) is part of the STCW, we will see real change, and I hope it becomes part of the next revision. The dream that I am constantly talking about is that every single crewmember who comes into the industry will be taught mental health awareness and first aid. Another hope I have is that as crew become HODs, those in charge of teams with a duty of care to people should also be doing advanced mental health first aid. We can then give crew the skills and tools to deal with inevitable situations that will come up. Accidents will happen, and people will go through adverse life events, so if we drop the ego in yachting and do a little training, it will make things easier or prevent it from becoming a bigger issue.

Check out more from Triton’s Offboarding series!

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