Emery Wallerich has made quite a splash over her yachting career thus far. Over the past six years onboard, Wallerich has cruised the coasts of North America, sailed through the Panama Canal into South America, crossed the Atlantic, and explored Caribbean islands, all while providing five-star service to guests onboard luxury superyachts. Through documenting her travels and sharing on-the-job experiences, she has grown her online presence to over 140k followers across her social media platforms. Wallerich, also known as “That Yachtie Emery,” made a name for herself online, winning Best Social Influencer at the 2024 ACREW Awards. Currently a Deck/Stew on 123’ (37M) Palmer Johnson motor yacht TEMPTATION, Emery recently launched her new business MOOR YACHT CREW.
Image Credit: Emery Wallerich
Designed as a digital platform to modernize the global yachting recruitment process, MOOR YACHT CREW offers a smarter and more transparent way for yacht owners, captains, and management companies to connect with crew seeking employment. The web-app applies smart-matching technology that considers not only the skills and certifications of crew, but also their lifestyle compatibility with yacht programs. Built to replace outdated and impersonal job boards, MOOR YACHT CREW is set to improve hiring accuracy, strengthen onboard cohesion, and boost crew retention rates across the industry. With verified profiles, transparent communication tools, and an emphasis on long-term fit, MOOR YACHT CREW aims to reduce turnover and redefine what “fit” means in today’s yachting industry.
The inspiration for MOOR YACHT CREW came from Wallerich’s personal experience navigating the industry’s hiring process as a “greenie” (industry slang for a person with little to no experience in yachting). Knowing she had the potential to be a hard-working crew member if given the opportunity, Wallerich found it intimidating to send her CV, which lacked yachting experience, to Captains or Heads of Departments.
Said Wallerich, “I always thought, if they could just get to know me, what I like to do outside of yachting, and what hobbies I enjoy, I would have a chance at getting hired onto a program. Maybe if they have similar interests, our personalities would match and I could be molded into the crew member they needed.”
Over her time in yachting, Emery says she has seen that “even experienced crew wrestle with finding the program that best fits them.” While this problem was pervasive for yacht crew, Wallerich realized there was an industry-wide struggle when she was approached by a yacht broker who expressed similar frustrations with the hiring process. It was then that she “decided to pull the developmental trigger” and create a solution in MOOR YACHT CREW.
After a successful launch during the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, YATCO spoke exclusively with Emery Wallerich to gain insight into MOOR YACHT CREW and its potential to positively affect the yachting industry’s hiring process.
Watch Moor-crew.com video on YouTube.
YATCO: The recruitment process can be notoriously challenging for both crew seeking jobs and yachts looking to hire crew. What key problems did you set out to solve with MOOR YACHT CREW?
Emery Wallerich: The key problem MOOR YACHT CREW set out to solve is crew turnover. Our hiring process should be different than any other industry because as yacht crew, we work, live, breathe, eat, sleep, and play with our coworkers. It’s not enough to simply have available crew fill open positions. Crew joining programs that don’t fit with their lifestyle or programs hiring crew that don’t fit their culture is why the yachting industry sees a high crew turnover rate. MOOR YACHT CREW is designed to solve this problem by matching yacht professionals with jobs not only based on position and qualifications, but with personality, interests, and experience considered as well.
YATCO: Crew turnover remains a major issue across the industry. Why do you think retention has been such a persistent challenge, and how can this technology help address it?
Emery: Crew turnover has been a persistent challenge because the job is hard. Living and working onboard a yacht in a high pressure and high stress job can be incredibly taxing to crew members. On top of job stress, not getting along with coworkers can become a breeding ground for resentment, friction, and a hostile atmosphere. Working on yachts can be hard enough, so if the smart-matching technology that we have integrated into MOOR YACHT CREW can at least take away the guesswork of “Will they be a good fit?” I think that will be huge for the crew turnover.
YATCO: Transparency and verified profiles are central to MOOR YACHT CREW’s model. Why was building trust into the platform so important from the start?
Emery: Building trust in the platform was incredibly important to all of us involved. I have been on the same program for 3 years and that is because I love my position, but more so, I love my crew, the lifestyle onboard, and the owners I work for. I also remember what it felt like going through programs that weren’t a good fit – the disappointment of another “failed” placement because the atmosphere was not a good match. When I hear that both yacht programs and crew are having a hard time finding that good fit, it deeply resonates with me. Not only am I still a crew member onboard a yacht, but so are my sister and friends. I wanted to help build a platform that creates that sense of alignment and longevity people in yachting are searching for.
YATCO: You’ve built a strong online community as @thatyachtiemery. How has your digital presence helped shape MOOR YACHT CREW’s design and outreach?
Emery: The online community that I have built over the years has helped shape MOOR YACHT CREW because it pushed us to build a platform that people love and trust while meeting a prevalent need. We have a million platforms in the industry all doing the same thing, but to create meaningful change, we needed to do something different. So, listening to my community over the years to make something that will actually make a difference has been so helpful.
YATCO: As one of the world’s premier boat shows, launching at Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show is a major milestone. What was the plan behind debuting the app at the boat show? How was MOOR YACHT CREW received?
Emery: The plan behind showcasing the platform at the show was to gather genuine, hands-on feedback from both crew and employers. We wanted crew to experience the platform firsthand and share their impressions, while also learning how employers found the navigation and usability on their end. The response was beyond anything we expected; we were honestly blown away by the level of enthusiasm, support, and sign-ups from across the industry. During our 4 days at FLIBS, we had almost 200 crew signed up and crew from every continent which blew our minds. Crew were even running up to tell us their friends in France had already been sharing the platform with them!
The people who are crewing these vessels, captains, brokers, and chief stews, were telling us this is exactly what the industry needs – something beyond just filling positions. We’ve had programs sign up and gave feedback that the candidates they are matching with look like a great fit for the culture on board. The algorithm is working as it was designed to, and we are excited to keep growing and prioritizing good crew placement.
It’s clear that both crew and employers are more than ready for a platform like MOOR YACHT CREW and seeing the excitement generated at the boat show was incredibly rewarding for our entire team.
YATCO: You’ve spoken about redefining what “fit” means in yachting. From your perspective, what does an ideal match look like for both crew and employers?
Emery: The ideal match for both crew and employers is subjective in my opinion, and that is the beauty of MOOR YACHT CREW. When I heard crew saying they could not find good programs to work for or programs saying there were no good crew to hire, it made that little light go off in my head. I thought “Well what is your definition of a good program or what is your definition of good crew?” The industry has an array of atmospheres onboard a variety of vessels: motor yachts, sailboats, catamarans, fishing vessels, and different varieties of personalities and cultures between crews. The goal of MOOR YACHT CREW isn’t to define the ideal candidate; we are empowering our users to define that themselves.
Visit www.moorcrew.com to learn more, search for a position, or post a job listing.
Connect with MOOR YACHT CREW on Instagram.
Connect with Emery on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
