A man went from working in bars in town to helping run superyachts for the rich and famous.
Sam Doyle, 31, was born in Kirkdale. After leaving school, he worked in a number of hospitality jobs in Liverpool city centre and on the Greek island of Zakynthos.
When a family member started working on cruise ships, Sam became interested in a taste of the lifestyle. Seeing his cousin work in exotic locations, he quit his job in town and began a journey which resulted in him working in the luxury world of superyachts.
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Sam told the ECHO: “I was working in town but one of my cousins was working on a cruise ship and was always in places in Miami. I thought ‘this bar scene just isn’t for me’.
“I stopped and then went and got a cadetship and went to sea. On my first trip I flew over to Texas and joined there.
“I thought ‘what am I doing?’ It was like a spaceship to me having worked around a bar. I’d gone from town to working on a cruise ship with 4,500 people on.”
Sam studied to become an officer of the watch, spending time at a college in Fleetwood between six month spells at sea to put what he had learned into action. After more than three years of studying, he got his licence to work on ships.
Following a path taken by many people in the industry, Sam then looked to move from working on cruises to yachts. He said, thanks to the help of a fellow Merseyside-native, he found work among the rich and famous.
Sam said: “When I was there, a lot of people just transitioned into yachting. There was a bit more money, you got treated a bit better, that type of thing. As soon as I left, I started looking to get into yachts myself.
“I was struggling to find jobs because I have tattoos. I was trying for about two years to get into superyachts and I put a message with my CV on a Facebook group.
(Image: Sam Doyle)
“I asked if anyone could help me and I didn’t know where I was going wrong with my CV and getting no luck whatsoever. Then this man Barry messaged on the group and asked me to send over my CV so he could have a look.
“He was from Bootle and he was the captain of Bono’s yacht.
“He looked at my CV and gave me suggestions. I was working in Germany, doing off-shore work on small boats and he called me and said ‘Sam mate, we need an officer, do you want to come over?’.
“I flew over there and then Barry took me under his wing and taught me yachting. I worked on Bono’s yacht for three and a bit years. I met people like Paul McCartney and Tom Hanks – Paul McCartney is one of the nicest men I’ve ever met.
“Barry taught me a lot and then I went from there to another boat. I went from a deckhand sort of position to second officer. I lived in Monaco for two and a half years.
“Sergio was another captain that looked after me. Sergio brought me onto his boat and I got promoted to chief officer.”
About the work on board, Sam said: “It’s good but it can be lonely. The yachts can be even lonelier, you’re working with people who aren’t very similar to you.
“I’m from a completely different background to a lot of the people. It’s a long way from Kirkdale.
“It was a culture shock to start working among extreme wealth. I once walked down a road with Bono and Tom Hanks talking to them about Liverpool, I’ve gone from Kirkdale to that.”
However, after around a decade of working at sea, Sam has taken a career break to pursue a personal challenge. It follows a personal tragedy and has inspired both him and a friend to leave their work behind for the time being.
Sam said: “A couple of months ago, my best mate Ash – who I’m doing the trip with – was living on a yacht. His girlfriend Amber died on a yacht, it was a really tragic story.
“He had plans to go and do hikes with her. I thought that I would come with him as a challenge now.
“We’ve both quit our jobs. I went to Kuwait and then to Dubai before training in Thailand. From there I’m going to fly to Nepal, do Everest BC (base camp) and then fly to Kilimajaro and climb that.
“I’m trying to raise £10,000 for breast cancer and men’s mental health, but in the name of Amber.”
The challenge is far from easy and those around Sam are nervous about it. However, he is in the process of undertaking a long training programme in Asia to ensure he is as prepared as possible.
He said: “I’ve never done anything like this. People are very nervous for me.
“I’m making sure I’m training hard. Ash is going to join me in Thailand.
“Ash started in the Marines and we became best mates in Greece when I was working in bars in Zakynthos, I went into the ships on a cadetship and then Ash followed me.
“It’s (the challenge) is to support Ash too, we can bounce off one another. Amber was amazing, she was only 26, she was one of the happiest people ever. You couldn’t say a bad word about her, she was just absolutely lovely.”
You can view Sam’s GoFundMe page and donate by clicking here.
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