Off-season survival: how to bank for winter without burning out.

Med season ends, the yacht goes into yard, and your bank balance is on a six-month timer. Three patterns that work.

Pattern 1 — Caribbean rotation

Flight to FLL by Oct 15, dock-walk Bahia Mar / Pier 66 / Lauderdale Marine Center. Plenty of late-season day-work. Risk: thin season after March.

Negotiate a yard rate from your captain (60–70% of season pay). Bonus: full-pay during a refit you'd otherwise watch from the dock.

Use the slow months to stack credentials — Yachtmaster Offshore, ECDIS, AEC1. €4–6k investment that returns €700–€1,000/month from Year 4 onwards.

Whatever you pick, keep 3 months of expenses in a separate account. The Med doesn't always start on time.