The captain of a yacht that costs $160,000 a week to charter around the Mediterranean shares a day in his life

• Tristan Mortlock has been the captain of Awol since 2016 and lives aboard the ship year-round.
• He’s hosted billionaires, well-known businessmen, and athletes.
• He makes sure guests are happy, whether that’s finding the perfect hangout spot or a specific meal.

Tristan Mortlock, born in the UK, began skippering smaller boats in the summer months in the south of Spain when he was 16. He worked his way up and got his first private-captain job at 21.

On Thursday, Mortlock works aboard Awol, which is exclusively chartered by the luxury-yachting firm IYC, and has been the ship’s captain since 2016. He also runs the YouTube channel Super Yacht Captain, where he gives a behind-the-scenes look into the inner workings of a superyacht.

Awol costs 135,000 euros – or about $160,000 – a week to charter and sails the West Mediterranean (hitting France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain) and the East Mediterranean and Adriatic Sea (hitting Albania, Croatia, and Montenegro).