Built on Real Yacht Experience: Meet the Team Behind Silverlining Pursers
When you trust someone to provide remote purser support for your yacht, experience matters. Onboard Yacht Purser experience builds an understanding of what it takes to keep a vessel running smoothly, and that understanding carries ashore.
Effective shoreside purser support comes from understanding the realities of life onboard - busy owner trips, changing itineraries, crew movements, payroll deadlines, shipyard periods and the hundreds of details that need to come together behind the scenes.
Silverlining Pursers was founded by two experienced yacht professionals who have lived those realities from different sides of the operation. Jess brings the administrative and operational experience of a superyacht purser, while Jake brings more than a decade of experience in senior deck and Chief Officer roles. Together, their yacht experience gives Silverlining Pursers a practical understanding of how the different parts of a yacht operation connect, and how remote support can work alongside the onboard team to provide practical support that genuinely makes life easier for Captains and crew.
Meet Jess
Jess grew up in New Zealand, spending much of her early life around the water through competitive swimming and surf lifesaving. She went on to complete a Bachelor of Business in Human Resource Management and Accounting before entering the superyacht industry.
Her route into the Purser role was not the traditional one. Jess had already developed a strong foundation in HR and accounting before stepping onboard, and after discovering the Purser position on her first yacht, she quickly knew it was the direction she wanted to take.
She set out to gain her GUEST-accredited Purser Certificate of Competency and build the onboard experience to match it. This combination of formal education and onboard experience gave her a valuable skillset from the beginning. She worked as Purser on a 62-metre charter yacht before joining the 110m M/Y KAOS as Purser.
As Purser, Jess managed crew administration, logistics and payroll, vessel accounts and financial reporting, guest logistics, customs documentation, shipyard periods and the many operational details that keep a large yacht running smoothly behind the scenes.
The role requires constant prioritisation. Organisation, discretion and the ability to stay calm under pressure are essential. A crew movement can quickly involve flights, visas, contracts and payroll. An owner's trip can bring a completely different set of financial, logistical and guest requirements. At the same time, the everyday administration of the vessel continues.
Jess remained onboard until 33 weeks pregnant before returning to New Zealand with her growing family. Stepping ashore gave her the opportunity to look at the industry from a different perspective.
She had seen firsthand how much administrative and operational work sits behind a successful yacht, and how the level of support required can change depending on the vessel, its programme and the time of year; many yachts need Purser-level support, but not necessarily a full-time onboard Purser.
That experience became the foundation for Silverlining Pursers.
Meet Jake
Jake's journey into yachting followed a different path.
Originally from Australia, he began his career as a qualified carpenter, spending years in construction before running his own carpentry business. From this practical background he developed great attention to detail and a problem-solving mindset that naturally translated into life onboard.
Starting as a Deckhand, Jake progressed through the ranks to Bosun, Second Officer and ultimately Chief Officer. Over more than ten years in the industry, he has worked onboard M/Y OKTO (66m), M/Y SKAT (72m), M/Y Titan (80m) and M/Y Vibrant Curiosity (85m), cruising throughout the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Bahamas. Jake continues to work onboard as a rotational Chief Officer today, bringing a current operational perspective to Silverlining Pursers.
As Chief Officer, his responsibilities extend far beyond managing the deck team.
He oversees safety management systems, refit projects, contractor coordination, maintenance planning, class and flag compliance, crew leadership and the day-to-day operational running of the vessel. The role requires him to balance the needs of the Captain, owners, management companies, contractors and crew, often while making time-sensitive decisions under pressure. Jake has spent years managing these processes from the operational side, which also involves understanding the planning and admin behind it, why it’s needed and how it affects the wider vessel.
Having worked closely alongside Pursers throughout his career, Jake understands the value of good administrative support from the perspective of the people receiving it. He knows that the most useful support is practical, timely and informed by an understanding of what is happening onboard.
That perspective has become an important part of how Silverlining works today.
Two Perspectives. One Goal.
One of the biggest strengths of Silverlining Pursers is that we understand how different departments connect. Jess understands the administrative side of the yacht: the work behind owner trips, crew logistics, visas, compliance, port clearances, payroll, accounts and financial reporting. Jake understands the operational side: planning, class and flag compliance, safety, maintenance, crew management and the decisions required to keep the vessel running safely and efficiently.
Seeing both sides changes the way support can be provided.
The different areas of a yacht’s operation rarely work in isolation. A change to the vessel’s schedule, an upcoming yard period or a change in crew can create operational, administrative and financial requirements at the same time. A shipyard period, for example, can bring together maintenance schedules, contractors and class and flag surveys alongside budgets, invoices, documentation, crew accommodation and logistics. Understanding how these areas connect means we can anticipate what needs to happen next and provide support with the wider operation in mind.
Silverlining Pursers’ support is not simply about completing tasks. It is about understanding the wider operation and providing support that works alongside the people onboard.
Why We Started Silverlining Pursers
The idea for Silverlining came from seeing how much responsibility sits with the senior crew. Captains, Chief Officers and other department heads are managing increasingly complex operations, while still being responsible for the people, guests and day-to-day running of the yacht.
Through their time onboard, Jess and Jake also saw that not every yacht needs the same level of Purser support. On some vessels, the operation may not warrant a full-time onboard Purser, even though the administrative and operational work still needs to be managed. On others, an onboard Purser may simply need another set of experienced hands during a busy season, owner's trip, major project or shipyard period.
Remote shoreside support provides the flexibility to adapt to those changes without compromising the level of experience behind it. Silverlining Pursers was created to become an extension of the onboard team - providing experienced support where it is needed, while allowing the crew onboard to remain focused on their primary responsibilities.
The aim is simple: to make the operation feel more manageable by taking care of the work behind the scenes with the same understanding and attention to detail that comes from having done it onboard.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a shoreside Purser do?
A shoreside Purser provides remote administrative and operational support to a yacht. Depending on the vessel's requirements, this can include crew administration, travel coordination, visas, compliance, payroll, accounts, financial budgeting and reporting, customs documentation, guest logistics and ongoing yacht administration. The role can be ongoing or adapted around a particular season, project or period of increased workload.
Can a yacht benefit from shoreside support if it already has a Purser onboard?
Absolutely. Shoreside support can complement an existing onboard Purser by providing additional capacity when workloads increase or particular projects require more attention.This might be during a busy season, an owner's trip, a shipyard period or simply when there is more administration than the onboard team has capacity to absorb.
What should a yacht look for when choosing a shoreside Purser?
Experience matters. A strong understanding of administration, accounts and compliance is valuable, but so is knowing how those responsibilities fit into the wider operation of a working yacht. Experience onboard provides that context and helps ensure shoreside support is practical, relevant and genuinely useful to the team receiving it.
Working with Silverlining Pursers
Every yacht operates differently, which is why our support is shaped around the vessel and its programme. Some clients work with Silverlining Pursers year-round, while others bring us in for a busy season, shipyard period or specific project. The level of support can adapt as the vessel's requirements change.
Whatever the requirement, our approach remains the same: practical, experienced support from people who understand exactly what life onboard demands.
If you would like to talk through your vessel and where additional support could be useful, Jess and Jake would be happy to have a conversation. Get in touch today.