I was wondering if anyone had any tips for starting out in the OSV racket down in the Gulf. I am looking to get out of the passenger vessel industry and get some sea time on larger vessels. I currently have a Master 150 GRT Near Coastal (which becomes a 200 GRT with a little sea time) and a Master 500 GRT Inland. I still need to get my AB. I was wondering if an AB Special would be good enough to get my foot in the door as a deckhand down there. My goal is to work my way up to a 1600 Master Near Coastal or Oceans eventually… I guess my question is what is a good path to follow to get there?
I believe an AB special is good enough for any limited tonnage vessel. You could also get a 100 ton master job on a 99 grt crew boat and work up from there.