Hello all. Not sure how I found this forum, but it seems like a great source for Commercial info.
I’ve got 10 years experience in the private / yacht world. I HAD a 50t USCG NC ticket, but it didn’t mean anything to my last employer so he never allowed me to continue my education and keep my stuff current. (I managed a private estate during the winter and only had 3 months / year on the water on a 16 ton sail) Now I’m looking at getting back onto the water full time, and boy is this going to be a jagged pill to swallow.
I’m looking at a National Mate 50 GRT Ocean and could gun-deck a 100, but not sure my self respect will allow me to be a gunner. I know it’s disgustingly common in the yachting world at all but the highest levels.
I want to pile on hours and tonnage, and am open to ideas / suggestions. I’m even looking at the Water Taxi in Ft. Lauderdale, although I’m hoping I get on the Lake Michigan fast ferry. I don’t really want to get on a yacht as a mate although it comes with a paycheck. I don’t want “dock time”. I want to every day I’m on the water to count…
My end result would be to DPO or run on a Supply Vessel…I think…I’d rather be moving than sitting on a rig…I think…(not really interested in engineering)
I know it’s going to take time, and training. I’m 31 years old, and am looking at this as a career move long term commitment. (I’d like to retire before I die) I want the commercial schedule that I know a lot of guys enjoy and the paychecks aren’t bad looking either. I know what life aboard is like, and know I can handle it. I also like the hierarchy of the programs to be completely honest. My girl likes the idea of commercial schedules better than the schedules that coincide with service to the 1%. I know these kind of girls can be hard to come by. I think this life would lead us to live wherever we wanted, instead of being married to specific harbors / areas.
So please be brutally honest behind the veil of the interwebs…
If you are serious about making a career change and want to end up on a supply boat, then get your OS or AB and S.T.C.W. and start as a deckhand and learn how the job is done. There is little you can take with you based on the experience you mentioned that will help you out here. Being able to navigate a small vessel of 50 tons is different from managing a 300 plus foot vessel with 12,000 blls of mud and 750,000 gallons of water and half a million gallons of fuel with over 100 tons of deck cargo. All the while staying on top of your stability while the dispatcher can’t understand why a 6000 ton boat can’t hold 6000 tons of deck cargo. All the while being responsible for over a dozen souls under your command.
You can do it if you come out here and do it safely and work your way up from the bottom and earn the respect of your ship mates instead of just showing up with a license.
As a current yacht captain, do you really think a 16 ton sail boat is a yacht ? " I HAD a 50t USCG NC ticket, but it didn’t mean anything to my last employer so he never allowed me to continue my education and keep my stuff current. " Your license shouldn’t mean anything to your employer , but it should of meant everything to you. You have no one to blame that you let it lapse. At 31 your are not to old to grow and learn but starting from the bottom again will be hard. On my yacht the mate holds a master 500 GT, with a 50 ton you will be hard up to find a mates position on a real yacht. Commercial passenger vessels might be a good fit , water taxi or dinner boat. Depends where you live, Chicago has plenty of inspected vessels.
It sounds like your blaming your boss for your troubles. A 50T ticket won’t get you far. You’d be much better off just getting your OS papers and what not if you want to get on a Supply Vessel, or really any vessel for that matter. You don’t really have much transferable experience.
[QUOTE=benjammin;139007]My end result would be to DPO or run on a Supply Vessel…I think…I’d rather be moving than sitting on a rig…I think…[/QUOTE]
he THINKS?
this clown is another miserable example of a person from the ridiculous circus world of yachts who has no clue whatsoever about the real maritime industry and doesn’t even know what he is talking about…
I am sick to death of all these boobs…I swear to God that we are infested with them!
I worked for the owners of the Fort Lauderdale water taxi, and ya key word, worked, they don’t pay well, and they think they are god!!
Seriously a 50 ton will get you no where in the GOM or really any other place, unless you want to work on a harbor launch and then you will be “over qualified.” Put your ego aside and work on deck.
And for Gods sake if you do end up on deck, when the captain asks you to give him distances on the radio while docking, give him distances. Just the distances. Just. The. Distances.
I’m not sure if this really IS the right way for you to go.
You call it a “jagged pill to swallow.” You are concerned about your “self respect.” It sounds like you would be pretty averse to doing anything that you consider beneath you.
You also claim to know what the life is all about onboard but not sure how you could even begin to understand when all you have done is run around on a rich guy’s sailboat a few months a year (assumed it was his and part of your duties). The rest of the year, you were a caretaker on his estate? It’s a good thing your girlfriend is supportive… but there really is a difference between you working a lot of hours and not having much time to see her now… and being offshore and unavailable to her for a month at a time. Also, she will be able to live “wherever she wants”…you will be on a boat for 50% of the year. Maybe more if you can’t find even time.
I’m not saying the career path isn’t a good one, but it definitely has good and bad points. At 31, you are certainly young enough by a long shot to start out. But, you need to figure that the bottom is most likely the only place you can start. There are captains with current licenses of way more than 50 tons that start out on deck… so you are going to have to adjust your expectations accordingly.
Your experience is neither relevant nor transferrable to the OSV industry as it stands right now. As another poster mentioned… getting in at the bottom and working your way up is possible… but you will have to happily accept that fact and go into it with a good attitude and not expect it to come your way overnight. You will do much chipping and painting… before you see DP. The threads in the employment section give good advice about the whole knocking on doors process and what training you can take before you get down there to help your chances of landing a job.
Do you like peeling your scabs? If you do, being deck hand would be great as you get to chip rust away all day. Once you scrape a little bit–like peeling a scab–it becomes addicting! Feather it out, wipe it clean, throw a little mineral spirits on there, prime, and then paint! Just like Putting a little neosporin and a bandaid on there! I’m actually not being sarcastic, I have always enjoyed deck work like that. If you think you would as well maybe you should continue down this path (?).
this clown is another miserable example of a person from the ridiculous circus world of yachts who has no clue whatsoever about the real maritime industry and doesn’t even know what he is talking about…
I am sick to death of all these boobs…I swear to God that we are infested with them![/QUOTE]
You took the words out of my mind and applied your unique way with them. Yachties think they can just hop on to a working boat and assume command. News Flash you might get your starched khakis dirty!
But in all seriousness, you will have to start from the bottom and learn how to be a deckhand and work your way up the ladder.
Thanks for all who took time to reply. Even those who are sick of guys like me. I didn’t come here and post expecting an arms wide open response. Apparently, the more posts you have on this site, the harder it is to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.
Since my OP the thought is all consuming. I’ve read the job descriptions for AB’s and OS for some of the different offshore positions. One detailed ad for Chevron AB…I literally thought “jezzuz I’m an OS no matter what my ticket says”
I take responsibility for where I am and my circumstances. My last boss was truly a miserable person(as the majority of the rich are…regardless of what they lead you to believe), and I enjoyed the jerkoff job lottery as a man in his 20s would. Aspen winters, Maine summers and telling all the girls I was a captain. I did spend a year aboard a 1001 ton yacht with 18 full time crew and polished stainless in circles and wish someone would’ve shaken me into reality when I left to go to the sailing job.
I’m glad to know some think I could hawespipe my way still. Some days 31 feels old…
Couple quick Q’s and you can knock me around some more:
Guessing it is still worth getting my AB Special to build time as I scrape paint and build time?
is it worth getting my 50 mate too?
I met some guys who do shore side repairs for Canton Marine Towing on the Mississippi. They said they’re looking for OS and AB’s. Their HR dept confirmed this and is sending me an application. Anyone ever heard of them. Would some time as an OS on the river towing be good place to swallow my pride? ??
Thanks again. And please don’t pull any punches. This is exactly what I need.
