Who’s at sea and where do you work?
Discussion
JuanCarlosFandango said:
I quite envy the people who have 4 weeks off too. I'd have to save up a bucket load of money and either quit my job or arrange some kind of a one off extended holiday to take a month off and be able to spend it doing stuff I enjoy without worrying about going broke.
Not offshore, but I did 4on 4off for a couple of years. Had to stop to avoid going broke! Spent far too much money in the 4 weeks off. 4 off is actually too much, you are ready to go back after 3, After 4 it starts getting hard to go back. GT03ROB said:
Not offshore, but I did 4on 4off for a couple of years. Had to stop to avoid going broke! Spent far too much money in the 4 weeks off. 4 off is actually too much, you are ready to go back after 3, After 4 it starts getting hard to go back.
It's funny you should say that - I'm from Hull originally - there was a phrase there 'the weekend millionaires'. Long gone given very few work in maritime there anymore. Get squared away, then on the beers for the week, then what was left into the family pot - often not enough.
Was cruise ships for almost a decade, now on Superyachts and have been for over 16 years . Not sure if it qualifies as 'at sea' though. 
Good fun, good people, good conditions and food, fairly limited travel with my current job, but that suits me. Plenty of opportunities for downtime. Loads of time at home with the family.
Not the job I dreamed of as a boy, but I feel far luckier than the majority out there.
Good fun, good people, good conditions and food, fairly limited travel with my current job, but that suits me. Plenty of opportunities for downtime. Loads of time at home with the family.
Not the job I dreamed of as a boy, but I feel far luckier than the majority out there.
Like LimaDelta, I’m also on yachts. 10 years on 145m+ boats. P&O and Cunard Cruise ships before that; Azura, Ventura, Aurora, Oriana, QM2.
Current job offers me a 2/2 rotation, single cabin and a decent salary although I was forced to take a bit of a cut recently, after my Russian boss was caught up in the sanctions; the new job is good though and the salary is already catching up.
Generally very happy at sea, the routine suits me.
Current job offers me a 2/2 rotation, single cabin and a decent salary although I was forced to take a bit of a cut recently, after my Russian boss was caught up in the sanctions; the new job is good though and the salary is already catching up.
Generally very happy at sea, the routine suits me.
Edited by ColdoRS on Monday 5th February 07:33
Finally a thread for us seafarers, well thought of sticklegs.
I currently work for an infamous west of Scotland ferry company that I’ll not actually say as they’ve just brought out a ‘social media ‘ policy , I’m one of their chief greasers, great terms and conditions but couldn’t run a bath.
Unlike the majority of guys here I’ve worked all over and don’t see me making it to retirement before I tell someone to F right off with another stupid idea .
What I’ve come to learn is there is an awful lot of seafarers in the Uk it’s an interesting lifestyle that folks ashore cannot get their head around.
Let’s see who else on here admits to being a seafarer
Iain
I currently work for an infamous west of Scotland ferry company that I’ll not actually say as they’ve just brought out a ‘social media ‘ policy , I’m one of their chief greasers, great terms and conditions but couldn’t run a bath.
Unlike the majority of guys here I’ve worked all over and don’t see me making it to retirement before I tell someone to F right off with another stupid idea .
What I’ve come to learn is there is an awful lot of seafarers in the Uk it’s an interesting lifestyle that folks ashore cannot get their head around.
Let’s see who else on here admits to being a seafarer
Iain
GT03ROB said:
Not offshore, but I did 4on 4off for a couple of years. Had to stop to avoid going broke! Spent far too much money in the 4 weeks off. 4 off is actually too much, you are ready to go back after 3, After 4 it starts getting hard to go back.
Grass is always greener I guess! I knew a couple of people who did that but they were usually single and young, and quite often working somewhere relatively exotic anyway - Brazil, Gulf etc, so they'd get their 4 weeks off and make an adventure of it. I suppose even that would get a bit old in the end, but it's hard to imagine when you're grinding away in an office for months on end looking forward to a long weekend in March and a couple of weeks in France for summer!JuanCarlosFandango said:
GT03ROB said:
Not offshore, but I did 4on 4off for a couple of years. Had to stop to avoid going broke! Spent far too much money in the 4 weeks off. 4 off is actually too much, you are ready to go back after 3, After 4 it starts getting hard to go back.
Grass is always greener I guess! I knew a couple of people who did that but they were usually single and young, and quite often working somewhere relatively exotic anyway - Brazil, Gulf etc, so they'd get their 4 weeks off and make an adventure of it. I suppose even that would get a bit old in the end, but it's hard to imagine when you're grinding away in an office for months on end looking forward to a long weekend in March and a couple of weeks in France for summer!Ex-seafarer I suppose but still have MGO and sea water running through my veins.
13 years Marine Engineering in the RN
10 years as Chief Engineer on superyachts (40-64m)
5 years as the owners engineering rep for two big classic yacht rebuild/refits.
Last 5 years in a kind of superintendent role looking after the boss’s eclectic fleet (yacht, converted tug, old car ferry, big tenders and RIB’s).
I’d love to post some pics/info of the projects but the confidentiality agreements regarding social media are comprehensive and a bit scary.
Still get to do a few trips/sea trails every year but much prefer being shore based and wouldn’t want to go back to sea full time. It’s a drop in salary but an improvement in lifestyle for me personally.
13 years Marine Engineering in the RN
10 years as Chief Engineer on superyachts (40-64m)
5 years as the owners engineering rep for two big classic yacht rebuild/refits.
Last 5 years in a kind of superintendent role looking after the boss’s eclectic fleet (yacht, converted tug, old car ferry, big tenders and RIB’s).
I’d love to post some pics/info of the projects but the confidentiality agreements regarding social media are comprehensive and a bit scary.
Still get to do a few trips/sea trails every year but much prefer being shore based and wouldn’t want to go back to sea full time. It’s a drop in salary but an improvement in lifestyle for me personally.
GT03ROB said:
I was probably exaggerating about going broke! I now take 13-15 weeks a year leave. The idea of working with 4-5 weeks a year is unimagineable now.
It's soul destroying. For a good few years in my 20s and 30s I'd work like a mad man for a few months then take a few weeks/months off for travel or some project. I loved it, but family and mortgage forced me into full time employment. Often wish I'd got my act together to get a better balance that way.swanny71 said:
Ex-seafarer I suppose but still have MGO and sea water running through my veins.
13 years Marine Engineering in the RN
10 years as Chief Engineer on superyachts (40-64m)
5 years as the owners engineering rep for two big classic yacht rebuild/refits.
Last 5 years in a kind of superintendent role looking after the boss’s eclectic fleet (yacht, converted tug, old car ferry, big tenders and RIB’s).
I’d love to post some pics/info of the projects but the confidentiality agreements regarding social media are comprehensive and a bit scary.
Still get to do a few trips/sea trails every year but much prefer being shore based and wouldn’t want to go back to sea full time. It’s a drop in salary but an improvement in lifestyle for me personally.
What do you do with an old car ferry?!13 years Marine Engineering in the RN
10 years as Chief Engineer on superyachts (40-64m)
5 years as the owners engineering rep for two big classic yacht rebuild/refits.
Last 5 years in a kind of superintendent role looking after the boss’s eclectic fleet (yacht, converted tug, old car ferry, big tenders and RIB’s).
I’d love to post some pics/info of the projects but the confidentiality agreements regarding social media are comprehensive and a bit scary.
Still get to do a few trips/sea trails every year but much prefer being shore based and wouldn’t want to go back to sea full time. It’s a drop in salary but an improvement in lifestyle for me personally.
nellystew said:
What do you do with an old car ferry?!
Transport the boss's cars from place to place? Cheaper than flying the Bentley to Monaco then onwards to the Caribbean. It's a strange lifestyle working away, I'm the son of a seafarer, until about the age of 10 Dad did 6 months on, 4 months off (roughly), in a time before internet. Not sure it did much for family life. One of my mates has just given up going offshore (rigs) now he has 2 kids - he looked at those who were 10 years older than he was and all were either divorced or otherwise dysfunctional when it came to relationships.
Condi said:
One of my mates has just given up going offshore (rigs) now he has 2 kids - he looked at those who were 10 years older than he was and all were either divorced or otherwise dysfunctional when it came to relationships.
The relationships that make it are incredibly strong.There are very few seafarers chugging along in So-So relationships. It’s a pretty good filter TBH.
This goes for friendships too.
Great thread. As someone who has spent nearly 30yrs behind the safety of a desk in IT (specialism in vehicle logistics for an OEM importer, so I deal with a lot of shipping issues) I have often contemplated if I should have taken a job which allowed me to see more of the world.
A friend’s younger brother was in the merchant navy, he’s retired before 50, which struck me as a good trade off for some probably harsh working conditions. Another couple of mates are serving or former submariners, that seems to require a particularly tough mentality. All of them like a drink when they get a run ashore!
A friend’s younger brother was in the merchant navy, he’s retired before 50, which struck me as a good trade off for some probably harsh working conditions. Another couple of mates are serving or former submariners, that seems to require a particularly tough mentality. All of them like a drink when they get a run ashore!
Stick Legs said:
Condi said:
One of my mates has just given up going offshore (rigs) now he has 2 kids - he looked at those who were 10 years older than he was and all were either divorced or otherwise dysfunctional when it came to relationships.
The relationships that make it are incredibly strong.There are very few seafarers chugging along in So-So relationships. It’s a pretty good filter TBH.
This goes for friendships too.
There are trade-offs for sure. When my children were pre-school age I spent more time with them than any father I know, which is great for creating those early bonds. The fact you are not limited to holidays and weekends mean you can do way more. A lot of the 9-5ers I know are really doing 7-7 and sometimes in the office (or at least on the phone) through weekends. They spend very little quality time with their families. When I'm home I'm home, and unless there is some disaster (not happened yet in 25 years) I'm not going to have to disturb my family time due to a problem at the office.
Of course the going away is hard, especially for children, but in my case it is all they have known and keeping in contact is so much easier these days. Would I rather not leave for weeks on end? Of course, but I am a pragmatist, and when you have spent many years building a career those golden handcuffs are tough to break.
I know plenty of guys who have maintained a good marriage while working at sea, and a few who ended up divorced while working ashore. Same with infidelity - people cheat working in the same office, you don't need to be 1000's of miles away. It's the person, not the situation. The separation is just an excuse.
I’m another ‘ex’.
I did my cadetship on dredgers & rose to the dizzy height of Ch.Off.
Then came ashore to survey tankers.
A brief two decades in the gas industry followed, then I worked ashore for a shipping company as an H&S nuisance.
Now I’m back doing the gas thing.
Arguably the most fun job was the H&S job, despite covid.
Interesting what was posted re the anti-social aspect of Wi-Fi.
My last lot were one of the few remaining companies to have bars on board.
Despite the shenanigans that go with allowing sailors to (openly) drink I was always a strong advocate to keep the bars open due to the positive effects on social interaction & mental health.
I did my cadetship on dredgers & rose to the dizzy height of Ch.Off.
Then came ashore to survey tankers.
A brief two decades in the gas industry followed, then I worked ashore for a shipping company as an H&S nuisance.
Now I’m back doing the gas thing.
Arguably the most fun job was the H&S job, despite covid.
Interesting what was posted re the anti-social aspect of Wi-Fi.
My last lot were one of the few remaining companies to have bars on board.
Despite the shenanigans that go with allowing sailors to (openly) drink I was always a strong advocate to keep the bars open due to the positive effects on social interaction & mental health.
I did six years at sea as Electro Technical Officer on LNG carriers, back in the good old days when there was an active social life in the bar/gym and you didn't need a permission slip from your mum to do any work. I loved it, tax free US$ or tax free GB£ went a very long way in Australia at the turn of the millennium. I travelled and saw the World, earnt loads of money, had loads of time off. I did 10 weeks on and 10 weeks off with flights back to Australia from wherever in the World I was.
I remember the day I helped the captain move all the hard liquor from the bonded store to the big green store due to a change in company policy, it was a very sad day. Not long after that that they started rationing us to 5 beers a day. Can you imagine!
Internet on board killed the craic literally overnight, it turned what was previously a reasonably rich social life into a lonely, depressing countdown until the day you paid off.
I came ashore in 2005 and have been in the industry ever since, still travel loads but I get to go home after work at the end of the day rather than back to my cabin to kill time until dinner then kill time again until bed.
I remember the day I helped the captain move all the hard liquor from the bonded store to the big green store due to a change in company policy, it was a very sad day. Not long after that that they started rationing us to 5 beers a day. Can you imagine!
Internet on board killed the craic literally overnight, it turned what was previously a reasonably rich social life into a lonely, depressing countdown until the day you paid off.
I came ashore in 2005 and have been in the industry ever since, still travel loads but I get to go home after work at the end of the day rather than back to my cabin to kill time until dinner then kill time again until bed.
Edited by paralla on Monday 29th April 13:42
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