If a young man walks up to me one day and tell me that he is contemplating a career as a seaman, there will be many, many things that I shall tell him. First of all, there are neither great adventures nor any more new lands to discover, but there will be experiences that will stay in his heart forever. The modern sailor has to go to school first, so that he can learn how to use a spanner instead of a sword, the GPS instead of a sextant. He has to start off his sea career as a cadet, the lowest form of life onboard. He might have to wash the toilets and scrub the floors, and cleaning will become one of the most important skills in his sea life. I shall tell him about the orientation games onboard. About new cadets have to stand at the forward station wearing only an underwear, shivering in the cold wind, with the instruction to look out for the imaginary equator line that will run across the sea. About new cadets have to be shaved bald as an
initiation ceremony for crossing the equator for the first time. About being asked to get the keys for starting the main engine when there is no such thing. About being presented with fake electricity and water bills for his lodging onboard. And most of all, about the enthusiasm of the older hands at ensuring that the new kid gets drunk and loses his virginity at the first port of call. This is only one type of seamen as far as shore people are concerned, and it is a stigma that we all have to carry with us. But in the real life, there are only a few seamen who actually do so.
I shall tell him to forget the earthly pleasures, for there will not be much. Instead, have to work in the engine room at 48 degree C. About cleaning the sludge tanks, the bilges, the scavenge spaces of the engine and, to top of it, the sewage plant. He must not go into the air-conditioned control room when he's covered in sweat. And when he does go in for breaks, I shall tell him to first make a cup of coffee for all the engineers, before making one for himself. Swallow salt tablets every day, so that he does not dehydrate and drop senseless while working. Take good care of his health and his hygiene. He'll have to wash his own clothes because mommy will not be there. Sleep whenever he can, for when the alarms sound in the middle of the night, he'll have to jump up and run down to the engine room and be ready for action immediately. And that the alarm sounds very often. He will meet some good mentors who will guide him in his work and in life and will meet some seniors who might scream and throw spanners at him for making mistakes. Sometimes things can be so hard that he'll feel like crying, and that he can only cry in his cabin. He will make many close friends onboard. Some last for just that ship, some lifetime. He will learn to trust his friend with his life and the friend will give him the same compliment in return. If he makes it through the first ship safely, the moment of signing off from the first ship will be the sweetest moments of his life.
About the joy of having two months of vacation to spend with loved ones. About the joy of having money to spend saved from the toils at sea. Time will fly, and soon it will be time for him to sign on another ship. And then I shall tell him about the fear and worry as the leave finishes and the money start to run out. The concern that the company does not call him back for another contract, and yet, I shall also tell him about the heavy sinking feeling when the phone rings and it's time for him to pack his suitcase. The crying girlfriend and the worrying mother. The empty bank account and the sea time that he needs to clock. It is a career of rapid rise in rank and earnings. That he will have plenty of savings compared to his peers ashore. But I shall also tell him about the sacrifices that come with it. I shall tell him about being onboard during the festive seasons, and special occasions. I shall tell him of being far away at sea during emergencies at home, and the pain of being at sea during the birth of his first child. He will earn a lot of dollars but at the end of the month, every dollar he will count, will count with the tears of his eyes.
Then I shall tell him about the mid life crisis at sea. About feeling lost whenever he comes back ashore, of the worries that he'll have to sail until he's old and knowing nothing except the life onboard. I shall tell him about coming home and seeing his child has grown and the feeling when his child call him "uncle". About the decision to stop sailing and the doubts about starting work ashore. Being lost in office politics, the harsh realities of shore life and job insecurity, about survival not of the most able but the most suave. And I shall tell him about missing the simplicities at sea, missing sea breeze, missing the circular unimpeded horizon, missing the excitement of the tossing seas during a storm. About missing the tranquil beauty of waters so clam that the sky and the sea all merge into one. I shall tell him that once we get salt in between our ears, it takes a long duration of shore life to dilute it. And lastly, I shall tell him that it is not the best career finance wise or in terms of reputation. But it is a decent way for a man to make a living and he will become a decent and honest man until the day he comes back ashore. Then, I will ask him to think more than twice before joining as a seafarer and at last I will give him all my blessings and will wish him
“ BON VOYAGE ”
american eagle tanker
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