The Experiences You Can Expect Whilst Working at Sea
Taking the opportunity to navigate across the worlds’ seas or even oceans is not one that presents itself to all of us so when the chance to sail, for example, across somewhere as beautiful as the Caribbean Sea, the occasion to join with others is somewhat difficult to turn down.
The climate is never predictable, and the conditions and demands are different from day to day. It really is a test of your adaptability and ability to work in a team, learning new skills at every turn of the clock.
On such enclosed spaces it is not even possible to brush your teeth without digging your elbow into a crew member’s ribs and every open space is a potential sleeping berth for a tired sailor.
Shipping jobs don’t come any more precarious than working to keep a 27ft yacht afloat on a vast expanse of water but the sense of community that the experience avails you of is without compare.
The enclosed space allows you to live in such close proximity that you remind yourself of how early civilizations must have learnt to depend on each other for the preparation of meals, security and entertainment.
Awareness of how each and every shift of tide or current can demand an engagingly new reaction from every crew member will remind you again about how deep the connection becomes between you and the enormous depth of sea or ocean beneath you.
On certain occasions there may be no opportunity to use a cell phone, request information from Instagram or Facebook or request your location on Google Maps.
The dependency on technology we have on dry land is that much more appreciated after spending months at sea with only a nautical chart and a rod and line to help take you from place to place and put food in your stomach.
If you didn’t think you could turn your body into an improved organism, then try practising holding your breath before trying to retrieve something laying on the harbour floor and you will find that you can adapt increasingly well to the situations’ demands. This applies to the tying, pulling and rowing that feature during a sailing trip too.
It is likely that upon embarking you may have overpacked. A pair of boat shoes to keep you upright and a change of clothes will surprisingly be as much as you need. In case of rain a lightweight jacket will suffice.
Our impact on the worlds’ waters is still redeemable with the tech that is at our disposal and our knowledge and appreciation of the oceans is limited down to the sheer effort it takes to map the highways, canyons, mountains, walls of coral and hierarchies that exist in the undersea kingdoms.
Fixing and repairing are skills that don’t always fall into the remit of the novice sailor but learning how to make use of a can of WD-40 and some duct tape will bring you surprising results.
All of the above has the effect of not relying on such pretensions as staying clean, well made-up and personal appearance. A life on board has its own set of demands and many of them will avail you of a healthy respect for humanity and the environment.
