YankeeJockMaster Mariner 500GT, Merchant Navy
SDPO, Chief Mate, Writer, Father, Etc.
Born to a catholic mother, turned new hippy mother, wee-free Presbyterian father. They divorced and he converted to marry a Pakistani Muslim. My brother tried Buddhism, and I married a Jew and moved to the USA for a bit. Back in Scotland now, keeping it real.
I visited my friend in hospital on Monday. I couldn’t help but laugh and smile the moment I saw him. ‘It’s not good mate. I’m 37. Total heart failure’. ‘I know, but you’re alive, mate!’ We chatted as he passed in and out of consciousness. All of the machines that are helping the blood around […]
I don’t feel much like writing this morning. Yesterday, I found out my best friend (the sterile 2nd Engineer Atheist from last week’s ferry trip, who was my best man at my wedding, and my closest friend through high school), has suffered a massive heart attack. At 38 years old, he was unconvinced by the […]
I’ve returned home. After one month at sea, we proceeded directly to Ireland for a little road trip vacation. We had planned to stay with a friend, who sadly had to cancel at the last minute. We decided to go anyway, as the kids had been looking forward to it. Also, we badly needed to […]
I was living the dream. The wind was twenty knots, but it was perfectly aligned for my approach to the berth. The late evening sun was low enough in the sky to bring a golden glow to every surface and relax your skin with its blanket warmth. But not so low that its glare would […]
Eternal Father, strong to save, Whose arm hath bound the restless wave, Who bids the mighty ocean deep, It’s own appointed limits keep; O hear us when we cry to Thee For those in peril on the sea. The Navy Hymn, William Whitting, 1860. Some went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants […]
Sex Re-Education Campaigns, Pride, Harm, Norms and Sailors. It’s hard to know where the time goes. I’ve been home for 1.5 weeks. Five days were spent doing ‘ultra-parenting’, taking the kids away from the wife to compensate her for my absence. This week I’ve been enjoying the greatly enhanced energy that comes with a combination […]
We rushed up to Aberdeen and demobilised the diving and mooring spread in record time. I’m glad we did because we’ve been sat here for eleven days off-hire, with another few days to go before it looks like we’ll sail. The Shetland job is cancelled now, so it looks like we’ll be ‘rock-bagging’ out of […]
Promotor Fidei, Punk. It has been one week since the anointing of King Charles III. King Charles the sausage-fingered. Sadly, William did not turn up in an Apache helicopter seeking trial by combat in a challenge to the throne, as I had hoped he might. The changing of robes, crowns and carriages was televised with […]
I’m back at sea. Well, I’m in Whitby now, demobilising from the aforementioned dive job in Bridlington Bay. No, we didn’t kill the Whale that washed ashore there this week. I think he committed suicide due to the cost of living crisis. I joined the ship offshore by Crew Transfer Vessel. After a 30-minute handover […]
I promised at least one reader of this stack a little bit of career advice a while ago. As I’ve spent the past week teaching five aspiring skippers their MCA Boat Master License this week, now seems like an appropriate time. I also had to drive the breadth of Scotland each morning and evening to […]