One of my subcontractors wrote the following paragraph, in a leadership and management training manual that my company is delivering for a client: “Most people have experienced working under a bad leader, a poor communicator, or perhaps even an abusive or bullying supervisor. However, few people take the time to honestly reflect on how they […]
For anyone who is interested, I started the new year by moving into a new office. My little limited company now has 6 B2B clients, and 3 others who soon will be clients. I’m offering technical authorship, marine surveying, and training services to maritime businesses. One of these business owners is a distant relative of […]
The chaos in my life is subsiding this week. My friend and I have completed all of the joinery in my bathroom project, and 99% of the plumbing. My best friend has successfully completed his heart transplant operation and is currently sleeping it off. I finished the ECDIS navigation training course ahead of time. I’ve […]
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 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 […]
Whitby is an amazing place. Its scars and memories are on display. Its heroes remain alive. We sailed past Lindisfarne to get here, but this is Northumberland. The kingdom of Vikings, where peoples are known by their distinct identities, changing tribal monicker as you progress down the coast. Geordies, Sand-dancers, Makems, Smoggies, Monkey-Hangers and Ringers. […]
Davosians, Distribution, Demons and Duty. Greetings Yankee-Jockers. It’s been a while. We ended up so busy, I can’t believe it. Multiple surveys, and five days on the trot, working 15 hour days. A busy shipping area, with lots of narrow channels, fog, and ultra-large container ships barrelling down on my little aluminium ship. And five […]
Hello, to all. I trust you’re all back into the full swing of things after your Christmas and New Year break? Thank you for your great comments and questions on Substack. I’ve been having a great time so far in 2023. I’m working out of Westerschelde, dodging weather and traffic. When your ship is working […]
Busy weeks appear to be the only kind I have anymore, so I’ll try to refrain from that description in future. But this one was a doozy. I completed my two weeks of City & Guilds training plumbing, passing my assessment ‘with distinction,’ after chewing through an ungodly amount of copper pipe to get my […]
We work long days at sea, and Sunday is no exception. 12-hour shifts are my current minimum each day, with occasional overtime required. We got a hurried order to leave port this morning, while I was halfway through doing an inventory of the medical locker in my cabin. Despite the warm sunshine, it was quite […]