Work at Sea: How to Get a Freighter Job
(Page 4 of 4)
May/June 1971
The Mother Earth News editors
Working on a ship, I found, is not at all like being in the navy. Ours was more of a boss-worker than an officer-enlisted man relationship. There were no "orders", "regulations", rank, uniforms or inspections. In warm weather most of the crew—including the captain—went without shirts and wore either shorts or cutoffs. There was practically no tension between officers and crew . . . in fact, we rarely saw the officers during working hours. After work, the seamen and officers treated each other as good friends.
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Another major difference between working on a freighter and being in the navy is the fact that you can always quit in the next port if you don't like the vessel. All you have to do is give the captain notice one week before you enter the seaport where you plan to leave ship.
By the way, if you have only limited time for your voyage, don't trust the shipping company's docking schedule. According to the timetable, my round trip was supposed to take six weeks . . . it actually took twice that long. Anything from bad weather to repairs to harbor strikes can and will delay a ship.
In case you're wondering . . . yes, the first day out nearly everyone gets at least a little seasick. It's a nasty feeling but even old salts have it after spending some time ashore. Most people get used to the ship's motion in a day or two and are okay for the rest of the voyage. I was never in a big storm but from what I've heard, they can be pretty miserable.
Nobody on our freighter even mentioned those supposedlyfamous initiation ceremonies held for people crossing the equator the first time. I don't think that ritual is observed on many other cargo ships either. It doesn't seem to fit the peaceful live-and-let-live atmosphere of a working vessel.
To me, that peaceful life is the best part of being at sea: Spending the whole day out in the sun, eating good food, getting plenty of sleep, never having to rush or run around and not having to cope with radio, television, newspapers or uptight people.
Instead, there is the sky and the sea. The horizon stretches for three-hundred-sixty-degrees and the sunrises and sunsets near the equator are fantastic. There are waves, porpoises, flying fish, seagulls and albatrosses but—two thousand miles from land—virtually no pollution. The stars shine so brightly they're like holes in the sky and their light is so strong that it actually reflects from the waves.
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