Whoo-whoo! I’m heading out early tomorrow morning for a job. I’ll be joining the ship in Corpus Christi and heading offshore for sea trials. It’s only temporary, and it’s only as an AB, but it’s a job. At sea!
It should be interesting. I googled the ship I’m going to. It’s a ro-ro (roll on- roll off). I’ve never worked on one of them before. It’s a MSC (Military Sealift Command) ship. Here’s a picture I found on google.
USNS Mendonca
I’ve tried to avoid working for MSC since they seem to never let you off (at least as an officer). I don’t really want to do a 4 month long hitch and then stay for another couple months since they can’t find a relief. Then they want you back after only a month off!
Still, I’ve been considering even going to work for them. I’d rather be at sea as a galley hand than an executive on the beach. I know it’s hard to explain, but I just love being out there.
I am starting to feel like I’ve pretty much wasted the last 30+ years of my life (and tens of thousands of dollars). I’ve worked so hard to pull myself up the hawsepipe to earn my license. For what?
I’m going to work as a deckhand. Same as I was doing when I first started out over 40 years ago. It’s depressing. I’m getting really discouraged. I thought earning the license would help me get a decent job. A good career. Just to get thrown out like last weeks garbage. It’s sad.
But at least I can still get out there and earn some sea time. Every little bit helps. I just hope I can hang on until things pick up again offshore.
Best of luck with this.
Thanks Joan. 🙂
Hope you’re having a good trip, Jill. Those LMSRs are pretty sweet. That’s a union gig. AMO and SIU? I’m pretty sure that SUP doesn’t have it. Great, short gigs. Show up, work some long hours, usually good cooks and bag a few grand for less than a weeks worth of work. Not to shabby, plus get them sea legs back, at least a little bit. Stay safe out there. 🙂
Thanks for the comments. Yes, it was a pretty sweet gig. We had good cooks, a good crew to work with. Captain, CM and bosun were pretty relaxed. I was really appreciating how nice it was to be on a real ship again. One where they treated you like the professional seafarer you were, instead of just ‘boat trash’ like they do in the offshore sector.
I was hoping it would last a little longer. They signed us off after only 6 days.
It’s SIU, I plan to hit up the union hall again tomorrow after work at Maersk. See if I can find something for after the Workboat Show in New Orleans. I’m still hoping to find some work as an officer. It feels terrible to waste that license I worked SO hard to get!
I hope you’ll keep checking out my blog. Please share it around. I’d appreciate it. 🙂
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