Merchant navy

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nathanlee

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I was going to post this to the lounge, but I decided it was sufficiently boaty to be posted here instead.

I need to get a job, basically. I can't bear the thought of going back to life in an office as a software developer. As much as I do enjoy that programming lark, I just don't have the inclination to spend all day, all year, sat at a desk doing the same thing. Eleven years has been long enough in that career.

So, what can I do? Well, for about 6 years I've given occasional thought to going to sea with the Merchant Navy. The trouble is, now I've looked in to it properly, I seem to be a bit stuffed. Not only do I have no qualifications, but I'm colour blind to boot, so I'd fail the medical (the shipping company sites I've looked at specifically state us freaks aren't allowed).

It's been the torment of my life; this stupid red/green deficiency. Since I was old enough to think I wanted to be a pilot, but no, nature didn't want me to fly. Now I want to do something else that I'd enjoy, and it seems to be stopping me again.

Can anybody think of any options?
 
Just wondering, if you did the basic STCW courses would you be able to apply for a job as a seaman on a merchant vessel? Or do they require a sight test re red / green as well?

You might be too old now (?) to apply for a short service commission in the Royal Navy (?).
But somehow I canna see Nathan in the RN! :)

How about doing your Yachtmasters, getting a commercial endorsement, and then applying for a job as a deckie on a big (over 24 m) yacht?
I am not too sure though how sticky they are about being colour blind - does the RYA allow use of a red / green filter for distinguishing buoys / lights at night?

You would have to do STCW as well, and I think there is a good probability that you would easily land a deckie job with just the STCW and your background / personality / outlook, as all of that is more important really.
And forget about the YM if they get pedantic about it.

Oh, and you do have to be under 30'ish (no worries there, just?), so I was told by the boss lady of a crewing agency when I was trying to get into that game 15 years ago (and I was too old then).
Reason? Apparently (some of) the Captains dont like having crew older than them.
Dye your hair blonde, that will help you to fit into the stereotype image of yacht crew! :)

OK, all of this is far removed from sailing on Kudu, but you could do it for a few years, see a fair bit of the world, meet lots of very nice (posh too?) totty, have room and board provided, probably pay no taxes, and have US$ 2,000+ a month going into your beer kitty (or Kudu II kitty).
And who knows where it could lead to?
 
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A very long lime ago a mates brother joined the merchant navy, as a steward. I think he fail a test, possibly eyesight of some kind, which stopped him being a deckhand.
Have you thought of some sort of sailing career, like crewing etc? I met a group of Brits near St Tropez who were repairing a large yacht. When I asked how they got into the work, they said it was a matter of being in the right place at the right time. No money but better than sitting in an office.
Allan
 
Bajansailor said:
Oh, and you do have to be under 30'ish (no worries there, just?), so I was told by the boss lady of a crewing agency when I was trying to get into that game 15 years ago (and I was too old then).
Reason? Apparently (some of) the Captains dont like having crew older than them.
Dye your hair blonde, that will help you to fit into the stereotype image of yacht crew! :)
Click to expand...

This sort of pretence would keep me well away from crewing on yachts. I'm a bloke, I like achieving stuff, not looking good.

You're right about the RN though. I don't like pop culture, fighting, or drinking till I puke, so I'd never last in that game. My dad has fond memories of his 22 years, but my mate hated every minute of his 4.

I should probably do my YM, but it's bloomin' expensive. It'd cost more than I paid for my boat to do the courses!

Still, I might turn up on the south coast this year and be touting for jobs. Actually, at the rate I'm going I'll be begging for spare change.... but at least I'll be near the water :p
 
Don't discount yacht crewing too hastily - there is huge demand out there for yacht crews.
I agree that it must be rather soul destroying to be a deckie on a Big White Motor Yacht and spending all day just shammying immaculate rails and varnish, but there are also a lot of other more unconventional yachts around that want crew who like to achieve stuff and need 'proper' work doing on them to keep everything going.

OK, you would have to do an STCW course, and I think they are 5 days (hence not cheap), but sometimes it is worth being a bit mercenary (and who knows, you might even like it if you get on a nice yacht!) :)

PS - Just thinking, if you do turn up on the south coast with Kudu this summer, and land a few maintenance jobs (as the chap above says, it is all about being in the right place at the right time, with a good dollop of luck thrown in) that the Owners are happy with, your reputation will spread by word of mouth, and you will probably find more work flooding in.
How much would you charge for an hour to do antifouling for instance?
Probably a lot less than it is worth for many Owners to do it themselves.
 
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Hi Nathan,

Have you looked into working on the rigs? I have no idea if colour blindness or lack of qualifications would be a show-stopper, but I believe that on the actual drilling side of things everyone starts on the drill floor and is promoted as their experience and aptitude allow.
It's tough, dangerous, physically demanding work, but the money is good to very good, and most companies work even time, in the North Sea normally 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off, and here in the Arabian Gulf 4 on, 4 off. Apparently some of the scandinavian companies have an even higher leave ratio!
I'm actually Merchant Navy, but currently work on the periphery of the oil exploration/production business, so can't really provide any useful pointers, but one good book I can recommend is "Don't tell Mum I work on the rigs, she thinks I'm a piano player in a w*orehouse". (I'm sure that I'd heard some of the anecdotes long before the book was written, but it gives a good insight into how the industry works, and the rig-pigs out here say it's pretty close to the truth)
 
ARO said:
You need a medical for jobs on yachts. Your colour blindness keeps you out of yacht jobs as it keeps you out of merchant navy jobs.
Click to expand...

Any chance you can point me to where it says that? I can't find any mention of it on the RYA website.

EDIT: Nevermind, I found it. http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga-mgn264.pdf and http://www.rya.org.uk/coursestraini...cialend/pages/commercialendorsements.aspx#std


I'm screwed really ain't I. I can't do anything but wash fecking dishing and polish rails. :(
 
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Nathan,

Are you sure that you want a job? A job is a terrible thing you know; I gave up employed work back in 2002 and I shall not be going there again.

Surely you have the perfect skill set for doing freelance work? I expect you're a very good web teccie (or something similar, but I recall from your early blog that you were/are an SEO specialist?) and there are businesses out there that would welcome skilled individuals doing freelance work home/boat based for whom they're not required to pay a King's ransom. I know that such demands exist because I've a software business and have recently recruited junior web teccies and it's neither easy nor cheap! My business is small (I've six developers) so I need utterly trustworthy people who will honestly deliver good value. By that I mean doing the tasks that are asked to a very high standard for a decent cost. I get so fed up with peoploe I see on the telly saying "I want a job" when what they should be saying is that "I want to deliver good value to a business in consideration of which I'll be financially rewarded". Okay you might think that's semantics but to me, the business owner who has to find the cash to pay the employees, I need to know that anybody I employ is going to create more value than they consume on the monthly payroll.

Maybe it's difficult to see the market from where you are based but you need to project your skills down to the demand regions, essentially Thames Valley area. But for God's sake don't just go to the recruitment agents as then you're back on the hamster wheel with everybody else.

Good luck with it.

Rob
 
ARO said:
You need a medical for jobs on yachts. Your colour blindness keeps you out of yacht jobs as it keeps you out of merchant navy jobs.
Click to expand...

This is only true if you want a commercial endorsement. As long as you don't want to be captain on a charter boat then colour blindness isn't really an issue.

Beware of superyachting though. On the face of it it looks the perfect job. But no one will ever understand how hard you actually work under conditions that the Merchant Navy would never tolerate.
 
Telework all the way.. The omnipresence of internet means there is no reason to go sit around any offices.

Even though the pure web dev/SEO cash has been eroded a bit, there's got to be some high margin niches left.
 
Bajansailor said:
Just wondering, if you did the basic STCW courses would you be able to apply for a job as a seaman on a merchant vessel? Or do they require a sight test re red / green as well?

You might be too old now (?) to apply for a short service commission in the Royal Navy (?).
But somehow I canna see Nathan in the RN! :)

How about doing your Yachtmasters, getting a commercial endorsement, and then applying for a job as a deckie on a big (over 24 m) yacht?
I am not too sure though how sticky they are about being colour blind - does the RYA allow use of a red / green filter for distinguishing buoys / lights at night?

You would have to do STCW as well, and I think there is a good probability that you would easily land a deckie job with just the STCW and your background / personality / outlook, as all of that is more important really.
And forget about the YM if they get pedantic about it.

Oh, and you do have to be under 30'ish (no worries there, just?), so I was told by the boss lady of a crewing agency when I was trying to get into that game 15 years ago (and I was too old then).
Reason? Apparently (some of) the Captains dont like having crew older than them.
Dye your hair blonde, that will help you to fit into the stereotype image of yacht crew! :)

OK, all of this is far removed from sailing on Kudu, but you could do it for a few years, see a fair bit of the world, meet lots of very nice (posh too?) totty, have room and board provided, probably pay no taxes, and have US$ 2,000+ a month going into your beer kitty (or Kudu II kitty).
And who knows where it could lead to?
Click to expand...

You need STCW 95, even if you work onboard as a pole dancer, its not just the seaman branch.

May open a few more avenues perhaps. ;)


STCW 95

BFF FIRE PREVENTION & FIRE FIGHTING (STCW 95 A-VI/1-2) 2½ Days
PSS PERSONAL SAFETY & SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES (STCW 95 A-VI/1-4) ½ Day
PST PERSONAL SURVIVAL TECHNIQUES (STCW 95 A-VI/1-1) 1 Day
EFA ELEMENTARY FIRST AID (STCW 95 A-VI/1-3) 1 Day
 
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Bajansailor said:
Just wondering, if you did the basic STCW courses would you be able to apply for a job as a seaman on a merchant vessel? Or do they require a sight test re red / green as well?
Click to expand...


Colour blindness only affects the deck officers. Plenty of other jobs on a passenger ship.
 
Bilgediver said:
Colour blindness only affects the deck officers. Plenty of other jobs on a passenger ship.
Click to expand...

Steward, should my tomato concassé be green?

BIG yachts are incredibly complex with lots of sophisticated systems (including IT) that frequently go wrong. What about training as one of the esoteric expensive techies who go aboard with a toolbox to fix stuff like watermakers/hydraulics/refrigeration/satcoms/aircon/2000hp engines/etc?

Someone I once met was a world expert of superyacht sterngear, and he was flown around to the world to hit things with his hammer.
 
robih said:
nathan,

are you sure that you want a job? A job is a terrible thing you know; i gave up employed work back in 2002 and i shall not be going there again.

Rob
Click to expand...




You lazy bugger! Its people like you who are bringing this country down!!!


On yer bike!!
 
Bilgediver said:
Colour blindness only affects the deck officers. Plenty of other jobs on a passenger ship.
Click to expand...

Yes, that would seem to make sense.

Also, the pdf on the MCA website you link to does not expressly say that colur blind = unfit. If you actually search through the ML5 form itself, the doctor will have to answer "yes" to question 5a. That means you will have to be examined by an MCA assessor. I don't read that as "you can't work in the Merchant Navy", but I would expect there to be some restriction as to the posts you could do.

You need to investigate further before giving up hope. :)
 
Long discussion of the limits imposed by colour blindness here. But basically, I think the conclusion was that it limits your options very severely in the commercial world. You can get RYA qualifications with it, but not commercial endorsement, if I remember rightly, though people's experience seemed to vary.

Shame as something like 1 in 10 blokes are colour blind to some degree. Women are much less likely to suffer from colour-blindness.
 
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