In a word-Tough...
You have to be mentally and physically tough to survive out at ocean. Being down from land for extended ages of time( occasionally upto 3 months if your boat is at anchor) can drive anyone zany.
You interact with the same 20 – 25 people everyday. There is extremely little in the way of recreational installations. You are principally on call24/7. So indeed if you are out- duty you could be called anytime if needed. This is especially true in case of time critical jobs- I have worked nearly non stop for 72 hours at times.
The important touted appeal of “ trip ” is enough much an vision- although you do visit fantastic places, any time spent travelling or sightseeing comes at a heavy price as you will have to pay for it from your rest hours( this is because when the boat is in Port the usual routine is 6 on/ 6 out, this means you work a 6 hour shift and your off 6 hours. It generally takes a couple of hours to get to any sightseer position from the boat, so what we generally do is get someone to cover for us, this way you get 12 hours out; but also you do 12 hours to make up for it in return so principally you are over atleast 18 hours with no guarantee of rest after).
And the worst is yet to come. Staying down from family and musketeers for such a long time is heart- wrenching. Believe me, when it's time to say farewell to your favored bones again it's a rotten feeling for sure. That being said, there are a many benefits too, Responsibility this career inculcates a tremendous sense of responsibility and leadership. Adventure storms, cyclones, ice bergs, not to mention rovers, the ocean has horizonless surprises in store for sure.
Nature-pure and unmixed when was the last time you saw a sky so full of stars that you could not count them? It's each in a days work for us salty ocean tykes ! Cheer
