Welcome to my section that describes life in the Merchant Navy.

Its for all of you out there who do not know what it is like. Admittedly i only have a narrow field to comment on, that being supply ships in the north sea, but although there are different types of ship in the merchant navy and they trade on different routes, in different countries and with different types of cargo, they are all operated in a similar manor!

When i started my training its all a bit scary being away from home for the first time, as unless you live outside one of the three or four nautical colleges in the UK then you would be staying on campus, until later in the cadetship when you are allowed to move offsite into whatever accomodation you would prefer.

They tell you all you need to know about going away to sea and equip you with all the necessary training and qualifications to sail on your first ship during your first college phase, and before you know it you are at sea as a seaman for the first time!

Unfortunately my first ever week at sea put me on a 3,000 ton ship in the middle of a Force 12 storm, which is probably why i was sea sick, but to my own credit i have NEVER been sea sick since, not in nearly 5 years at sea!

Training has been mostly fun throughout though, you meet some genuinely nice people who you will never forget, and some people who you rather would! Its a lot harder to get things done when you are a cadet, as you either havent done them before, or nobody is willing to show you how to do something so you can learn it for youirself.

All in all though its a really good experience, and although i never made it to 2nd officer myself, i would imagine the pride in it would be something else when you can stand on the bridge by yourself, on your very own watch, knowing full well that you are at the helm of a multi-million pound ship, and that it is completely under your control!

I may have chosen a different career now, as im not happy in the merchant navy anymore, not as much as i used to be anyway, but if i could go back and do it all again then i would, and i would highly recommend it to anyone!