So
here we are almost 3 years later and so much has changed; and then
again so much hasn't. You see last time I scrawled on this, the tiles
of my online stall, my life had just started looking up, well at
least horizontal and the there was imminent change stirring in the
conditioned air of my office cubicle.
I
was sitting in my 5th status meeting, regarding the status
of a previous meeting, updating my Facebook status, then all of a
sudden my subconscious dichotomies met and merged into one
semi-coherent thought - “Why would I choose this version of my
life?” and with that I chose to escape my current reality. But to
what, how and where was still very much open to internal
deliberation.
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Dichotomies |
So
in true mid level management procedural flare, I made a action plan.
A list of desired outcomes based purely on the needs of my client,
me.
No more desks.
(Seriously fuck desk, they are ¾ completed coffins)
Outdoors is where it is
at. (I need the sun on my face to have it in my heart)
Must use body (It's not
gonna be in functional shape for much longer)
Travel would be nice
(Intagram is a poor substitute for the real thing)
Must make money. (I am
poor and owe many institutions much moola)
Then
as I stared out my window doing some post internal-meeting blue sky
thinking, I saw a little sailboat skip along in the bay and my brain
did that thing it does when it draws four as a conclusion.
|
Tatum's basically the spokes person for my brain. |
Got
on the phone and called a friend of mine, who had been working in the
yachting industry for years and he bestowed upon me all his wisdom.
With all this new found knowledge I proceeded to quit my job the next
day, when asked to what end my reply garnered much bemused, and I
imagine deserved, shock.
A
Kalahari boykie, born and raised, never set foot on a boat, was
leaving his cushy desk job to become a sailor. Based in a decision he
had made yesterday. But then again sometimes all you need to dig
yourself out of a hole is a toothpick and the desire to breathe free.
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Expert sailors compared to me |
So
I sold my worldly possessions and did a few courses, begged a crusty
sailor for a job and hitched a ride across the Atlantic on a 48 foot
catamaran and 54 days later I set foot on the shores of America; and
was promptly asked to leave.*
But
once again my very good friend, mentioned previously, saved my bacon.
Through many favors being called in, creative canoodling and much
grease of the elbow, I managed to procure a Job and start my yachting
career.
Which
was, for the first few months, what we call "yardwork". Here I learned
many new skills, mostly involving noxious chemicals, large moving
parts, explosions and what a real “hard day at the office” looked
like.
|
Not like this. |
But
I digress. The reason I started writing this was to tabulate the cost
benefit of a life at sea for the uninitiated. A list of what was lost
and what was gained and if in fact I grew as a person. Which is
similar to reality checks, underwritten by the morally bankrupt.
Which brings me to my first point on the agenda.
PRO:
See the world – CON: Miss your friends and family
I've
seen large parts of the globe, so much more than I would have ever
seen from my office chair. The states, Bahamas, Carribean, Europe –
a list of countries I never even imagined I would have seen, nor
would ever have been able to afford to see.
I have also missed so
many weddings, birthdays, funerals, Sunday family get togethers and
life in general that it's almost criminal. Seeing the world and
falling of the planet are really much more similar than you would
think.
PRO:
Meet lot's of new people – CON: Meet lot's of new people
You
will meet a never ending stream of crazy, cool, well worth it to get
the know people. Mazillions of fresh faces, new stories and Facebook
friends and then you never see them again. It's emotionally
exhausting, plus I just got use to my old friends. Dammit I'm old.
PRO:
Make lots of money – CON: Have zero time to spend it
Although
this sounds like a great savings plan; and it is, I cannot emphasize
how much like a prison camp a super yacht can feel like after three
months of back to back charters. Them Dollars tho.
PRO:
Your crew become like family – CON: Bunk beds and lacking personal
bubbles
You
will learn to love your fellow crew members and grow ever closely
knit, as you share your lives together and it can be quite a
rewarding experience.
You will also share limited space, sleep on top
of each other and what ever personal detail you missed through the
walls will inevitably find it's way to you down the stew grapevine.
It can get very involved, if you like your own space, you are shit
out of luck.
PRO:
You work in paradise – CON: Some crew are confined to quarters
If
you work on deck you get to take the guest skiing, diving, swimming
and race around paradise on million dollar tenders, while working on
a bitching farmers tan.
On the other hand the stews are mostly
ironing, cleaning and vacuuming inside looking at the big blue from
the waterline through tiny portholes, for weeks. Weeks.
PRO:
Yachtie life-style - CON: #Yachtielife
Sure you get room,
board, 5star chef grub, occasional days off in paradise, but mostly you are playing janitor and maid on someone's ocean caravan.
As
oppose to lies on Instasham. They might be holding an umbrella drink
on a beach in that selfie today but I assure you its a shammy mop or toilet brush
for weeks to follow. #lookatallthefunimhaving
|
Let me just take a selfie #yachtielie |
PRO:
You work in Never Never Land - CON: Everyone else have actual lives
You
job is centered around creating a opulent work of fiction, where no
one grows old and everyone gets what they desire. A fairytale world
that goes on forever and ever. Let's just say if you don't like the real world there is always one place you can go.
Thing is, life happens outside of this
bubble and having a foot in both worlds is near impossible.
Relationships strain and break, all your friends are getting married
and posting baby pictures and you stay a lost boy on an island
somewhere. Let's just say natural progression can get severely stunted.
|
Second star on the left and straight on till morning. |
So
lots of conflicting data to deal with there. Looks like a draw.
Oh
but wait, I also now have zero debt, a bitching motorcycle and all
the new toys to finally record some of the songs I've been writing
for years. I have also passed my Yachmaster*, grown a bitchin beard
and have been on vacation for two months.
I'm telling you I might be
more than a decade late but 18 year old me would be well impressed.
So am I sad I quit my desk job? Ah bugger it #yachtielife**
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*this all happened over
the course of a few months and the stories of this journey are many
and filled with wonder, resentment, truth, justice and the American
way. But I think that is a story for another time.
**That's
a 200 ton yacht license. All those on the high seas beware!
***I
will never use this term without huge loads of sarcasm under most
circumstances but I might just mean it in this case.