Any Merchant Mariners out there puffing away?

[OlJawBone]

Hey ya'll. It has been a minute but I am back to smoking the pipe these days. I am about to start a new career as a Merchant Mariner, and I was just curious if anyone else was in that trade on the forums. I am in the USA, but I am generally interested to see if there are others out there regardless of nationality. It seems like like a lot of ships these days don't allow for smoking but it seems that some still do. Looking out at the open sea seems like a great place to enjoy a bowl of your favorite tobacco.

 

[Streeper541]

Once upon a time I did.

 

[orlandofurioso]

My father was when he was a very young man. Born in 1929 he finished maritime school just after the war and then took to sea.
There's a picture of him taken in Hamburg in total ruins; wearing a trenchcoat holding his bike .
Welcome back on board

 

[OlJawBone]

My father was when he was a very young man. Born in 1929 he finished maritime school just after the war and then took to sea.
There's a picture of him taken in Hamburg in total ruins; wearing a trenchcoat holding his bike .
Welcome back on board

that's awesome. would love to see the photo.

 

[OlJawBone]

Once upon a time I did.

What made you stop? Time away from home?

 

[orlandofurioso]

that's awesome. would love to see the photo.

He deceased last year; when visiting my mother I will try to retrieve it and post it on the forums.
He was very handsome and somewhat of a "dark horse" too . The picture always impressed and moved me so much. Atmosferic eerie and dark, a juvenile and yet a grown man with a somewhat sad smile , alone in a city in ruins.

 

[OlJawBone]

He deceased last year; when visiting my mother I will try to retrieve it and post it on the forums.
He was very handsome and somewhat of a "dark horse" too . The picture always impressed and moved me so much. Atmosferic eerie and dark, a juvenile and yet a grown man with a somewhat sad smile , alone in a city in ruins.

I'm sorry for your loss. He sounds like a cool guy. Rest in Power.

 

[Streeper541]

What made you stop? Time away from home?

After 10 years of sea duty in the military, three years in the reserve, then spending 3 years as a merchant mariner on an ICW tug... then I got the wild idea to become a OTR trucker and did that for a few years... Yeah, I got tired of being away from home all the time. The Lord had other plans for me anyway...

 

[OlJawBone]

After 10 years of sea duty in the military, three years in the reserve, then spending 3 years as a merchant mariner on an ICW tug... then I got the wild idea to become a OTR trucker and did that for a few years... Yeah, I got tired of being away from home all the time. The Lord had other plans for me anyway...

oh I didn't see the collar in your profile pic there. Thats quite the career arc you went through. I'm sure there were some good stories on the way.

 

[Streeper541]

I'm sure there were some good stories on the way.

Yes, I've assembled a few stories along the way, however, I'm more interested in hearing how your journey progresses.

 

[OlJawBone]

Yes, I've assembled a few stories along the way, however, I'm more interested in hearing how your journey progresses.

Well, I've been a professional music producer/dj for the last 15 years, and I am tired of the unreliability of the industry. Sometimes you are super flush and sometimes broke. No health care or other forms of insurance. I don't mind being away from home, mostly used to it due to so much touring. I found out about being a merchant mariner and the unions involved. The career seemed like it offered a lot of what I was looking for moving forward in life.

So I took all my STCW Basic Safety Training courses and Security Awareness and VPDSD. Physical and drug tests passed, I am currently waiting for my first MMC, then I plan on going down to the MFOW union hall and hopping on a ship as an entry-level Wiper in the engine room. This chapter of the story is just beginning but I am very excited about it, and have been soaking up all the information I can regarding the career/lifestyle.