Life At Sea
John
Company: Holland America Line c/o Viking Recruitment
College: Warsash Maritime Academy- Southampton Solent University
Phase: 3rd Year Deck Cadet
Age: 21
Instead of going to university after my A-levels, I decided to take myself off to the South of France and started walking the dockside looking for work on super yachts.
Next thing I knew, I was flying off to Mexico and working as a Deckhand on a multi-million pound Motor Yacht for one of the Russia’s most affluent businessmen. I worked onboard for 18 months, spending time in Costa Rica, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and the Galapagos.
During this time I decided that I wanted to move forward and gain my commercial qualifications so after sending my CV out and a number of interviews, I commenced a Foundation Degree Deck Officer Cadetship with Holland America Line c/o Viking Recruitment.
My first phase at Warsash Maritime Academy was learning about Ship Stability, Celestial and Terrestrial Navigation to name a few, preparing me to go to sea. I then joined the ms Rotterdam, a cruise ship carrying 1400 passengers and 600 crewmembers from every corner of the globe, sailing around Alaska, Hawaii, the South Pacific and South America.
Onboard I was able to put all the knowledge gained at college into practice and expand on that knowledge, understudying Deck Officers, gaining the valuable experience required to become a competent Deck Officer myself, responsible for the safety of the ship and every passenger and crew member onboard.