7 June 2011 Ever Thought About Becoming a Captian of the Ship?

Well we are back on the boat today. It seems appropriate to talk a little bit about the people to get us there and back safely. This is a skilled job, especially navigating through all the ice down in Antarctica.

Meet Ernest. Ernest Stelly III. He is a Merchant Marine Officer, 2nd Mate, unlimited. Need more explanation? Okay. That title means that he is certified to pilot any ship up to 1600 tons - Like the Gould, for example. 2nd mate means third in command. 1st mate is second in command after the captain. He is working on getting his Master's License and he will be qualified to pilot any size of ship. How he got to this spot is an interesting and unusual story and you get to hear it!

Ernest is from Beaumont, Texas and back in 1988 he began working for Edison Chouest Offshore as cook. Edison Chouest is the company that owns and runs the Laurence M. Gould and her sister ship, Nathaniel B. Palmer. These are the two research boats that the National Science Foundation leases for the science work down in Antarctica.

Ernest knew he wanted to work on a boat and managed to get a job as a cook for about 14 years. The captain on the boat he was a cook on was deployed to the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer and Ernest joined him to work on that boat in 1992. In 2003 he became a deck hand which he did for five years. What he really wanted to do was to become a captain which meant going back to school to take the necessary classes, but, like most people, he didn't have the luxury to go to school full time. So he went back to school part time, class by class, month by month he worked his way through the required classes.

Some of the classes necessary to take were electronic navigation, meteorology, celestial navigation, stability, ship construction, fire fighting, and first aid. Those all sound really interesting. It's not a quick process. There are a series of certification you can obtain through the Merchant Marines. Each time you complete a level, you must demonstrate your ability for 1 year before you can proceed to the next level up. Ernest has made his way almost to the top - he is currently working on Unlimited Master's License. Unlimited meaning he will be qualified to captain a ship of any size. He is a chief mate right now. I asked him roughly how many ship's captains are black. He knew of none, though there is a woman who captains the Palmer. She has a Captain Unlimited license.

Ernest wanted me to tell you all that if you like the water this is one of the only industries that in just a few years and working your way through the classes as you can fit them in while you work, you can actually reach a point where you get paid very well. Not to mention that you get to sail the oceans and see the world.