Operational Perspective

Everglades - Bahamas - Everglades - Bahamas - Everglades - Baha. . .
16 - 17 hours, from and to.

Totohanan na yung dating sa e-mail mo lang nababasa, “due to the demanding nature of my work”, maganda pakingan pero hindi nakatutuwa.

Mas madali daw pa application na lang yung gamitin. Pero hindi ba’t mas satisfying kung alam, at naiintindihan mo kung saan galing yung binibigay ng application sayo?

“Kung willing ka matuto, meron din willing magturo.”

CompassError

Not a year ago, I was on the same lane; holding my Passport, SIRB, OEC, Letter of Guarantee, OK to Board, and tons of papers. Malungkot, pero mas lamang yung kaba at excitement! Para sa susunod na kabanata.

“Kay bilis ng mga oras, kay bilis ng panahon. Parang dati tayo pa, wala na ngayon!”

Another chapter, another story to tell!

Padayon!

Continue to aspire and believe in your dreams, be ready and committed, for you will never know when opportunity strikes.

Let me share a crucial travel tip for your future adventures: Always double-check your flight details before leaving your home country.

I departed the Philippines on August 5th with a mix of excitement and apprehension. Unexpectedly, I was upgraded to business class for the eight-hour and forty-five-minute flight. While enjoying the comfort, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss.

My itinerary involved four flights: Manila to Dubai, Dubai to Barcelona, Barcelona to Mexico City, and finally, Mexico City to Tapachula, my vessel's destination. The first three legs were uneventful, despite the long travel time.

Arriving in Tapachula, I was eager to meet the company representative and anticipate a hotel stay while awaiting my vessel assignment. To my dismay, no one was there to greet me. Contacting the company, I was stunned to learn my actual destination was Tampico, not Tapachula.

Overwhelmed and confused, I returned to the airport to find out about flights to Tampico. Unfortunately, there were no direct options, forcing me to return to Mexico City. With it being 10 PM, I had to endure an eleven-hour wait for the 9 AM flight the next morning.

I arrived in Mexico City at 11 AM the following day but faced another six-hour layover before my flight to Tampico. Finally landing in Tampico at 8 PM, I was relieved to be greeted by the company agent. Fortunately, the vessel's departure was delayed, allowing me two nights in a hotel before joining the vessel.

Midnight to Four

Ikaw lang ang gising (at kaduty mo kung meron), tapos tatanga-tanga ka?
Ay, hinde pwede yun.

I hope you all know your signed responsibility. 😄

Mula pagsampa hanggang dumating kapalitan mo - gising ka midnight para magtrabaho. Araw-araw. ARAW-ARAW. No buts, no ifs.

🇵🇭 Philippines ✈️ 🇸🇮 Slovenia ⛴️ 🇭🇷 Croatia ⛴️ 🇲🇪 Montenegro ⛴️ 🇹🇷 Turkey ⛴️ 🇧🇬 Bulgaria ⛴️ 🇪🇬 Egypt ⛴️ 🇸🇴 Somalia ⛴️ 🇰🇪 Kenya ⛴️ 🇦🇪 UAE ⛴️ 🇶🇦 Qatar ⛴️ 🇮🇳 India
14 ports, 11 countries ✅
From UTC +1 🕐 to UTC +8 🕗
3 months, 13 days, 00 hours, 00 minutes 🗓️
12, 691 nautical miles 📏

Wrapping up 2023 in 🇸🇬 Singapore.
Happy New Year everyone!
🎆🎇🎆🎇🎆🎇🎆🎇🎆🎇🎆🎇🎆🎇

In your first 3-5 seafaring years, you can still ignore them. After that, they make the top in your list of things to bring on board.

Choose your weapon wisely!

Signing your SEA (Seafarer's Employment Agreement) also means agreeing that:

You might miss your son's basketball game, your daughter's recognition day, or your wife's delivery of your next child;

You might miss your mother's birthday, your father's celebration party, your brother's proposal, or your sister's engagement;

You might miss relevant events - birthdays, Christmas, New Year;

And even passing of a loved one.

Signing your SEA means giving up your life at home.

Are you ready?

Your go-to buddy when everyone else isn’t there to help.

RTFM:
Read That Fu*ckin’ Manual