DECIDING TO COME HOME

Deciding to come home and leave my dream behind wasn't hard. I've already mentioned many of the things I found difficult to deal with.

My roommate was a pretty good guy. He was learning to drive the boat and did so often when in the open ocean. He was however a slob. I managed to get all of my clothes into the limited space provided but he used the shelves and floor for his. At times you could barely get to the sink and the door was always blocked with dirty clothes.

I may have mentioned the bathroom before but its worth another mention. It was shared by 4 crew members. I was tiny and the toilet rarely flushed correctly. All of us used a public toilet in another part of the boat. The shower was small and dirty. There were exposed pipes covered with corrosion, rust and mold. The cover for the vent fan was missing leaving exposed wiring about 6 inches from your head.

Remarks were make several times during the week when we attemped to go diving. No one said a word if you slept or stayed in your room when not on duty but diving seemed to be discouraged. This is very strange on a dive boat. I went diving anyway and assisted diver with finding creatures and finding their way back to the boat. Other crew members went diving my themselves and never went with customers. I just don't understand this philosophy.

One dive master was highly regarded by the captain but not at all liked by most of the crew. His dive briefings were a joke. He couldn't read or understand a compass at all and was unable to provide directions to divers. He was outstanding under water however and could find things and get around without any problems. He did dive with the guests a couple of times but was the only one to do so.

The new first mate got off the boat after only 2 days. He left when we stopped for repairs in Key West. The engineer that joined us in Belize left when I did. He said he was going to have a breakdown if he stayed another day. He said he was not properly trained and there were too many problems with the boat and its systems. I don't think its normal that 3 crew members would leave a boat within a week. This boat is a mess.

Other than the captain, cook and steward, the most senior person on the boat had been there about 6 months. They were in constant training mode with people like me that didn't stay long. They were all burned out and in need of a break.

The crew was only allowed 2 to 3 hours per week off the boat. All other live aboards dock on Friday afternoon and let most of the crew off until mid day on Saturday. This one didn't dock until late at night and no one is allowed to leave. The other boats hire local workers to clean the boat on Saturday and get it ready for the next cruise. This boat did not do that. The crew cleaned the boat and restocked it for the next cruise. The nearest restaurant (no lunch or dinner served on Saturday) or Internet cafe was at least a 1/2 hour away leaving you with an hour to call home, get email, get a haircut and do any personal business. I could not deal with that.