Being Married to a Sea Captain

Captain Scott at the helm

Many of you know that Scott got his Captain's License last year.  Due to the fact that Scott was a) incredibly persistant b) a hard worker and c) in the right place at the right time, he got a job with Island Windjammers - a wonderful company that runs week long cruises in the Grenadines on the beautiful tall ship, Diamant.  This, my friends, is a good thing.  Not only does he make a nice chunk of change for our cruising kitty, but he gets to do something he absolutely loves and gets paid for it - we should all be so lucky.  As long as he is can fly to where the boat is, he has a job.  This turn of events has ensured that we can continue to cruise and live aboard our boat for as long as we want.

There is, of course, a catch.  As with anything, there is a yin to this yang.  What this also means is that Scott must leave us for as many as eight weeks at a time for his rotation.  While having a reliable income has made our life at sea a little nicer, it is not easy to be apart for such a long stretch of time (although we will see him on weekends when we are in Grenada).  When Scott was offered this position on the boat we spent a long time discussing the pros and cons of such a situation.   Should he take the position (more time away, reliable schedule, ability to budget)?  Or remain a relief captain (inconsistent schedule, less time, sporadic work/pay)?  We chose to accept the regular position because of the stability and the opportunity to work with and for a great company.  Despite the weeks he'll be away from us, we'll still be together full time for the remaining 40-something weeks of the year which is still way more "together time" than your average family.  Not to mention we'll be fully funded cruisers.  These things make this whole situation a win.  While I  remain positive that this is what is best for our family, the selfish side of me knows I will miss him terribly while he is away.  Scott leaves next week for a four week rotation and even though I have said "good bye" to him many times before, it's never easy to do.  Such is the life of the Captain's wife, I suppose.

“What is that feeling when you're driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? - it's the too-huge world vaulting us, and it's good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.” 

- Jack Kerouac, On the Road