What it’s actually like working at sea—three ladies share their fascinating tales
9 min read
The dive medic
Medic and cave diver Christine Grosart
(Picture credit score: Christine Grosart)
Christine Grosart, 40, a paramedic, cave-diving teacher and a volunteer diver for Ghost Fishing UK explains what it is prefer to be a girl working at sea. She lives in Somerset together with her companion Wealthy, and splits her time between ambulance work and her position as a medic on dive vessels within the North Sea.
My mom is a former scuba diver and had me snorkelling from the age of 4. She was by no means allowed to completely pursue her goals, so she needed me to comply with mine. When you have got a guardian like that there are not any obstacles—solely your individual.
I turned concerned in cave diving, then reinvented myself as an ambulance technician and later as a paramedic. As a dive medic, all the pieces has come collectively and I adore it. For six weeks at a time, I could be the one lady working at sea amongst 120 males, dwelling on a ship within the North Sea. On the seabed, divers work from a bell to repair gasoline pipes. My job is to maintain everybody on the vessel wholesome. This job retains me on the floor. You possibly can journey again from the moon sooner than the seabed, and if I needed to spend 4 days in a decompression chamber, the vessel could be with no medic.
“I could be the one lady working at sea amongst 120 males”
My day-to-day work is just like that of a GP. Folks may work away for six months at a time, and so they want primary medical care and dentistry. For the dive vessel work, I’m flown to the place the ship is docked, both Aberdeen, Denmark or Rotterdam, and we make our approach out to sea. After I work on the rigs, I’m flown out on a chopper—one thing I’ll by no means become bored with.
Watching the dawn from the again deck each morning, I feel how fortunate I’m to see dolphins and orcas. Nevertheless it’s the individuals who make it particular—we’re all out on the ocean collectively and the camaraderie is fantastic. They’re so expert at what they do, from working the engine room to fixing my very own little emergencies. As soon as my hairdryer broke earlier than a shift, 10 minutes later a burly Russian electrician had it nearly as good as new.
Group spirit and camaraderie make engaged on the ocean very particular
(Picture credit score: Christine Grosart)
This trade was as soon as seen as extraordinarily harmful, however because the Piper Alpha explosion in 1988, when 167 males misplaced their lives, all the pieces has modified. It’s so regulated now, there’s very hardly ever a serious drama.
Saying that, issues can go fallacious in a heartbeat, so the trade tends to not tolerate idiots, and alcohol isn’t allowed wherever offshore.
I’ve solely ever seen 4 ladies on board at one time, often stewards or in admin. I’ve by no means seen a feminine engineer, crane driver or scaffolder. And, so far as I do know, there are not any ladies divers. I’d love to provide some faculty talks and inform the women there are alternatives for a girl working at sea.
My companion Wealthy is a diving teacher, and his work takes him all around the world. We’re like passing ships, however we make up for it after we’re not working at sea. We don’t have children in order that makes it simpler, although I do know ladies who do make it work. I’ve by no means been within the rat race and I don’t wish to be. As long as there’s diving within the North Sea, I feel I’ll be in a job.
The fisherwoman
Annie Gilbert has been fishing for 17 years
(Picture credit score: Annie Gilbert)
Annie Gilbert, 57, fishes together with her husband Ian, 60, on their boat, the Completely satisfied Hooker II, off the coast of Poole. They dwell in Wareham, Dorset.
Fishing on the open sea is hard, but it surely’s a job I wouldn’t change for the world. And the truth that I share it with my husband Ian makes it much more particular.
My love of the ocean comes from my dad, who at all times had a ship. For seven years, I labored with Ian in his {hardware} store. He was a eager angler and sometimes spoke about turning his passion right into a full-time career.
We had been simply workmates, however we spent many hours chatting about our relationship issues. Then, someday, he supplied to cook dinner me a meal to cheer me up and we all of the sudden realised we had emotions for each other.
Just a few weeks later, we had been an merchandise and, because it was a intercalary year, I requested him to marry me. We had our marriage ceremony on a seaside in Mauritius and we’ve been fishing collectively on our boat, the Completely satisfied Hooker, for 17 years ever since.
“Our commute is unbeatable”
We fish off the coast of Poole and our commute is unbeatable. On our approach out to sea, we would spot kingfishers within the river, seals within the harbour and pods of dolphins swimming alongside the boat.
No two days are ever the identical. The climate could be calm and peaceable, or there could possibly be howling winds and crashing waves. We by no means know what we’re going to come across, or even when we’re going to earn a wage that day.
However we’re nonetheless as excited by the anticipation of catching a giant fish as we had been after we started. And when a fishmonger or restaurant raves about our scrumptious fish, we’re thrilled.
Throughout summer time, our alarm is ready for 4am and we can be out fishing till the early night. We work each single day that we are able to—don’t imagine the tales about fishermen not engaged on Sundays.
Annie and Ian Gilbert plan to work on the ocean into their 70s
(Picture credit score: Annie Gilbert)
It may be a harmful job—Ian has damaged a number of ribs and we’ve each needed to pull hooks out of our our bodies. Then there’s the concern of getting to crash via 10ft waves if you’re nonetheless 15 miles from the shore.
For 10 months of the yr, we’ll rod and line for bass, and our catches fluctuate massively. On a great day, we are able to herald 150kg. We fish sustainably and, for the 2 months we’re not allowed to fish for bass, we do a little bit of inshore netting for Dover sole, plaice, turbot and brill.
I’d undoubtedly encourage extra ladies to get into the trade but it surely’s not straightforward, as crew areas are restricted. It’s additionally bodily very powerful for a girl working at sea. After I began, I wasn’t all that robust, however after 17 years of heavy lifting I’m in all probability as robust as most males.
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There’s a superstition that it’s unfortunate to have a girl on a fishing boat, however that tends to be on the trawlers. I get quite a lot of help and have many fishermen buddies on social media—in actual fact they at all times again me up when Ian and I are having banter.
I tweet because the Completely satisfied Hooker, he’s Captain Grumpy, and we publish footage of our adventures working at sea after we can.
We completely love what we do. It’s going to by no means make us wealthy however the high quality of life we’ve got is extra essential to us. We plan to work collectively on the ocean till effectively into our 70s—however maybe we’ll give ourselves a couple of days off as we become old!
The RNLI volunteer
RNLI volunteer Joanne Wibberley
(Picture credit score: D Ormiston)
Joanne Wibberley, 56, is a volunteer operations supervisor at Kinghorn Lifeboat Station, close to Edinburgh, the place she lives together with her husband, Paul.
I grew up in Clitheroe, Lancashire, nowhere close to the ocean. However in 1999, my husband Paul, who had been within the service provider navy, bought a job as a pilot within the Firth of Forth, and we moved with our two little boys to Kinghorn, a lovely seaside resort reverse Edinburgh.
In the future, strolling our canine Boomer, I noticed the village lifeboat station and all of the sudden thought, “I’d like to do this.” However a voice in my head informed me I wasn’t adequate. So I rushed residence and informed Paul to enroll, whereas I took on fundraising.
On the time, I noticed that as the conventional lady’s position, becoming a member of in household enjoyable days as Paul climbed the ranks to be lifeboat helm. Then, throughout a recruitment drive, two feminine crew members urged me to hitch and I’ve by no means appeared again.
“We’ve rescued youngsters from rocks, taken injured seamen off ships and introduced ashore very poorly individuals”
I realized that, no matter your background, when you’ve got the power and willpower, the RNLI will educate you all the pieces about working at sea, from boat dealing with and navigation to first help and sea survival. That was in 2004 and I went on to grow to be lifeboat helm, serving greater than 15 years earlier than my retirement from energetic responsibility.
Our sons, Thomas and Henry, each joined at 17, and at one time the whole household was a part of the Kinghorn crew.
To start with, the hazard by no means dawned on me. The primary time I went out on our inflatable, it was exhilarating. You’re out in nature, travelling at speeds of as much as 36 knots, which is greater than 40mph. However when it’s tough, raining, darkish and also you don’t know the place you’re going, it may be very scary.
Joanne, husband Paul and sons Thomas and Henry are all proud to help the RNLI
(Picture credit score: Joanne Wibberley)
As soon as, we had been referred to as out in horrible circumstances to a report of a physique within the water. The “physique” was in actual fact a lobster cage and we turned for shore, solely to be confronted with a wave the scale of a home. One other time a person had been knocked overboard after being hit on the pinnacle by his yacht increase. He swam to shore, however his boat stored motoring, so I needed to bounce from the lifeboat onto the yacht so we might tow it residence.
We’ve rescued youngsters from rocks, taken injured seamen off ships and introduced ashore very poorly individuals. We’ve additionally rescued many canine within the hope their house owners don’t go into the water—canine can survive significantly better than people. In worst-case situations, we might not have been capable of save a life, however we are able to return the physique to their household.
In 2019, crews from the 238 lifeboat stations within the UK and Eire saved 374 lives. The RNLI is a charity—it’s such essential work and we’re so grateful to those that help us.
After I reached 55, I stepped ashore to be volunteer operations supervisor. Lately, I make sure that my crew and admin workers are correctly skilled and supported. I run classes in faculties on water security and assist our wonderful fundraisers.
Of the 35 crew at Kinghorn, 10 are ladies, with day jobs as academics, attorneys and even a canine groomer. We love what we do working at sea—in any case, how many individuals can say that they save lives as a passion?
- To help the charity and assist save lives, go to RNLI.org/GoDonate (opens in new tab)
