On the 215th Day...he got a job!

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As everyone knows I have been laid off for the last 215 days but that came to an end on Friday. This is a god-send because I can finally get some sleep and really rest up! (LOL). All kidding aside, farming full-time has been great and I have really been pounding out 18 hour days for most of this year, but early in the week I saw a nice job come up near me and went for it. On Friday I was told I had the job and grabbed my life vest and jumped aboard.

Jumped aboard you may ask?

Well there is a deep harbor cargo port near me and so it takes tugboats to shove the freighters and tankers in and out of their ports, not to mention a pile of barges. Since tugs use the same engines as locomotives and we all know I have 10 years of experience on the railroad. The owners of these tug boats were looking to overhaul a newly acquired tug and do some extensive repairs on another so my machinist experience on the railroad will really help. So will my welding in the marine industry.

Its kind of a two part job...sea work when the port needs us, and then dock work in between. I was a bit nervous at working abroad ocean-going tugs, but we did a tanker job on Friday and it was not that bad. For around here, the pay is really, really good, and the work...while dangerous...is not super physical. Muscle around some lines and cables but that is about it. Most of the sea work is still engine related stuff.

Better yet, it is so close to home that I won't have to give up my sheep or anything, and the 20 minute ride is 1/3 of what my old job was. All in all it should be a pretty good job, except for maybe in January when it is 10 below and blowing 20 mph and ice is everywhere, but for $37.50 per hour, I'll put up with it. :)
 
Thats great, Congratulations.:thumb:
I was given a ride on a tug in Boston Harbor about 20 years ago. It was a thrill.
The economy has got to get better. My salary was cut in half and all bonuses eliminated about 8 months ago. Stressful times.
 
Congrats, Travis. Sounds like a good fit for your experience. :thumb: I just passed the six-month unemployment milestone myself a few days ago, but I know this won't be forever.
 
we had a xerox c/e that used to service the printer where i used to work. he was a bubblehead too, and was in the reserves while i was there. one day he was whining and crying about the god awful place they were sending him for his yearly 2 weeks. guam, asked i? nope. midway asked i?, nope. where asked i, was this place that was more despised in the navy than guam and midway? his answer was 3 words long. pearl harbor, hawaii. as a matter of fact yes, i did kick him a good one in the ankle. :thumb:
 
Congrats Travis! Sounds like a cool job. As a retired sailor, I kind of envy you.

I don't know if there is anything to be envious of, assuming the ship still comes in despite the hurricane today will be my first official day. Yep tugging in a freighter in a hurricane with 12 foot seas...perfect.

(They will probably cancel the docking I'm sure due to the heavy weather though).

Thanks everyone for the well wishes. I really think this job is a good match. Across the bay is the Maine Maritime Academy where Merchant Marines get their schooling, and while they are great to hire at this company...the kids never stick around as they are out to be engineers and captains aboard merchant vessels. No one blames them, but for me, I'm not going anywhere because of the farm so the longevity factor of a good worker close by is really appealing for my new employers (a family company).

The only time farming will come into play is if I head down to Boston a lot. (They have tugs there too) I don't see that happening too much at this point, but it might. These are ocean going tugs so they have full galleys (kitchens) and births (bunks) for an entire crew so conceivably I could spent 3 weeks on the water. These things have everything my house has except they are cleaner, and I will never have to mow the lawn!
 
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As a side note, one of the great things about technology is being able to use the smart buoys located off shore to constantly be updated as to what the weather is doing. I got my smart phone to automatically update me by text messages what the weather conditions are like near the buoy we pick the ships up at. This one updates every hour.

It doesn't look bad right now though...21 knot winds and 3 foot seas.

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=44033
 
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