Southampton, UK-QM2The English Channeler
Life at Sea
Maritime Adventures & Personal Transformation
Working on Ships: A Real Life Saver
Journey across the world's oceans, discovering new cultures, meeting incredible people, and experiencing the transformative power of life at sea. From the Caribbean to Alaska, from the Mediterranean to the Pacific - every voyage is a chapter in the story of personal growth.
⚓ A Real Life Saver and Life-Extension
Working on ships has been more than just a career - it's been a journey of self-discovery, adventure, and personal transformation across the seven seas.
🌊 Sea Change - 20,000 Leagues Into My Brain
"Those Who Do Not Move, Do Not Notice Their Chains"
Putting the He in Hero, all action/adventure films have the same moral: Perseverance pays. Of all the things I am not very content at doing, living on land is the most outstanding. I was an armchair sea dog, growing up on LAWNGUYLAND (L.I.) New York, dreaming of going places, but I never stepped foot even in a motor boat, never started and therefore I never failed.
"How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is quite clearly Ocean."
Let The Orinoco Flow - There is no doubt about it, the exhilarating state of mind that travel can evoke, when everything seems suddenly fresh, vivid, intensely interesting, and memorable.
My universe is made of stories, not atoms: land, air and sea travel and the power of now. If I wanted to be a multinational soul, I couldn't do it in cities where I taught English like New York or Los Angeles, Paris or Tokyo alone - I needed to get consecrated by sailing on the oceans. It's a wonderful thing to get rid of everything and everybody and just go some place where you don't know anyone; where, as Melville said, "God's one and only voice is Silence."
Despite the undoubted camaraderie, the laughs, the jollies and the sense of tribalism that attends any cruising project, the profession remains a notoriously lonely one. Friendships are intense but brief; when the gig ends or the curtain runs down, you can soon find yourself back home staring at your cell phone and wondering if any of it really happened. Memories are short, time moves on, fame is transitory.
Nothing fails like excess - 6 times around the world does build confidence - It's not real life but an alibi. It is like going out of your mind everyday - in order to come to your senses. It is a blessing.
The word "blessing" actually comes from the French blessure, which means "wound." So, a blessing always has that other side to it. My cruising obsession (this invisible wound) is like a private religion. It's where the bulk of my spirit is actually invested. Yet I have been divinely compensated. The wisdom of this excess is that We die to the present tense and are born again in future perfect - the heroes of our own lives.
"Freedom is what you do to what has been done to you" - Jean Paul Sartre
I would value-add that by saying, Freedom is what you do to what has been done to you by your own thoughts, words and actions.
Fleet of Adventures & Maritime Memories
🏖️ Venice Beach, California
A place noted for second chances - where I gave myself permission to LEAVE ASAP and recreate my identity.
🚤 Continuous Learning
Rule of thumb: if I'm not embarrassed enough by who I was last year, I'm probably not learning enough!
🏔️ Glacier Bay, Alaska
The Great Land - Alaska Action Plan. Leaving a ritual and habit of ordinary living, I embarked on an unplanned trip and became The Accidental Sailor.
🎯 FunEmployment
Success at sea is continued enthusiasm despite failure after failure. Instead of punching a clock, you head for the beach - in my case, the high seas.
⚓ 2012 Adventures
The journey continues - magnetized and full of charisma, always managing to stay on course without realizing it.
🏛️ Greek Isles 2009
Early maritime explorations - discovering the magic of Mediterranean cruising and ancient cultures.
🇩🇰 cOPENhagen
Wake up and smell opportunity - discovering Scandinavian culture and the beauty of Northern European ports.
🏝️ Fiji - Freedom Island
The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea. Freedom is not free but it is not for sale.
⚡ Full Speed Ahead
There are three sorts of people; those who are alive, those who are dead, and those who are at sea.
🏝️ An I For An Island
Living Well Is The Best Revenge - the sea is the place I house my soul and access my higher self.
🎨 Gauguin Inspiration
Freedom is what you do to what has been done to you by your own thoughts, words and actions.