Doug Kanter wrote:

Sounds like a pretty sloppy arrangement to me, but hey...I'm nuts about
details.

I suppose to a lubber it does sound "sloppy" but peace and quiet and
privacy are rare and precious moments on board working vessels and
crewmembers give each other considerable respect in that area.

Part of working at sea is the understanding that you have to assume a
great deal of personal responsibility for your own safety. A commercial
fishing vessel is not a yacht and there are no crewmembers assigned as
baby sitters.

One of the greatest joys of going to sea is the time, day or night, when
you can find a bit of deck away from the noise of the ship and the eyes
of your shipmates and simply be alone with the sea. Those of us who sail
for a living have an acute sense of the absolute fact that one false
step or misplaced handhold may be fatal. We know that it might be eight
hours before anyone knows we are missing and the ship may have traveled
150 miles in that time. That is not "sloppy" that is life at sea.


Rick