SCF Tanker
Caught in the fading evening sun, this small sailboat glides past a large tanker unloading petroleum across the bay in South Portland at one of the tank farms. It seems like there's never a day goes by that there's not one or more vessels docked over there. My friend Peter's dad was a barge captain and pushed them up and down the East coast from Maine to Florida. I think I remember that he worked for Mobil. He was gone sometimes months at a time, enough to put some serious stress on relationships back home. I thought of him as sort of that cowboy of the open road, just on water. Like the cross-country big rig driver, it's a different life style that's for sure. Every day and night, you're someplace else, not at home. I'm always a bit envious when I see the captain of one of the huge cruise ships we have traveled on, 'dressed to a T' in his or her dress whites walking about the ship. What a life, I think. Traveling the oceans of the world, captaining a magnificent vessel and doing what you love.
Then, I'm jolted back to reality.
And I remember.
It's work!
* if it's fun, it ain't work!
Romanticizing a place or profession is not always wise; reality usual steps in. I enjoy the juxtaposition of the two very different size boats/ships.
ReplyDeleteI do believe work can be fun, but the grass is frequently greener on the other side.
ReplyDeleteI think we all do a little romanticizing every now and then. it'd good for the soul I think.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up on the Mississippi River, I saw lots, and lots of barges going up and down the river all summer long. I used to think much the same thing about those barge people floating along the river for days on end. But, you are right, that was hard work. All you had to do was watch what they had to go through every time they came to dam and you would understand just how hard it was.
ReplyDeleteAh to be the Captain but then again are we not the captains of our own ship? Maybe folly but still fun and games--no?
ReplyDeleteMB
Not far from here, one of those captains killed 32 persons with his incompetence. I am quite sure he is a sad exception, but I tend to like more cargo ships. Great picture, by the way!
ReplyDeleteIts great to have a job that allows one travel the seas.
ReplyDeleteI remember my first summer job, having a supervisor who'd been a cargo captain for years on end. He said the first words you learned in foreign ports were curse words.
ReplyDeleteFunny how everything can become work! Love your shot!
ReplyDeleteLovely evening glow. I used to dream of sailing the world on a cargo ship.
ReplyDeleteBetter to captain that little sailboat, I 'm thinking. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'd rather be on the sailboat. Although I am by no means a sailor!
ReplyDeleteyeah, i'd not like to be 'home on the sea' for long.
ReplyDeleteDon't know that I would want to sail close to that big ship while it's moving.
ReplyDeleteI am too much of a homebody to sail away for months at a time.
ReplyDeleteI do like the colours in this photo.
ReplyDeleteQuite a contrast shown between those vessels. And while it is fun to romanticize about life on the sea on large or small ships,myounare so right...it is work and I much prefer my non-working and retired lifestyle now.
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