A few weeks ago I wrote of a former crew mate getting cancer, the ‘C’ word. Quite a few people read the blog and I have spoken with several of them who were apparently glad of seeing a topic so often avoided, brought into the open. For that matter I felt compelled to continue the story of my former crew mate and his cancer.
Well, he got back to his home country of South Africa and started the treatment which included the removal of one of his lungs. Apparently, shortly afterwards while convalescing, he died. Given that he had just had a lung removed and was obviously not exactly healthy, his death was not expected. Indeed that day was said to have been his best following the major surgery. No matter how well or not that you know somone, when they die of an illness at the same age as you are, you just cannot help feeling a little more mortal than you did the day before.
Just one week before he was taken ill, my crewmate came round and took some underwater photos of my 2 year old daughter in the pool. Those pictures will always remind us of our yachting friend because photography, particularly underwater photography, was this fellow’s passion.
So there it is, a pretty straightforward and sad ending to my initial blog of a few weeks ago. Back then there was no reason to tell everyone about a former shipmate having cancer and I even felt it a mite indulgent in writing it, but many people seemed interested. But now, perhaps strangely, there is a point, a lesson even, to be learned and it is probably not what you think. It is very simple however and almost pertinent given that we are at the start of Ft Lauderdale’s hiring season and a new group of people are coming to town looking to set sail as yacht crew.
The point is this. If you are new to the industry, ignore the prejudice, gossip and nonesense you hear or read about the business and expect to make some of the best friends you will ever have aboard a yacht. Even the ones you don’t like that much will have shared some unique experiences with you and that is the way a bond develops. This is the nature of the sea; it is the greatest leveller. When you get home you will find that very few people will be able to relate to some of the situations yachties find themselves in.
Secondly get a good camera. No, a really good camera. The snapshots of the world that you may gaze at for an hour, snatch in a moment or even glimpse through a porthole, just may be all your family will have to remember of your stories.