Out of Arklow

I
do not remember when I
first sailed out of Arklow, but
I do remember when I almost drowned in the dock at
the age of three.
I was brought up in a fishing community, and in our street
of fourteen houses, every one of them had at least one
person in the family earning a living from the sea.
I first shipped out of Arklow as a boy aged thirteen on
local fishing boats. Later on I joined the Merchant Navy,
and over the years, I worked my way up from ordinary
seaman to master.
I served on eighty different boats and ships and was
master of thirty-seven of them. These included fi shing
vessels, coasters, tramps, cattle boats, passenger ships,
heavy-lift vessels, nuclear fuel carriers, tankers, VLCCs,
OBOs, container ships, dredgers, survey ships, yachts,
and patrol boats.
This is my story.