The One with All the Contracts

I spent much of 2019 trying to re-evaluate my career at sea and life abroad.

On the one hand, I was tired of living out of my two suitcases, bouncing from contract to contract.

But on the other hand, I knew how special these opportunities I’d been given were, and as long as they were still options for me, I just couldn’t turn them down.

I decided to attempt to transition my way out through several partial contracts instead of full, half-year ones.

Maybe a slow ease back into the “real” world, whatever that may be, would be less painful than stopping cold turkey, I wrongly thought.

I did three fills (partial contracts) last year, two on the Mariner and one back on the Freedom.

In June while on the Freedom, I was contacted for an interview for a contract with the U.S. Antarctic Program.

I’d applied earlier in the year not really putting too much thought into it, but after receiving the interview offer I couldn’t see myself closing out the decade in any place else besides the Final Frontier.

My friends and team supported me in every way imaginable throughout the process.

From offering to swap and even cover shifts for me so I could run off the ship to find reliable Wi-Fi at a cafe (not the easiest in the Caribbean) for my interviews to being a source of constant encouragement, telling me it was going to happen before I even believed it myself.

Related: How I Got Paid to Live in Antarctica: FAQ About Working on the Ice

I’ve been so fortunate to have been around such amazing crew members and the industry’s response to Hurricane Dorian made me even prouder to work with these people.

The ship I was on assisted in evacuation efforts as well as packaging thousands of meals for those in the Bahamas whose entire lives had been destroyed.

The crew were told the extra efforts would be on a completely voluntary basis, yet night after night, I watched as hundreds of us crammed together after hours assembling lunch boxes even after a full day of work at sea.

I don’t know if or when I’ll be back, or if going back is even a possibility anymore, but I do know that I miss my tribe.

The sea and adventures always tempt me back, but it is always, always, always the people that make me ultimately agree to “just one more contract.”