Please tell me, I would love to know
In that it's of your first posts on ScubaBoard, you might not know this, but quite often people start threads (or pile-on) on message boards just to beat a dead horse, sometimes it is to possibly further an agenda.
Former employees? Any number of heels speak poorly of their "
starter wives". Maybe similar to that high school job we all took at Mickey D's? As in, "Man... that was an
ugly job!"
The passion? Working on the Nekton (
or any liveaboard... even a cruise ship as a dive instructor) is a
meat grinder. Liveabaods are just not pleasant experiences for the crew.
A high percentage of crew we encounter are foreign nationals- who savor this job as a real plum.
Not so on the Nekton. Being
the only US Flagged liveaboard working, having it's main office within a mile of the largest PADI IDC program around (another one of the two monster PADI IDC's that just recently closed was also just down the street)- you have a ready supply of starry-eyed kids with ink-not-yet-dry OWSI Certificates skipping down the street to apply for their first big job... return on that IDC Investmemnt~ and so fast!
What could be better? As a newly minted PADI Instructor, there's a US corporation just down the street that is hiring me on this glamorous and very unique liveaboard. Count me in! I got myself a job in
the dive industry!
The reality of a beginning job in the dive industry quickly sets in.
What appears as and works out to be a marvelous opportunity for a Central American, a Caribbean Islander or other foreign national is a treasured job. For a nice fresh-faced American kid... the reality of life sets in pretty hard and fast and maybe the magic wasn't as they had imagined. All but
the motivated best just give it up and head home.
I understand stated anger over not getting paid, but I don't understand how that takes a year to sink in.
The noob crew members
who make their bones move-on to better dive industry jobs located in island paradises. The better crew members who feel they fit-in might
stick around and become part of the managerial staff. Those who find that these and similar entry level industry positions aren't for them usually figure it out and move back home to alternative pursuits.
I also understand that after many successful trips, you're going to have some sporadic mechanical issues. The ship has had two in the last few months that caused an understandable fuss! These infrequent reports should not be confused with a large volume of complaints from un-paid ex-employees. Two different topics, but the volume of the ex-employee pay complaints far outnumbered the specific complaint events by passengers.
I wouldn't concern myself too much with why people do it, the reasons float to the surface eventually.
Some passengers have had reason to report a week with incidents, but not many. Outward appearances? Some passengers do not undrestand that they are sailing on
an all metal boat where different types of metal cause cosmetically unappealing surface corrosion that looks icky. Hard to compare a
square steel & aluminum box serving as a diving machine to a fiberglass and Teak cabin cruiser. Some people do, but most don't understand the differences in the required construction and materials.
Being US Flagged, the US Coast Guard thinks it's okay.
I have opinions on the operation, but I wont express them here for turning this into another argument. I would rather know I people who have no stake in the company argue so passionatly one way or the other.
I believe in the lead sentence you offered quite the opinion! Kind of like calling your "starter wife",
ugly.
Why do people who have no stake in the company, such as I, argue? Because I want to see what is overall a historically good product recover from a stumble and continue to offer interesting (and very unique) options in the dive world. Other people's motivations seem to be to kill it forever. They have done a good job, so far. To what benefit ?
Passion, you ask ? The dictionary arguably doesn't support
the best use of that word here.
How about: "emotion" ?
e·mo·tion (
i-moshen)
An emotion is a mental and physiological state associated with a wide variety of feelings, thoughts, and behavior. Emotions are subjective experiences, or experienced from an individual point of view. Emotion is often associated with mood, temperament, personality, and disposition.
Here's my take on it: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/4684451-post34.html