A DAY
in the life of a... Marine Engineer Mark Herdman first discovered the superyacht industry while he was cruising around the Caribbean on a small 62ft sailing yacht. Mark had just spent the best part of three weeks in the San Blas Islands. Whilst in Colon Panama Mark met the crew of MY Tully, started chatting and found out the Chief Engineer was from Mark’s neighbouring village in the UK. After returning home, as a qualified engineer, Mark visited a crew agent in Antibes and joined a yacht where he met his future wife Manuela. For a change and to spend more time with his family he started Ensign Marine Engineering in 2009.
Mark
The day begins Now my day starts at 7am waking up the kids and going through the usual routine of trying to get them dressed and ready for the off, whilst keeping a firm grip on my sanity. My breakfast consists of a pint of freshly ground coffee, and a bowl of Coco Pops. The kids head off to school and then my colleague Mike arrives at about 8am. We check through the appointments for the day and double check we have everything in the van required for the full day’s adventure. I live not far from Lake St Cassien in the Var, its great here, there is clean air and not a yacht in sight!
Starting work
Full English
The jobs can be very diverse, from a broken tender to a full gearbox removal or installation. Regular maintenance contracts and general servicing all over the Riviera can fill out the days pretty well. During the day we also receive calls from yachts all over the world looking for advice. Being an ‘X’ Chief Engineer I have a vast amount of knowledge on all the major yacht systems, anything I don’t know I can find out very quickly from my many contacts and sources. Then it’s my favourite time of the day and off to lunch!
Lunch
Up and down the passerelles 126 | SUMMER 2014 | ONBOARD
If we are in Antibes or near enough, we normally head straight for the Hop Store. Not wanting to digest the menu for too long we usually opt for a dirty great big burger or a full English, washed down with a cold pint of shandy. If we’re elsewhere along the coast then we will always brave the Plat du Jour, but I know where I’d rather be! During lunch we also make a few calls to clients and make sure we have the afternoon’s appointments lined up and check the supplies.