– THEME: The young seafarers –
SHIP’S OFFICER BY ACCIDENT The trip to Antarctica was a dream come true for young Amy Harding-Goodman when she studied marine biology and oceanography in Cape Town ten years ago. But the voyage across the Southern Ocean and life at sea was so fascinating that she decided to change course. Today she is 33, 2nd mate on the container ship VISTULA MAERSK and mentor to new cadets onboard.
By Troels Leth, SEA HEALTH & WELFARE
Amy Harding-Goodman was actually well on her way to a career as a researcher at university level, but her interest in becoming a ship’s officer came suddenly and unexpectedly when, as a 22-year-old student, she was a research assistant on a research vessel bound for Antarctica. Something happened to her when she got steel under her feet and saw first-hand how the ship’s crew live and work. ”It was my first time on a ship, and after a short time onboard I spent all of my
free time on the bridge. I asked a lot of questions to the officers and crew about their lives, about the ship and about working at sea. I became very fascinated by it and immediately loved the feeling of living and working on a ship. I loved that there was always something happening on board, even in the early hours of the morning,” says Amy Harding-Goodman.
”My first voyage as a cadet was to China, Singapore and Australia, and it was amazing. I was so excited. There I was on the bridge, continually moving, changing latitude and longitude – something I had dreamt about for the three years since I was on the ship to Antarctica,” says Amy Harding-Goodman.
HUMBLY TACKLING ALL THE TASKS STARTING FROM SCRATCH Amy Harding-Goodman returned to her studies but couldn’t forget the joy that her weeks on the ship brought her. She finished university with a master’s degree in Ocean & Atmospheric Science and decided to change careers because at the time, there were no permanent jobs for researchers onboard ships. ”There seemed no other way around it. I realised that I would have to change careers and start from scratch. I choose to go for my new dream.” She started navigation school and got a cadetship with Maersk at the age of 26. Amy Harding-Goodman loves life at sea and working with the other seafarers on board. Photo: private
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It’s not all sunshine and rainbows as a cadet, though. Amy Harding-Goodman also remembers how it was really hard work at first. She was used to being good at the books, but now she had to do many more practical tasks than she had ever done before in her life. ”I remember one day I was told to wash the decks of the entire accommodation of the ship. I remember laughing to myself and thinking about the paradox of having to wash the decks of a ship with a master’s degree. But I was 100 percent into it and humbly approached every task. When you really love something, no task or duty is too small or unworthy for you. I believe you must be willing to do anything to live your dream,” says Amy Harding-Goodman.
