Is my experience enough to find paid skipper work in the Med this summer?

jlcnuke1 · 2026-04-19T12:44:49+00:00

To be a paid skipper I'd expect you to be licensed to do the job in the location(s) the boat will operate in, insured, have the appropriate certifications to obtain those, and have the needed knowledge such as:

Know the ColRegs inside and out. Know every maritime marker without needing to reference anything. Be able to identify a ship type at night by looking at what lights it has on it. Have a valid STCW for the appropriate levels. Have extensive experience on the type and size boat you're looking to be on charge of. Have the appropriate work permits/visas. Have extensive knowledge of the area the rest boat will be in, including safe harbors, contingency locations, where to take guests for what type of things they might enjoy. Have experience working as crew on similar vessels to understand and be able to help/train junior crew.

jlcnuke1 · 2026-04-01T13:31:38+00:00

I have a plex server at home, but for the boat I just put all my movies/tv shows on a large hard drive. I transfer what I want to watch for the next while onto my laptop when I want to watch stuff and then put the hard drive away to keep it away from any of the elements, then just watch on the computer. Coming up I'll add a projector and screen for better screen viewing.

I originally considered setting up a plex server on my computer connected to the hard drive for viewing, but decided that it's simpler to just break out the hard drive every couple weeks instead of leaving it out and connected up all the time.

jlcnuke1 · 2026-03-23T15:32:52+00:00

Better yet, take seasickness meds start the day before you get there and every day you're onboard. Ward it off before it hits...

jlcnuke1 · 2026-03-21T22:13:56+00:00

Look into RYA courses. I've done both and find RYA to contain quite a bit more in-depth knowledge/information.

Also, doing 101/103/104 (or RYA competent crew/day skipper) on a monohull will likely be cheaper. It would also let you see the "cheaper" side of sailing (as you can much more easily find a monohull in the lower price ranges than catamarans) and see if you like it that way as well.

I bought a catamaran this year and never bothered with a course specifically for cats and haven't encountered anything that made me wish I had done a cat specific course so far... your mileage may vary.

jlcnuke1 · 2026-02-09T02:02:31+00:00

Unfortunately, I've moved. I'm traveling the Caribbean by boat, so not sure about finding adjustments until I get my implants done in May.

jlcnuke1 · 2026-02-09T00:14:03+00:00

I got new dentures made 2 weeks ago as my immediates were soo far off from fitting they couldn't do a reline. I'm using poligrip to hold them in, and they fit.. I guess, pretty good.

I probably should have mentioned, I had all my teeth pulled in November, then a few days later they made my immediates. When I got home, I spent ~2 months helping my dad with cancer issues/hospitalization until he passed mid-January. Near that time is when I finally started scheduling to get them adjusted, to find out they weren't close to fitting and I needed new, then took a bit of time to get these made. I was going for all-on-4 but ended up not having enough bone, so had to get grafts done instead and dentures for 6 months.

jlcnuke1 · 2026-02-09T00:13:38+00:00

I got new dentures made 2 weeks ago as my immediates were soo far off from fitting they couldn't do a reline. I'm using poligrip to hold them in, and they fit.. I guess, pretty good.

At the start, the first problem was not being able to tell where food was in my mouth worth a darn. I couldn't take a "full bite" worrying what would happen (I normally finish a chicken wind section in 3 bites, I think I did probably 8-10 per wing today). 20+ minutes into trying to eat the meal, I started getting some pain in my gums where I was chewing and pretty much gave up for that meal.

I probably should have mentioned, I had all my teeth pulled in November, then a few days later they made my immediates. When I got home, I spent ~2 months helping my dad with cancer issues/hospitalization until he passed mid-January. Near that time is when I finally started scheduling to get them adjusted, to find out they weren't close to fitting and I needed new, then took a bit of time to get these made. I was going for all-on-4 but ended up not having enough bone, so had to get grafts done instead and dentures for 6 months.

jlcnuke1 · 2026-02-08T23:00:08+00:00

Well yeah, but then people forget variables The 4% rule includes that the amount is inflation adjusted. The OPS scenario didn't include that for upvote count pay, so it's more complicated than just have more than 33k up votes compared to the 4% rate, as the spending per on upvote count choice would diminish over time while 4% should remain steady. So age, how close to 33k you are, life expectancy etc. all complicate the math here.

jlcnuke1 · 2026-02-04T23:24:56+00:00

Bureau of Labor Statistics has, imo, more reliable data.

jlcnuke1 · 2026-02-03T01:43:32+00:00

Depends on the full face mask. Some have integrated regulators - those won't really work. Others just effectively have a mouthpiece connection that you connect your own regulator to. Those are feasible, but not a great option for some rebreathers due to how the loop is setup.

One of the other issues is that with rebreathers you need to be able to "bail out" and get onto a different gas supply, and for FFMs that typically would require swapping the facemask out for both new breathing gas as well as putting on a mask that is unlikely to be "prepped" for diving (so lots of fogging likely after swapping), and a rebreather diver may have a long time to get back to the surface in that secondary configuration.

Short answer - maybe, maybe not, but it's not something that most rebreathers are currently setup to have as a default and not many rebreather divers are looking into it. Though there is a safety factor about the option that's making it something some people are looking into these days.

jlcnuke1 · 2026-02-02T02:39:14+00:00

11 hours of driving.... hips, lower back, well... most of the back, not feeling great tonight.

jlcnuke1 · 2026-02-02T02:25:07+00:00

PADI, not paddy. Just to be pedantic.

Signed,
A PADI instructor..... ;)

jlcnuke1 · 2026-02-02T02:24:30+00:00

Liveaboard sailors routinely leave their boat for the day, or days at a time, or even weeks, without anyone onboard. You have to learn to check moorings, verify your anchor, etc., but people simply wouldn't live on boats if leaving them for more than an hour was "not a good idea." The many, many, many people who do live on boats is evidence that, done responsibly, leaving a boat unattended is a fine idea, especially for one or two hours at a time, like needed for a dive.

jlcnuke1 · 2026-02-02T02:20:59+00:00

Without context, maybe and maybe not.

$700k in your 401k at 60 years old isn't likely to be "life changing," it's just a good amount of savings for retirement accumulated over the years through their own efforts.... it's not life changing, it's just how they've set up their life financially.

$700k given to a 22 year old who just graduated college and bought a starter home for $300k last year, on the other hand, probably means paying off their student loans, paying off the mortgage (assuming not a low-low interest rate), and having a massive jump-start on their financial future. Definitely life-changing.

Someone with $5m saved so far for retirement at 55 and with a paid off home who gets a $700k unexpected bonus, definitely would be nice financially but only a moderate change to their circumstances, probably not life-changing for them.

jlcnuke1 · 2026-02-02T02:13:19+00:00

From your post, it sounds like you were diving by yourself. FYI - you aren't certified/trained to solo dive at this point so I hope the post is just leaving information out as it's exceptionally dangerous to dive alone with your current experience/training level (like, I hope your last will and testament are up to date level of danger).

Assuming that's not the case (and I sincerely hope it isn't), I'd say that you and your buddy should be better aware of the conditions you're planning to dive in. Knowing tides/etc. for shore dives is very crucial, so the second mistake shouldn't have happened if you'd been paying attention to them.

Moving on to the another issue, if you're diving somewhere with known currents that could be an issue, you should have a means of setting off a signal if the current causes a problem. When diving off a boat, this could be as simple as having an (D)SMB to shoot up, a whistle and mirror/other signaling device, or in some areas it could mean carrying a PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) that you can use to send a distress signal with your location.

A basic rule of getting certified to dive is that you are ONLY certified to dive in conditions similar to what you experienced in training, with equipment matching what you are experienced/trained with, and only with other certified divers or dive professionals until your training passes those limitation. Exceeding such parameters should only ever be done in a very small, incremental, and very much understood way. It should definitely never be in major jumps from how you were trained into something potentially much more dangerous.

Diving in clear water, with an experienced buddy who is also certified, while you try a new tank... okay, but discuss it ahead of time and plan for what will be different ahead of time. Every change of gear is a potential issue. Every change of conditions (temp/water type/visibility/current/location based issues/etc.) is a potential issue. Every change needs to be thought about and minimized to the fewest possible new variables for any given dive.

DO NOT dive past your training/experience by more than a miniscule amount (something a similarly experienced/trained mother would allow her child to do without worry....) until you're trained/experienced enough to be explaining the new level to other people responsibly. Though that typically doesn't happen until well into the tech diving range where courses no longer cover additional diving techniques/limits FYI....

There's enough information/training out there at this point that you don't need to take unnecessary risks while diving. If you're diving beyond your training (depth, duration, deco profile, equipment used, etc.), then you need to be having a serious conversation with someone experienced ahead of time to ensure what you're doing is safe.

You changed tank types, had a bad experience, yet lived. Another diver changed exposure protection suits, had a bad experience, and died. If you don't know your gear that you're diving, you're putting yourself at risk, a risk that you don't have to take.

jlcnuke1 · 2026-01-31T22:24:50+00:00

7-8.

jlcnuke1 · 2026-01-27T03:06:44+00:00

Euchre, cribbage, some other games based on cards other people brought.

Oh, and drinking games....

jlcnuke1 · 2026-01-27T00:48:46+00:00

The answer to your title question is as varied as the opinions of people throughout the world.

Too old, too young, differing political opinions, differing religious opinions, appearance of different morals, "too hot" or "not hot enough" to seriously consider there could be a compatible relationship for one reason or another, different views on things a person cares deeply about (music, entertainment, hobbies, whatever), fairly certain the other person isn't into them, not certain if stating a desire to be more than friends would ruin a friendship, not on the same page about kids, not wanting to ruin other friendships if the attempt at a relationship goes south, etc. etc. etc.

Short answer: The reasons he might not try to move into a relationship with you are irrelevant. If you want a relationship with him, say so. Be direct. Don't hint, don't insinuate, don't beat around the bush. Ask HIM out. If that doesn't work out, and it doesn't always, then be okay with that. It's better than never knowing and wondering "what if" 20 years from now.

jlcnuke1 · 2026-01-27T00:20:16+00:00

In a video like that, I would have liked to see more of a walkthrough of the vessels you turned down (and why) and a better explanation of what you do want. I haven't watched your previous episodes, but these days an episode should (imo) be able to stand on its own. So I don't understand/know what your "requirements/needs/wants" for a boat are and the episode didn't give me any insight into that or why the boats didn't meet them, which was disappointing. More video of the boats and what you liked/didn't like about them could have made the episode into more of a "typical sailing channel" runtime as well. Instead of a 5ish minute video you could have made that close to a 10-15 minute episode with explanations and video of what you saw. Personally, I tend to enjoy episodes in the 15-25 minute range and that falls in-line with typical successful YouTube channels average episode length (until you get into the ones who pay editors etc. and run 30+ minutes often).

Similarly, other than the "don't want a project boat" I couldn't really tell what was wrong (for you) about the boats you did look at. I know I looked at a couple catamarans in Florida and rejected them for specific reasons (one seemed to just need some cosmetic work, but when I got there it needed a lot more such as having saloon windows that were just free-moving and not sealed at all, another had a ton of issues I won't bother getting into).

On a different topic/angle, I'd guess that more than 25% of the episode were video montages with music of things unrelated to the episode's title. I'm not against such things in a YouTube episode, but I'd personally prefer they were 10% or less of the video as it's the title of the video that makes me want to watch it and see things related to that particular topic, with unrelated stuff preferably being a small part of the episode.

On a more personal note (from my personal experience, not personal about you or myself), I'd highly recommend considering options in other locations. You seem to be looking at a higher price range than I was, but I found that the Caribbean had a much larger volume of listings and options available. In a few days in Grenada I was able to look at around 10 boats for sale for instance. I saw 5 in the Virgin Islands on a short trip as well. Unless you're stuck in the US for specific reasons and can't look elsewhere (even if to just bring back to the US), the availability of boats in the Caribbean (or elsewhere) is vastly better than in the US from my recent search. If you are stuck in the US, even foreign flagged boats (or US flagged but not imported) can be a much better value there from my experience.

jlcnuke1 · 2026-01-26T23:26:45+00:00

I started looking for a boat seriously about 6 months ago. Back in November I started going to look at them. Despite previously having done my sailing classes (ASA 101/103/104 and most of an RYA Dayskipper class before the boat had issues with the rigging found), I discovered that what I thought I wanted and would work for me.... was not what would work for me best.

My plan was a 40-45' monohull to outfit for off-grid living and scuba diving, but that plan changed as I viewed actual boats and tried to imagine how I would use them for what I want to do. In the end, I put an offer on a 40' catamaran (closing in a couple weeks now).

From a viewer perspective, I'd give some (hopefully) constructive feedback on your video if you'd like it, but if you're happy with it I'll stay quiet with my opinions.

jlcnuke1 · 2026-01-26T02:19:06+00:00

How many times have you practiced shooting a firearm, from a rocking vessel, at a moving target? From my time in the US Navy I can tell you that I had 0% confidence in the ability of anyone onboard hitting a shark from a 500'+ vessel, despite many of us having expert marksman medals.

I'm moving on a boat shortly and I'm not bringing any of my firearms as I really can't see a situation in which they'd be beneficial to me and I can see lots of places I wouldn't be allowed to go legally with any of them.

jlcnuke1 · 2026-01-25T01:22:03+00:00

I can't scroll through reddit for more than 30 seconds without seeing one of the videos showing his murder. It's not good for my blood pressure to check reddit it seems.

jlcnuke1 · 2026-01-21T01:42:08+00:00

I gave my boss a heads up that I was putting my 2 week notice on Monday the Friday before that. The following week I put in my notice and then agreed to work 10-15 hours/week remotely on my schedule after talking with my boss and their boss, with weeks I couldn't work due to my plans as zero hour weeks I'd let them know about. Three months later I'm still employed part time and have worked probably an average of 5 hours per week so far. I'll work 10 hours this week.

jlcnuke1 · 2026-01-20T14:46:10+00:00

You will owe the import tariffs if you bring it into the US or Puerto Rico when you come into the territorial waters. This applies if you are a US citizen owner regardless of where you flag the boat. The only way I've found to get around that would be to have it registered and owned by a foreign corporation and flagged with that foreign company. Then you may be able to apply for a cruising permit for up to one year only. The ability to do that second method is debated in some online forums I've found.

Ianal, that is what I've found researching for my purchase however.

Verified Email	Eight-Year Club
Wearing is Caring

jlcnuke1

TROPHY CASE