by Chief Mate Jim Moore
I had the pleasure of getting to learn more about our interesting Chief Mate, Jim Moore. Jim has been sailing the seas for 22 years, but interestingly enough sailing the seas was not what he thought he would be doing coming out of high school. In fact, Jim thought he was going to be a rock star! In college Jim was a music major, and was even a part of his own band as a guitar player in Seattle, WA. He did not get into sailing on ships until he was working a shift at a coffee shop in Seattle and some sailors at the time offered him a job he couldn’t refuse. After that the rest was history, Jim worked his way up and had the joy of being a hover craft pilot for 2 years (the largest hover craft in the Northern Hemisphere) and is now currently the Chief Mate on the Oceanus research vessel.
The scariest moment at sea for Jim was when he got caught in a bad storm while sailing near Alaska. He vividly remembers during that time a sailor who had been sailing longer than him was getting on his knees and praying that they would make it out of the storm. That was the only time he was 100% sure he wasn’t going to make it back. But thankfully, Jim made it through and is able to tell the story today.
When speaking with Jim on the bridge of the ship (at the top where you steer the boat) I asked him “What do you love most about your job?” and he simply replied “Do you see this view?” pointing out the beautiful sunset and ocean waves all around. He loves the fact that he gets to travel the world and gets paid to do it and he only works half the year sometimes. He also enjoys that it is an easy commute to work in the morning, about 22 steps from his bunk to the bridge! (haha)
STEMSEAS was grateful to have Jim as our Chief Mate and we hope he enjoyed us too. Thanks Jim!
-Matthew Mullens
