Making a decision to marry a sailor is never easy for a girl and her family. The continuous worry of staying apart teases us all the time emotionally and mentally. The thought of leaving starts haunting us the moment he gets a mail from the company telling about his next contract. Off course some of us are busy with their jobs and it becomes our routine to see him go and come back after months. But even if he is gone and we are busy with jobs, children or family, there is one corner of our heart that always feels the void of him apart. Even for sailors it is not easy to leave the wife’s puppy face and emotionally big eyes at the airport. Guys also feel the need to be with their better halves especially at sea when no one can be there for them.
Spouse Onboard-is it a Good idea? Queen’s version
That’s why even big shipping companies nowadays have started the provision of taking us (your truly beloved married spouses) on board with you. Why do you need wife on board or spouse onboard?? What she will do? You will get bored as I won’t be there with you all the time? Sometimes we can’t even go ashore? What if you get seasick? What will you eat? How will you manage? Well worry not my sailor; I will answer all your queries here.
We don’t know why, but we wives are very inquisitive to know about your ship, your work, your lifestyle and your routine on board so that’s the best motivation that we can get to come and survive on board. Moreover since we are cleanliness freaks by birth you don’t have to worry about your room not being cleaned up properly by the steward, your bed not being made, your working table messed up, your clothes not being laundered and waiting for Sunday. Forget all your worries regarding this and give us an opportunity to make your cabin- a room!!
Next as you are aware of our cooking skills, you don’t have to worry about the tasteless food cooked by chef on board. The touch of a woman can bring taste to anything. Our passion for cooking arises when we see our husbands not liking and eating the cooked food. So ship gives us the best platform to experiment with our cooking and bring a smile on your face and sometimes on the face of the crew as well. And how does cake for everyone sounds in desserts?
Do you need company? What other best company than us when you are alone on bridge, looking for someone to watch movies and spend your weekends with or best: shore leaves. We are the best partners in terms of shore leaves as we are very sincere and dedicated towards holidays and shopping and eating that we always find out what to look for in which place and where. So your shore leaves are always pre planned and worked upon so no time is wasted in searching for a map or asking questions to the agents or planners. We are also the best mates to be with you when you travel long hours via connecting flights and layovers. We are always there with you to explore things and share the interests.
As for our time pass, oh you don’t have to worry, a women’s mind is never at ease. We find one thing or the other to do and if there is nothing then what other best place to complete our sleep as we miss it at home. We are always there when you need to pamper us, talk to us, share with us, we are with you at sunrises and sunsets so that you share those romantic moments with us and together we make so many memories. In return you can teach us some things related to bridge or engines and increase our knowledge as well. After all you need someone at home to know exactly what you do for a living.
A woman becomes the life of the ship with time. Barbeques party with us takes a whole new turn. Clicking pictures of all of us together, playing games, celebrating and decorating New Year and Christmas theme, packing gifts, making cards, or helping chef in the kitchen with the food is something only a woman can come up to. She knows how to touch blacks and blues and turn it into bright yellows and pinks.
Lastly don’t forget the unlimited amount of cuddles you get only with us when you are tired, tensed or wanting to feel loved!!!! Give us a chance in your professional life and take a new turn with us; after all we are the Queens.
Good one vini
Yes it is a good idea. Make her see what is out there….then she might get busy in starting family.
Definitely a good idea!
Hi, Vinita. I really liked your story, but I have to disagree on some aspects. I have been joining my husband on his vessels for 12 years now, so I can tell you that the last reasons for which a wife should accompany her spouse during his voyages are cleaning his cabin and cooking meals for him. There are people on board who are paid to do these jobs and most of them are hardworking and very responsible. A wife who is joining her husbands on the vessel should not cook meals for her husbands because she thinks that the meals on board are ‘tasteless’. Like this she will surely offend the cook and this is not right. Actually, meals on board can be quite good and they are the only option for the entire crew. So, if a husband is luckier than another one and has his wife with him, he should continue and eat the same food and at the same table with everybody else. A wife can – if she wants – to help the cook improve the taste of the meals for EVERYBODY and bake cakes which are to be shared with EVERYBODY on board. A wife can surely make a difference when some special occasions are celebrated – religious celebrations, birthdays – because a woman touch is special indeed, but she must never put the others men on board in an awkward position. She must always refrain from any type of affection gestures in public, she must never ‘pamper’ her husband while others are present. I am telling this because I saw things happening like this and it is not normal on a vessel with 20 or more men.
From my point of view, all the seafarers’ wives should join their husbands on board at least for a few days in order to make an idea about this work and understand the difficulty of it, the constant pressure a seafarer has to put up every day, the struggles, the white nights, the bad weather and everything else. Like these, women would become more aware and understand the value of the money they are spending at home. The same thing is true for the children. Money is earned very hard on a vessel and children should appreciate more the sacrifice their fathers are doing in order to offer them a better life.
Furthermore, if a wife decides to join her sailor husband more often in order to spend time with him and make both their lives easier she should always try and take advantage of all the opportunities which come along. She should appreciate every minute spent at sea, enjoy the life on board, immerse herself in the beauty that surrounds her, be ready to make new discoveries every day, find time for her hobbies and take up new ones, socialize with foreigners and widen up her horizons, test her limits and make a difference.
So, dear sailors’ wives, please have courage and make this step! Join your husbands on the vessel! You will have a great time, you will see and understand a lot of things, you will love your husbands more and respect them more after that, you will meet interesting people and discover amazing places, you will witness the beauty of the sea like you’ve never seen before and experience incredible moments. You will surely have a lot of stories and photos to share after a voyage at sea and lot of memories to accompany you in the years to come.
I wish you all safe seas and loving husbands!
Hello Vinita,
Thank you so much for this post. I am in a relationship with a sailor and this profession was worrying me already regarding the distance that we are gonna face in future. My boyfriend indeed asked me to join him after marriage but I was skeptical. Even though this post is directing toward the sailors out there it helped me to have a clearer vision too. Cheers!! 🙂
Waoooo…. All you guys have excellently portrayed every word from your hearts…. And mine too…i guess thats why they say that ‘God found some of the strongest women’s.. And paired them with sailors’… <3