Hmm... Seeing as how there are a lot of people speculating on why 8 crew members left in the period of one week I feel compelled to post my side of the story, from firsthand expirence. I've worked with Nekton since March of 2008. I've worked on both of the Nekton boats in just about every posistion falling short of capt/mate and engineering, gone through a 32 day long dry dock and 3 USCG inspections. I've worked with 6 different captains and numerous mates and have seen the boat go through many changes over the last year and a half, but still nothing as radical as what happened during this charter. I will give straight facts untill then end, where I will write my opionions on the situation.
The whole "Drug Test" drama started the previous Thursday when the CHEIF Engineer found a Peice of Marijuana paraphernalia while fixing the washing machine in the laundry room. He then notified the Captain the about the paraphernalia during which a few crew members saw it as well. Anyone whos ever worked and lived with a small group of people in a confined area like a boat knows how fast the word can spread. So by that afternoon all the crew on the boat (including crew members on vacation) knew what had been found. No questions were asked by the Captain on the whole subject and no one came forth to claim it. From this day forward there was a noticable change in the Captains behavior and attitude of the crew.
The next week begins like any normal saturday. Everyone running around like chickens with their heads cut-off trying to get the boat turned around for the newly arriving guests. By this point most of the crew members knew that on Monday there would be a drug test. How the crew came to find out that the Captain had planned this is quite funny and a story in itself. The captain was having closed realtions with another crew member on the boat(It became openly known later this week). When asked why the captain had been acting strangely she replied "I don't know, but he said you'll find out on monday". Anyone with half of a brain can put two and two together here. The crew knew a drug test was coming and this said crew member had just put the date on it. This is a very important part of the entire week, and a lot of people are missing this. The crew knew on Saturday what would happen. You would think that if ANYONE had a problem with TAKING this DRUG TEST they would have left on saturday and avoided it right? Well guess what, everyone knew and everyone stayed because NO ONE had any objection toward the drug test. It was common knowledge on the boat that this was mandatory USCG Law, and nobody believed it was the sole decision of the Captain.
Now comes the dissapearing act(Please note: that NO CREW had planned on leaving the boat prior to the following Saturday)Sunday night comes around and we have the first 2 of 8 crew members to leave the boat. These two left directly after dinner and were taken into the island. The reason for leaving: Family Emergencies. Thats what the crew were told as well as the passengers. So with that being said, why would someone tell everyone they left because they did not want to take the DRUG TEST? They clearly did not mention anything about it while they were leaving. So why did this rumor get started? And heres the kicker: To discredit them AND to hide the real reason for leaving. Hmm... Now who would stand to gain anything from that...?
Monday afternoon finally comes around and SURPRISE Drug Test time. We were all given the option to either 1. Take the test 2. Refuse the test and be confinded to our quarters untill saturday, where we will be dropped off in Puerto Rico or 3. Refuse the test and be dropped off in St. Croix, only to be picked back up Friday night and then dropped off in Puerto Rico. There you have it either take the test or be terminated. Well guess what everyone took the test with a smile(and war paint) on their face. In front of the entire guest list mind you.
As I find myself typing a little excessively the rest of the week will be more vague, if you have any questions about specifics I will reply in a different post. MONDAY night comes around and we lose 2 more crew due to a dispute with the captain, that resulted in him(Captain) using profane language in front of an 11 year old guest. They were then Told to leave the boat and dropped off on St. Croix at 12:30 A.M.
You must now realize how the crew is feeling at this point. After losing 4 Crew members mid-week the crew morale is waaay down. Everyone is working extra shifts to cover the lost help. Some crew members are bitter towards others, and a couple carry out their business like nothing has happened. Some crew members are being asked to work 3 shifts a day, while others get numerous breaks(All at the captains discretion, at this point the weeks schedule is useless) All of this is just feeding the fire between certain crew members.
Thursday Morning comes and during the process of mooring up for the morning the Captain and another crew member have a dispute on the dive deck over this process. The argument resulted in the Captain using his authority to confine this crew member to his room. Now shortly after this our scheduled itenerary had been changed.We were going back to the pier for the second time this week. None of the other crew members are informed as to why we were going back to the pier, so what happens next comes as a complete surprise. When we arrive at the Pier there are 5 Police officers waiting for us. After speaking with the Captain and Mates an officer enters the boat and knocks on the room of the confined crew member. The officer then tells him that the Captain had wanted to press charges for a flooded camera of his. The officer also tells him that the evidence is all circumstantial and will not hold up in court, but that as a civil suit it did not look good for him. He is also here to escort this crew member off of the boat with his belongings. His girlfriend chose to go with him so here we lose 2 more of the 8 this week. Then on the Saturday the remaining 2 of the 8crew members left.
Everyone arguing over why the crew left needs to stop. The reason is very simple and IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE DRUG TEST. Every year the boat goes through a USCG regulated inspection, but prior to this we dock the boat, either land or water, and prepare it for the inspection. Well look at it like this, if the office is already late with our checks as it is whats going to happen to them when the company stops making money(aka no charters while at dock) and starts spending even more money for parts/paint/tools to get ready for the inspection. not only will the pay decrease during this 3-4 week period the labor is much more intense. Bob the 19 year old Divemaster turns into Bob the 19 year old Painter, or carpenter or whatever else the boat needs done. The idea of "Ship Yard" looming in the future, coupled with expirences from last years shipyard(Where pay was completely stopped, and for some individuals not even paid in full yet) and already being behind on paychecks is enough for some to leave right there. Now add in an irresponsible captain and his bad attitude toward the crew to spark the fire and VIOLA there you have it the reason everyone left. It's not based on any one thing in particular but a combination of things building up over time.
This next paragraph is directed at the Captain:
We warned you... We told you this would happen didnt we? We sat down weeks before this all happened and had a good 2 hour long conversation, the 4 of us. We told you the problems going on, we told you why they were going on, Hell we even told you how to fix them. Still you did not heed our warnings and just like we said it would happen it did. Now I hope you can take what you've learned here and use it towards your future ventures, if not this is all bound to happen again. You lost some very valuable people that week. I do not know what your intentions were when you started with Nekton but I hope you got what you wanted. As a Captain Secrecy and tyranny will get you no where. I at least hope you are honest with the new hires and treat them with the respect you should have given us.
So as a quick overview here are the reasons this week turned out like it did(in no particular order)
1. Lack of pay
2. Downward spiral of the condition of the boat
3. Not being treated with respect by either Nekton or the Captain
4. The Direct actions of the Captain towards the crew(Including the favortism)
On a side note the pay and sea time of the 8 crew who left are being witheld from us untill the Drug Test results come back(Which are conveniently over a week late now)
"Your world is nothing but a House of Cards, one gust of wind and your whole world can topple over"
