Introduction: 

I was fifteen—too young to shave, too stubborn to be scared—when I stepped onto my first ship and straight into a world that did not care how old I was. I had pictured adventure: roaring shanties and moonlit beaches.

Instead, I landed in a galley the size of a broom closet, cooking for a crew whose demands could sink a battleship. One minute I was a boy dreaming of the sea; the next I was elbow‑deep in garlic, chaos, and personalities big enough to capsize the ship. If I had worn a frilly apron, I could have starred in Galley of Glamour.

The sea toughened me fast. Between diva tantrums, boiling pots, and learning to defend myself with a long‑neck brandy bottle looped with manila twine, I grew up quicker than any boy ashore. Life below decks was survival of the fittest, and I learned to stand my ground, cook under pressure, and laugh when crying would have been easier.

And in the middle of the madness, I found loyalty. Some of the best shipmates I ever had were gay men—witty, sharp, loyal to the bone. They could turn a grim night into a celebration, fill a bar with music, and make strangers feel like family. They taught me humour, resilience, and how to navigate a world that did not always welcome them.

Training was not kinder. Out of a hundred boys, only thirty‑five of us survived the Vindicatrix. The food was rough, the conditions worse, and the stories we lived through still echo across decades of memoirs. We learned endurance, discipline, and how to live shoulder‑to‑shoulder with lads from every corner of life.

Those early years forged me. Not through heroics or romance, but through storms, demanding work, and the strange, unforgettable brotherhood of life at sea.