Charter Vessel Operator - Andrew

Job Description:

What is a "Charter Vessel Operator"? Well, I own, with my partner, a rigid inflatable boat and we take people out on Sydney Harbour for rides.

My company is called Ocean Extreme. I am involved in everything with my business as we are quite a small company. My job is very varied.

Let me describe the boat: "Extreme 1" is a 7.3m Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) built in South Africa by Gemini Inflatables. It is currently the flagship of their RIBs. Normally only purchased by the Special Forces of the world and other police agencies, we have been lucky to purchase one of only 3 in Australia. The other two were used by the NSW Police during the Olympics.

Extreme 1 is powered by 2 x 200HP Mercury EFI V6 engines, which have the ability to propel this vessel to speeds in excess of 50 knots (100km/hour). Extreme 1 has seating for eight passengers and two crew.

So each day of the week, we try to book people into our cruise of Sydney Harbour in this very fast RIB! This means that besides looking after the boat and the passengers, I do all the marketing, advertising and sales. These are some of the administrative tasks that I do as well as the actual operation of our tours. I even clean the boat.

I never imagined that owning your own business would take so much work. There is no such thing as a forty hour week when you are self employed! There seems to be no point in counting hours as you would do if you were employed by someone else. You reap what you sow!! The rewards are all worth it.

Experiences:

My family had a house on the water in the country in which I grew up in. Many of my childhood activities were water based. I followed in my father's footsteps only in the area of both wanting to create something for ourselves and our families. There was no moment of truth, only a series of events that have led me to where I am today.

Opportunities:

I can't think of any opportunities except the ones that I've created for myself. Likewise with "lucky breaks", I'm not a great believer in luck. It is blamed for too many things both good and bad. I opened my own doors!!

The timing was definitely right for my career choice. I looked at many business opportunities before I chose this one. A particular government body helped me maximise opportunities.

Education:

My classroom lessons did not really contribute to my work related skills. However many of the lessons I learnt whilst at school and during my schooling years did.

There was no teacher that comes to mind that was helpful in any of my life decisions. I was quite good at math subjects. All my teachers would be surprised at my career. My maths skills have helped me immensely.

Training:

My training was received through my hobbies and on the job. I had to eliminate the choices that I tried and disliked. Training for my career is nothing like any subject learned at school. It comes from my need to do something with my life that I enjoy.

Employment:

We found an activity that had a niche market and was previously untapped. Yes, I prepare for retirement.

There is no such thing as a typical day really. My work includes other people - it relies on them.

The outcome of my work is very obvious to other as we have received much attention in the media. People seem to be very interested in my career as a Charter Vessel Operator in Sydney Harbour

Development:

My business partner and I are developing as we go along. I am my own employer. I am developing and learning every single day. I have to develop and learn or my business will stagnant.

We become more productive with everything that we learn. Professional development is necessary to the success of my business.