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January 2013 www.sname.org/sname/mt (603) 625 - 8639 EXT 14 www.upnovr.com Vertical ladders Incline ladders Battens Treads Grating Jacobs ladders Commercial gangways NAVSEA gangways Truss brows Fiberglass Brows Accommodation Ladder Systems Burnetts memoir of his life at sea as a cadet, ships officer, and, later, nautical journalist, takes the reader to that world of tramping from port to port. Written with a light touch, by an expert journal- ist (Burnett was founding editor of RINAs journal, The Naval Architect ), it disguises a deep undercurrent of merchant navy psychology, sensed but not spoken, that nonetheless forms the bedrock soul of all merchant sailors. Aside from the great descriptions of ship operations, ports of call, and events at sea, it also details the struggle all merchant mariners faced in the waning years of the 20th century. Burnett tried the same career changes that many us have tried (charter skipper and owner, delivery skipper, and so forth), hoping to stay at sea as opportunities diminished, and came up with similar results, working ashore on ship related? matters. at lost seagoing life of Glencannon and Moran, with ports of call all over the world, was real for Burnett. At age 27, just turning 28, Burnett had become a licensed master mariner. Although it requires seven years of time at sea to qualify to sit for the master mariners exam, he had acquired those seven years over a span of just 10 years. Today, acquiring that much at sea time that quickly is almost impossible. is book is a must read for all those who have spent lifetimes trying to run away to sea. MTAlan Hugenot is chair of the SNAME Motor Yacht and Service Craft Panel, and like Robin Burnett, is a licensed master mariner who has also worked as a charter skip- per and owner, delivery sk ipper, and nautical journalist.