Ole is the master of all things mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, navigational, electronic, buoyant, and bottled. Onboard he is the deck, engine, carpentry, painting and facilities department, as well as the designated food taster and wife warmer.
While not aboard Emma Jo, you will find him on one of Royal Caribbean’s ships, heading up the engine department.
Here he is in standard tropical day uniform, contemplating the autopilot.
Jan acts as figurehead, chef, assistant navigator, deckhand, bartender, chief housekeeper, accountant, knot specialist, cruise director, naturalist, cat steward, and husband snuggler.
This standard, out-in-the-middle-of-the-ocean uniform is vintage Tahiti, circa 1985.
While onboard, she writes, designs websites, and develops corporate/managerial training programs.
Barclay the Wonder Cat
Barclay was the designated sea dog, assistant food-taster, dock inspector, and rat catcher extraordinaire. She spoke several languages, was an excellent (if reluctant) swimmer, and would sit, shake, roll over, and lie down on command. We lost her, at the ripe age of 19, to a stroke in 2011. She was buried at sea off Huatulco, Mexico, with full honors.
Maggie the Reluctant Sailor
Maggie pictured here in her usual attitude, is the picture you’ll see when you look up “seasick” in the dictionary. A good-natured and loveable fur kid, she was with us for nearly 16 years, and traveled to the clearing at the end of the path on January 29, 2010. She was buried with dignity at sea in the Secas Islands of Panama, and her final resting place was noted on the chart.