Skipper on the Waimarie at 19 years of age

Ronan Marshall – Waimarie Skipper at 19!

If you have been on the PS Waimarie recently you might have noticed a new, young skipper.  It is Ronan Marshall and he is only 19 years of age, former student of Whanganui High School.

It all started when Ronan was 15 in Sea Cadets. Officer Trevor Gibson, a skipper with the Waimarie, asked Ronan if he was interested in volunteering and so he did – at weekends and after school as a deck hand.

Before too long he was promoted to the role of the bosun – the person who helps to organise the other deck hands so that the skipper can concentrate on organising the sailing. It was still a voluntary role.

In January 2017, Ronan had left school and had headed up to Auckland to do a course on Super Yacht Cruising. His father was a marine radio operator and his brother was in the navy and so working on water was very much in the blood. Ronan says, “I had wanted to be an officer on big ships but that course was full. But I enjoy hospitality work and the Super Yacht course was only four months and led to a large range of qualifications.”

These qualifications ranged from being a barista, doing silver service to cleaning decks and using ropes. It also led him to gaining a Marine Radio Operators Certificate, a Launch Masters Certificate and a STDW which covers safety training, first aid, sea survival and firefighting skills.

While in Auckland, Ronan was able to stay with his brother, but when he was posted to Ohakea, Ronan decided to return home and resume his old role as a manager in McDonalds.

But then the Waimarie came calling. They needed another skipper and as he was half way there, they offered to sponsor him to complete his legal, Maritime and Safety Systems exams. Ronan says, “It is a two hour oral exam on board boat. You are required to do a range of skills such as anchor drops, man overboard drills as well as berthing’s and departures.

He passed and in December last year he was the Skipper (or Captain or Master) on the Waimarie. The ferry is operating six days a week and there are three skippers available.

Although he says, “I’m really enjoying it” it has been “a childhood dream” to work on superyachts. So in April he is heading off to Cairns to try to pick up a job on one.

“But I definitely will be back,” he says. He would love a life of a winter in the Bahamas or somewhere similar and a summer back in Whanganui skippering the Waimarie.

He is grateful to Waimarie Skippers, Trevor and Don for their help and to the Waimarie Operating Trust for all their help.

 River City Press 28/2/19