A Path to a Passion | Travel with Athena Vieira along her journey to an exciting career around the globe

Athena Vieira, '24 is a Marine Systems graduate and certified marine technician sharing her experience on her first passage as a professional sailor. She also reveals her path to IYRS. As she neared the completion of her B.S. in Marine Affairs & B.A. in Political Science, she found herself at a crossroads: unsure of whether she really wanted the logical next step toward a desk job. After circling back to her lifelong passion of sailing and boatbuilding, she discovered a talent for marine systems that brought her to IYRS. Below, she shares how she got to IYRS as well as the experience of completing a Trans-Altanic crossing from Bermuda to Azores to Ireland. At the time of this publishing, Athena is in Nadi, Fiji, working as an Assistant Engineer on the brigantine SSV Robert C. Seaman's, a research and teaching vessel. 

The symphony of sails

I am woken up by the sound of the mainsheet winch barking just above my head. The tension on the line resonates through the thin fiberglass deck and can be heard anywhere below deck. The sound then shifts above my head, the steady metal ting of pawl making its way around inside the winch as someone on deck grinds on the main traveler winch. Ease the mainsheet then the vang. Adjust the traveler. Don’t break the glass above the winch. A metaphor for keeping your hands below the tailor on the winch to prevent the sudden unraveling of line, to put it in layman’s terms. The symphony of trimming the sails is nearly a daily occurrence and is my alarm to get on to deck. 

Morning routines aboard the Nordic Falken
 
It is pitch dark in my cabin but with the open door I can see the faint glow of the red light that illuminates at the navigation table. I fumble for my headlamp and descend out of the top bunk. Even the simplest tasks become a challenge at a 15 to 20 degree heel to leeward. From putting on foul weather gear to making my morning tea has become a balancing act, but I’ve come to adore this morning routine. This is my first passage as a professional sailor and first time doing a Trans-Altanic crossing from Bermuda to Azores with my final destination in Galway, Ireland. I am an Apprentice for the next two legs with 59° North Sailing, working with the captain and mate to maintain the operation of the vessel and to improve my leadership underway. Aboard the Nordic Falken we cruise towards the Azores for the next eleven days. 

Nordic Falken is a 1999 Farr-designed sloop – one out of five built in the world. The Farr-design was meant for world racing for amateur crews. Out of the five that were built, Nordic Falken was gutted for her racing interior and became refitted for cruising. Nordic Falken is a testament to her design. Sailing her is similar to riding a retired racehorse; she has no intention of slowing down. With three reefs in the mainsail and a reefed yankee sail, she continuously averaged eight to twelve knots through the passage. With two watch rotations the crew rotate through thirty minute helm watches. I stand beside the second helm on occasion with the captain to coach the crew.

How did I get here?

At times standing there felt like a fever dream, how did I actually end up here? I was lucky enough to have completed marine technician school through IYRS School of Technology and Trades two weeks prior to this passage. One of my classmates was a paying crew member aboard Falken a year back and made the recommendation to me to apply as an apprentice. 

If I am being completely honest, I would’ve never considered marine technician school if you asked me about it a year ago. I had recently graduated from the university of my home state with a B.S. in Marine Affairs & B.A. in Political Science but I was lost on what I wanted to do. Like everyone at the time, COVID left a negative impact on my mental health and the idea of spending the rest of my life working desk jobs lost its appeal.

What's your passion?

I spent the last few months of university reflecting on what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be, and it always led me back to sailing. I spent the majority of my teenage years teaching sailing and wooden boat building to children and adults in Narragansett Bay, and it was the happiest I’ve ever been. So impulsively I looked at sailing jobs and stumbled across tall ships. I had a handful of friends working aboard tall ships and schooners for a few summers and it was enticing. Like any job, there are ups and downs but I believe in the ability to travel and work on ships out weighs the unstable ground and hand pumped heads. 

Good old fashioned networking

I applied to deckhand opportunities to a number of boats before I graduated college, but I made little progress from this way, so I made it a point to go and walk around Mystic Seaport introducing myself to vessels. I did indeed land a job as a deckhand aboard the tall ship Amistad of New Haven Connecticut. I spent the summer learning every detail of the ship and tall ship life, but the most impactful moment for me that summer was meeting an engineer named Nobby Peers.

Entering the marine systems industry

Nobby has spent over twenty years in the marine service industry working both on and off shore all over the world, and now owns a marine service shop. Nobby is an old soul at heart with a thick Australian accent that’s hard to miss. When I’ve mentioned his name to other captains they describe him as a quirky guy that works on quirky engines. 

After meeting Nobby, I spent the next three days in the stuffy engine room of Amistad, dissembling the port engine’s fire pump and servicing the fuel Racors. It was my first time being hands on in the engine room and I loved every minute. Covered in diesel, sweat, and soot I couldn’t have been happier completing my first fuel filter change and later reassembling the fire pump.

Nobby never questioned my abilities or discouraged my questions rather encouraged me to find trade programs to develop my skills. 

What's next

And now here I am – a certified marine technician and IYRS graduate who has completed a 3466-nautical-mile trans-Atlantic crossing. Now, I am waiting for my flight to Nadi, Fiji where I will be Assistant Engineer on the brigantine SSV Robert C. Seaman's teaching students about my career and assisting with the scientific research on the vessel.

I don’t believe there was one path that got me here, rather a deep passion that I never truly could shake.