Interview with Enora, chief officer of the Pourquoi Pas ? and soon to be first female oceanographic vessel commander at Genavir.
“My name is Enora. I’m first mate on board the Pourquoi Pas ? I’ve been working on IFREMER’s research vessels for about ten years. Before that, I worked for other companies on different types of merchant ships. What’s great is that I get to do quite a variety of campaigns. Since we have multi-purpose ships, which allow us to carry out missions all over the world, for different disciplines, and that’s what’s great too: the interaction with the scientists and the sharing of different trades.”
“My role on board as chief mate… I’m on watch, manoeuvring the boat, part of the day and night. And I’m in charge of everything to do with the safety of the ship, so I make sure that everything is in order, that everything works. I organise exercises and training on board to validate the equipment. We do fire-fighting and abandon ship training. When there is no doctor on board, I am in charge of the care and the infirmary.
“With the help of the bosco, I also programme the maintenance of the ship. I’m in charge of making work requests for everything that affects the deck. Various work requests for all the work that cannot be done on board and that requires disarming or a technical stop.”
“I’ve always been on the water and I’ve always wanted to work on boats, so it was quite natural for me to take that route. I went to the merchant navy school in Saint-Malo, then in Marseille. There are a multitude of courses and training courses to become a sailor. There are many different certificates. I have a multi-purpose deck and engine training, but there are also single-purpose training courses: there are several professions within the merchant navy. I have a captain’s certificate now and… yes, I’m going to be in command soon: next time I board!”
“For me, it’s a job of passion and it’s also a life choice, because you have to know that, especially in the long term, it’s about going away for one or even several months. So it’s also a life choice. But it’s a very diversified and rich job!”