-: I am Master Sailor Tristan Harris
I'm from Seabird Island British Columbia, and I'm a Boatswain
-: Boatswain's comprise the entire deck department
of the ship's company and have a wider range of duties
and responsibilities than anybody else on board a Royal
Canadian Navy ship.
They are professional sailors
and fulfil many day-to-Day operations on
their assigned ships.
-: Very much what it consists of is preventative maintenance,
corrective maintenance.
So what that means is that when we do head out to go to sea,
we need to ensure that every
and all piece of equipment, at least associated
with the Boatswain's, is up
and running to full optimal capability.
For a Boatswain's While at sea, your time would be up on the bridge.
We are on watch Boatswain's or known as a watch on deck,
and we are the eyes
and ears of the ship basically as we are sailing underway.
-: Boatswain's also lead crew members from all departments
during seamanship evolution, such as replenishment at sea,
entering and leaving harbours, boat transfers of cargo
and personnel, towing operations, and rescues.
-: To be a good Boatswain, it takes a lot of dedication,
discipline, and most certainly the biggest
of all would be teamwork.
You do not do very much anything in this job by yourself.
Everything is done with a buddy.
-: Boatswain's are also trained in demolition
and assist, assist in landing helicopters at sea.
Throughout their naval career, Boatswain's will see opportunities
to engage in new tasks through advance
and specialty training, including Naval boarding parties
and being ship's team diver.
-: Truly, one of the greatest things about being a Boatswain,
at least to me, is the fact that we get
to be small arms experts, drive boats,
and truly one of the most interesting things
of all is we are C4 demolitions experts
While sailing.
As long as you have a supporting family back home,
it truly makes it an amazing endeavour.
You get to see some of the coolest places around the world
and you get paid to be there.
I've been from Ho Chi Minh Vietnam, to Singapore, many,
many months in Hawaii
and all the way down to Puerto Quetzal Guatemala, up
and down the U.S.
My favourite would be Darwin Australia,
in which I was there in 2016.
For me growing up, certainly coming from Seabird Island
First Nation, where I am today, where I've been
and where I'm growing was never even on my map.
So I am truly ecstatic for the journey that I've taken
so far.