Life on the Ocean

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life,” said Confucius. If that’s the case, Nigel Pollard should be sitting back with his feet up forever. Well, not exactly. As Captain of the Bermuda Zoological Society’s (BZS) educational vessel, R/V Endurance, he could be starting at 6am and finishing at midnight, especially on research days.

When school children are involved, his day is more 9 to 5, however during whale watching season, less so. Come the summer months, it’s all hands on deck, literally. He could be taking energetic children on educational trips or camps during the week, entertaining guests on a relaxing evening cruise or out snorkelling, or transporting the Bermuda Turtle Project:

“If we catch lots of turtles, we’re going to be there until the last turtle leaves the boat, they’ve done the science and we’ve packed up,” he laughs. “Hours can be crazy. There isn’t a standard week. Being a Captain and being on water, you understand that sometimes you’re going to be away from home.”

Even when the boat is out of the water, it’s long hours at the boat yard painting, repairing and servicing, much of which he does himself.

The former charter captain has been at the helm of R/V Endurance for nine years, but has worked on the water since he bought his first boat, which had been salvaged, at the age of 21.

He ran his charter business for seven years, but then expensive engine troubles meant it was time to sell up and move on. He spotted the BZS job in the paper and went for it: “For someone like me, who has a passion for the ocean and Bermuda as a whole, when the job came up in the paper, I thought: ‘Wow!’”

While Pollard enjoys every aspect of his job, the calibre of the people he works with and the part he plays in educating children about their island environment really stand out:

“I get to work with some pretty amazing people who are experts in their field,” he says, adding: “You’re looking at these kids who live on an island and have no clue what’s on their doorstep. Being able to see them experience something that is really amazing, that’s so cool.”

In addition to R/V Endurance, Pollard is also responsible for three other BZS vessels – the 30-foot Callista catamaran, which does Harrington Sound tours and Trunk Island trips, a 20-foot twin vee, which is their

“everything vessel” and a 13-foot emergency whaler. He also uses a remote-controlled submarine on some of the educational trips.

It’s not just ‘under water’ education he facilitates, he also takes bird enthusiasts, including the Bermuda Audubon society, out to watch and study pelagic bird species such as the Cahows, as they come in, as well as migrating birds.

“When it comes to a job, you can’t ask for anything better,” he says. “I wanted to work on a boat and this is the epitome of it.”