“The biggest challenge even up to today would be, not surprisingly, seasickness… But watches must still be kept. I know that it is my mindset that is the most important factor. The belief that this is not forever, only temporary. That it will make me stronger by pushing my limits. And perhaps the greatest weight loss program known to man,” he relates.

He recalls an unforgettable night watch when he had seasickness on board the smallest ship he had sailed on then, when the South West monsoon in the Bay of Bengal hit. “The ship was very light at that time. It was the pitching and heaving—imagine a never-ending roller coaster ride—that got me.”

He had made the mistake of drinking too much water for fear of dehydration and taking a nibble on a butter cookie on an empty stomach. He made it to the bridge toilet in time to purge. But that wasn’t the end.

“The body has the amazing ability to surprise you with even more miracles, as I had a second episode just a few minutes later. It was as if the floodgates had been broken. 

My captain then suddenly came to the bridge and heard my re-enactment of the Merlion at Marina Bay. To put his concerns to rest, I washed my mouth, came out from the toilet, and greeted him normally just like I would every night and pretended everything was normal, fine, and dandy, as if nothing had happened seconds ago.

The fact that I could still stand and answer his questions professionally probably convinced him that I could carry on the watch, which I did.”

This speaks volume of how tenacious a seafarer he is.

Benjamin acknowledges that seafaring has the trappings of the 4Ds—dangerous, difficult, dirty, and dull. In his opinion, it takes someone somewhat unorthodox in Singapore to relish such a life—someone like him.